After almost two years of development  and the generous support of the Rozsa Foundation and the Calgary Foundation, Cantos is pleased to present its first ever app: Reel to Real. Designed by the software geniuses at Soma Creates, Reel to Real is a teaching tool to engage students in music composition using the real sounds of Cantos’ Kimball Theatre Organ.  It will be used in the school program of the same name, where visiting classes can use the iPads and iPods to create a soundtrack for a silent film based on a curriuclum topic they are studying in school. Cantos’ amazing team of talented educators were invited for a brainstorming session and of course, to play on the software, discovering first hand the thrill of creating music with the tap of a finger.

Occupation: Owner/Curator, Profound Lore Records

Location: New Hamburg, Ontario

First Job: Produce clerk in a nice big family owned local supermarket where mostly rich people shop.

Best Job: What I’m doing now.

Greatest Professional Challenge: To maintain  consistency with the label, keep things interesting, and try not to get bored or burn myself out too much doing this.

So, how did you get this awesome gig anyways? The label started as a side-hobby of sorts with a few partners (now its just me) and it was meant to be a hobby initially on the side while I was in school for post-grad work and eventually meant to be, so while I was out partaking in the zombie ritual of what’s known as the daily workforce after post-grad.  Well, I guess the gig would eventually come by default where I had no choice but to do this and try and attempt to make it a full-time gig since nothing really went my way as planned after post-grad.  This manifestation was about a five year process to endure.

What do you like best about your job? That I get to work with and basically release my favourite kind of music and have it be part of my life.  Getting the opportunity to work with and get acquainted with some of the best, unique, and extreme-minded musicians in music today.

Any special skills required? A very good sense of intuition, to know when and how to trust that inner voice, along with a good sense of true artistry and aesthetic prowess mixed with a good sense of business. Keeping an open mind — willing to experience this ever-long learning process.  And not to be afraid of failure.

Favourite experience on the job: Releasing Agalloch’s “Marrow Of The Spirit” late last year and essentially getting the top year end accolades and cleaning house last year in pretty much all the prominent metal press in North America (and some mainstream year end accolades likewise) and having said album becoming my best selling release in not even a few months of it being released.

Advice for people who want your awesome gig: Do you really want this awesome gig?  Please take a moment and ask yourself if you really do want this.  Because if you do, you really better know what you’re getting yourself into and better be doing it for the right reasons.  For this kind of gig, there is no in-between.

Favourite CDN Music Venue: Probably Lee’s Palace in Toronto.

Favourite Record of the Moment: Conqueror – “War Cult Supremacy”

Be among the first to see the

National Music Centre Design

No Peeking! Join Cantos Music Foundation and the National Music Centre project for an evening of music, food and architecture as we unveil the much-anticipated design of the National Music Centre.

Guests will have the opportunity to walk through the new design with architect Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture as well as participate in a Q&A.

Join us Wednesday, June 22 at 7:00 p.m. at The Uptown at 612 8 Avenue SW and see the extraordinary design that will give Canadians a place that amplifies the love, the sharing and the understanding of music through programs, collections and collaborations across the country – all from its home at the site of the King Eddy in Calgary’s East Village.

Admission is free, but donations to this non-profit organization are encouraged and most welcome. For more information and to register online, visit www.nmc.ca.

Click here to register for the National Music Centre’s Design Launch!

One of our great Interpreters here at Cantos, Tyler Los-Jones just happens to also be an artist.  Check out his exhibit currently on display at the Epcor Centre’s Ledge Gallery!

Info about the installation:

In Passing
Tyler Los-Jones: Artist in Residence
Ledge Gallery in EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts

EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts and local artist, Tyler Los-Jones, invite the public for an opportunity to see the progression of an art installation from beginning to end.  In passing is an ongoing series of work that aims to question the idea of “the end” as a logical narrative conclusion.
The work is based on 24 animal species in Alberta currently classified as endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). A series of text-based flags will be made throughout the residency; Los-Jones uses extinct and endangered species as symbols to represent end-points. It is through the act of viewing and deciphering the camouflaged text that the work evokes feelings of frustration, ambivalence or guilt often felt when confronting uncomfortable realities.
Title: In passing by Artist in Residence, Tyler Los-Jones
Location: EPCOR CENTRE’s Ledge Gallery ( +15 level of Centre Court)
Residency: Friday, June 3 – Tuesday, July 26
Artist reception: Thursday, August 4, 5 – 7 pm
Exhibition: Monday, August 1 – Sunday, August 29

Artist Biography
Tyler Los-Jones is a Calgary-based artist. Most recently Tyler exhibited at the Ministry of Casual Living in Victoria and Haight Gallery in Calgary. Alongside his artistic practice he’s engaged in various collaborative projects in Calgary. In 2007 Tyler co-founded the 809 exhibition space which operated in a residential garage in the Sunnyside neighborhood for 809 days. He is currently active with the Local Library, a multidisciplinary, all-ages venue that opened in March 2010.

Cantos School Programs Need Your Help!

We have a wild and wacky shopping list for our History of Rock n Roll program!

Could you donate any of the following to be used in School Programs with visiting students?

-        Horse tack (bridles, bits, curry combs etc…)

-        Guitar straps esp. leather/cowboy/Western looking

-        Harmonicas

-        Washboards

-        Metal  finger thimbles

-        Ugly sticks (attention all yee Newfoundlanders!)

-        Metal spoons (musical)

-        Drum sticks

-        Rubik’s cube

-        Old Atari controllers and consoles(don’t have to work)

-        Seal skin or polar bear skin samples(ie: rug, hats, moccasins, mittens)

-        Discman

-        Wheat Sheaves

-        Yellow rain jackets, rain hats and rubber boots

-        Fishing rods (can be broken) and reels

-        Life Magazines or Macleans’ magazines from the 1950’s-80’s

-        Wooden cross for wall hanging or altar (not rosary)

-        Anything related to the 1969 lunar landing including scans of posters or magazine covers

-        Psychedelic or flower power items (old Halloween costume…?)

-        Anything “hippy” (ie: bell bottoms, macramé etc…)

-        ‘Dick & Jane’ books

-        a hula hoop

-        an old radio (transistor)

-        anything Mickey Mouse related

-        toy/model cars from the 1950s

-        “smiley face” pins (the big yellow smiley face)

-        peace sign pins

-        a Union Jack/UK flag

-        any objects related to Hinduism (like a Vishnu statue)

-        album covers: Pink Floyd (particularly Dark Side of the Moon), Led Zeppelin (particulary II), Joni Mitchell, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, etc.

-        a disco ball (mini or regular sized)

-        an 8-track

-        an 8” floppy disk

-        cassette tapes

-        Thatcher/Reagan souvenirs

-        Cheap 80s jewelry: bangles, lipstick, etc.

-        If possible, anything Apple related (in the style of the Commodore 64 computer) or anything Atari relate

Get in touch with our Education Programs Officer, Kate Schutz at schutzk@cantos.ca to make a donation or visit www.cantos.ca/cantos-wish-list

This past February I was contacted by a colleague who works in a museum just outside Calgary. She called to ask if Cantos would be interested in “a whole pile of early electronic equipment”. Intrigued by the thought of unearthing something unique, John Leimseider, our resident electronics technician, and I made the trek on a cold Friday afternoon to see what we could dig up.

Upon arrival we are greeted with a smile, pleasantries are exchanged, and we are led to one of the museum out buildings. If you ever watch the reality TV show ‘American Pickers’, on the history channel, you often hear Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, the two main characters of the hit show, speak to the adrenaline rush one gets when you find a building like the one we are about to enter. As soon as the door is opened we see it is packed, literally packed to the ceiling with stuff.  Among all the dishes, silverware , tables, chairs, beds, dressers, books, antique trunks, musical instruments, toys, you name it, lies the electronics.

Rummaging for only a few hours( we could have spent a week) we return to my car with our arms full. I really didn’t think we could get it all into the trunk. Our find today, although interesting, does not quite fit within our “core” collection strategy, it will however serve a purpose in future educational programs and could possibly be used as future exhibit props.

The first of two items is a reel to reel tape deck called the Magnecorder. The Magnecorder was manufactured in the early 1950’s, it records and plays back in mono at 7 ½ and 15 inches /sec. This technology pre dates the use of transistors and uses tubes. Transistors were not available for consumer use until a number of years later.  In years to come John believes this particular reel to reel will become collectable, but for now it will serve as a good model for advancements in technology.

The second item is a bit of an oddity, it is, by all accounts homemade and definitely made by a music enthusiast. Housed within an old carrying trunk are two side by side phonograph turntables that we believe play 78’s. The two turn tables look very much like an early 20^th century DJ set up. It’s possible the builder was inspired by musique concrète and other experimental composers who used phonographs as musical instruments. Turntablism is the term we use today; it is the method of manipulating sound using turntables to create music. It’s presumptuous of me to know exactly why you would build something like this. Perhaps it was for safe transportation. Alternatively, it could have been created for convenience, simply allowing one to go from one recording to another seamlessly. Whatever the reason was for housing two turn tables within an old trunk, I’m happy Cantos and the future National Music Centre (NMC) was contacted. Allowing us the opportunity to find a use for something that otherwise would have had a not too promising fate. The turn tables will assist in contextualizing future exhibits, will be used as educational tools, and will be seen by many for years to come.

Occupation: UK and EU representative for the Canadian Independent Music Association.

Location: London, UK. I live in East London.

First Job: Sam the Record Man; Bayview Village, Toronto and The Comfort Zone, Toronto (I was a marketing assistant). I was 16.

Best Job: Probably this one. I used to do press at FatCat and One Little Indian Records. That was interesting.

Greatest Professional Challenge: Maintaining and developing the Canadian Blast brand to benefit our artists and companies in Europe with ever changing budgets, requirements and public initiatives. That and final reports and accounting. I was never great at math. And I’m still crap at it.

So, how did you get this awesome gig anyways? When I was working at FatCat/OLI in the UK (I have been living here for a while) I worked for a Canadian band. Through that I met the trade commissioner at the time, Jeffrey Crossman. I expressed interest in starting some form of an export office, because other countries do it and we don’t. He introduced me to Duncan McKie, then President of CIMA. I offered to travel to Berlin and use up some holiday and volunteer at PopKomm 2008. This led to me working on MIDEM 2009 and The Great Escape 2009. Over that time I worked on a business plan and job description for myself. On July 9 2009 (I remember that because we had two FatCat bands, The Twilight Sad and We Were Promised Jetpacks play) I quit and began freelancing for CIMA. At that time we did three showcasing festivals in Europe. Now we do around 40, so it is this development that has somehow created the role it is now.

What do you like best about your job? I love interacting with the bands and seeing my hard work provide results for them. I’m judged by the deals I do for and with artists and companies. A deal could be anything from getting an agent to landing a big festival, getting a publicist, sync, structuring a release etc… We’ve done over 300 since I started. It’s a good feeling to have some tiny part to play in an artist’s career development. It keeps me going through the days when budgets and reporting are all that matters.

Any special skills required? Not really. Be nice. Be organized. Answer and respond to emails. Be reliable. Never miss a plane. You have to be able to work anywhere… I mean anywhere. I travel a lot so I can work absolutely anywhere. Oh, and be able to admit your mistakes and work on them. I try not to make the same mistake twice. Oh, and dream big. Really this job is what I make of it… Every opportunity is on the table.

Favourite experience on the job. There’s loads. One of the most satisfying was the The Great Escape this year. We packed out the the Komedia, the most important ‘tastemaking’ venue in Brighton. We had 600 people crammed into a room to watch Hey Rosetta, Braids, Young Empires, Said the Whale and Woodhands. It was the largest Canadian Blast we’ve ever done and to be honest, watching so many people enjoying something you’ve created and fostered is worth its weight in gold to me. That made it all worthwhile, at least for that day.

Advice for people who want your awesome gig. Um… I sort of created the role so it’s odd to offer advice. I guess I would say dream big, be entrepreneurial and be organized. You can really do what you want as long as you’re prepared to work your ass off it. This business is hard and not for everyone. Oh, and write things down.

Favourite CDN Music Venue: Not sure.. I haven’t lived in Canada in a long time. I guess if I had to pick one it’d be the Danforth Music Hall. It’s gorgeous.

Favourite Record of the Moment: Definitely the new Hey Rosetta and the new James Vincent McMorrow. Both phenomenal.

My good friend Mike and I have been making tunes together ever since we met in college. When I started here at Cantos, we began this project – codenamed “Slow Handed”.  Every time Mike came through Calgary we’d chip away at this, untill we had enough stuff to slap together an album. Its available for digital download – all for the low price of $5. Or you can just listen online for the even lower price of free : ) The album features Cantos instruments quite heavily, especially the Moog Apollo, after which the album is named.

You can listen / download here

Name: Robert Calder

Occupation: Boompa Record Label Owner, Project Manager, Musician

Location: Vancouver, BC

First Job: Paper Route, Music Store Employee

Best Job: The one I have right now.

The Salteens on Boompa

Greatest Professional Challenge: Running your own business and being an entrepreneur.

So, how did you get this awesome gig anyways? I kinda made it up as I went. Made tons of mistakes and landed on my feet.

What do you like best about your job? The independence and getting to work with artists and art everyday.

Any special skills required? I think a strong skill to both sides of the fence: business and art.

Favourite experience on the job. Probably getting to play with a bunch of the artists that I represent and I work with. I am a trumpet player so I often get asked to sit in on sessions or shows.

Woodpigeon on Boompa

Advice for people who want your awesome gig. Dream big but keep your expectations in check. The music industry is a roller coaster ride of ups and downs.

Favourite CDN Music Venue: Lee’s Palace, Toronto.

Favourite Record of the Moment: Cut Copy – Zonoscope

The Rentals on Boompa

Our friend, Malissa Dunphy from Calgary’s X92 and her fiance Justin, recently had her engagement photos taken at the Cantos Music Foundation museum.  Such a cute and unique idea for two people who love music.  These photos really make our gallery look romantic and beautiful.  Thanks Two-Mann Tent Photography for capturing these great shots of our space.

It was the likes of Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, Bennie Moten and the incomparable Charlie “Yardbird” Parker that rocked the jazz cradle of 18th & Vine in Kansas City Missouri, nurturing a jazz scene in the 1920s, 30s and 40s that became legendary.   Often referred to as the birthplace of jazz, the list of musicians who made their home in the historic district reads like a veritable Who’s Who of Jazz.  This was an area where the African American community thrived and created a hot jazz scene that was unparalleled in its time.  Sadly, heydays don’t last forever and in the late 50s musicians began to migrate east to a little place called New York that became a magnet for fame and opportunity.

A few decades later, Kansas City wanted to pay tribute to their rich, cultural heritage and began to revitalize the area, with the formation of The American Jazz museum as its cornerstone.  I had the pleasure of visiting the museum during my visit in April.  Although separate, the Jazz museum shares it’s space with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum so baseball and jazz fans need only to make one trip.

The American Jazz Museum “showcases the sights and sounds of jazz through interactive exhibits and films”.  Although the museum is small, the amount of time you spend there is determined by how much music you want to listen to.  Hundreds of recordings are made available for your listening pleasure along with descriptions of the tracks, historical background, etc.  In addition to the recording samples, the artifacts displayed consist of newspaper clippings, artwork, garments, Charlie Parker’s famous white saxophone, and my favourite – a wall devoted to the incredible album art of the era.

Attached to the museum is the Blue Room, a performance space for local and touring jazz artists.  Designed to resemble a nightclub of the 30s it also features a “wall of fame”, paying tribute to the jazz legends that have contributed such a rich history to the city.

So, if you’re ever in Kansas City, be sure to slide on over to 18th & Vine.  It might not be what it used to be, but the museum is well worth a visit and stick around for a show at the Blue Room or the beautifully restored Gem Theatre across the street.  If you close your eyes, you might even hear a song of the Bird.

We got a chance to chat with Parkside aka Mike Renaud, President of Hidden Pony Records and Upper Management about he landed himself this awesome gig. With amazing Canadian artists such as Said the Whale, Rah Rah, and Jeremy Fischer on his roster, its no wonder that he exclaims that this is the best job he has every had.  Enjoy and find out how Parkside got this awesome gig!

Name: ‘Parkside’ Mike Renaud

Occupation: President, Upper Management/Hidden Pony Records

Location: Hamilton, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec

First Job: Washing dishes for a catering company

Best Job: This one of course!

Greatest Professional Challenge: Helping to break a band/artist only to watch them leave you or disband.

So, how did you get this awesome gig anyways? I was an A&R guy for Aquarius Records for 7 years where I worked with Sum 41 among others. I then went on to V2 Record and eventually started my own company along with my partner Donald K Donald.

What do you like best about your job? Watching people get excited about a band or artist that you discovered. There is nothing better than that.

Any special skills required? Sensitivity. Honesty. Understanding music and the business of music and how fast it changes. Being able to relate to artists.

-Said the Whale-

Favourite experience on the job: There are many but the most recent one would be watching Said The Whale win the Juno for Best New Group 2011.

Advice for people who want your awesome gig: You’re crazy. The only reason you do this job is because you have no other choice. I mean that in a good way actually. I can endure and sacrifice many things in my life, including financial freedom, because I love music and the people who make it.

Favourite CDN Music Venue: Can I list a few? Phog Lounge – Windsor, The Commodore – Vancouver, The Horseshoe – Toronto, Le Cabaret Juste Pour Rire – Montreal

Favourite Record of the Moment: Rah Rah “Breaking Hearts”

An extract from a 1980′s BBC Micro Live special on electronic music in which Dr Bob Moog demonstrates the Minimoog.

Back in the early 1990s, I was working for an independent CD distributor in Toronto and also toiling away as a music journalist for Chart Magazine and others. Chart decided to do a year end feature – polling Canadian music industry types as to what they thought were the 100 best Canadian rock singles of all time. I was asked to submit a list and it didn’t take me long to establish my choice for number one – American Woman by The Guess Who. The magazine decided to print my pitch for the song, which ended up at # 3 in the overall poll. This is what I had written:

3. The Guess Who “American Woman” (RCA; 1970)
“No Canadian single since has been so perfect for the times. Back then, Burton was the heir apparent to the Jim Morrison mantle and folks like Robert Plant were calling him mentor! Quite possibly the original punk rock rant.” – Ian Menzies

While Burton Cummings’ high intensity vocals and that crunchy bar-chord guitar riff were the tracks overt sonic signature, it was the super creamy, neck position, overdrive on Randy Bachman’s lead riff, that really made me sit up and take notice the first time I heard it. The producer for that album was Jack Richardson – who passed away recently at the age of 81.

Jack was not overly prolific, but his work with The Guess Who through the 70s, quite rightly established him as one of rock & roll’s greatest producers. That he was also the producer behind such eternal anthems as Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” and Bob Seager’s “Night Moves”, is just more proof (where none was needed), that he had an amazing gift for getting the best out of performers and distilling their songs into iconic, unforgettable hits.

In the 1980s, Jack made the transition to a full time music educator, eventually heading up the recording program at Fanshawe College in London ON. There he spent many years passing on his immense depth of knowledge and experience to successive generations of future audio professionals. It’s hard to imagine a more fitting final chapter to his legacy.

Garth and Jack Richardson

And it’s a legacy that will live on in many forms; through the Juno Awards (which in 2002 named their outstanding producer award, the “Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award”); through the many graduates of the Fanshawe program; and also through his son Garth, who is a fine producer in his own right. But most of all, it will live on in the music he helped create.  RIP Jack, thanks for the memories.

May 18th is International Museum Day! Join Cantos Music Foundation for a free lunch hour tour ($15 value) of the incredible collection of instruments that lies within the walls of our gallery. Bring your lunch and celebrate International Museum Day with us!

Tour starts at 12pm sharp at 134 11th Ave SE.

For more information visit our website: cantos.ca

Follow us: @cantos_nmc
hashtags: #imd2011 #museummay

Name Jesse Kumagai

Occupation Director of Programming for the Corporation of Massey Hall & Roy Thomson Hall

Location Toronto

First Job

Parking Valet (first job ever)

Publicist (first paid job in the music industry)

Best Job

Without question, the one I have now.

Greatest Professional Challenge

Expanding our presentations beyond the walls of our halls to include artist and audience development presentations in other venues. We have a mandate to create opportunities for Canadian musicians and it just felt like there was so much more we could be doing. It’s a lot of hard work, and involves taking the organization through some significant growth but we’re committed to presenting great artists at every stage of their careers.

So, how did you get this awesome gig anyways?

I was working for the halls in a more junior position at the time of my predecessor’s departure. The corporation conducted a search for his replacement that lasted about six months. I guess by the time they got around to a shortlist they realized that I had been doing the job all by myself and I hadn’t done any irreparable damage, so they decided to give me a chance to keep going. That was back in 2004 and the halls are still standing…

What do you like best about your job?

I love the fact that I get to work on such diverse programming. Over the span of a few minutes I can be inviting people on Facebook to attend a concert we’re presenting at the Rivoli, then turn around and have a conversation with the producer of the Neil Young film we’re shooting at Massey. I also love that it is largely unpredictable. I never know what that next phone call is going to be.

Any special skills required?

The ability to put everything in perspective and not sweat the small stuff. We present close to 100 concerts a year and host another 250 rental events at the halls each year. You can’t treat each one like it’s a life or death moment. I take everything very seriously but at a certain point you have to remember that you’re presenting concerts, not saving lives.

Favourite experience on the job

Ron Sexsmith had wanted to perform at Massey Hall his entire professional career, but wanted to do so as the headlining artist. He repeatedly turned down offers to play in support of other artists. We presented Ron’s first Massey show, and we put our blood, sweat and tears into promoting that concert and managed to fill the hall. So, my favourite moment was when Ron came on stage to an audience who knew how hard he had worked and how long he had waited to realize this dream, and they gave him a standing ovation to start the night.

Advice for people who want your awesome gig

Learn every job other than this one. I realized a long time ago that I didn’t enjoy being a publicist, but at least now I know what it involves and can respect those who do the work. Production, catering, marketing, event coordination… I’ve done it all, and that experience gives me the ability to speak knowledgeably with those who are doing the day to day work. You have to be able to trust and understand the team you work with.

Favourite CDN music venue

Do I even need to answer this? Massey Hall. The very first time I ever set foot in the room was playing guitar in my high school stage band!

Favourite record of the moment

Doug Paisley‘s “Constant Companion”. Doug has received critical acclaim from the world’s most revered critics, and is just coming onto the scene in a major way. Some of the best song writing I’ve heard in ages and the live show is great too. He’s an artist we’re working with and hope to help him get to Massey Hall in a few years’ time.

When I heard that Elton John was coming to Calgary, it was somewhat bittersweet for me… the last time I saw Elton and his band, his keyboard player was an old friend of mine from LA, Guy Babylon. Sadly, he had passed away in September 2009.

I quickly found out that another old friend and client of mine from LA was now in the band. Kim Bullard has played with the likes of Poco, Crosby, Stills, and  Nash, and Simon and Garfunkel. I got in touch with him and invited him to visit Cantos while he was in town.  He had grown up with lots of synthesizers, but is also a great pianist and organist. He came for a tour on Saturday. He stayed for about 2 ½ hours, playing many of the instruments here. The biggest hits were the copy of the Christofori piano, the Kimball Theatre Organ, and of course, the Elton John piano. Elton remarked at the concert that night that it was great to be playing in the city where you could see the piano he wrote Your Song on. After the show, I heard some people discussing “that place in Calgary that had Elton’s old piano.” Of course, I told them they should come see Cantos.

On Sunday, I was very pleased to give a 3 hour tour to Tony Smith, a gentleman who has worked with Elton for decades. He’s been the keyboard technician, and held various other  duties with Elton John, in addition to having worked with many well known bands, including Spandau Ballet. He’s very knowledgeable about the vintage synthesizer world, since he was working with all of it when it was new, as was I… It was fun to hear about several mutual friends in the business…

The show was great! It went about 2 ½ hours and covered all of Elton’s hits, plus, to my pleasure, a bunch of songs from the new Elton John/Leon Russell album. The sold out crowd had a chance to hear live so many songs that were a soundtrack  of their lives.

Kim and Tony, Thanks!

It’s not all 16th century harpsichords and modular synthesizers when working in the Collections Department at Cantos Music Foundation.

Collections staff perform a multitude of tasks, ranging anywhere from monitoring for pests,  changes in temperature and humidity, cataloguing new and old acquisitions, taking inventory, moving objects, research, updating files, acquisitions, donations, not to mention the obvious;  preserving and maintaining a musical instrument collection in perpetuity.

As we forge ahead to become the National Music Center, change is before us, and so are some of the areas we assist in. For one,  an increase in staff means more office furniture. More office furniture  means more moving, and so on and so forth. As we take on some of these tasks I think to myself, what better way to make the arduous task of assembling office furniture, than do so with a competitive spirit. Call it a team building exercise. As a team leader I’ve always been a believer in creating, and sustaining a cohesive team, a group of people who can push and challenge each other.

Over the years I’ve heard and partook in conversations with collection staff, discussions about restoration techniques, what’s the best method to do this or that. Countless discussions ( debates) on how to,  and how not to, perform a task.  As a matter of fact, countless books have been written on the ‘How to’ topic.  It was with this in mind I suggested Sam Masterton our Collections and Programming production assistant (Jack of all trades) against electronics technician Rick Smith (master of all trades….) to square off. The challenge was to assemble a workstation faster than your opponent. In addition, Rick as usual has been forthcoming about the end result. That being, no one could assemble Swedish furniture faster than him.

The assembly began with a fierce pace, with neither opponent looking at the assembly instructions.  My one and only prediction before the assembly began, was that it would take the winner about 1.5 hrs to complete. So who won and how long did it take, view the time laps video to find out…….

Welcome to the newest column on the Cantos/NMC blog: How’d You Get That Awesome Gig?! Here we will profile people working in all aspects of the music industry, find out how they got their great music-related job, and other tips they have to share about getting into the biz!  First off, the Cantos House Band is featured because really you can’t really get a cooler job than that!  All members are profiled except for Mike Woodford (he was busy being cool and famous). Enjoy and learn what it takes to be in the Cantos House Band.

Name: Camie Leard (CL)

Name: Brett Spaulding (BS)

Name: Brandon Smith (BS2)

Name: Rob Oxoby (RO)

So, how did you get this awesome gig anyways?
BS: I was invited to come and audition for the house band.

CL: Well…honestly…I know the boss.

BS2: It just fell in my lap like so many gigs do.  When we started Blue Mondays I was there to play keyboards, do sound and help out with whatever.  When the House Band was finally established it just became more official.

RO: I auditioned…and I was fortunate.

What do you like best about your job?
BS: It gives me another outlet as a musician and its great to be involved with kids who wanna learn about music and get onstage and play! That’s a real pleasure ’cause typically a lot of my time is spent working in bars.

CL: I LOVE watching the kids get up with the grown-ups and learn the ropes. It’s magical.

BS2: When it’s my turn to pick the tunes.  With most of the other bands I play in, I’m hired as a back-up guy so I don’t really get to pick the repertoire.  Also, the food at Blue Mondays is always delicious.

RO: The best thing about playing with the Cantos house band is having the opportunity to backup the young people and kids.  It’s great to see and hear them progress and to see them so happy to be performing.

Any special skills required?
BS: You need to have some musical knowledge and lots of experience playing with people, as well as jamming/improvising (which comes with musical knowledge, getting out there and playing with people as much as possible). Sometimes if you’re in the house band at a jam you may be onstage with people that don’t have a lot of experience etc.  — it’s your job to make them sound as good as you possibly can. For a lot of folks a “jam” is they’re one time a week they get to go out and play in front of people: let loose and have fun! They want it to be a good experience and if it isn’t they will find another jam.

CL: As the MC, I need to be able to carry a tune, stay organized, match musicians together appropriately, be open, friendly and welcoming and encouraging to new musicians.

BS2: I don’t know if playing keyboards is a special skill or not, but it’s definitely required!  Showing people how to use a Hammond B3 who have never played one before in the time it takes for the guitarists to plug in and tune their guitars might be considered a ‘skill’ I suppose.

RO: Aside from some musical ability and the ability to show up on time, it helps to have a thick skin, a sense of humour, and the ability to keep your ears open to the musical ideas on the stage.

Favourite concert that you worked on
BS: The Silvertone Devils (again I’m definitely biased!)

CL: I did an intimate Christmas show to a packed house at BeatNiq in 2010. The crowd was amazing, the band was on fire and the communion between the two was mesmerizing.

BS2: I’ve had some very fun gigs over the years but some of my favourites have been Shambhala and the Regina Jazz festival.  My absolute favourite overall was Halloween at the Royal Pub in Nelson with my old band ‘Hot Carl’.

RO: The gigs I did with Brian Connelly’s Atomic 7 a few years ago.

Favourite CDN venue

BS: Although I haven’t seen all of the Canadian venues, I would have to say on a bigger scale it’s the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. I really wish we had something like that here (in Calgary).  On a small level, Mikey’s Juke Joint is my favorite venue. The people are always there to enjoy music. People feel safe there and it has a real neighborhood feel. The type of place you go to 2 or 3 times and you know the majority of regulars right away! Plus, I believe its the only place in Cowtown with live music 9 times a week! Twice on Saturday and Sunday!

CL: Massey Hall is pretty rad.

BS2: I’d say my favourite venue is Lorenzo’s in Enderby, BC.  It’s a live music venue, a restaurant, a bar, an art gallery and a bowling alley all rolled into one! A close second is the Smokehouse in Salmon Arm, BC, which unfortunately is gone now.  Great BBQ.  Their meat platter was so huge that our whole band plus some extras couldn’t even polish it off.  They even had a house beer called ‘The Backhand of God’!

RO: It used to be the Bar Named Sue.  I really like the sound and vibe of Mikey’s Juke Joint.

Favourite record of the moment

BS: This is a hard one. In the pop world, I’m really liking Coldplay a lot lately. I think they are a very cool band. The first album Parachutes is the one I have been spinnin’ lots. Also, Amy Winehouse’s first album Frank.  The third record in my car’s CD player rotation is Lenny Breau’s Mosaic.  It’s not actually an album Lenny put out but an archive compilation Randy Bachman put together…I think he calls it Guitarchives. Anyways, its the most beautifull playing I have ever heard. If you have a chance, check out anything Lenny Breau did. A total genius and freak of nature! And when you listen to him, just remember its only one guy playing bass line, chords and melody on guitar…mind blown…:) And John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, an all time favorite!!!

CL: 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia, The Dandy Warhols ♥

BS2: That’s a tough one.  I haven’t heard many records these days where EVERY song is a gem.  The album ‘True Romance’ by the Golden Silvers is one my roommate recently got me on to.  Go check out the song ‘Arrows of Eros’ on youtube.  Good chune!

RO: Rebecca Martin’s “When I Was Long Ago”. Her voice…Larry Grenadier’s bass playing…man, what a great album.  I’m also listening quite a bit to Cannonball Adderley’s “Spontaneous Combustion” and Matthew Shipp’s “Equilibrium”.  Those two albums albeit very different, hold together so well that you can kind of get lost in them.  I’m also reliving my youth and listening a lot to Minor Threat’s “Out of Step” and Bad Brain’s “The Youth Are Getting Restless”.

Advice for people who want your awesome gig:
BS: Does this mean if I answer honestly I will lose my gig?! Haha! If you really wanna play professionally you have to get good. Find a really good musician with lots of harmonic knowledge to study with for a couple of years. I studied with Brent Wrightand it helped my understanding immensly! I recommend to any young musicians that they get educated no matter what! When you’re playing music the more knowledge you have the more freedom you have. The other pieces of advice –  I’ll take to the grave!

CL: Other than knowing the boss, develop your skill, cultivate relationships and be open to the possibilities.

BS2: Fake it till you make it.  Being a backup band for a jam means you have to be able to BS your way through songs you don’t even know or to stay on track when someone skips a bar.  Jams are about spontaneity, but no one likes to hear a train wreck!  Also, get comfortable playing in E.  Guitar players love their blues in E. 

RO: Practice and get out and play with other musicians and in front of people.