Northern Daydream Article I 2023
Welland Tribune - Niagara Review
Dreaming aloud with Niagara's Rita Visser
by Jon Law
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LEAPIN' Review I 2013
The Walleye - Thunder Bay
Off the Wall
by Megan Jewel
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Musical Journal
Press through the years...
Growing up, Rita was surrounded by music in rural Thunder Bay. Her parents would spin records all the time – this got her into all the oldies like Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Cat Stevens, Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, Paul Simon, and The Righteous Brothers to name a few. In her mind, nothing beats the sound of an old record player.
Rita spent many summers on her family’s rustic fishing island on Lake Superior; it was here that she discovered a love for playing music when her childhood friend, Jeff Heisholt (The Trews, Burt Nelson Band), lent her his electric keyboard to practice with. Rita recalls staying up all night tinkling those keys and exploring melodies in her bunk bed.
Although her heart always called her towards music, she knew she needed a backup plan when it was time to go to College, so Visser studied Radio & Television Broadcasting. It was something that would keep her close to music but also pay the bills. She worked in the Broadcast industry as a Radio Announcer and then moved to Calgary and worked in Promotions and Advertising.
Shortly after she moved to Calgary in the late 90’s she bought her first guitar while performing as a lead singer for a band she named ‘Indecision’, singing many genres. At this time Rita also started playing some solo shows and started adapting her poetry to music.
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In 2000, Rita moved back to her hometown as a means to reconnect with her roots and focus on writing. It was during this time that she had a wonderful opportunity to sing backup for David Letterman's musical director, Paul Shaffer. She also worked with local musician, musical director, and producer Danny Johnson (he’s toured with Johnny Cash and George Jones) and the two performed as a duo, throughout Northern Ontario. At this time, Rita also worked as a session singer for various projects through Danalog Studios. One of her favourites was singing "Chiquita Banana" on the award winning documentary Banana Split direct by Kelly Saxburg and Ron Harpelle.
In 2005 Rita relocated to Toronto where she was heavily inspired by the city and the local indie music scene – this is where her songwriting truly began to take shape. There is a song called "Dufferin" from that time that is still in the works. In 2007, Rita moved to Niagara and was deeply involved in music circles where many artists were collaborating and releasing albums. She was a feature singer on tracks written by songwriter, musician and poet Carl David Onofrio. Producer, musician Rick Rose (Desmond Child, Mick Ronson and Anton Fig.) called her songs Dusty Rustic Gems, inspiring more songs to flow. This is when songs like "What to Do" and "Let It Go" (Leapin’, 2013) formed. She was also part of a movement called the Perpetual Peace Project at this time as a backup singer.
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Rita’s first album, Leapin’, was released in 2013, co-produced with Peter Haverkamp. It deals with the loss of her childhood friend "Coldwind", depicts an eye-opening time working for a homeless shelter "Suitcase", and showcases the scars of loving too deeply. After the release of Leapin’, Rita took a step back from the music scene to raise her daughter. She hibernated for a while and kept writing songs and poetry, singing on a few special projects, and performing at one show a year in Toronto: Words and Music Salons, hosted by her dear, late friend and poet, Linda Stitt. At this time Rita also conducted songwriting workshops for the Girls Guides of Canada.
Thunder Bay Auditorium,
singing back-up with Paul Shaffer.
Words & Music Salon.
Linda Stitt & Me.
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In 2018 Rita took a trip to Nashville for some musical inspiration and brought her new song
"Waitress: to the stage at the famous Bluebird Cafe. This trip inspired Visser to start a house
concert series called A Night of Song. She hosted several acts to sold-out shows in her living
room. Around this time she also joined Laurel Minne's band Minuscule in 2019 as a tenor.
This jaw-dropping 25-piece group released its first album in 2020. This move pushed her to
new heights and allowed her to record her Tenor vocals on a Great Lake Swimmers’ track
for their latest album, "Moonlight Stay Above".
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Since then, they’ve had several shows with Great Lake Swimmers and as well as opening for My Son the Hurricane.
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A couple of years ago Rita decided to get back into the studio and started looking for a new producer to help bring her vision to life. She found the perfect match in Joe Lapinski (Great Lake Swimmers, Ron Sexsmith, Sarah Harmer) at WOW! Recording Studio & Creative Music Space. He had the authenticity she craved in a producer, and the journey began...
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The album was starting to take shape but something was missing. After a bit of a pause, and a few lockdowns, Rita realized the songs needed to be sung live in order to fully craft the sound. To do this she invited long-time friends Danielle Marconi (violin) and Dave Matthews (banjo) to join her in working out the musical stylings of the songs. ​
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Fast-forward to today. A band has formed with even more members, including Hollie Jean Stock (upright bass), Nathanial Goold (drums), and Joe Lapinski (pedal steel). Yes, the producer joined the band! Thus Rita & the Daydreamers was born.
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In this powerfully inspiring album, many songs reflect the North Shore and the healing capacities of finding solace at the water’s edge. Songs like "Skippin’ Stones" and "Batchawana Bay" convey the peacefulness Rita has always found on the water and lets her Northern roots shine through in a true Canadiana sound.
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The album also highlights the song that’s been the toughest for Rita to write: "Dear Daughter." A song she started 14 years ago but it stayed in a box with many others. 5 years ago she brought it to Nashville producer Fred Mollin to strum along with, it was her first-time writing session with another. This connection was so beautifullly comfortable and lyrics flowed instantly. But then it was time to put this gem on hold again to dig deeper into what lessons she most wanted to share... "you simply can’t include all the lessons for your child in one song, as there will always be more advice to pass on. I covered the most precious ones, and of course I had to add some of my mother's wisdom too."
A soft launch of Northern Daydream took place last summer in Thunder Bay and a successful Niagara Release happened at NAC (Niagara Artists Centre) in St. Catharines on December 2nd.
Bluebird Cafe &
The Stage, Nashville.
