There are several bands in northern B.C. who have made it into the CBC's Searchlight semi finals.
According to CBC radio host Andrew Kurjata's congratulatory Facebook post, these northern bands made it: Black Spruce Bog, King Crow and the Ladies from Hell, Twin Peaks - Lindsay Pratt & Naomi Shore, RED7 , William Kuklis, The Magician and The Gates of Love.
These bands are in the west region's top 25 in the national talent contest that has more than $20,000 in prizes up for grabs.
Online votes are the way to make the top ten cut where one winner from 23 regions will go head to head during the finals for a grand prize package including $20,000 worth of music equipment from Yamaha Canada Music, a professional recording with CBC Music, and a spot on the bill with Tegan and Sara, and Spoon at the CBCMusic.ca Festival in Vancouver.
Kuklis, who was a guest columnist for The Citizen when his wife Megan took a short maternity break from her weekly Home Again column for The Citizen, has always loved theatre and was in bands for many years when he lived down south.
A singer-songwriter as well, he wrote a little ditty called What's Your Problem Q that's been getting some social media attention.
"Megan mentioned that there was a Bring Q to Prince George campaign and I love the Q and we listen to Jian Ghomeshi all the time so I thought ah, what the hell."
Kuklis also wrote a song, once upon a time - and definitely not about his dear wife, Megan, he promised, called I've Heard That Before. It's that song which has taken him into the top 25 best of the west on CBC.
"When I write music it's really less about the story and more about a feeling," Kuklis said. "I start with the music and the melody and put a situation into that feeling. In essence I've Heard That Before is a song about a bad relationship from my perspective. I try to create an accessible feeling in a song, something that resonates."
Check out Kuklis' music at http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/WILLIAM-KUKLIS and visit the CBC Searchlight contest online at http://music.cbc.ca/#/Searchlight to vote for your favourite local band.
