Apparently I am an investor in a small business.The entertainment business, it turns out!
For the last 3 years or so I've been doing sound for Neil E. Dee. It started when I saw him and Kata Sita perform at a wedding - I was in terror and stitches.
I was still kinda fresh out of audio college and looking for somewhere to gain experience. Neil was running his music off of an ipod at the side of the stage, and I figured that just wouldn't do. So after the set I approached him and offered to volunteer. Volunteering, by the way, is a great thing to do. Find something you like doing, and do it for free - doors will open.
-Like the door to a magical castle of fun and friction! Kind of like the one in the picture!
...kind of like the tower in which we currently live...
At any rate, while I was in audio college they had suggested that we do exactly that, volunteer with a show. It's a great way to gain experience, and because you're a volunteer and not an employee, the stress is limited and you can't really get fired. Not exactly free training, but like many things in life it's a lot of 'give and take'.
So now, 3 years down the road, I play the role of sound and lighting technician, accountant, stage manager (to a limited degree), as well as investor. I even get paid! Not exactly a living wage, but considering that I live in the 2nd most expensive city in the world (allegedly), I really can't complain.
And even if the money didn't exist, there's the benefits and perks of the job. For example, in Ucluelet this is where we got to stay ->
It was absolutely gorgeous out there, right on the western most coast of this massive nation (on an island even!) The folks in this town were very welcoming too, which was a sharp contrast to the last gig we had!
The show that we had done before this was in Surrey. If you know anything about Surrey, BC, it's got itself a reputation for being violent and dangerous. No joke - every time I go there I'm reminded of Winnipeg.
We were at a pizza place called Olympia Pizza - THE spot for all ages shows out in Surrey. We made our way around the city talking to people in an effort to build hype for a couple weeks in advance, but it didn't seem to be going well. We realized how true that was when the attendance at our show totally tanked.
Before the show started we were becoming painfully aware that our attendance was gonna be next to nothing, so Kata Sita and I got dressed up in our show outfits and took a walk around the neighbourhood to hand out flyers.
We weren't well received.
The neighbourhood we were in was right by the Surrey Central skytrain station, which is apparently in an area called Whalley. Whalley, as it turns out, is a bad part of town.
The two of us walked in a 'rectangular circle' around the block, and handed some cards to a bunch of soccer-ish looking folk who were hanging out in a back lane. They weren't too rude, but they did warn us to be careful who we handed cards out to. One guy said to me "you never know man, you hand one of those (show flyers) to the wrong person and they might just show up".
Not easily dismayed, we continued to walk as there was a roller rink of some kind with some kids hanging out around it that I wanted to hit. (At this point I was becoming aware that we were trying to sell a show at a pizza place to a bunch of people who were actually eating pizza as we handed them flyers!)
There was a group of kids sitting outside the rink so we approached them and I handed them a flyer. I start to tell them it's just down the street at Olympia Pizza, and one guy starts to tell me 'man I don't eat there!', then his friend has a question for me;
"Hey man" he says, "there gonna be faggots dressed like you there?"
I was sure at this point that I was in Winnipeg. And the kid I was talking to could've easily been my friend Nat, who used to play drums in a band we were in.
"I wouldn't put it that way", I said to him.
I wasn't really too bothered, the kid had to be about 15, and was just trying to get a rise out of me. I know that game well - get the 'faggot' upset (how about we use the term 'target'), prod him into a fit so he starts to get angry, and then there's a fight.
1 target and his girl in high heels (not exactly fighting footwear) vs. 5 homies hangin' outside the rink...
I'm good at math, and 1 vs 5 = me not really being that tough.
Even if they are teenage kids.
He tried to prod me with the same insult a couple more times, but I didn't bite. Really, I could've cared less. I was more focused on attendance than concern for disrespect. I shit you not - as we were walking away he apologized! "Hey man, I'm just kidding. For real" he says.
Anyway, we carried on with our quest. One guy who I think was about to ask for change violently threw the show flyer away, which was more funny than aggravating, now that I think about it... We even went inside a Mcdonalds trying to get people to come - but no one was interested.
So, like I was saying before - Ucluelet was a much better crowd! They ate it up! Look, see?!
What a nice town. We even got a midnight walk on the beach after the show!
And the next perk of the job was the drive from Ukee (as the locals call it) back to Victoria, or Esquimalt, as it were.
I tell ya, BC is absolutely gorgeous to drive through. Makes for a good business investment, not to mention a fun summer job.
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