Hedley: My Story

It all started in 2004. 14 years ago this year. I was 22 years old.

I had just moved to Edmonton, Alberta from Regina, Saskatchewan. I knew absolutely no one in Edmonton. The second season of Canadian Idol had started and I began to watch it.

And then there was Jacob Hoggard, a contestant from Abbotsford, BC. A town I had never heard of and a province that I had never been to. He was like no one else that I’d ever seen before and I was hooked. His spirit and charisma captured my heart. It wasn’t long before I was voting for him like a madwoman and finding my way onto his band from back home’s website. The website had a forum on it where all of Jacob’s fans would chat with each other morning, noon and night. This became my entire life. Canadian Idol concluded with Jacob coming in 3rd place. (He told us to stop voting for him because he didn’t want to win. Instead he promised that he would go home and do big things with his band “hedley.”)

As soon as hedley.’s first post-Idol concert was announced the only thing that mattered to me was being at the show. It was in Abbotsford, on October 2nd, 2004.

I didn’t have any friends in Edmonton and instead was forming real friendships with fellow fans online from all over Canada. I went by the screen name *Goldy Lox* and I felt as if I was truly a part of a special community. In desperate need of someone to make the 12 hour drive with me to Abbotsford, I put out a call on the forum to anyone in Edmonton who was interested in joining me. Rachelle responded. A few days later, we were in a car together as total strangers and immediate best friends. We used to say things like “can you imagine what it would be like to hear them on the radio one day?”

We did everything that we could to see this band play, including several more drives to BC. Once, in Edmonton, we were invited to their hotel room. Rachelle and I spent the entire drive to the hotel screaming with excitement. We hung out with them and that was all. Jake still remembers this event and always mentions it till this day. In total, we saw the original band perform 6 times.

Eventually, the news came out that Jacob was leaving the original band in order to continue with more polished musicians. The Hedley that we know today was born, including bassist Tom MacDonald, guitarist Dave Rosin, and drummer Chris Crippin. We continued to excitedly follow the band and watched their fame grow.

We formed relationships with these guys, especially in the early days when the shows were still quite small. We would hang out on their tour bus before and after shows. There was one time when I packed all four band members plus myself and Rachelle into my TINY Pontiac Wave and attempted to drive the band back to their hotel so that they could get ready before a concert in Calgary. We got lost and never did get to their hotel (this was before smart phones). Instead we returned them to the venue and they performed in whatever they were currently wearing. We have so many happy and funny memories like these.

I ended up getting a job in radio and for the 7 years that I worked there, the most exciting days were the ones when Hedley would come in to the studio. The guys would hang around with me at my desk and always seemed genuinely excited to see me.

Through ALL OF IT I was always treated with friendship and respect. They have always made me feel genuinely appreciated.

To say that Hedley has changed and influenced the trajectory of my life is a major understatement. I would not have the life that I do today if it wasn’t for them. I would have married the wrong person over a decade ago. Instead, they opened my eyes to the kind of carefree fun and adventure that I wanted to spend the greater part of my 20s doing instead. I could not be more grateful for this.

To this day, some of the most important friends in my life are the ones that I met way back on the Hedley forum. I literally met these girls on the internet and they have since become people that I will keep close to my heart for my entire lifetime.

In a sense, Hedley has given me everything.

The only reason that I know these girls is because of Hedley.

I have now seen Hedley perform a total of 48 times and I even traveled to Germany and France to see them play. They are now a part of what I “do.” They symbolize so much good in my life and regardless of anything and everything else, that can never be taken away.

I consider myself a feminist. I am raising a son.

This makes the current situation complicated and uncomfortable for me.

The allegations against Hedley break my heart. At this point, nothing has been proven and it’s all a bunch of anonymous accusations. I don’t know what is going to happen and I am not going to stop supporting them based on a few unsubstantiated tweets. I certainly owe them at least that.