The E. A. Rawlinson Centre is asking local musicians to pitch in to a joint jam session/music video set to an iconic song by a hit Canadian rock band.
The centre announced Tuesday that they would be accepting submissions until Oct. 13 of solo instrumental or vocal performances of ‘Tired of Waiting’ by multiple JUNO-nominated rockers the Trews, who performed as part of a four-hour show at the centre last year.
The idea is for local musicians to record themselves performing a part of the song and have it mixed and combined into a music video produced by the centre’s staff.
“One thing we thought would be cool would be if we brought a bunch of musicians together to work on one project,” said Rawlinson Centre marketing and events coordinator Cara Stelmaschuk in a video posted to the centre’s Facebook page Tuesday.
“We’re calling on all kinds of musicians. No matter what genre, level of experience you’re at, how old you are or if you’re part of a band, if you want to record and be part of a virtual jam session with us, please do so.”
The thought behind the project, Stelmaschuk said, was to pick something fun, upbeat and Canadian, as well as recognizable and tied to a recent show at the centre.
“The Trews were here in February of 2019, and to date it remains one of the coolest concerts we’ve had here at the centre,” she said.
“Four hours, two opening acts music all the way through and it was fantastic. A great audience. Everyone got into it and the band was great. What an amazing night of Canadian rock. We figured the Trews would be a great band to pay homage to.”
Not wanting to risk copyright issues, the centre got permission from the band to take on the project. Sound will be mixed by the centre’s sound technician, Joel Rohs, while Stelmaschuk will synchronize and edit the video.
The video is set to debut Nov. 10.
The centre provided the following tips for anyone wanting to submit a video:
• If you have access to a microphone that will work with your cameraphone (or video recorder), please use it. If not, make sure you’re in a quiet space with no ambient (background) noise. It’ll help us isolate your voice or instrument.
• Make sure your video only contains your performance, no backing track.
• Feel free to send us two takes, and change the angle of your shot. We only need one audio track but for the video more angles will add some interest.
• Pay attention to your background! A blank wall is just fine indoors. But watch for anything in back there that you might not want to explain later, like dirty underwear. Further to that, if you have access to a really interesting location, record your video there!
• Remember to perform. Yes the audio is very important, but we will also see you in the video. Give us good face, smile, flash some attitude, and have fun with it.
A submission form is available on the Rawlinson website at earc.ca/tired-of-waiting.
The centre will provide an update on the project every Tuesday, which Stelmaschuk is calling, for the moment, Trewsday.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Stelmaschuk said.
“I can’t wait to see what you send us.”
