NEBA NEWS - JUNE 2016

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NORTH END MUSIC SCENE

Facing the Music
by Rachel Sovka

It’s no surprise to most that the North End is considered an outstanding vibrant arts community. According to a recent SOCAN survey, Upper Harbour Halifax (B3K), that is, the North End, is the most successful songwriting and composing region in the province.

To decide this, SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) combined the annual royalties of members earning middle-class income for their work with the number of songwriters and composers living in each area, and the total population of each region.

Inti Gonzalez from the North End based band Zulkamoon, isn’t surprised and says he knows more than most North Enders about the SOCAN process from his research moving to Halifax from Mexico. “As a musician, I did a lot of digging to understand the system,” he says, “many artists don’t claim their SOCAN royalties because they don’t know they can.”

Many artists also do not earn what is considered “middle-class income” for their work to be counted in this SOCAN report. “There are so many thriving artists in our community that are missing out,” Gonzalez says.

Part of the problem, he thinks, is awareness, but the rest is an inhospitable environment for artists to be financially successful before they can amplify appreciation for their art in the community.
“The North End generally does a good job fostering artists but we still have a long road to go,” he says. Gonzalez describes his music as poetry of the street and the circus of life, which is why he likes the way the North End dances to the beat of its own drum.

On a national level, the SOCAN report showed Montreal and Toronto on top. Of course that’s no comparison to the North End music community where both talent and camaraderie encourages regular casual exchange of local band members as needed. “There is some competitiveness but it’s definitely not as cutthroat here in the Maritimes,” responds Dave Fultz, Open Mic House host and musician, “we all like coming to shows and supporting each other.”

But that mutual support sometimes means that show attendees are primarily other musicians.

Community leader Laura Simpson says that artists supporting artists isn’t sustainable; “we just don’t have that critical mass that we did in the nineties anymore,” she says. “There are all sorts of reasons for that from liquor taxes to late show start times,” Simpson explains, “but I don’t want to find things to blame, I want us to find things to fix it.” It’s time for the North End to face the music.

James Boyle, Executive Director of Halifax Pop Explosion, thinks solutions are in the numbers, “if everyone invited more friends out to live music, things would be different,” he says, “everyone can’t do everything, but everyone could probably be doing more.”

Boyle knows that it’s events like Jazzfest and Halifax Pop Explosion that fuel a creative community and can shape the provincial economy.

But a common complaint among local musicians is the disproportionate amount of artists to venues.

Ryan Veltmeyer, founder of Youth Art Connection, an organization supporting young artists, says the best way to combat this is opening more shows for all ages. “Making live music accessible to the next generation will build up that sustainability,” he says, “engaging a critical mass starts early.”

But James Boyle thinks the ‘open it and they will come’ mentality doesn’t work for venues in Halifax. “Music shouldn’t become about marketing,” he says, “but venues are created when other venues are full. A show doesn’t have to be at the [Scotiabank] Centre for people to go see live music. There will be more venues if people show up to existing ones.”

Boyle’s theory is that Halifax’s focus on business over arts will have an antithetical effect; “we fail to see the arts as an economic opportunity when we limit our perspective to commerce and the export of art rather than creating a culture that makes Halifax a destination known for its art,” he says.

Laura Simpson agrees, saying that it’s buskers and live public art that create the atmosphere which can boost tourism. “Having musicians on street corners, at Squiggle Park and NEBA’s Night Markets, that’s all part of placemaking,” she says.

The North End Business Association is proud to hire local DJ's, buskers, and musicians at markets and events, and North Enders have been proud to support them. “My favourite thing is to hire local musicians, being part of that feels great,” Dave Fultz says, “it feels like growth in the neighbourhood.”

A growth that doesn’t always come easy.
“We can’t have a conversation about this without talking about gentrification,” Simpson says, “the North End music scene can be the missing piece to creating a community that feels welcoming for everyone.”

Fultz says it’s difficult to mend the cultural division in the North End because “sometimes places like the Open Mic House can be so inclusive that it almost becomes exclusive of other demographics.”

But then, like music to the community’s ears, there are places which bridge that gap. “There are wonderful conduits in the community that act as connections between those divisions,” Simpson says, “places like The Company House and Halifax Backpackers on Gottingen Street are doing a fantastic job of bringing together diversity, and championing arts and culture while staying true to their roots.”

“It’s important to use what’s here already,” Fultz agrees, “we already have a deep system of values around arts, now it’s about getting more people connected and invested in its success so it can flourish.”

Believing deeply that it can and will flourish, these leaders of the North End’s music community raise their instruments to being SOCAN’s number one in the province, and echo Inti Gonzalez’s sentiments that although the community’s wealth of thriving artists may be missing out in some ways, there is certainly hope enough to sing along the road ahead.

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