BC’s Best Teen Band Contest

We all know that Canada churns out the best musicians. From Aaron Pritchett to Michael Bublé, we’ve got some serious skill. However, even Matthew Good, Theory of a Deadman and The New Pornographers had to start somewhere. For these three bands and countless others, that somewhere was Super Natural, British Columbia.

YOUTHINK Magazine and Tom Lee Music are putting on a contest to give somebody like you a head start towards your music career. If you’re in a band and you hail from BC, put that guitar or those drums sticks away for just a minute and listen up.

$500 worth of new gear from Tom Lee can’t hurt a budding band. Neither can recording hours in a pro studio or a band photo shoot by Adam Blasberg.

Really, what’s holding you back from entering BC’s Best Teen Band Contest? It can be tough for underage bands to really get themselves out there. The number of live music venues available for music-making minors is limited, as is the cash flow. I mean, evenings and weekends at Arby’s doesn’t really add up to a Les Paul…

Janine Verreault, YOUTHINK’s editor, is one of the masterminds behind this stellar contest. “In my opinion, it is critical that communities support and encourage youth to pursue their passions,” she explains. “YOUTHINK lives by this philosophy by giving students who are passionate about writing the chance to experience what it is like to be real-life journalists while they are still in high school.”

BC’s Best Teen Band Contest isn’t Verreault’s first encounter with music in the adolescent community. “Since chairing the education committee for the JUNOs host committee last year in Vancouver, I came to realize just how important music is in teens' lives,” Verreault recalls. “Our committee organized a series of workshops in which we brought Canadian songwriters into schools to work with budding musicians. The experience was inspiring, to say the least. As a result, I wanted to do something again this year to reach out to schools and students and connect them with professionals in the BC music industry.”

This fall, YOUTHINK banded together with Tom Lee Music and decided to make that happen. “We basically sat down with Tom Lee and said, ‘Let’s do this!’ We have the resources and the relationships within the BC music community, so why not do something to showcase the talent of BC youth?”

The winner of the contest will walk away with a number of career-advancing rewards. “The response from the BC music community so far has been great! We are thrilled to be working with Tom Lee, Vancouver Community College, Music BC and the The School Alliance of Student Songwriters. Verreault adds, “We are so happy that producer Jay Evjen, who has worked with bands like Hot Hot Heat, has agreed to produce a song for the band. Shaun Verreault of Wide Mouth Mason is volunteering a day to do a songwriting session with the winning band. It feels like everyone we’ve approached has shared the same passion for this project.”

If you are passionate about your music and are motivated to get yourself out there, an entry in BC’s Best Teen Band Contest will do nothing but help you gain exposure and experience within the local music community.

What are you waiting for? Turn off the computer, dust off those amps and crank the volume, BC. YOUTHINK wants to hear you rock out!

For further information, please contact Joanne Sammons, Digital Sales and Marketing Manager for Canada Wide Media: jsammons@canadawide.com or visit: http://www.youthink.ca/band-contest