For The Culture Canada Podcast

“All of my family do music. I got two sides (of grandparents) on my mom’s side and they both do music. She (grandma Rhonda) do remakes of old rock and I wanna get my grandpa on a track and play guitar, not even lying. On the other side of my grandparents, they’ve been doing gigs as well as just their regular jobs. They’ve always been doing music.” Indigo is a budding rapper with a rich familial history in music ranging from singers, to guitar players to piano players. He began his musical journey with the alto sax in school and moved onto rap music to create moody, atmospheric hip-hop that’ll certainly set you in a sentimental mood. On the day we did our interview he dropped his debut album BLU. which we discussed after I got my advanced copy. We were joined by our friends Next Side & Tyler the Activist and we all had a blast talking about influences, the writing process and much more. If you love hip-hop you’ll love this interview. Enjoy!

“The idea of the wolf is… they always have a leader in a pack, but you always have a pack, they’re very loyal, they’re migratory and they’re always on the move so very proactive. We want this logo, this wolf and this company to be moving onward and upward and getting what we’re going for.” Amarok Media Co. is a trio of multi-talented friends hailing from Nova Scotia who produce films, and photography in commercial, lifestyle, real estate, entertainment, and other fields of work. Amarok Media has already produced work for local companies like Supplement King and Predator Ridge and show no signs of slowing down. Their wonderfully friendly (obvs they’re from Nova Scotia) demeanour made this interview a total blast and I’m certain you’re gonna just love it just as much as we did! Enjoy

“I tried painting, I’ve tried knitting and it was just really boring. With embroidery you can unstitch it so it’s just very relaxing, being able to control it creatively, it’s a mixture of drawing and fibre art and it just clicked.” Quinn Bray is a local embroidery artist who meticulously creates stunning pieces of art which vary from pleasantly simple (like a paper airplane) to pieces that capture the fun care-free spirit of youth (like a topless roller-blading girl with an afro made of flowers) and more. She displays her art on instagram and sells her work on Etsy on top of already working two jobs and being a college student. It was a pleasure interviewing her and I’m sure you’ll love our conversation! Enjoy

“There’s so much cool stuff that you get to be involved with by being a crew member on movies like that like we flip cars, explode em and there’s dudes jumping off mountains in snowmobiles in that film. Just wild stuff.” Jordan Powers is an aspiring Film Director humbly earning his ranks on film crews in the Okanagan. His impressive resume includes working on multi million dollar projects with stars such as Wesley Snipes, Nicholas Cage and John Cusack. He’s an introspective, soft spoken individual with an understated magnetism and I can bet that you’ll be captivated by his stories. Enjoy!

“Kelowna had a lot of energy, it was crazy, the support was real, moved a lot of CDs and rage bro it was fun as hell.” iLL Chris is a very hard hitting rapper with a distinctive bite to his vocal delivery and choice of beats. He headlined a show at the Black Box Theatre in Kelowna, BC on October 29th, 2018 and I managed to capture an interview with him after the show. I’m incredibly thankful and appreciate of his time and energy for doing this interview. He spoke about his OG days of killing the battle rap scene around 2004 - 2005, meeting Ski Mask the Slump God, XXXTENTACION and sharing never heard before stories about the high energy and tumultuous relationship he had with X. Enjoy!

“Once people enjoy you for you rather than just the content you make you can do whatever you want. People are coming for us rather than the content to see what we’re doing. Now we do that to relate to the weird ideas we have because not all of our ideas are analysis videos.” TMS Productions is a trio of film makers comprised of longtime friends Tommy Dewitt, Mitchell Kucher and Stephen Kucher. What I really love about their films isn’t just their amazing cinematography, beautiful colours, or attention to detail but the way they’re able to cleverly weave a story through film that is smart, funny and engaging. Their charming and youthful personalities allow them to tie together topics as varied as building a knife from a shipwreck or how to make a Sam Kolder video on a budget. This interview was a blast and I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did!

“I wanted to step out of my comfort zone, push myself and learn about something that I am interested in and do a good job of.” What Jeff says here doesn’t just ring true for his run at becoming a part of Kelowna’s City Council. It also attributes to the challenge of being a well known and established musician in the Okanagan Valley. In this very honest and candid interview Jeff provided a very generous hour of his time to talk about his life, his struggle as an outcast, his triumphs as a musician and embarking on his latest and most ambitious project yet of becoming a part of Kelowna’s City Council. Enjoy!

“I remember I was in class and I wrote on a napkin a full song and I met him out back and spat it to him. It was crazy man.” - Kenny “I used to call him Einstein all the time back in grade 8. I was in art class and there was a picture of Einstein, I just gave it to Kenne and I’m like you’re Einstein.” - Cheen Obviously these guys are hilarious together. Kenne is a producer/rapper with a heartbroken/emo style to his sound and a HUGE catalogue of music. Cheen is a singer/producer who is just starting to curate his catalogue. We discuss the history of their origins, heartbreak, and what music ultimately means for them as an emotional outlet and career path.

“Everyone who has supported us since day one they come to all our shows, they’re always there and that really made our EP really special for us.” I had the pleasure of interviewing the band Where We Wander which comprised of Jesse Jacobson (you may remember him from episode 4 of the podcast), Nicholas Waterman, Biz Antonishka, & Kodi Lee. These guys came from backgrounds of EDM, metal, and all sorts of different variety of music to create a very tightly knit little unit. They were a total blast to interview with topics ranging from their history, to amazing fan encounters and more! I’m sure you’ll share a laugh with us in this episode. Enjoy!

“I love country music because it’s about storytelling. It’s about real life, people, how you go through things and it’s about super small towns and that simple kind of life. It’s what I group up doing. That’s what I love.”  I was first introduced to Melissa Livingstone’s music through asking my own personal facebook feed about local female musicians I should look out for and the outpouring support for Melissa was just HUGE! Honestly I was astounded by how many of my own friends were excited to get her name out there. I knew I had to get her for an interview. Once I met her I found her to be an incredibly pleasant person to speak to and I just had an absolute blast! The same bubbly and fun personality she carried in her music absolutely came across when she spoke to me. She’s got a very bright future ahead of her and I gotta say even if you’re not a country music fan you’ll love this interview. Enjoy!

“I don’t wanna just put stuff out to put stuff out. I wanna be proud of it. That’s what’s important to me. Staying authentic. People are always gonna gravitate to what they feel are authentic and genuine.”  Tommy Newgin founded and now runs a very clean streetwear fashion company called Bynoma. It’s predicated on being greater than the average and forming a platform for influencers and creators. You can really tell that Tommy puts his all into his brand. He truly believes in bringing out the best in himself to the best in his products and honestly I have to say there’s a lot to admire in that. It was a great interview and honestly I had a blast getting to know the guy. Enjoy!

“Dead Rose. I like the symbolism of that just because getting too close to the flower it’ll cut you. If you don’t let anybody get close to you to water the flower then it dies. It shows the struggle that I have in my life of not letting people get close to me and it shows in my music.”  What I really liked about what he said here is it totally fits with the puzzle of him and his music. Dead Rose is a rapper with a sort of sadder/broken edge to his music which stems from real events in his upbringing. It was a total blast to have this guy on the show and I couldn’t be more excited to share his story. Plus he freestyled at the end of the episode which is a first for us! Enjoy!

“I took band in middle school and I was signed up to play the trumpet because my dad had an old trumpet. There was an open spot for bass guitar and I was like “that sounds a lot cooler” so why don’t I switch to that? Well my parents would kill me because they’d have to buy me another guitar. And teacher’s like does anyone wanna take bass guitar? I’m just like “yeah fuck it”  I put up my hand and that’s when I started my bass journey. That’s really when I started actually getting into music.” I love how this small moment of off-the-cuff decision making turned into a life changing moment for the young Cody Reuger. I know and I’m sure most our friend group knows that we really understood the bass guitar as apart of his identity. The story from this point onward unravelled nicely as he explained how he developed into playing with bands, developing as a solo-artist and even having his music featured in a video game! Enjoy!

“The reason why I do one of one is because you are one of one. I really like doing custom stuff because people can come to me and choose what they like. Once that comes to life they have that personal connection to the clothing then they’re on the next planet. They’re really feeling themselves. It’s not coming from some random factory in China, I did it with my hands for you.”  Julian runs a clothing company called JB Gear. He’s had rap heavyweights like Ski Mask the Slump God rock his pants and smokepurpp rock a custom hoodie. Clearly his work is getting noticed. I am honoured to have featured this man on my show and I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

“I bet my friend that I could become sponsored skateboarding within a year and I couldn’t ollie at the time. I started practicing in my backyard and nine months later I picked up my first sponsor.”

 Now Nate is a rapper, not a skateboarder anymore but the reason why I chose this quote for him is because he had SO MANY insane stories just like this one told in this interview. Nate is truly a genuine guy (no so much Chad which is Nate’s alter ego which he talks about in the episode) with a very real drive to be good at what he does. His past is deep and complex and he constantly fuels his music with his rich life experience. I’m incredibly grateful to have had him share his stories on my show and I’m absolutely certain you’ll be just as immersed as I was.

“Words that are punctuated with so much power that enable you or pose with a kind of vibe that you’re feeling. Be it faith, unapologetic, focused or whatever it is, it is a stand-alone word that’s only on a black shirt just to create emphasis.”  Deidrean here is talking about the statement she’s trying to make with her ‘Blackout Collection’. The thing is what she’s saying here isn’t just reflective of her apparel but her entire image. You can see this in the content of her instagram page and even in the handle. You’ll know what I mean when you listen to the episode ;) She’s got a very strong presence and I hope you enjoy the interview!

“I think we write of experiences. Especially for me, if I’m not emotionally in tune with it then it’s not possible and the best way for me to get emotionally in tune with it is by experiencing it myself. So yeah it definitely is cathartic.”  What I love about Post-Modern Connection is they’re a band members come from all over the world (Nigeria, Lebanon, Taiwan and Winfield) and they’ve totally managed to become one of the most prominent and promising indie bands to come from Kelowna after only starting in 2017! They make wonderful Indie-Soul Pop music and believe me it’s clear their killer live performances stem from their amazing chemistry. You can absolutely hear it in this interview! I had a lot of fun interviewing Tega and Georges and I bet you’ll love it too. Enjoy!

“That’s what photography is all about you know? Telling an entire story in one frame.”  That quote from Alex I think sums up what he tries to do in a very simple way. The beauty of a great artist is they’re able to sum up an entire story, all the words, actions and emotion into a simple digestible way. He does this with the way he composes and colours his photographs and honestly I wish I could just give you an example right here. Luckily you’re getting his instagram handle in the title anyway ;) Take a look at my favourite photo he took which is of RZA vibrantly spraying a bottle of Champagne live on stage at COG 2018. This man is a fantastic photographer and excellent interviewee. I don’t think I’ve laughed this much in an episode before! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

“The reason I started KayKamz was because people see you, they ask you where you’re from and they already have a general idea without getting to know you or your culture. They only language we can speak is love, dance and people appreciate fashion. It’s a safe space place where you come, you’re being accepted for who you are.”  This episode really felt special to me because I saw the struggle my parents had to make as immigrants just like how Kamso did. What he did though to combat the culture shock and homesickness was outstanding. He brought together the ever-growing African/Caribbean in Kelowna to create events everyone was invited to. The different languages did not matter because they all communicated with love, music, and dance to create a sense of community he felt was missing. I loved listening to his story and I’m sure you will too.

“Kelowna saved my song enough times and replayed my songs enough times that Spotify Canada was like “somethings happening here, lets just give it a shot.” I’ve been on Northern Bars for almost three months. Because they took a little notice of me Vancouver knows me a lot more, Toronto noticed me a lot more.”  What I love about what Teon said here was he made me realize artists from our city can make it to someplace bigger where their music sits on playlists shared our countries biggest heavy hitters like Drake and Tory Lanez. What Teon is doing is incredible and for real you should keep your eyes and ears set on him. If I know anyone who’s on an upward trajectory from our city it’s him. He was soft spoken and had a lot to say in the longest podcast episode I’ve ever done. I hope you enjoy this very special interview.