International Regional and Local Music Scenes
Local Winnipeg, Canada Music Scene
The local music scene of Winnipeg brings many musical influences together, especially
from American rock and roll and the Motown sound from Detroit. It's a region that thrives
on soulful authenticity and party rock. Some of the well known artists in the region's history
have been Bachman-Turner Overdrive, The Guess Who, Neil Young, Crash Test Dummies, Terry Jacks, Harlequin,
Imaginary Cities and the Consumer Goods. Tom Cochrane came from Lynn Lake. Winnipeg is a region
well known for fun cultural festivals throughout the year. One of the coolest reggae
songs from the region has been "T'es Mon Ami" by Martin St-Gelais.
Winnipeg artists have advanced mainly through playing lots of shows by touring
throughout Canada. All it takes in
those situations is meeting the right people and manifesting friendships. Social
media has become a good way to develop relationships with people in any industry.
It helps you connect on shared musical tastes or idealogical views. Using social media, not just as one big network, but as a
series of interconnected networks, is advantageous for any endeavor.
Another way to attract attention in the local scene is to turn non-musical events
into surprise musical events. Offer to play one to three acoustic songs as an
opener for book signing parties, art shows and educational seminars. Learn the
national anthem and offer to perform it at big sporting events. Some of the venues
where local acts can develop followings include Horseshoe Cabaret, Ichabod's Lounge,
Longhorns Country Saloon, Mirrors Pub Club and Ice Works. Make videos for your
website that interview people about movie and music reviews. The object is to get
ten people each to tell ten other people about whatever you're doing.
There are many ways a Winnipeg songwriter can craft a unique original sound while
still sounding relevant to the times and familiar to people dialed into the
national scene. Keeping up with technology is an idea for electronic artists,
although not much has changed in the development of new sounds from from the late
1980s through 2013. Another way to mix originality and familiarity is to
incorporate influences of major act into original music and then go back and
refine the song so that it doesn't sound copied from any particular hit.
Duplication of melodies in the pop world has been an uncomfortable issue for
artists because it's not the spirit of unique expression.
Musicians who have a deep knowledge of pop music history can draw from many
influences. At the same time they can usually tell how a simple hook has been
used in the past. Copyright law and the ethic of original songwriting are forces
that keep the indie world in check, while the pop world seems to be more based on
whatever sells. During the 1960s and 1970s the unique expression ethic was very
strong in pop music, especially with the Guess Who, which is why it was rare to find two pop songs that sounded
alike in that era. Starting in the late 70s with disco, many dance songs started
to have the exact same beat, which worked for DJs who wanted to mix records
together to keep a dance floor packed.
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