One of Vancouver's hottest new pop music releases is rooted in Prince George.
Bryant Olender has had his music played in film, around the world as a cruise ship showman, and was one of the buzz-players in Vancouver as a band leader for Michael Buble. But Olender's musical career hit a snag. He overindulged in the high-energy, endurance-pace, party-atmosphere music industry lifestyle and soon it wasn't just an indulgence, it was an addiction. He was at risk of losing more than his musical aspirations.
His latest album is a toast to the place that got him back on track. He could write the words to lead single "So Strong" because he lived them at the Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community in the wilderness just outside of Prince George. Since he first arrived, got well, and walked out a renewed man, he has held an affinity for this place.
"You know what I've been through. In Prince George, everything changed for me," he said. "I am proud of everything I did before, but I am leaving it behind, I am on a brand new adventure now. All the music on the CD, I am basically letting people know the story of my life, the journey I've been on, and that feels really, really good."
Olender is one of the few music personalities who gets to play for an audience on a regular basis but not burn out on his own original material. He performs a solo show several nights a week at some of Vancouver's tonier lounges. His piano man gigs rotate through the Pan Pacific Hotel, Gotham Cocktail Bar and Wedgewood Hotel. He said the instant gratification of watching an audience react and reminisce to familiar cover songs is a performer's gift, but it is different than the rush of crafting a song together and seeing an audience embrace an original composition.
"I can't sit down and just write a song. I have to feel inspired," he said. "If I sit down and complete the whole song in an hour, it's not really an hour, it is years and years that suddenly flow through that hour when the story is ready to be told. It's pretty cool because I don't know when it's going to happen either."
It happened enough times that an entire album eventually formed. He tested the material in small live settings, ran the ideas past key friends in the music industry, and worked with a cast of musicians he hand picked for his musical recipe.
Live and in the studio, he also struck up a professional friendship with aspiring pop singer/songwriter Jerusha White, who is based in Fort St. James. The two of them worked together in concert at the most recent Premier's Dinner in Prince George and outside in the winter chill of the Festival of Trees during the light-up extravaganza at Christmas.
"I want to do a concert to celebrate the release of the CD and have a reception afterwards," he said. "I want to do a show for the people who have supported me when I really needed it, and still support me. We will do one up there, and it will probably be the first one because P.G. means so much to me, then bring it down to Vancouver for a second show.
Event details will be released in the near future. The single "So Strong" is being distributed to radio stations across the country and is available now on Olender's website.
