March 30, 2019
Carolann Fowler knew the look.
She was used to it — the look on someone's face when a stranger gets on stage, grabs a mic and starts to sing.
Born in Southern Labrador but raised in South River, Newfoundland, Fowler spent years hopping from bar to bar on George Street, the St. John's strip known as much for its music as its party scene.
"It's funny because for years and years I used to walk up and down this street, and I'd jump up on stages with people and try my best and get the owners to notice me and try to get as many gigs as I could ... which took forever," Fowler said with a laugh as she strolled down George Streeet.
"[All] with the sole reason of someone give me a gig because I was so hungry to play and so driven and motivated to be a woman in the music scene here who could do what all the boys were doing."
After years of knocking on doors, Fowler, whose performing name is Carolina East, is now getting used to national radio play, a team of support and a personal transformation that's gone beyond the stage.
1 gig turns to 2 gigs
Steve Randell can't remember the exact bar where he saw Fowler first perform. It's difficult to remember, he said, because for years, she was everywhere.
"We had a friend that would be playing a gig and she'd hop up and sing a song and every time she sang a song, we'd say, 'Who is this girl?'" Randell said.
"And then she would disappear again because she was out banging on doors."
Fowler is humble about her road to musical success, said Randell, who now plays bass with the band.
"Banging on doors around here is easier said than done. And she wouldn't quit," he said.
"She kept showing up."
Eventually, Fowler got a gig. That gig turned into more gigs.
Those gigs garnered her a name and reputation for having a powerful voice and funny stage presence.
Joining one of her idols on stage during a concert in February 2015 didn't hurt either.
"I would say the Alan Doyle experience, getting up on stage with him, was amazing," Fowler said.
"It's just something I've always wanted to do my entire life. And it helped me because people were like, well who is this girl?"
The humour, playful stage presence and powerful voices of acts like Doyle, Adele and Jann Arden act as inspiration for Fowler, she said.
And it was those traits which caught the attention of Brian Ramjattan, a local doctor turned music producer, and kick started the journey Fowler is on today.
"How do you thank somebody who gave you the opportunity to do what you want to do with your life?" Fowler says to her financial backer during a meeting a local hotel bar.
"The word thank you isn't enough."
Hard work, dedication — and anxiety in getting it done right — is more than enough, said Ramjattan, who practices as a doctor in St. John's.
So, how does a family doctor end up becoming the executive producer of a music project?
The short answer is Journey. Well, more specifically, Don't Stop Believin'.
Thank you, Steve Perry
Ramjattan was dining at Bianca's, a restaurant on Water Street which has since closed, when he approached Fowler, who was performing that night.
"I had a couple of drinks and we were having a good time and I went up to her and I said, 'Can you play Don't Stop Believin'?' which is one of my favourite songs," Ramjattan said.
"And I said, 'Sure,'" Fowler recalls.
Fowler hit all the right notes, so Ramjattan made her a big offer: to back her music career.
But the timing, Fowler said, just wasn't right.
"You think that something like that would be fleeting, you know, a Friday night out. Is this even reality or is it just a soaked-in-alcohol type thing?"
The idea was put on a back shelf — until another chance encounter, this time at an open mic night in Bonavista, when Music NL brought in music producer Rob Wells and his musical pertner, Shobha, for its annual awards and conference in 2016.
With an empty stage and an open mic, Fowler did what she always does: seized the opportunity.
"We just expected it to be like everything else that we were hearing that night," said Wells in a phone interview.
"And then she started to sing and we just looked at each other and our jaws fell to the floor and we thought, this is incredible. You sound amazing."
Fowler then sang another song, and another, he said.
"We said, 'No, no, no, no, don't stop. Please stay up there and keep singing.'"
Wells is an award-winning music producer based out of Toronto, whose artist credits include Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Adam Lambert.
It was time for Fowler to approach Ramjattan to see if the offer still stood, or if it was as fleeting as Fowler feared.
"I said, 'Of course I remember you, you're the girl who can sing Don't Stop Believin','" Ramjattan said.
"She said, 'Well you mean you really meant that or did you just have a couple drinks?' I said, 'No, I meant that.'"
Since then, Fowler has released new music, been on a radio tour, and is again nominated for an East Coast Music Award.
She has also been nominated for Best Country Album of the Year at the Indigenous Music Awards, which will be announced in May.
And despite her willingness to jump on stage and grab a mic, Fowler is quick to admit she is "riddled with anxiety."
Changes she made to her personal life, including a massive weight loss, have helped, she said, even if it is tough when she's on the road.
"When I first met Carolann, one of the things I actually noticed about her is when she sat down in my chair she always covered herself up in her sweater," said Patricia Tucker, owner of Your Ideal Weight Loss Center.
"She literally pulled the other chair in front of her and was hiding behind the chair."
That was a year ago. Since then, Fowler has dropped about 100 pounds, which she said has given her more of an edge on stage and even more singing power.
"It's crazy to think about then and now, just you know, weight loss alone," Fowler said.
"But it's so evident onstage that the changes have really affected my entire life. It's just now I'm able to really kill it."
One of Fowler's biggest super powers is the people she's surrounded herself with, she said, including Ramjattan, the doctor who is personally financing her career.
And if it doesn't work out, Ramjattan says it doesn't matter.
But people close with Fowler, like guitar player Chris Ryan, are confident she'll continue to have success in what's typically a cookie-cutter pop industry.
"Carolann touched on some of the other artists that have come across mainstream, in the Adeles and the Jann Ardens," Ryan said.
Never sold on their bust-size, weight or look, Ryan said, those artists are successful because of their sheer talent.
Something he said Fowler has in spades.
"That's kind of one of the things that we're fortunate to work with. Carolina East is just talent. That's all it is," Ryan said.
"That is all that has to be sold."