By Rachelle Diprose
This year’s Eastern Ontario New Music Festival will be the biggest ever as it is inviting a broader, younger audience to the show next weekend.
The final showdown for the sixth annual new music festival, organized by Algonquin College’s CKDJ radio station, is set to take the stage Saturday night at Barrymore’s Music Hall Sat. Feb. 19.
The show’s organizers say they hope this year will be the biggest ever because it’s open to an all-ages audience.
“We’re hoping to fill (the hall) this year. It’s all-ages which is what we’re trying to emphasize. We’re really trying to get the older teens and young college kids out to the show,” says Tom Schoch, promotions director for CKDJ.
Big crowds and good competition are exactly what up-and-coming bands need to get a taste of live performing and the music business, says Tomasz Szarski.
Szarski’s band, Pweef?, won a similar contest hosted by CKDJ last year and will be opening next week’s show. He says the experience like he and his four band members got last year is invaluable for new bands.
“If you start at those small shows, they are actually huge for young bands that have only been playing at schools and stuff. It’s a big-time deal,” he says. “It boosts confidence and gives you a first taste of what live playing is all about.”
The fact that there will be a younger audience seeing the show means a bigger crowd and a better, more exciting show, he says.
The event’s organizers hope to encourage new talent and give them a push towards a musical career by providing an opportunity for them to get the exposure and experience they need if they want to succeed.
The competition will be judged by a panel of “celebrity” judges, says Schoch, including local record label representatives. Many of the prizes will be donated by local restaurants and the Ottawa Senators hockey team.
“The whole point is to give underexposed bands the chance to get exposure or to get a major record deal to actually produce a professional recording without paying for it,” says Schoch.
The prizes for the final three winners will be donated by Distortion Studios in Nepean. They will include a six- hour recording session for the winner and two, three- hour sessions for the runners up.
All the winners will get a professional quality recording, says Deborah Kies, studio manager at Distortion Studios.
This is the first year Distortion Studios has given away recording time to an event like the Eastern Ontario New Music Festival and they are eager to support a local music community, she says.
Kies says she hopes the bands will walk away with much more than a professional-quality tape.
“We’d like them to walk away with a live, quality finished product but it is also an excellent opportunity for them to work in a world- class studio. It’s really a thrill!” she says.