Off The Fence - Remember to check out our region’s musical talent

Susan Thompson
Express staff

I love my iPod, and it’s great to listen to the radio or a CD, but there’s nothing like live music.

I don’t play any instruments (well, I played clarinet in high school but it hardly counts, trust me) so I am in awe of people who do. I’m fortunate to have a lot of very talented friends, the kind of people who get together and can spontaneously jam, creating beautiful music with whatever instruments happen to be around. I find that amazing.

Some of my friends run a little organization called Peace River Punks that organizes shows in Peace River. The shows include bands from all over our region, everywhere form Peace River to High Prairie and Valleyview and sometimes as far away as Edmonton. The talent featured is usually a bunch of young, passionate musicians with nothing more going for them than their music and the dream of maybe making it big one day.

Last weekend I checked out an acoustic show at Java Domain in Peace River, and had the pleasure of hearing local Martin Irwin’s big gravelly voice deliver passionate songs about subjects like zombie love. I’ve seen him rapping on YouTube online too, and it’s clear he has massive amounts of talent and potential.

It was also great to hear Peace River resident Kevin Bekevich’s songs about whiskey and working. That’s the advantage of getting out to hear local musicians. They write about shared local experiences. I can listen to a band from New York and like them, but there’s something special about a song that describes places and life in the Peace, because it expresses my own experience.

That’s part of what makes a local music scene so important. It contributes something to the culture of a place.

There are lots of other great live music events around our region. I’ve been to the Carnaval in St. Isidore two years in a row and it’s special to hear Francophone artists I might never come across otherwise (plus, it’s a great party).

This weekend I’m excited to be heading down to North Country Fair, known locally as hippy days. The big music festival in Driftpile is a chance to hear a wide variety of artists while enjoying the company of friends in a camping atmosphere. Last year my husband and I were especially impressed with Dr. Draw, a Torontonian electric violin player who made all the old folk tales about fiddle players having deals with the devil almost sound true. His music literally drew people from all over the festival to his stage, much like the pied piper of Hamelin (but minus those pesky rats). I’m excited to see what new sounds I’ll get to discover this year.

I live near Nampa and local band No Limitz has also played at a few events I’ve been to, again, showcasing the wealth of local musical talent we have here.

There are all kinds of other events put on by groups in our area where you can hear local bands live, too many to even name here.

Local musicians need support, and it helps build our culture and community to pay for a ticket to see them, pick up one of their CDs, or organize and event and book them for a gig.

It’s important to remember that music isn’t all about big business and the huge industry that makes international stars out of musicians. It starts out as a song played by a group of friends, that maybe form a band, and maybe start writing their own songs and playing them for more people, snowballing from there. It’s often called “paying your dues” but I think it might actually be the most exciting part of music, because it’s a time for experimentation and creative expression without the pressures of contracts and

One day, Falher or McLennan or Peace River might well be put “on the map” because of the talent of one of the musicians trying to find an audience right now, so I strongly encourage everyone to get out and support their local musicians.

Maybe you’ll even be able to say one day that you heard them first, back before they were famous.

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