Halloween 2022

Posted by jdhBard | Posted in Recordings | Posted on 01-11-2022

It’s been a busy few days this Halloween, of which I am grateful, especially after two years of no events due to the pandemic. In fact, the spring and summer were quite busy with storytelling gigs, which is a trend I hope will continue.

To celebrate spooky season, this is an old, previously unreleased track from 2017. I was performing with the vivacious Natasha Clery in Ottawa at the Origin Studio. The haunting drum effect was provided by the endlessly modest Jason Sonier.

I hope you enjoy this rendition of Skeleton Woman.

Story: The Butcher of Rawdon

Posted by jdhBard | Posted in Recordings, Story, Uncategorized | Posted on 25-07-2020

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For the past few months, I’ve been working with English Community Organization of Lanaudière, which is a local community organization in the Rawdon/Mascouche area  to develop the True Crime story about Thomas Nulty: the Butcher of Rawdon.

I researched, wrote, and performed this True Crime story, which was directed and recorded by Mathieu Desbiens. We shot the telling of this story at the courthouse in Joliette (Qc) where Nulty was tried and hanged, and in a cemetery in Rawdon where some of the Nulty family are buried.

And so we present you the tragic story of Thomas Nulty, the Butcher of Rawdon.

A story of mourning and healing

Posted by jdhBard | Posted in Recordings, Story | Posted on 21-08-2019

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One year ago today, I lost a friend, a brother, a fellow Stag King. When I mourned my friend, I struggled to find a story that described this process, and then I found this one.

I recorded it this morning. I’m still a bit congested, so I apologize for the odd sound of my voice.

As I remember my friend today, remember that you are not alone.

Bedtime Stories, Live Feed

Posted by jdhBard | Posted in Recordings | Posted on 13-07-2016

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Facebook has this feature called a Live Video which basically streams video out from your phone as you are recording it, then saves the video on your time line. It’s a pretty neat feature because anyone can tune into it and leave comments and likes and such.

Unfortunately, I cannot embed the video here, but if you’re on Facebook, you should be able to see the videos play.

Bedtime Stories v1 (the story actually begins at the 7:20 mark)

Bedtime Stories v2 (the story actually begins at the 3:00 mark)

Northern Exposure: the Live Recording

Posted by jdhBard | Posted in Recordings | Posted on 25-01-2016

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A few years back, I had the unbelievable honor of sharing a stage at McGill’s Pollack Hall with Concerto Della Donna for a charity event (Northern Exposure). The last piece was called “Ost for vinden”, which was a Norwegian folktale put the music. I was the storyteller and Concerto Della Donna sang the songs. It was by far the most ambitious project I have ever undertaken (back then and ever since). Thanks be to Erika Wood for believing in me.

I had a personal copy of the recording, but due to rights and other legal stuff, I wasn’t allowed to share it with anyone. All I could do was play it for people in the car. Well now the author of that piece (Marie-Claire Saindon) has put the entire recording up on her SoundCloud page. If you’re going to listen to it, I highly recommend that you put headphones on and immerse yourself in it. It’s beautiful and has brought tears to many who have listened to it.

Why Patricia Left

Posted by jdhBard | Posted in Blog, Recordings | Posted on 29-10-2015

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At the last Slamtastique Story Slam that I hosted, I told a story about why Patricia left. Patricia Flewwelling is a published author who works at TELUS, but also worked at Cafe Mariposa, which is where the Story Slam now takes place. And I’ll admit it right here: I’ve had a bit of an unrequited crush on her for a while. It’s no secret.

But new adventures have flung our beloved Patricia far and wide, but few know the real reason, so I decided to tell the masses the *real* reason why she left us. Now that I’ve heard the recording, I can tell I told it a bit too fast (the pace is off), but I’ll fix that with some practice in the future.

When Patricia met Death in the Market

Writing and Narrating a Promo Video

Posted by jdhBard | Posted in Recordings | Posted on 25-01-2015

So I have been having to sit on this for about a week, but now I’m allowed to show it off. This is what happens when you hire a storyteller.

Mid-December, I was contacted by an office furniture design company in the Montreal area called Group Focus (groupefocus.com) who asked me to write a script for them for a promotional video. They were going to a conference and were asked to put together a promo video for their company.

For this video, they decided they wanted to focus on their people rather than their products/services, and they wanted to go with a wolf/nature theme. I wrote them a script, they loved it, I did the narration, they still loved it. As it turned out, the promo video was part of a competition and Groupe Focus won first prize for this video.

Tales from the Yellow Door Coffeehouse

Posted by jdhBard | Posted in Events, Recordings | Posted on 11-11-2014

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Back in October, I told a couple of stories at the Yellow Door Coffeehouse hosted by Marc Nerenberg, deep in the McGill student ghetto. Happily, they were video recorded and they just got posted!

I’ll be featured at the Yellow Door Coffeehouse on December 12th 2014 (Facebook event), so you should join us!

These two stories are also featured on my new CD Did You Hear That?, so you should get your copy today, or come by the CD Launch at Le Mariposa on November 19th 2014 (Facebook event).

The Man with No Story

Lex and the Devil

Digital Launch of the New CD!

Posted by jdhBard | Posted in News, Recordings | Posted on 22-09-2014

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It’s finally the day that has been months, if not years, in the making. Welcome to the digital launch of the much anticipated follow-up CD to The Bard’s New Hat!

JD Hickey’s newest CD “Did you Hear That?” is ready and features some of the Bard’s the creepiest stories (join us at the Facebook event)! Get ready to turn out the lights and listen to these tales! Then turn all the lights back on and quiver in your bed, praying that the sun will return to banish the darkness!

The stories include:

  • The Hall of Wonders
  • Fionn MacCool and the Old Man (video)
  • Thomas & La Chasse Galerie
  • The Boy Who Drew Cats
  • The Dead Don’t Pay
  • The Man with No Story
  • Lex & the Devil
  • Ti-Fleur & the Magic Fiddler
  • BONUS: The Ghost with One Black Eye
  • BONUS: Skeleton Woman

Here’s what you can get:
1. “Did You Hear That?”: $12 (8 stories + 2 bonus tracks)
2. “Did you Hear That the Bard Has a New Hat?”: $20 which includes:

  • “Did You Hear That?” (8 stories + 2 bonus tracks)
  • “The Bard’s New Hat” (released 2010)

There are three ways you can purchase your digital download. Be sure to give me your email address so that I can send you the URL so that you can download the CD!

  1. Bank Transfer: send your payment via Interac e-transfer to mtlbard@gmail.com. Please include your full name and your Email address (so that we can email you the link). If a password is required, make it “HearThat2014″.
  2. Paypal: please visit our sponsor The Magical Blend and select the “Did You Hear That?” CD from their store page, click Checkout, and pay for it with Paypal.
  3. Cheque: if you wish to send a cheque, send an email to mtlbard@gmail.com to get the mailing address and once he receives the cheque, you will receive an email with the digital download.

Once I receive your payment, I will email you a link to the ZIP file that contains the tracks. This path will be active for a couple of days, so you must download the file before it expires. Please let me know when you receive the files and do not share this path with anyone else.

Tales from Driving Out the Snakes II

Posted by jdhBard | Posted in Recordings | Posted on 19-03-2014

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So I hosted a concert called Driving Out the Snakes II in Montreal on St. Patrick’s Day weekend in 2014 and it was great! Generous audiences, talented musicians, and an energetic step dancer! I also got to tell a few tales and they were recorded, so I’m happy to share one of them.

The videographer is Roy Keys and the event was organized by Aine Doan.