In the digital age, it's easier than ever to get a hold of someone. That is, if you know who you're looking for.
"Most people carry cell phones, which aren't listed in the phonebook and if you're looking online [MySpace or Facebook], you have to know someone's name. No one knows how to get a hold of you," said Zona Sedgwick.
Sedgwick, along with partner Tony Tabora, are the brains behind a new Internet tool meant to connect people looking for musicians and musicians looking for others of their ilk.
The duo describe BandzConnect.com as a sort of catalogue of bands, musicians and other music professionals.
"Say you're new in town, and you play a mean lead guitar. With this site, you can see and hear [other musicians] and say 'hey, that looks like the kind of band I'm trying to form
"Tony had the idea for a listing," Sedgwick said. But when they realized having something in print would be like putting together a phone book, they decided to take it to a more contemporary level and put together a website with the help of web designer Walter Beardwood.
BandzConnect launched in March and has been working to get acts to register ever since. To date, there are about 70 musicians from Prince George and other areas of Northern and Central B.C., as well as from Vancouver Island and across the country.
As a busy percussionist, Tabora can be seen playing in a variety of bands around town - such as the Three Amigos and On the House - and knows how difficult it can be when those looking to hire performers can't find the type of musician they want locally, so they bring in someone from out of town.
"There are a lot of bands missing out on getting gigs," Tabora said. "There are a lot of good bands here, but who are they?"
Ideally, Tabora said he would like to see the site utilized by promoters to source local performers to open for for big-name touring acts coming into town. "I really understand what we [musicians] go through," Tabora said. "I have to do something about it."
By creating an environment where local artists can flourish will also work to maintain a local music scene.
"We don't want to chase our talent away, we want to recognize it," said Sedgwick. "[BandzConnect] is just a great place for free, if you can drive everyone there to take a look."
Singer Julie Slade has stepped away from the Prince George music scene a year ago, but recently joined BandzConnect as a tool to work her way back into it. A friend of Sedgwick's, Slade joined up at her behest and will be using the site to connect with other musicians.
Slade descibed the site as useful because "it's different than just having your own website. Someone would have to know your name."
Buddy Thatcher is another one of the recent registrants to the site, having connected with Tabora at a music festival this summer. After checking out the website, he decided to sign up.
"I just thought it was kind of cool," said Thatcher, a musician and music engineer currently living in Victoria. "It was all local musicians in the same boat, looking for different stuff. For me, it's all about trying to find musicians who are interested in possibly collaborating and just seeing what other people are doing, listening to other people's stuff."
The pair aren't making any money off of the website, but invested in it due to their passion for a thriving local music scene.
"It's something I love. I get get excited about it and it just livens me up," said Sedgwick, who sends personal welcomes to everyone who registers with the site and encourages them to set up complete, and professional looking, profiles.
"I think it's pretty beneficial to any B.C. musicians," said Thatcher. "It really enables you to get out there some more, on a more local level."
