Travelling from far and wide, Michael Averill, a Canadian Troubadour, will be visiting Vancouver in time to share his music on the stage on Studio Records. A new album on the horizon as well! I managed to discuss his plans regarding the upcoming competition.
James: How did you find out about "Best In Vancouver"?
Michael: I found out about BIV from Kevin Schallie, Entertainment Director for Rednyne Productions. I had just returned from an east coast Canadian solo tour in August, and saw on Facebook that Studio Records had an open mic. I went down, played, met Kevin, and he told me about the upcoming contest.
Michael: I don't actually know any of the other bands, and am slowly listening to their stuff online, so I don't think I could directly tell you what separates us from them as of yet. What I can tell you is that we really focus on the audience experience, and will be bringing an epic blend of Roots, Blues, and Celtic inspired original tunes. We're silly, improvisational, and stoked to be playing in Studio Records!
Michael: Something special for our show on October 16th? Of course we do! You'll have to come and see
. Hint....If you like rippin' lap slide guitar, you'll love it!.
A huge treat on the night we are performing is a special performance by founding member of Wide Mouth Mason, Earl Pereira and his band, The Steadies. Earl is one of the best live energy bass players out there, and I can't wait to meet him. I grew up listening to his music, and am very anxious to see his current project.
The Modern Day Poets are playing on our night as well. They are a band I met for the first time a couple weeks ago, and are about to release their first recordings in lieu of this contest, which is really exciting!
James: What do you think about battle of the bands competitions and how they influence the scene?
Michael: Battle of the Band contests are very interesting to me. I used to not like the idea of them, pitting bands against each other and such. But it's all in how you look at it. I really like the fact that I get to meet a whack load of new great musicians, which instantly builds on the music scene. Growing as a band requires teamwork, not just within your own band, but among other bands helping each other out. Contests like these put you in the room with dedicated artists who care about their careers, and those are great people to collaborate with beyond the contest.
Competitions are also great motivators for elevating your show and craft. When I see a wicked performance from another band, it makes me want to work harder at creating an amazing experience for the audience, and push my own limits of what I think is possible. This particular contest has already been well worthwhile with the education night that started it all off. We got to meet and hear stories from Tommy Mac of Hedley, Danny Craig of Default, Lyle Chausse of LCE Music, and Mike from Nimbus School of Recording. It was amazing!
BIV has a deep growth and development tone, and the music scene is better because of contests with this intention.
To find out more about Michael Averill go HERE.
To find out more about Best In Vancouver go HERE.
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