Tag: Original Music

JOY

On By ResaIn Murals, Music, Tributes177 Comments

Celebrating the Life of Trent P. McDonald

“Any moron can destroy, let’s create!” – Trent P. McDonald

That is a quote from our email exchange on September 18, 2025. We were working on a collaboration: his new song, some street art and a chat.

From Trent’s description on Youtube – The rainbow can mean whatever you want, but it is not about “Gay Pride” or anything, unless that fits you personally. I just think of rainbows as being the opposite of boxes.

We couldn’t quite settle on any of the samples I sent. Then I found a quadriptych in an alley in Cabbagetown. The colours were perfect for the rainbow he was using in his video.

Trent – I really love the dancers!  I followed the link you sent and also the link that they have, to more info about the mural.  It is all great.

Resa – It sounds like we should go with the Dancers. I’ve been thinking about it, too, and it does fit with your song and vice versa.

Trent – There is the freedom of the styles – from the kid’s drawings of buildings to the Matisse inspired abstract dancers, The color palette is great.  It is very dynamic; the sense of movement is fantastic – not being boxed in at all!  Free expression.

Trent – I am not sure if you want to get into the music nerd side of it, but some questions can centre around the time being in 7-4, 6-4 and 5-4 while most pop/rock music is 4-4 with a very occasional 3-4 (waltz-like).  

Moving Elevation is the official title

Resa – The quadriptych was painted indoors on canvas. They were coated and moved outdoors onto an alley wall of a dance school.

Trent – There is a lot to be said about street art vs “traditional” art.  It is interesting to have “indoor street art”.

Resa – I was thinking that, too!

Children worked with the artists and created the backgrounds.

Citadel & Companie is the dance company that commissioned this quadriptych.

Part of their program offers dance lessons to children.

“It is lit from the blue sky above, even if the sky is covered in clouds.”

The above words are Trent’s, from one of our mails. We were talking about why a pic he took, of a drawing of a trumpet he had done, tuned blue.

That sentence applies to much more than just a photograph. I see it as a philosophic metaphor. Music, in Trent’s life, was always a light from above.

Trent – “For the most part I try to be a very positive person – i.e., my Weekly Smile.  Although I have written some “protest” songs lately and will continue to do so, I want to do it from a positive angle.”

Ghosts

The last panel of the quadriptych seemed somewhat apart from the other 3, because of the figures. My initial thoughts were of dancing ghosts. They now haunt.

Fiyero, one of his dogs had just died.

Trent – And thanks, Resa.  Even though I drove down to the Cape yesterday so should be in a “happy place,” I’ll admit I am a little depressed today.

Resa – Take it easy out there, and be careful. We are not at our sharpest when grieving, or even just blue.

Trent –  Some could be an after effect of losing Fiyero – Some could be just going from being on 100% of the time to being off.  I have had some stomach issues that have nothing to do with stress that isn’t helping.  The news and what is happening in my country is catching up to me as I sit here.

I suggested posting on the 16th of October, or just after. That would give us time to finish the Q&A!

Trent – Oh, the date sounds good.  I will be off line from the afternoon of October 9 until maybe the morning of October 13.  The 16th is perfect.

Resa -Write me tomorrow, or anytime! It doesn’t have to be about the post. Anything you want to say is okay by me.

Music Maker

Trent and I found our palship because of music. Oddly, inasmuch as we both love music and had a special spot for John Lennon, it was equipment, the hardware that instigated out first chats.

As my hubs is a musician/composer/producer, I’ve watched music equipment come and go: evolve from analog to digital, from the McLeyvier (ahead of its time & developed by a friend of ours) to the Synclavier (of which Trent had one).

Trent – Hi Resa, So, I decided to go ahead and do the cover of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.” I just sketched it all out in a notation program (writing the notes, etc.) and have started to play around with it on the guitar.  I changed keys again from what I do with my instructor to make the guitar part easier.  I bumped it a little higher, but still not what CCR did – John Fogerty had a very high voice!

Anyway, thought you’d be interested to know that I am doing this.  Most likely I will record over the weekend and put it out early next week.

This is what would have been our 5th post together. If you’d like to see the other 4, just click on the banner below. Trent did the drawing of John Lennon.

Pics taken by Resa – September 18, 2025

Toronto, Canada

The Artists:

& the children

Click on the children dancing on the left to go to Eden Remme Watt’s website

Click on the guy dancing by the CN Tower, (on the left), to read about Rebecca Remme.

Click pic to view obit and well wishes

Imagine – Discussing John Lennon

On By ResaIn Famous People, Tributes276 Comments

With Trent P. McDonald

John Lennon rocks my socks. When I found this street art, Trent raced to mind.

We did 2 joint Lennon posts just over a year ago. We both have an abundance of respect and love for him. Trent wrote a song for John and everything.

Resa – I knew you were taking some voice lessons, but I had no idea you were studying a song, let alone Imagine. Did you pick Imagine right away, or did that come later? Why did you pick Imagine?

Trent – My instructor picks the songs for me, mostly late 60s, early 70s songs.  He plays them on his guitar and I sing along.  He chooses the key that he feels is best for me.  Imagine was a relatively early pick, so it has been at least 8 months and maybe close to a year.  I think I had played my song about John for him which is why he chose it. 

Trent’s Cover of Imagine

Not only do I love Trent’s cover of Imagine, I adore his drawing of John.

Resa – There are many John Lennon quotes. Some are profound, Some are hilarious.
Two of my faves (of many) are – “Time wounds all heels” & “One thing you can’t hide is when you’re crippled inside”

What are a few of yours?

Trent – John was pretty witty, but I can’t think of quotes right off the top. 

Trent – I just looked up “John Lennon Quotes”, and there are so many to choose from!  

Perhaps – We all have Hitler in us, but we also have love and peace. So why not give peace a chance for once?”  Of course, for me his song lyrics are worthy of quoting.

Resa – I completely agree!

“I’m Shot”

Were Lennon’s last words.

Resa – I was shattered when I heard the news that John had been shot and died. I honestly believed in his message of love and peace being a way forward for the world and its people. I felt that die with him.
Do you have any memory of hearing the news? Do you understand why I felt the way I did?

Trent – I had pretty much just rediscovered the Beatles just a short time before he was murdered.  When rediscovering the Beatles, I gravitated towards John and his message more than towards the others.  Peace and Love, the brotherhood of Man.  These were huge themes for me.  I was pretty much devastated when I heard the news.  I sat and listened to Beatles’ songs nonstop for two days. 

Trent – Did I feel John’s message was killed with the messenger?  Yes and no.  I understood that we had entered a new era, but I tried to believe that his violent death would wake people up and that his message would grow.  Well, Ronald Reagan and all that he stood for took over the culture so that even kids my age went total right wing.  But the spark did remain.

Trent– Like many geniuses, John was a contradiction,

… and had a lot of bad qualities.  He said he was violent when he was young, fighting with boys and hitting girls and that a lot of his peace and love was to keep those tendencies at bay, to conquer the violence within himself.  He could be super petty and paranoid. 

Resa – I love the insight!

Trent – One of the saddest things is that I think after dropping out of public life for all of those years he had finally made peace with himself and was just breaking out again, ready to take on the 80s.  But all of that was nipped in the bud.

Favourite Songs

Resa – I think John Lennon is a brilliant songwriter.

My Fave John song from The Beatles’ days is Don’t Let Me Down.

John songs (excluding Imagine) are: Jealous Guy, Whatever Gets You Through the Night and Instant Karma.

So Trent, what are your favorite John Lennon songs? 

Trent – With the Beatles I loved: Strawberry Fields, I am the Walrus and Across the Universe. 

Solo? 

Hmm, maybe: Imagine, Mind Games and Watching the Wheels“- had to put that last one in because I wanted something from Double Fantasy and that was by far the most popular song from that album – it sounds so much like his earlier works.

Resa – I absolutely love the album cover for Double Fantasy. Yoko Ono is an interesting person. I’ve only seen her art in photos. However, as a performance artist she is brilliant in the video for Instant Karma, knitting with a blindfold on, while the band plays. John’s love for her is wonderfully obvious. Do you see it?

Trent – I think there is a huge love story between John and Yoko and is often very apparent.  So yes, I see it in the video you mentioned and also at the end of the one for Imagine where they are trying to keep straight faces but end up cracking each other up.  I think it is awful how much hate she has received from the world, though I think it has mellowed a lot in the last couple of decades.

Resa – I agree!

About –Let’s All Join In & Trent’s cover of Imagine

Trent wrote on YouTube

Resa thought she saw Lennon’s face from a trolley but didn’t’ find it again until recently. When talking about it, some said we need Lennon’s vision today more than ever and others said there should be a song about seeing Lennon’s face from a trolley…So here it is, both ideas in one. Yes, I drew my own picture instead of using the real street art – how could I without asking the artist? And, of course, I manipulated the drawing in a thousand and one ways.

Click pic to see post with “Let’s All Join In”lyrics

IMAGINE

Here is Trent’s blurb from YouTube, slightly edited for this post.

Yep, a quick take on John Lennon’s classic “Imagine”. Though very close, this is not an exactly note-for-note transcription of John’s original arrangement. Besides a few different notes and different drum fills, I recorded in Bb instead of C. I didn’t even listen to the original string arrangement, I just played. I had a few reasons for recording this song. One is that I sing this in my voice lessons.

Another was that Resa had told me she had found some street art featuring  Lennon’s “Imagine”.  Since I had been singing the song, why not do a recording?

Many thanks to Trent for joining me here today!

Pics of John Lennon art taken by Resa – July 2, 2025

Toronto, Canada

Painting by AOTR