When rising country music star Ben Klick’s second extended play (EP) Today dropped on Sept. 15 it only took two days to climb the iTunes country album download chart, landing at #37.
“To be up there with Keith Urban and Brad Paisley, the big names who are all over the radio, and my personal idols in country music, was extremely humbling,” said West Kelowna resident Klick.
In celebration of his new six-track recording, the public is invited to a family-friendly CD release party at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus lecture theatre on Saturday Oct. 10. Fans, family, and friends will meet and mingle with Klick during the pre-reception starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by a live performance of the new tracks at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door, and kids under 12 are free to attend.
An Okanagan College Audio Engineering and Music Production certificate program alumnus, Klick made the conscious choice to host the event at the College.
“The instructors and staff at the College have taught me a lot, given me a lot. I wanted to give back to the College in some way,” shares Klick.
He adds that hosting the event over the Thanksgiving weekend is also a way of saying thank you to all those who have supported him in the pursuit of his childhood dream. A dream conjured after attending a Shania Twain concert at the age of four and being mesmerized by the guitar player on stage.
Following in the footsteps of country music legends Klick headed to a recording studio in music city Nashville to record his new tracks. There, he found that the hands on training he received at the College proved valuable.
“As an artist it’s important to find a unique tone. Certainly I put a lot of trust in my producers, but I’m grateful that they gave me the freedom to be the artist that I am,” says Klick, who wanted to be involved in the business of his own career from the get-go.
“Because of the skills I learned at the College, I could go in the studio and give direction, using proper terminology. I understood the technology and that helped make the creation of this EP something I had a big hand in. It definitely made the whole process very professional and collaborative.”
Balancing out the technical knowledge, on the creative side Klick finds inspiration all around him for his songs that are diverse in order to appeal to a wide variety of folks.
“I hear stories and it sparks something in me, it inspires the songs.”As an example, the new track Off Road (the EP’s first radio release) was inspired by a friend Klick made at the College.
“Back in class after a weekend, she was passionately telling me about having gone off-roading. It’s a pretty popular thing to do in the Okanagan I hear. It struck a chord, I called my co-writer and we got to work,” shares Klick. He adds that the friend who inspired the song doesn’t know, yet, about her influence in creating this track.
Copies of Today will be available for purchase at the Oct. 10 event for $10 which Klick will sign during the pre-reception. Fellow country artist Danielle Marie from Vancouver will also play an acoustic set of her own music prior to Klick taking the stage.
Klick’s music career is kicking into high gear. He is nominated for five 2015 BC Country Music Association Awards, including the Mike Norman All Star Band Guitar Player of the Year award. On the heels of the CD release Klick and his band will go on tour with dates already booked in Vancouver and Kamloops, and sights set on touring across Vancouver Island and Alberta. For tour information and updates visit www.benklick.com.
