The River and The Road, a Vancouver-based band, are a Top finalist in the 2012 Peak Performance Project, a competition put on by Vancouver radio station 102.7 The Peak.
Part of the competition involves each band creating and implementing a fundraising initiative for a cause or charity of the band’s choice. The River and the Road have chosen to fundraise on behalf of the students in Carihi’s Music Composition Technology (MCT) course, which teaches students how to record and produce their own music using sound mixing equipment and computer software.
The River and The Road will be holding a ticketed concert in Carihi’s multi-purpose room on the evening of Friday, Oct. 5, from 7-10 p.m. Also playing will be local bands Fiftieth Parallel and Who is Barbosa? Leading up to the event, the band will also be playing concerts at Southgate and Timberline schools on Thursday, Oct. 4. The goal is to encourage and cultivate the interests of young musicians interested in pursuing music after graduation. The event is being presented by the Campbell River Arts Council.
The band is based out of Vancouver but have chosen Campbell River schools for their fundraising campaign because two of the members are Campbell River locals. Drummer Cole George and singer-banjoist Keenan Lawlor were both born and raised in Campbell River.
“Our goal is to support young talent in Campbell River by giving educators more funding to supply students with the resources they need to jump start musical careers. I was in the MCT program at Carihi some years ago, this program has given me the skills necessary to record my own music and operate as a live sound engineer. These skills are invaluable in the independent music community which is why I would like to help expand the program’s resources,” says Keenan Lawlor.
“The more you can do on your own in this industry, the better. I’ve spent a lot of time in the past few years honing these skills on my own; hours that would have been much better spent with the right gear and instruction. The opportunity to have all that, especially within a high school timetable, is something I’m really excited to support”, says Cole George.
The cost for the concert is $8. Tickets are available at Carihi, Serious Coffee, Stillwater Books and the Arts Council. There will also be a gift basket raffle from local Campbell River business sponsors.