“And what would you say to your younger self?”
I grew up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a city at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It’s Canada’s ‘oil central’, and my dad worked in that industry. My earliest memory of music is my dad playing guitar, which was his hobby, though I think he would have loved it to be more. My parents also brought me to see Eric Clapton and the bass player – Nathan East – got my attention. I started to play trumpet and then clarinet in middle school but always had my eye on the bass. I did all the band programs at school and played in some church bands, which was great training for performing in front of people.
After High School, me and my upright bass went to Capilano University in North Vancouver where I majored in jazz music. I really loved it; it was what I wanted to do at the time. What I got from the experience was a lot of skill, a lot of expertise in playing different syles of music and playing with different people too.
“When I was young I thought I had my own key, I knew exactly what I wanted to be”
When I was still in college I joined a band called Lotus Child as their bassist and we toured all over Canada; like gnarly road touring in a van, playing one or two nights in tiny towns and then back in the van and on to the next.
At the same time, I was doing ‘spot for hire’ recording and local jazz gigs. Lotus Child came to an end and Ijoined Said the Whale. I was with them for a few years and we were selling out shows nationwide in Canada. The band had a radio single called Camilo that charted decently, and we won a JUNO award for ‘New Group of the Year.’ It was exciting but then I was presented with a chance to play with a band who were going to tour Europe, so I left Said the Whale and joined up with Siskiyou. I did three or four European runs with them as well as festival touring, which I hadn’t done before. We were on Constellation Records, an art focused label out of Montreal, so we had some support. However, our singer ended up with really bad tinnitus, and we couldn’t continue touring.
I started playing with the band Dralms, which included another member of Siskiyou. We released a single, played at SXSW and played Canada, Germany and the UK. I also got recruited by a band called Belle Game but as a hired gun, so I didn’t have a stake in their success. The band did a big US run, played at SXSW and at a lot of Festivals.
“We shed our layers, spread our wings and go”
At this point, I am in two bands and not really making much money. There were two years that I was making enough money playing music, and I am really proud of that. Other than touring Japan, I ticked off all the things on my list that I’d said I’d wanted to do.
For me, being a working musician looked like a series of fences: I see a fence, start to climb, and when I am close to the top, I think, ok when I reach the top, everything is going to open up for me, but instead I just see more fences. I know I got a lot further than many musicians, but I wanted to do other stuff. I have no regrets but was ready to explore a new area of music, so I applied to the New School in New York where I got my master’s in Media Management.
“On the road again, goin’ places that I’ve never been”
Because I am Canadian and have toured extensively, I get a lot of questions about whether it’s worth it or not; producer Steve Albini had a philosophy that I still believe in – if you give me a dollar, I will sing you a song. He believes you should be paid for your work, much like a plumber would be for fixing your sink.
I still believe in touring. I feel like it’s the only way to get your band off the ground. It’s grueling and Canada is a hard country to tour because everything is so spread out. My advice, depending on where you are in the country, is to get your visa in order and look South. If you’re in Vancouver, go South. If you’re in Toronto, go South. Your market access to the West or East coast of America is right there. Promote yourself regionally and get butts in seats. However, artists have to run numbers to make sure it’s fiscally sound to tour.
The increased visa cost to America makes going to Europe more attractive. It could be less expensive to get a cheap plane ticket and rent gear than it is to get a US visa. Venues in Europe will help pay for accommodations as well, which never happens in America or Canada.
“Turn and face the strange”
When I was touring, we could play a gig to 80 people, sell about 20 CDs and some tee shirts, and that would cover hotels. I don’t think you can do that anymore. It’s a double-edged sword – you can’t tour to lose money, but how are you going to get good if you can’t tour because it’s too expensive? I’ve always been an advocate of some type of a subscription-based model where you deliver continuous output at a cost. Artists need to build a fanbase and then start to put things behind a paywall.
Another thing I see is that musicians work so hard on social media, but what does a big following mean financially? It doesn’t always translate, in fact, with unsigned artists it really doesn’t translate at all. I tell bands not to chase the “high score” because it’s not a durable way to nurture your direct-to-fan relationship. Maybe explore SMS messaging with your base, or a tried-and-true email list (you better be building an email list!), or for your band it’s a Discord channel. In a world of Tik Toks and Instagram reels, where your followers may not even see your content, you need to find a way to connect directly with people interested in your music.
“Wonderful radio, marvellous radio”
It’s my opinion that radio is one of the only places where real music discovery is happening. I think human curation is something people are craving. The human touch matters, local radio matters. The voice in your ear becomes a parasocial relationship (that means you have an intimacy with someone that goes one way because they don’t know you). This type of relationship is totally lacking in streaming as it’s structured today. People are overwhelmed by what’s happening in the world, so they want to participate locally and know what’s happening where they live.
Play MPE, where I serve as Operations Manager, is sponsoring Departure this year. If you’re not familiar, it’s one of Canada’s largest yearly music conferences. Creatives convene in Toronto where people network, bands play and everyone has a great time. Play MPE is also giving free Canadian radio blasts to all showcasing artists, which is really great. In addition, we are doing one-on-one mentoring at the event, me included, so if you have a badge, feel free to hit me up for some more advice or just come and say “hi!”
Will you be at Departure, too? Let us know!