A walk with the son

The new year has already brought plenty of changes for Ottawa-born singer-guitarist Sue Foley.

She recently returned from her adopted home in Austin, Texas, and she's got a showcase gig at Barrymore's tomorrow, to support a newish album, Walk In The Sun.

There's renewed industry buzz surrounding her career, and she's negotiating with interested labels. More crucially, five weeks ago, she became mother to Joseph Benjamin, a development that dwarfs all others.

"It definitely gives me a different perspective on the way I look at the world. It is definitely going to rub off in my work," says Foley.

"There's no way it could not rub off. What have I learned? It took me all this time, but now I know what it's about."

Walk In The Sun qualifies as a "newish" release because it came out in the U.S. a while back. Foley had already toured the record extensively Stateside when she became pregnant.

When she made the decision to move back to Ottawa for the birth, she was surprised to discover Walk In The Sun hadn't been released in Canada. Through a series of label changes -- Austin's Antone's was picked up by Discovery, which in turn is distributed in Canada by Warner -- the record's release was fortuitously timed to coincide with her planned post-pregnancy return to live performing.

"It was too much good fortune, that I could come up here and work Walk In The Sun, because I had already worked it in the states. After however many months of it being out, I can't go and rework it in the States, but I can work it in Canada," she says.

"I'm excited to keep working it, because (touring) got cut off because of the pregnancy. I would probably still be touring in the states if it hadn't been for the pregnancy.

"Now I've got the opportunity to rework these songs and keep it alive."

Foley says Walk In The Sun demonstrates her need to reflect a broader stylistic palette, compared to past records, which tended to constrict her in the blues guitar ghetto.

Walk In The Sun, her first all-original album, displays a poppier sensibility, but anyone who doubts her ability as a gifted guitar-slinger need only check the six-string fire-power of The Snake.

"I had to start crossing musical barriers and stop being compelled to stay within the boundaries of blues, and stretch out and say, there's a lot of ground to cover musically," she says.

"It was a big step for me to admit that there's a lot of stuff out there that I'm into, and this has got to start creeping into my recordings.

"Crossing musical boundaries and taking advantage of all the things I've learned is important."

She plans to get back to touring right away, with her son added to her entourage.

"It helps you realize what is important," she says of motherhood.

"I have been up and down the road and up and down the highway and made several records.

"But now, with this experience, I find out what life is all about."