At some point in one’s life, the burning question “What is the meaning of life” is on the cusp of everyone’s consciousness. For singer-songwriter Miwa Gemini, she knew the answer to this question the moment she picked up a guitar and began strumming its strings and singing along to the melodies that her fingers played. She vows, “I feel like I will stop breathing if I didn’t [play music].”

The meaning of life for Miwa is really quite simple, it is to seek out every adventure that she possibly can and form a type of correspondence with audiences via her songs. She admits, “I love traveling! I love waking up in the morning knowing we are going to a different city and playing a show by the end of the same day! Every show is different, and you never know what's going to happen. It's challenging and fun to see how to engage people in different places. I do have a few favorite places that I can't wait to go back to like Phog Lounge in Winsor, Ontario, Canada. It's a great place for independent musicians. The owner Tom is fantastic and really trying to support local and independent music, and you can tell from the people you meet at the bar. They are excited about music.”

She adds, “Tin Roof in Charleston, South Carolina is another place that's great. It's a bit off the beaten path, but it's a really cool place and you can see that people come to see music that is different from main stream. L'esco in Montreal is always a great time. I played there a few times, and each time is different yet always fun. Sentient Bean in Savannah is so laid back, it's great. It's a cafe and we usually do early show, so family can come out and enjoy the show. I like that.”

She expresses complete elation when she talks about her chosen profession, “It makes me happy and keeps me sane, and if I can make my audience happy, that’s really wonderful.” This will explain why when asked which Disney character she most relates to, her response is, “Can I be Mary Poppins, please?”

The recording of latest full-length album, This Is How I Found You, was a windfall for Miwa. “I was a winner of the Harvest Sky Award at Indie Week 2006. One of the awards was Canadian distribution through Addictive Records.”

The album shows the dreamgirl side of Miwa, contrasting her previous recording, Forgetful Ocean And Other Strange Stories, which she examines, “I didn't realize until I began working on the new album that my old one (Forgetful Ocean and Other Strange Stories) was a break-up album. After getting my heart repeatedly broken, I realized I was tired and bored of writing sad songs, so I purposely began writing happy songs - or rather songs about where I wanted to be. For instance, ‘Something Ordinary,’ the song wasn't about anybody, I was sick and tired of feeling sorry for myself and started thinking what I really wanted in my life and that's how I pulled myself out of gloomy, self-pity depression. I'm happily married now, but the lesson learned was that I had to make myself happy in order to be happy with someone else. James is my husband, but funny thing is all the songs were written before I met him but in a way they are about him, if you know what I mean.”

She provides that the title of the new album, This Is How I Found You, is a statement about her life as she explains her choice, “Because… these songs really led me to where I am now.”

She expresses about her songwriting, “All my songs are born in my head. I have a song that I finished in literally 5 minutes, and I have a song that I worked on for a month. The inspirations are all over whatever I’m feeling that moment. I have a song inspired by an afternoon rain, something I wanted to say to someone but I couldn’t, and sometimes I’m just lucky enough to stumble onto a song.”

Pointing out her song “Angel’s Prayer” from the album, it is a song that was inspired by a dream she had about someone whom she never met as she tells, “That song is a bit strange to me. I never have been a very big Jeff Buckley fan, but somehow I had a dream that I sat down and had a long conversation with him when I was visiting my friend in LA. And that eventually, led me to start doing my solo stuff. A few years later, I had another conversation with him and when I woke up I had ‘Angel's Prayer’ in my head.”

Engineered by her long-time friend, Andy Baker and featuring Brian Lackey on drums, This Is How I Found You was a labor of love for Miwa as she fondly recalls, “It was much more challenging this time. I definitely over worked poor Andy! It was only 4 days and we recorded like 16 hours a day. Challenge was that the songs were more complicated than Forgetful Ocean… and of course, I added a lot more instruments. Too bad that was before I learned the accordion, but the next one will definitely feature accordion.”

Presently, Miwa performs live with an excellent accordion/xylophone player,
Aaron Burns, whom she shares, “Aaron and I work together at a photo studio. I knew that he played music but it wasn't until we became roommates that we started playing together. I think I just asked him if he wanted to play a few songs with me. Playing with Aaron is great. We respect each other and encourage each other to take more broad steps. Since Aaron joined me, I feel like my music became more adventurous and that's a great feeling.”

Performing live with Burns has acted as a catalyst for Miwa, who observes that the experience has opened up new windows into her soul and into her songwriting. “I have been writing new songs and it's really exciting. I feel more adventurous in writing songs. I'm trying to not censor myself. I tend to tell myself that what I'm writing is never good enough. Lately I'm giving myself a little more slack, so I can explore the idea more even if I think it's silly at first.”

Since the release of This Is How I Found You, Miwa Gemini has been exposed to so much more of the world. She confesses, “I'm always curious what's going on out there.”

This tour has sent her across the US and into Canada, an experience that is forever scoured in her memory bank. She recounts, “Last show we played in Canada was Montreal and that was my fifth time playing there and I feel like finally I'm getting to know the city. It's a very charming city and seems like they enjoy live music very much. It made me realized it's been a long time since I went to see a show just because I wanted to see live music. I really should do that once a while.”

Keeping a journal of her travels takes a back seat to living the adventures as she notes, “I do try to write as often as possible though, I have to say, sometime it's hard to write when you on the road. Between traveling and playing and drinking, you hardly have time to be quiet and write.”

Her performance on NPR’s “Open Mic” program is one of those rose-pressed-in-a-book moments that made her feel like what she is doing is real. “I was excited but when it happened it was just like another radio show. It's always bit strange to sing to an invisible audience.”

For the program, she was prodded to revisit some of her old material from her previous recordings, and that is fine by her. She remarks, “Nice thing about songs that they acquire new stories as you perform them. I really like that.”

Though she has no plans to record a cover album, she is known for performing other artist’s material, especially a penetrative, heart-stopping rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire.” If she was given a chance to record a cover album, she would know precisely which songs she would play. “’Que Sera Sera,’” she claims, “my current favorite… such simple words and so poignant. ‘Tango Till Their Sore’” she cites, “poetic picture of New Orleans.”

She also lists, “’Just Because I'm A Woman,’ one my favorite Dolly Parton songs. ‘La Vie en Rose,’ first song I learned on my accordion. ‘Blue Moon,’” she relates due to, “my never-ending obsession with the blue moon. ‘It's Only a Paper Moon,’ my never-ending obsession with the paper moon. ‘How High The Moon,’ need I say more? ‘When You're Smiling,’ my favorite Billy Holiday song. ‘Bachelorette,’ the words always fascinated me.” And finally, “‘I Wear A Saddle On My Heart,’ great song about a coolest cowgirl.“

Miwa Gemini is an artist who is fearless about looking inside of herself and venturing on the outskirts of her world. She is very open-minded about other artists and reflects, “I find Tom Waits inspirational. I keep listening to his live recordings. Either his solo show or with whole jazz back up, he puts on such a great show. He tells some amazing stories, too. I really like that.”

Like the Sun has to shine, rivers have to flow, and the wind has to blow cross over every parcel of land, Miwa Gemini has to play her music. She is in her element when she is on stage, and able to maneuver easily once she goes into song. She is the quintessential dreamgirl, thinking up ways to make life positive and seeking out adventures that allow her to make new friends while staying bound to old ones. Her chosen profession gives her this opportunity, as well as the chance to connect with her neighbors. It is a life worth every moment of living, and Miwa Gemini plans on living out every adventure that she possibly can.