Serendipity at the outdoor equipment store check-out. Sounds like the plot for some dime-store romance novel, but it's a slice of this city's music scene, where six degrees of separation gets ya back four in change - or at least a trio called Rogue Folks. Meet our heroine, Chantal Vitalis, recently recovered from two musical divorces, obliviously escaping the pain musical unions can cause, at least for the duration of her day shift.Enter Andrea Revel - teacher, marathoner, and buoyant dewy-eyed newcomer - not yet jaded into repetition as she makes a purchase at the mecca for anally precise environmentalists. Pure coincidence puts Revel at Vitalis' till, stirring a memory in the guitarist's sleepwalking psyche. "I was working at my day job, and she came to my till and handed me her membership...." says Vitalis. "I looked at her name and I said, 'Oh, you're that songwriter' because just that afternoon, I'd heard a song of hers on CJSW and I remembered her name because I waited to hear who it was. I said, 'Oh, I heard your song' and she looked at me and said 'Are you Chantal? It's so weird because I've been meaning to contact you because I wanted to do a show with you and Kris (Demeanor).

'"Well, at least when Vitalis tells it, it sounds serendipitous enough. But, poor innocent dear, after her sugar 'n' spice 'n' sorrow-type parting from '80s darlings Same Difference, and the dissonant dissolution of her second band, maud, you'd think she might be a little wary of those "musicians wanted" kind of relationships.

Because, you know, it seems like a coincidence, and all, that Ms. Revel, with her winsome golden locks (oh, we never suspect the dark wiles of the beautiful ones) and store-bought naiveté just happened to be in Vitalis' line-up. On a more sinister note, it turns out she was so sure of snaring her prey in her pretty lair that she booked a date for a mutual gig before she even met Vitalis.

"Yeah, the date was pre-booked," says Vitalis. "(Andrea) was thinking it will all work. Actually, I told her that Kris was to visit his girlfriend on the coast that day, but it turned out he changed his departure by one day to be here." A chat with Revel confirms that she'd actually had her ear on Demeanor's music since the folk fest in 2000 - she was impressed but a little too shy to contact him. And who could resist Demeanor, with images of his fetching countenance and sound bites on national television for the past several months with his video for "Extreme To Me?"Although that "chance" meeting was only a couple of months ago, the talented trio will appear in Calgary and Cochrane before hitting the highway together this summer and spreading their gifts across the land. Scene veteran Vitalis finds Revel's presence inspiring, not stalker creepy. Although Vitalis and Demeanor have played together for over two years, Revel fit in from the first practice."Actually, it's been really fun - she's quite funny herself. It takes you out of your orbit onto a different path. She's a keener. Kris is a real keener, too, but I'd have to say she's a lot more organized. She uses her daytimer. She comes to rehearsals after doing a 32 km run - it's really cool to be around someone who's got that much energy."Somehow, in spite of the fact that the Rogue Folks talent pool has no shallow end, the three will manage to divide the set evenly to accommodate each writer's songs. Revel will draw from her Mile 0 album, released last year, and Demeanor's plate will be full of tunes from his two previous albums and one that is due in the next few months.

Vitalis, whose earliest memories are of songs she made up as she walked to school, is busy in her home studio. The songs that will make up her forthcoming album, Today's Special, are subtle masterpieces. There is a quiet precision to her melodies, and she's mastered the art of drawing the listener close with gentle surprises and then snaring their imagination with the things left unsaid. The singer has also begun to write and record for movie soundtracks, including the film Screaming Fish, which will play May 2 at the Uptown Screen.Revel has the energy and drive to organize the Rogue Folks tour, and her seriousness is balanced by the humour of the other players. Newcomer Revel was initiated into the fun almost immediately when she was playing piano onstage looking just a bit too much like a plumber."Yeah, Kris snuck up behind her and dropped a nickel in her coin slot!"

Rogue Folks will also perform May 18 at Cochrane Folk Club.