One of the toughest things about being a band trying to break out of the basement is the simple but ever-so-complicated issue of finding a place to play. If you're not a known quantity, who'll give you a stage? But if you don't get a stage, how can you become a known quantity?
The Columbia Theatre has an answer to that catch-22.
The theatre hosts regular Sunday night jam sessions where all musicians can turn out to share the stage with the pros in a real theatre setting - complete with lighting, multimedia shows on the big screen at the back of the stage, and professional sound. It's also running a Battle of the Bands on Wednesday nights to give exposure to up-and-coming performers.
"What we've been trying to do, it's not just about the Columbia, it's about helping some young artists to get going," explains Columbia owner Barry Buckland, noting it's just plain tough to get noticed in the music world. "You can't just be good. You've got to be in the right place at the right time."
The Sunday night jam sessions, which run from 6:30 to 10 p.m., operate on a simple premise: Anyone who wants to perform can just show up and get a turn on stage, first-come, first-served.
The sessions are led by the Vancouver rock band Garrett, fronted by longtime New West resident Sean Garrett.
"I would've loved to have a place like this," Garrett says, looking around at the elegance of the theatre's Grand Room, where performers can play to a 300-seat house. "All I had was the basement."
He loves the fact that, since the theatre is an all-ages venue, high school performers can come on down and bring their friends to see them perform.
He and his band open the evening with their own performance - which unto itself is a bonus for the young performers, who get to hear how the pros make it happen.
The experience has been invaluable for Jacob Gold, a 16-year-old multi-instrumentalist who sings and plays acoustic and electric guitar, bass and drums. The Grade 10 student at New Westminster Secondary School says it took him some time to talk himself into getting up on stage.
"I was really, really shy to put myself out to experienced musicians," he says. "It was just little old me practising in my basement."
Once he finally got the nerve to step into the spotlight, he was hooked.
"I felt like this was the best thing that had ever happened to me," he says with a decisive nod. "It's incredibly inspiring."
Gold's mother, Lynne Mossey, who has been one of the driving forces behind the jam nights, says the nights are enormously beneficial to the young musicians. She notes that every aspect of the experience - from the quality of the performers to the professional sound technician to the support of Garrett behind the young performers - combines to make a unique experience for emerging talent.
"Here's a place for musicians to shine and for youth to be," she says.
Plus, she pointed out, it's invaluable to have a venue like the Columbia.
"It's such a great little venue, a little gem in New West," she points out.
That sentiment is echoed by Garrett's drummer, Frank Baker, who compares the experience of performing in the Columbia to the best live venues in Vancouver.
"This has the old Commodore vibe to me," he says. "This room has that feel where you can hear everything crystal clear on stage."
He notes that, when he tours across the country, he meets people in every part of Canada who've heard of the theatre.
"There is no place in Canada like the Columbia Theatre," he says. "This is the only place in Canada that does what it does."
Buckland says the Columbia's acoustics make it perfect for anything from a cappella vocals to full-on rock bands.
"It is fabulous in here. It sounds like the Orpheum, it really does," he says. "It's so crisp in here. That's the difference between playing here and playing in a bar."
He notes that the jam nights have come together thanks to the efforts of an entire community - volunteers like Mossey and her husband, Brian Gold; professional photographer Tony van Straubenzee, who shoots the jam nights and Battle of the Bands evenings; professional sound technician Tony De Medeiros, and all the members of Garrett, which also includes guitarist Brian Jones and bassist Gary Koenig.
"All these guys are here because they love it," Buckland says. "It's the community helping out. They're helping out because they know it's valuable to the musicians."
Buckland is hoping to get more people out to support the musicians - and to discover just what a great venue they have in their own backyard.
He's also on the hunt for bands to take part in the next Battle of the Bands series, as the current series ends in finals on Friday, May 23. Any style of music is welcome - they've had bands running the gamut from country to punk and metal.
Garrett is confident that once people head on down to check out a live performance at the Columbia, they'll return again and again.
"Once they come down, you'll see them the next week," he says. "It's just getting people to know about it. This is one of the best venues in town."
Check out www.thecolumbia.ca for more on what's happening at the theatre, and get all the Battle of the Bands info at www.columbiabattle.ca.
