Artist of the Day | THE BRASSTACTICS
ARTIST OF THE DAY
12.07.2020
THE BRASSTACTICS
LOCATION
Edmonton, AB
GENRE
Brass Band
CURRENT MEMBERS
Matthew Laird - Sousaphone
Blair Wilkie - Percussion
Kham Serk Yawngwhe - Percussion
Jonny McCormack - Saxophone
Peter Filice - Trombone
Zach Semanuik - Trumpet
Nicolas Froman - Trombone
Jonathan Deppisch - Saxophone
Cheney Lambert - Trumpet
With the current pandemic, the state of the music and touring industry has dramatically changed. Where were you when everything was brought to a halt?
It didn’t really hit us until a couple days before one of our shows in Edmonton and we realized that there might not be anyone coming or worse, it may get canceled on us. We ended up being fortunate enough to play on that Saturday but when Monday hit, every show we had lined up got cancelled.
How has that affected your plans for the coming months? Did you have a tour planned, upcoming album release?
We had a lot of exciting shows lined up with some very talented bands all come to a halt instantly. What hit us the most was the unknown, not knowing when we could reschedule those shows we were so looking forward to - and still not knowing when we can make them happen for that matter.
What have you been doing to fill/make the most of your new-found free time at home?
We’ve actually been fortunate since phase 2 of Alberta’s health plan on June 18th that we can play for small gatherings as we don’t have any singers. So we’ve started our “Brass-O-Grams” where we take a day and go out and play some songs for anyone who wants to send a loved one or themselves some Brass Band fun. We’ve also got a lot of original new songs that we’re working on to bring to the public real soon!
What was the first thing you did/place you went to now the country is starting to slowly re-open?
Definitely River City Revival’s wings, man did we miss those!
Favourite Starlite Room Moment?
Every show we’ve been fortunate to play at Starlite Room has been so great! Andrea & Tyson are the best and have cultivate a team - actually no, a family of amazing people. Our ‘Shake Ya Brass’ events at Starlite are always a blast and a great way to feature some cool brass related artists. Because we are a brass band and aren’t constrained to power or amplification, we can pretty much play anywhere, but we would choose Starlite Room if we could - hands down!
Do you have a message for everyone at home reading this?
The support from everyone has been amazing and although we’ve only been around for a year, we really feel the love from YEG. We’re going through some tough and trying times but if we can bring a little fun and cheer with our music, we know we’re on the right track! Support your Canadian venues, we wouldn’t be here without them! #SupportCanadianVenues
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