Posts Tagged ‘ben sigston’

Kuba Oms @ MIX Lounge

Friday, October 16th, 2009

kubaomsx150

Olympic dreams turned to music . . .

Since writing my blog post about Ben Sigston, I have discovered something new about the guy. It turns out that he was a Canadian National Team cyclist (with a World Cup win!) and the recipient of a US college scholarship – how crazy is that?! And not only that, but this is something he has in common with another great music performer at CREATIVEMIX . . . Kuba Oms.

Kuba was an accomplished tennis player who also had a scholarship dangling before him – but he too opted for a life of music. And lucky for us they did! He and Sigston are both finalists in the Peak Performance Project (check it out here: www.peakperformanceproject.com) and their success in this venture depends on your votes so go cast yours today!

More About Kuba

As the long-time musical director of the live house jam band Velvet, Kuba has taken a contemporary approach to his own project that could be likened to a cross between Jamiroquai, Paolo Nutini, David Gray and Ben Harper.

Born in Victoria to a Scottish mother and Indian father, Kuba is a third generation Canadian. As a kid, his parents held bible studies every Thursday evening, which ended in huge sing-along jams with his dad and uncle hosting on acoustic guitars. “This was when I’d come into the room,” he remembers. “I’d sit cross legged and just listen.” He started at age 15 by singing covers at school and around bonfires. His first original band, Out Of Nowhere, built quite a following in the west coast with its influence of rock from the ‘60s and ‘70s, such as Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.

To hone his chops, he started a cover band called Souled Out that became really big in B.C. with renditions of old soul classics from the likes of Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and Stevie Wonder. “That’s how I really learned how to sing,” says Kuba. “Covering those songs was quite challenging.

I had the privilege of seeing Kuba perform at the Railway Club a couple of weeks back and the place was packed. The crowd was completely into it and didn’t stop dancing for the entire set – and neither did Kuba!

Kuba will perform in the MIX Lounge on Thursday, Oct.22 at 12:30pm. Don’t forget that exhibition-only passes are FREE if you register online here: www.creativemix.ca/exhibition ($10 at the door).

Check it Out

Both Kuba & Sigston have just released new recordings. Check them out here:

Posted by: Eileen Rothe

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Conference Update, Reviews | 1 Comment »

Ben Sigston @ MIX Lounge

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

bensigston

What do good coffee, local radio, and live music have in common? Oh come on people!

So if you haven’t heard yet, our CREATIVEMIX Exhibition includes the Mix Lounge, where you can enjoy some good coffee . . . we’ve told you about the coffee . . . and meet some new peeps. But what we haven’t told you is that you’ll also get to experience live performances by some amazing local talent.

For those of you who are tuned in to the newest and coolest local station here in Vancouver, 100.5 The PEAK, you will have heard of a little thing called the “PEAK Performance Project.” This is a seven-year, $5.29 million contest open to all musicians in BC, and was created by 100.5 The PEAK and Music BC to develop BC based emerging artists. To say the least, they hit the mother load right off the bat and we are ecstatic to have two of the finalists performing at CREATIVEMIX this year. Let me start with Ben Sigston.

Ben is one of those rare artists who can capture an audience’s attention with only a piano or acoustic guitar. He crafts melodic gems that work as well stripped down as they do produced with a full band. His early works, filled with bright, tasteful piano playing, weeping Beatle-esque guitar lines and instantly memorable vocal melodies, found instant success with numerous placements in both TV and film. A 2007 development deal with Warner Music put Sigston into contact with producer Warne Livesey (Midnight Oil, Matthew Good). The two discovered that they shared a common musical vision and enjoyed collaborating, and so decided to work together to record Ben’s first EP “Free Now.” It is Sigston’s unique ability to marry the abstract with the well-crafted pop song that makes him such a unique addition to the current crop of singer/songwriters.

Not to mention he goes great with an Americano. Mmmmmmm!

Ben will perform in the MIX Lounge on Thursday, Oct.22 at 10:30am and exhibition-only passes are $10 (but they’re FREE if you register online here.

Posted by: Eileen Rothe

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Conference Update, Creatives In Vancouver, Reviews | No Comments »