Rosebud is a tiny little hamlet in Southern Alberta, nestled between Drumheller and the Calgary Airport. As of 2011, it was recorded as only having a population of 88 people.
It doesn’t have a gas station or a convenience store, but this little spot boasts a huge artistic community – one of its main tourist attractions, especially the Rosebud Theatre.
This community is where you can find the husband and wife folk duo Me & the Mrs. with Paul and Heather Zacharias.
“It’s funny, life in Rosebud. You can still be quite busy. I don’t know how that happens. People come to Rosebud and they often say ‘what do you do here?’,” said Paul Zacharias.
Paul said the town is very interconnected and almost everyone is involved in the arts. He runs a recording studio called doG House Studios and joked that he has to schedule an extra 15 to 20 minutes in his three to four minute walk to work, so he has time to chat with all of the people he bumps into.
“I think there is a real peace that comes with that,” he said of the smallness of the hamlet. “You can focus and hunker down on what the task at hand is, which is writing or rehearsing or whatever. Perfect environment for the arts.”
Paul and Heather came to Rosebud six years ago when Heather enrolled in the Rosebud School of the Arts. The pair originally went to high school together in Surrey B.C. and were good friends.
Heather moved to Ontario after high school, while Paul stayed in Surrey.
“Apparently, I wasn’t willing to let the friendship go,” said Paul.
They dated long distance for two years and eventually got married. They then moved to Langley, B.C. and worked in an auto parts warehouse, until they made the decision to go to Rosebud.
Paul said he and Heather performed from time to time in the dining hall at the Rosebud Theatre as a duo. Although he said Heather was a bit shy about performing, he convinced het to start a band last summer.
Paul had played in bands since he was young and had been playing guitar and writing songs since he was 12. His last project was the indie-rock band Swingset Champion. Once Heather agreed to join him in Me & the Mrs. she began to learn the mandolin and accordion. That summer they toured Canada playing mostly house shows. From Rosebud all the way to P.E.I. you could find Heather and Paul playing living rooms, basements and back yards.
Although not travelling all the way to P.E.I., this summer the duo made their way to Winnipeg where they recorded their sophomore CD The Frogs Sang Symphonies, which Paul anticipated would be released in December.
He said they were able to record this album in Winnipeg at studio with producer John Paul Peters, because they received a $10,000 grant.
“On our last album we always did the recording of our vocal tracks separate, to kind of work at perfecting things and getting things as good as possible,” said Paul discussing their last album Ghosts of What Became. “We decided to go with an approach of singing with each other in the same room and we would look at each other and get in that vibe.”
And that husband and wife vibe is something that makes their duo work. He said any frustrations or bumps along the road were sorted out really early on and it has been smooth sailing.
Paul compared it to the way families used to run a farm or a business. Me & the Mrs. is their family farm. He said it is something that they run together and therefore kind of draws them deeper into their relationship together.
“We kind of like old fashioned things,” he said, as Heather laughed in the background. Paul began to laugh adding, “That’s kind of how we think of it and it works for us.”
You can catch Me & the Mrs. at Legacy Guitar and Coffee House on Aug. 30. For more information visit meandthemrs.ca.
