Industry people will have their turn in ECMA spotlight Saturday
Industry people will have their turn in ECMA spotlight Saturday
Laura Jean Grant
Cape Breton Post
SYDNEY — Before the glitz and glamour of the East Coast Music Association’s music awards gala Sunday night, the men and women behind the music will be honoured at a more low-key awards event, Saturday morning.
And that probably suits the nominees just fine.
From the studio engineers who mix and master the music, to the radio stations who bring those songs to the masses, music industry professionals are accustomed to going about their work outside of the spotlight.
Among them are the staff at Glace Bay-based radio station, 89.7 The Coast, which has been nominated several times by the ECMA for radio station of the year and is up for the honour again.
“It sounds like a cliche but it’s always an honour to be nominated, especially by your peers,” said Bill MacNeil, general manager at The Coast. “It would be really nice if we did finally take home the award but we’re pleased to be nominated and regardless of whether we have the award at the end of the week or not, we’ll still be playing east coast music and promoting east coast music.”
MacNeil said the ECMA has provided important exposure for what The Coast is doing, in terms of being dedicated primarily to featuring East Coast music.
“We don’t do it for the award nomination,” said MacNeil. “We do it because we believe in East Coast music and we think it’s the best music in the world and so we try our best to present that as best we can every day of the year.”
The industry awards will be handed out at a brunch Saturday at the Delta Prince Edward in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Here’s a look at the industry award nominees from Cape Breton:
Celtic Colours International Festival
Nominated for: event of the year
About: Fourteen years, more than 600 concerts and thousands of community events are in this festival’s history books. The annual nine-day celebration of Celtic music and culture that takes place each October in Cape Breton. The 15th annual festival is set for Oct. 7-15, 2011.
Marcato Digital Solutions
Nominated for: independent company of the year
About: Sydney-based company specializing in the creation of web-based solutions for the music industry. Marcato applications like Marcato Musician and Marcato Festival, are being used by a growing number of people and events in the music business.
Jimmie Inch
Nominated for: industry professional of the year, media person of the year
About: A veteran musician, the Glace Bay native is also the president of Brickyard Entertainment Ltd., responsible for the popular East Coast Countdown, which is also a nominee for broadcast of the year. Inch is producer and host of the countdown.
Darren Gallop
Nominated for: manager of the year
About: Founder and president of Company House Records, and president and CEO of Marcato Digital Solutions, which are also both nominated for ECMA industry awards. A fixture on the local music scene, Gallop has done it all as a performer, road manager, booking agent, artist manager and recording engineer.
101.5 The Hawk
Nominated for: radio station of the year
About: Established in 1975, CIGO is a full-service adult contemporary station based in Port Hawkesbury that began as 1410 AM and converted to 101.5 FM in 2000. The station’s main focus is Inverness, Richmond, Antigonish and Guysborough counties.
89.7 The Coast
Nominated for: radio station of the year
About: This Glace Bay-based station first hit the air in 2005 as a special event, 50-watt radio station, until 2007 when they launched their full-service, 6,000-watt station, dedicated to east coast music.
Company House Records
Nominated for: record company/distributor/independent label of the year
About: Founded by Darren Gallop, Company House Records is a small Cape Breton-based independent record label that represents successful island recording and touring artists Carmen Townsend, The Tom Fun Orchestra and Slowcoaster.
Fred Lavery
Nominated for: producer of the year
About: Co-owner of Lakewind Sound Studios, with singer-songwriter Gordie Sampson, Lavery is also a sought-after music producer, musician, band member, songwriter, director and one of the most respected people in the island’s music scene.
Lakewind Sound Studios
Nominated for: studio of the year
About: Located in Point Aconi, Lakewind Sound is co-owned by Fred Lavery and Gordie Sampson, and features the services of studio engineer Michael Shepherd. The studio has attracted artists from across the Maritimes, as well as other regions of Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
Michael Shepherd
Nominated for: studio engineer of the year
About: Known by most simply as “Sheppy,” he does much of his work out of Lakewind Sound Studio in Point Aconi where he records, mixes, masters and produces albums for a variety of artists. Shepherd has more than a decade of engineering experience under his belt.
Soundpark Studios
Nominated for: studio of the year
About: Founded and designed by musician and studio engineer Jamie Foulds, Soundpark Studios is located in Sydney. The studio is described as a creative musical space designed to remove barriers between musical inspiration and the production process, allowing artists to focus on their music.
Jamie Foulds
Nominated for: studio engineer of the year
About: Owner of Soundpark Studios, Foulds has engineered and produced music recordings for a long list of east coast artists. In addition to music production, he’s also experienced in video post production and is a certified recording technology instructor.
Cheryl Smith
Nominated for: visual artist of the year
About: Webmaster and owner of Outfront Productions Inc., Smith has a portfolio of more than 50 websites that she designed or manages. Her client list includes Rita MacNeil, the Barra MacNeils, Mary Jane Lamond, and Bruce Guthro.
