Lakecity musicians Brent Morton and Brandon Hoffman are teaming up to be the first acts performing at the new Safety Meeting concert series starting up this Saturday night at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre.
Morton and Hoffman will play independently and together during the evening.
Brent Morton knows his drums and bells need to be hit hard to be fully revealed, Morton states in his biography. He hammers away in Drum and Bell Tower, his one-man folk songwriting project channeling Floydian grooves and syncopated boot-stomps.
Pounding the Cariboo and interior since 2008, Morton’s songs are melodic and engaging hymns for life on a crowded planet.
“Topple tyrants,” he states.
“You know, like rolling out giant drones that you can smell for decades, or primal screech-tears in the sky that only Jesus can mend.”
Hoffman calls his solo project Blocktreat.
In that project Hoffman layers found sounds and field recordings to create a relaxing mosaic of acoustic and electronic textures.
His live set meshes the percussion of old school drum samplers with live mandolin looping and effects processing.
Blocktreat has three releases on the Jellyfish Recordings label, and can be heard regularly on CBC’s The Signal with Laurie Brown.
Hoffman was recently hosted as a guest performer and lecturer at the University of Colorado.
For this show, the percussive energy of Brent Morton is thrown into the mix.
The Safety Meeting concert series takes place at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre next to city hall in Williams Lake with doors opening at 7:30 p.m. and the concerts starting at 8 p.m.
Except for opening night with Hoffman and Morton this Saturday all of the concerts will be held on Friday evenings featuring one local and one opening act each evening.
Hoffman and Morton are organizing the concert series with Megan Chutskoff in concert with Horsefly’s Arts on the Fly Festival Society.
In efforts to get the community off the couch and out of the house Hoffman says they are calling the concert series Safety Meeting, in a tongue-in-cheek reflection that nine out of 10 accidents happen in the home.
“Stubbed toes, choking on undercooked Ichiban noodles, electrical shocks, cooking burns — staying at home on a Friday night is about the most dangerous thing you could choose to do,” Hoffman begins his pitch encouraging people to attend the concert series.
“It’s just my morbid sense of humour,” Hoffman says of the name.
“If you stay home you might get hurt, so you might as well come out and be entertained.”
Two concerts each will follow Saturday’s concert in March, April and May: March 13, Red Haven and Flannel Roots; March 27, Pharis and Jason Romero and Harry Tudor; April 11 Colin Easthope and Shadows Cast; April 24 Joey Only Outlaw Band and Cariboo Songwriters in the Round; May 8 Black Spruce Bog with Sober Becky; May 22, Leathan Milne and Marin Patenaude.
Hoffman says the suggested price of admission is $10 for most shows and $20 for the March 27 show but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.
There will also be beer and wine and non-alcoholic drinks available for purchase with a portion of proceeds from the bar and admission going to the Arts on the Fly Festival in Horsefly this summer.
Advance tickets are available at Red Shred’s.
