Music comes first.
It’s not about image or material things for three young Nanaimo musicians who want to make a career out of an art form they love.
The Distributors, which includes drummer Austin Perison, guitarist Brett Bourcier and bass player and lead singer Kaylie Russell, just want to be able to share their music with people who will appreciate it.
“We just want to be us and share the music that comes from us,” said Russell. “That’s why musicians are so sensitive, because it all comes from inside of you.”
The band is in the running for YouThink’s Best Teen Band Contest and needs votes to reach the top three.
The top three will battle it out for the title during a live showcase at Electric Owl in Vancouver April 27.
“We’d love to be B.C.’s top teen band from Nanaimo,” said Bourcier, 18.
He said winning the title would be a great opportunity for The Distributors and expand the band’s reach outside of the community.
“We want to represent teens who strive to become great one day,” added 18-year-old Russell. “It would just open up so many new opportunities for us because when we start to try and get into the music festival circuit, which we have been working on already, being granted the title will look very good on a musician’s resume.”
The band has been together for seven months. Bourcier and Russell met in the Blues Underground in 2009. The youngest band member, 17-year-old Perison, is a recent addition to the band, but when he joined the duo The Distributors were born.
The band plays what they call retro-rock revival that harkens back to songs of the ’70s.
The trio draws inspiration from their musical influences Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley and Heart.
“A lot of the artists we don’t necessarily sound like them but a lot of the elements we draw from them,” said Russell.
The YouThink contest called for bands to submit original songs.
The Distributors have been writing their own music to perform at Vancouver Island Festivals. Russell said they try to write music that people will enjoy and dance to and that will make them feel something.
“It’s kind of like what Neil Young says ‘the best thing to do is not think about what you are making but not be afraid to make it’,” said Bourcier.
The songs the band creates come from making the music first and then adding lyrics.
“We try to not write songs about really materialistic things. Like you know how all the rap songs are about women, money and drugs and stuff we try very hard to stay away from stuff like that,” said Russell.
“When we play live I try to forget about what’s gone on in the day and if there are people there that are especially there to listen to us I try to put on a good show, play my guitar to the best of my abilities and have fun,” added Bourcier.
When creating drum beats Perison said he tries to make them a bit unusual and different than the sounds people typically play.
“I do what feels right,” he said.
Word is already spreading about the band in the running for the title of B.C.’s Best Teen Band.
The three said people have already stepped forward to put up posters and have been asking people to vote.
It’s great, they said, because usually it’s just the three of them promoting their own music.
“All the support that we have had has been so meaningful,” said Russell.
The three teens said they have even been asked for autographs, which has been a great surprise.
People can vote until midnight Feb. 18. The votes will determine which bands make the top three.
The three bands will then compete and the winner will be chosen by a panel of music industry representatives.
The winner will receive more than $15,000 worth of prizes, which includes a recording session with Jay Evjen of Juicemix Productions, $2,000 for artistic development, appearing on the cover of YouThink magazine and more.
To learn more about the contest or to vote please go to www.youthink.ca/bandcontest.
To learn more about the band visit www.facebook.com/TheDistributors.
