Prince George musicians broke into BreakOut West this year.
Local arts organization Blues Underground Society sponsored a number of local musicians to attend the annual professional development conference (it culminates in the Western Canadian Music Awards gala event). It was the largest contingent of this area's participants in memory.
"Blues Underground has always worked at helping Prince George performers over its 14 years, whether it was donating money to the school district for the repair of instruments, or providing group guitar lessons and guitars to selected high school students, or hiring local performers to back up visiting blues professionals such as Kenny 'Blues Boss' Wayne," said society organizer and local music promoter Earl Krushelnicki.
At the recent annual general meeting of the society, it was decided that the local music scene could benefit from the radiant effect of local musicians getting firsthand industry knowledge. Seven people representing four local acts got a grant to attend Breakout West, with its barrage of showcase performances by up-and-coming acts from all over western and far-northern Canada, a heavy agenda of seminars, workshops and meetings with experts, and constant networking.
"It is always a challenge for Prince George performers to get their talent recognized outside the Prince George region," said Krushelnicki. "The conference enabled the participants to hear presentations from speakers and then network with Industry professionals from Canada, the USA, Europe and Australia. They also got to network with other Canadian performers."
BreakOut West is the annual conference held by the Western Canadian Music Alliance. It is one of the places where representatives of events like the Coldsnap Music Festival go to scout good acts to book. This year it was held in Edmonton. Next year, it shifts to Kelowna.
Even the acts on the conference stage had some local content. Twin Peaks, based in Fort St. John but also with some Prince George links, was one of the featured performances. Others on the marquee included bands familiar with local audiences like The Matinee, Said The Whale, Will Stroet and others who have played our stages over the years.
From award-winning children's entertainer Ginalina to neotraditional throat singer Riit to teen rockers The Wolfe, the slate of musicians with a showcase concert over the four-day extravaganza was a Western Canadian all-star team - 60 acts in all, not including the Western Canadian Music Awards collection of stars and superstars.
Taking it all in from Prince George were The Statistics, Far From Linear, Amanda Kupp, and the Jack Van Somer Band, all there due to the Blues Underground opportunity.
"It was a little overwhelming at first," said Demmy G of the local punk/rock trio Far From Linear. "There were a lot of other artists and major industry people. It was overwhelming for a band just starting out. We went to the opening event and we kind of got singled out (by the on-stage host), got asked some questions in front of everybody, and that turned out to be a door-opener because then everyone knew us as that band, the band who got singled out, so people would talk to us later and already kinda know who we were a bit."
"It's a huge networking event and a great showcasing place where you can take in a lot of Western Canadian performers and get to meet people who have a lot of experience and knowledge with music," said Kupp, who came back motivated to focus on a couple of key elements of her burgeoning local career. "For me, just starting out, to have that experience to speak with people who have done it longer in the industry and make those contacts, I have a much more realistic view now on how to make music a realistic career."
Networking is more than an abstract concept. The manager for the Jack Van Somer Band spent some time with Kupp, opened up a friendship, and now two local acts have even more connections than before.
Far From Linear's surprise introduction to the conference participants led to one of the organizers spontaneously asking if they would, as a B.C. interior band, like to perform a quick set at the hand-off ceremonies since a B.C. interior city was hosting in 2018. They (the trio also includes Renee Conway and Olivia Kozoris) did so, and chose to do a cover of Aaron Goodvin's Lonely Drum. Well, Goodvin is already a past collaborator with P.G. country star Mike Gouchie, and unbeknownst to the Far From Linear girls, Goodvin's manager was sitting in the audience listening to them belt out the peppy tune.
"It was so cool to be able to make that connect, because (Goodvin's manager) came up to us afterwards and told us what a fun surprise that was, and what a neat twist we put on the song," said Demmy G.
You can't have these career-deepening experiences unless you're in the room with the movers, shakers, players and arrangers of the industry in which you're trying to work, said Krushelnicki. For Prince George's local industry to develop, it is important for outside perspectives to be brought in, and for internal perspectives to venture forth and BreakOut, no matter which direction it starts.
