Kim Stockwood

At the age of 24, Kim Stockwood began performing at a pub's folk nights in her hometown of St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. The year was 1990, and by the end of it, she was filling the weekend slots at the venue. At the time, Stockwood was working a day job, employing the skills she'd received in English and business at college. As a joke, Stockwood moved to Toronto in 1992 in order to see if she could receive a record deal. She arrived at the office of EMI Music Publishing president Mike McCarthy, talked to him for an hour, and jumped up on his piano stool and belted out her rendition of Patsy Cline's "Crazy." She walked out of the office with a publishing deal, and five months later, she received a recording contract with EMI. Three years later, EMI released the limited-edition promotional EP Greetings from Bonavista to the media, prior to the official release date of Stockwood's full-length debut album. Brainstorming ideas for the name of the release, Stockwood dug deep into her fond teenage memories of where she spent much of her time wreaking havoc: Bonavista, Newfoundland. Bonavista was also the original home of her grandmother and mother. The record featured appearances and co-writing credits with Guess Who/Bachman-Turner Overdrive guitarist/vocalist Randy Bachman, alternative pop/rock musician Matthew Sweet, and producer Jim Rondinelli, who'd worked with Sloan. Both Sweet and Bachman played guitar on the track "She's Not in Love," while Bachman co-wrote "N.A.S.H.V.I.L.L.E." with Stockwood. She has said that she usually winds up working with musicians, such as Bachman and Sweet, after the people she works with recommend someone that she should write or record with. After receiving small doses of radio airplay, Bonavista was released to Canada's buying public...