Hi folks,
Brandon here! I’m pleased to be joining the Bent River Records team as an A&R Associate! I’ve had a career in music for the better part of 15 years, as both an artist and industry professional. My background is as a guitarist, songwriter, studio session musician, freelance guitarist, booking agent, venue manager, and venue concierge. The music industry has always been something I knew I wanted to be involved with, from the very first song I learned on the guitar, I knew I wanted to do this for a living.
I play in a few Edmonton-based bands such as Electric Religious, King of Foxes, Mercy Funk, and The High Powers. I have two albums released under my own project, Electric Religious, which is one of my main focuses. I also teach music lessons in St. Paul, AB, I work as the Alberta and B.C. Producer for Curbside Concerts Canada, a live music delivery service founded in Calgary in 2020, and on top of all that, I have a little 6-year old munchkin at home that keeps me busy with his Transformers and Spider Man toys. My partner and I operate a label services business called Crystal Baby Music and it’s this experience of working with artists and helping them to operate their careers at a higher level that I bring to the table at BRR. As a former music student at MacEwan University, I understand the drive and passion the students bring to their studies, and subsequently their efforts at BRR. I look forward to working with the team this year!
A few things I love to do in my spare time are to bake bread–intense kitchen projects are my favourite, though. Hello kimchi! I love to learn (and enjoy) about wine from all over the world, read books from Indigenous authors, and go for family dog walks.
My favourite part of the music industry are the people. From what I’ve seen, this community of artists and professionals is very close. Everyone wants to help everyone else succeed. Everyone keeps everyone else accountable and opens doors for those that put in the work, and commit to their art. I’m super grateful to all my mentors who expected true effort and never made anything easy for me in my formative years, it has shaped who I am today. I still can’t wrap my head around social media, but I hope that when my son is a teenager that he can help me out.
Wishing everyone a happy fall term, and a wonderful 2021-2022 school year.
—Brandon