Page 12 March 16, 2009
ENTERTAINMENT
PANTHER POST
By Jaclyn Crawford
Prince Edward Island’s mu- sic scene is filled with talent and support. That is easy to see no matter where you go to get your fill of music.
Local bars are filled with singing along to a classmate or co-worker’s band.
But how do you go from being in the audience to be- ing on stage?
Learning an_ instrument on the Island is no differ-
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Breaking into the P.E.I. music scene
More Island acts breaking into the scene, causing P.E.I. to become noticed nationally
ent than anywhere else, said Mike Carver, a local drum- mer for a number of bands, including String Theory, the Milks and Rectangles and The North Lakes.
Whether you play in a kitchen for your friends or for a living, all you need is a love of music.
Nikkie Gallant, a singer/ songwriter from Summer- side, said PEI. is rich with music because so many peo- ple are playing out of a love for music, and out of sheer
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Dua} a attention.”
oredom.
“We have nothing else to do.”
It’s like hybernation in the winter. If you don’t have and instrument, you go stir crazy, she said.
However, making the leap from playing in your kitchen to playing for an audience in a bar is not al- ways an easy task.
Go to open mics, Gallant
and. . Carver said. The people
there are re- ally support- ive. It is a good place to showcase and grow your talents, said Gallant.
Be willing to do what you have to to progress from playing
open mics to.
Yi n id Rae
getting scheduled gigs, ond Carver.
When the Milks and Rect- angles started playing, they played for free. This may seem like a bad ideas, but they were the band that was called to fill in if something bad happened. They became known quite quickly, said Carver.
Once you start playing.
shows, you become known around the music scene.
Island musicians are such a family. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone helps each other. Your con- tacts and friends soon grow, said Carver.
Island bands also tend to share musicians with one another, which creates more opportunities to play.
Musicians here seem to realise the better local musi- cians do on a national level, the better it is for all Island musicians.
There is less competition on PE.I., which is one of the reasons Gallant returned
Don’t just sit there:
here from Calgary to pursue her passion for music.
Bands like Two Hours Traf- fic and Paper Lions help the local music scene. Once bands break the provincial barrier, bloggers tend to fo- cus on the area they came from for more talent, said Carver.
Breaking the barrier is all about marketing yourself.
If you are pop, market your- self as pop. If you are metal, market yourself as metal. Don’t try to be anything you are not, said Carver.
You have to make a name for yourself in a small town, then break out. That way you still have a following where you began.
Island musicians don’t go without support from their communities either. Owners of available venues want to help local musicians and are willing to let them play quite _ often, said Carver.
And Islanders love listening to music and going to shows to support their friends and neighbours, said Gallant.
“Tt is more about cultivating the scene than competing for shows and attention.”
Crawford is a journalism student at Holland College
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