Tablet Pharmacy: Ever find yourself waiting endlessly at a big box pharmacy, feeling like just another number? There's a better way. At Tablet Pharmacy, they provide the personalized service you deserve. Check their competitive prices online at tabletpharmacy.ca before you even leave home. They offer free delivery and blister packaging options to make managing your medications easier than ever. With convenient locations in Parksville, Qualicum Beach, and now open in Nanaimo near The Brick, Tablet Pharmacy has been serving Vancouver Island since 2019. Stop being just a prescription number. Experience the Tablet Pharmacy difference today. Visit them online and check their prices at tabletpharmacy.ca.

Rockin Rhonda & The Uptown Blues Band: Here comes Peter. Here comes Dave. Oh listen. Bringing stories, making waves. No missing. Spinning tales in the podcast cave. So much laughs and insights everywhere. Peter and Dave, they're on the mics. Alright, join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.

Dave Graham: This is the Pulse Community Podcast, bringing you the heartbeat of the mid-Vancouver Island region, and it's being presented to you by, well, a couple of guys with assorted experience in print and broadcasting, as well as a few other odds and ends. Here's my co-host, a man more odd than end: it's Peter McCully!

Peter McCully: I'm not sure what that means, but I'll take it as a compliment. Coming from a guy who says he can't play air guitar anymore because he broke a string, it's Dave Graham.

Dave Graham: Well, you know, we did that piece recently about the instrument lending program, and now we have a blues segment coming up. So I was inspired to pick up the old air guitar, you know, see if I still had the licks. And how did that go? I am going to leave it to those who know what they're doing and play real instruments, such as one of our guests.

On this edition of The Pulse Podcast, a 15-year-old blues musician who's set to play Parksville as part of the Salish Coast Music Festival goes by the name of James Vickers. 

James Vickers: I think that over time, music has definitely evolved into different things, and there's definitely a variety of different styles of music and weird styles, but they're all beautiful and they're all great in their own way.

And I'd really like to take the idea of starting in blues and just take it somewhere completely new. If you listen to some of our stuff, it's not totally blues. I have these other influences. But I feel like blues music, to its soul, is very honest and very real type of music, and it's not perfect, but that's what I love about it. It's because we're not perfect, right? Keeping the soul of blues, but having the anger and the bite of rock or grunge and the poetry of rap, and soul of R&B or stuff like that. You know, I'm sounding corny, but that's my dream.

Peter McCully: We'll talk with Robert Held and Brian Middleton, who are putting together a joint show at the McMillan Arts Center. "Trip the Light Fantastic" is being billed as an immersive art experience.

Bob Held: I wanted to get the people involved in this, and so we're calling this an immersive experience where we're going to have large screens up that interact our paintings together and individually, and you're going to be able to sit down if you want and walk around and be, um, immersed in this light and sound. There's gonna be music, and you're just gonna be hopefully moved along and enjoy a kind of experience that you haven't had before.

Dave Graham: I just want to congratulate the McMillan Arts Center on their last show. The Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere multimedia presentation was so good I went to see it twice, and I can't wait to see this next exhibition being described as an immersive digital art experience of a lifetime. Very—

Peter McCully: Soon we'll be making a draw to announce the winner of our "Grill, Chill and Fill" contest. Someone will win a Paderno portable propane grill, an Igloo cooler, and a $100 Smile Card from Thrifty Foods in Parksville. A fantastic prize package, Dave. Perfect for someone who actually knows how to grill. 

Dave Graham: Wait, are you implying something about my cooking skills? 

Peter McCully: I'm not implying anything. I'm stating it directly. Remember that great barbecue incident of last summer?

Dave Graham: Hey, hey, hey. Never mind that. Nobody got hurt. That's what's important. Thanks to all who entered the "Grill, Chill and Fill" contest. To be among the first to learn of our next contest opportunity, may I direct your attention to our website where you can sign up for our newsletter? Check it out: thepulsecommunity.ca.

Marilyn: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment, and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally, as well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You'll find true real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.

Windsor Plywood French Creek: The Pulse Community Podcast is brought to you in part by Windsor Plywood in French Creek, specializing in hard-to-source interior and exterior home finishing products, including flooring, doors and moldings, and exterior project materials such as yellow cedar. Windsor Plywood French Creek carries high-quality, responsibly sourced products and are committed to providing outstanding value and personalized one-on-one service to all of our customers: homeowners, do-it-yourselfers, renovators, builders, designers, craftsmen, and contractors. Regardless of the type or size of your project, Windsor can help you bring your vision to life from start to finish. Let Windsor Plywood in French Creek help you with your renovation, new build, or building project. Visit them online or call 752-3122.

Back Porch Banjo: Hey there, Vancouver Island. Dave Haggblad here. I'm the upright bass player for Back Porch Banjo, an energetic five-piece bluegrass band with members from all around the mid-Island. I came to bluegrass music later in life and to the upright bass even later than that. But my enjoyment from holding down the bottom end while singing lead and harmonies shows that sometimes the best discoveries come when you least expect them. Plus, the band thinks it's a bonus that I'm always finding bluegrass classics that are completely new to me, which keeps that sense of wonder and excitement alive in every performance. The band's upbeat banjo melodies, old-time fiddle tunes, soaring three-part harmonies, and a driving backbeat will have you toe-tapping and singing along before you know it. We play right at the crossroads of bluegrass and old-time acoustic roots: heartfelt songs about love, heartbreak, hard work, and good times.

We've been playing all over the mid-Island this year: the Memorial Park in Parksville, the Chemainus Bluegrass Festival, the Errington Farmer's Market, Railway Days at the Parksville Museum with our collection of bluegrass train songs, and even put on our own concert up in Courtenay. And now here's something special:

Come out and see us at the Highway 19A Music Festival on Monday, September the 15th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. We're playing at Fowler's Garage at 215 Lions Way in Qualicum Bay. It's gonna be a fantastic afternoon of music and community spirit. You can check out the schedule and buy reasonably priced tickets at route19a.com.

Come out and listen. Come out and connect with us and let Back Porch Banjo remind you of why our island community is so special. We love playing music just as much as you'll enjoy listening. Back Porch Banjo continues that wonderful island tradition of bringing neighbors together through music. Check out our scheduled performances and availability at backporchbanjo.com.

Peter McCully: On a future edition of the Pulse Community Podcast, we'll chat with Deb Grey. The former member of Parliament has been a well-known motorcycle enthusiast for years. We know how she got here. We'll find out where she's—

Dave Graham: —been. Author J.P. McLane of Denman Island is gearing up for the release of her new book. "The Never Witch" will be coming out soon, and she will be making in-store appearances at various bookstores in the region, including the mid-Island area. She'll be chatting with readers then and chatting with us soon.

Peter McCully: Our next guest will be making an appearance soon as part of the Salish Coast Music Festival. Here's Marilyn.

Marilyn: James Vickers, a 15-year-old rock-blues artist and leader of the James Vickers Band, has just released the album "The Last Goodbye." Last year, James traveled to Memphis to represent the Fraser Valley Blues Society at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and has been a host of the Queen's Sunday Blues Jam in Nanaimo.

Peter McCully: Welcome to the podcast today, James.

James Vickers: Thank you for having me.

Peter McCully: You are now 15 years old with a new album just released entitled "Last Goodbye." When did you know music was going to be such a big part of your life?

James Vickers: I think music's always been part of my life, like when I still lived with my sisters. We'd always be fighting over who would get to listen to our own CDs on the radio in the car. I used to play baseball, and even when I played baseball, I've always really had a strong attraction to music, and it was always a big part of my life. Definitely.

Peter McCully: Was there a family member who played an instrument that was instrumental in getting you into the music scene?

James Vickers: My sister played piano and just picked it up off of YouTube, and so I was interested in that and I started learning as well.

But when I was like two years old or something, my dad played me the soundtrack from "Stand by Me," the movie "Stand by Me" with all that old rock and roll, and I really enjoyed that. I think it was just gradual. Over time, I was exposed to that kind of music and then had an opportunity to learn it on piano.

Peter McCully: And then you picked up a guitar. Did you take lessons, or are you self-taught?

James Vickers: Funny story. I got a guitar first when I was like six. I took a few formal lessons, and I wasn't really into it 'cause, you know, I was a six-year-old kid. I didn't really know what I was doing, but it wasn't until the pandemic when I got bored and picked it up again, and I had this old guitar from Toys"R"Us just sitting in the corner collecting dust, and I was like, "Eh, I'm gonna try to learn it." That's how I got started with guitar.

Peter McCully: Your first public gig was at age 11, so tell me about that. How did that come together?

James Vickers: I used to go into Long & McQuade, the music store over in Nanaimo. I was big into AC/DC when I first started out, and one of my friends who works there, his name's Thomas Morris, he'd heard me, and he likes AC/DC as well.

He was listening to me, and eventually he came in and we jammed a bit, and he told me about the Blues Jam at the Queen's in Nanaimo. About three or four months later, we got word that, yeah, there was a deadline and I could go up and play. So I went up and I did "Red House" by Jimi Hendrix. That was my first song that I did in public, so I wasn't really that into Jimi Hendrix yet, and everybody seemed to like it, so I was like, "Oh, I'm gonna learn more of this."

Peter McCully: So last year you traveled to Memphis to represent the Fraser Valley Blues Society at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Tell us about that experience. That must have been something else.

James Vickers: It was definitely something else. Cora Price from the Fraser Valley Blues Society—she was at the Blues Festival in Nanaimo, and she talked to my dad and said, "Hey, we got this International Blues Challenge thing," and I got to go and do an audition in Abbotsford. They have a youth act, and the youth acts, they get to go to Memphis, but they don't actually compete. So I auditioned for that and I ended up getting to go, and it seemed pretty daunting at first, but once we got there and got to see everything, it was definitely a great experience. 'Cause you go down on Beale Street, and our hotel was like just a couple blocks away from Beale Street.

Every single little bar and club—there's just music everywhere. And it was really cold. It was really cold, but it was still really fun, for sure.

Peter McCully: What did that trip to Memphis teach you about the global blues music community?

James Vickers: It was definitely encouraging because here I was, one of the only guys my age that was really into blues at that time.

Going down there and seeing all the other people my age playing that type of music was really encouraging. Everybody was very talented. Everybody was very nice. I felt very welcomed. I didn't feel like an outsider or anything. It was really great. Made a lot of good friends down there and met a lot of good people as well.

Peter McCully: You've hosted the Queen's Sunday Blues Jam in Nanaimo, which is pretty much famous. Tell us about that.

James Vickers: I'd been going to the Blues Jams for like quite a while before I got to host. I was just going every Sunday, making friends and meeting a lot of really great musicians. And yeah, when that was a dream come true, I'd always envisioned myself hosting, and when I did, it was great.

Peter McCully: James, as a young Indigenous artist in the blues scene, how do you see yourself contributing to both the preservation of traditional Indigenous culture and the evolution of contemporary blues music?

James Vickers: I think that over time, music has definitely evolved into different things, and there's definitely a variety of different styles of music and weird styles, but they're all beautiful and they're all great in their own way, and I'd really like to take the idea of starting in blues and just take it somewhere completely new.

If you listen to some of our stuff, it's not totally blues. I have these other influences, but I feel like blues music, to its soul, is very honest and very real type of music, and it's not perfect, but that's what I love about it. It's because we're not perfect, right? Keeping the soul of blues, but having the anger and the bite of rock or grunge and the poetry of rap, and soul of R&B or stuff like that. You know, I'm sounding corny, but that's my dream.

And as far as carrying on with Indigenous influences, we actually did a tour of Northern BC, and we went up to Bella Bella and we went up to Hazelton and we went up to Prince Rupert, and we wanted to do some touring in Indigenous communities.

And my great-grandfather was actually from Bella Bella. Just to go back there and to be in my second home was definitely a good feeling, for sure.

Peter McCully: Do your Indigenous roots influence your songwriting and musical expression, and are there any traditional elements or storytelling approaches that find their way into your compositions?

James Vickers: For sure. Like you say, storytelling is really big part of our culture, and I've learned from my dad and my uncles and my aunties, and I feel that storytelling in song is very important. And that's another thing in my culture: we use songs to tell stories, right? So I feel like there's definitely always gonna be some influence there with the writing and the performance aspects of it.

Peter McCully: So your first release was an EP, James, and the artwork for the EP was created by Roy Henry Vickers, who's your uncle. Can you tell us about that collaboration and how visual art connects to your musical vision?

James Vickers: We wanted to collaborate with Uncle Roy for the first one, just to make it really special, and we figured that people might be drawn to it more because they recognize his artwork and style. And it's really cool 'cause you can see his little signature moons in the musical notes, and me sitting there playing my guitar. And that was really a dream come true for me because I had wanted to work with him for sure. And to get to do it was really cool, just keeping it in the family and everything.

Peter McCully: All the songs on your debut EP and the new album "Last Goodbye" are written by yourself. What draws you to write your own material rather than throwing in an odd cover of a blues standard?

James Vickers: I was saying before about taking it to a new place. I feel that it's really important to have originals, and just writing music in itself is—it's like freedom to me because you can go to a university and they can tell you how to write a song, and I have nothing against that at all. Whatever works. I just love sitting alone with my guitar, with the feeling that I can literally do anything I want and I can say anything I want. It's always based in what I'm feeling at that time.

For me, it's a very current thing. It's like I always try to keep writing and keep coming up with new ideas. I'm trying to take it to a place where it's never ever been before, and originals are, I feel, very important in that process.

Peter McCully: What comes first? Is it the idea for the lyric, or is it a riff, or is it a melody?

James Vickers: I usually start with the guitar stuff first, and it's a very current thing. Like I'll write a riff, and a lot of the time it'll be what I'm feeling at that moment. Oftentimes I'll come up with a whole instrumental of a song, and then I'll come up with a vocal melody, and I'll write the lyrics to cater to the mood of the instruments and the riff and the melody.

Peter McCully: The James Vickers Band spans a 55-year age range from you at 15 to Rick Becker at 70. Does that generational experience strengthen your music? And what do you learn from each band member and their experience?

James Vickers: Rick is great. He's like the dad of the group. If ever there's no sound tech at a gig, he knows how to run everything, and he has his own PA system and sound system and everything, so he's very important to the band.

And Sarah Varro, she's on drums. Actually, Sarah was on stage when I made my debut at the Queen's. I've always had a strong musical connection with her. Carson Merz as well, on the other guitar when we played a few times. And yeah, we just clicked musically. Also just amazing people, very wonderful people to, uh, play music with, and I would take them over anybody, for sure.

Peter McCully: How do you handle the dynamics of being the youngest one on stage when you're playing, or does that all go away when the music starts?

James Vickers: It's not really something that crosses my mind too much. I've always been used to being the youngest one in the room, and I'm the youngest sibling as well, so it's something that I've dealt with all my life, and I just try to take it in stride. Yeah, I am the youngest one, but that's okay.

Peter McCully: Don't blink. Yeah. You'll be the oldest one soon. Yeah, there you go. You've shared stages with players like Jim Burns and Crystal Shawanda. What have those musicians taught you about the music business?

James Vickers: I'd say that a big thing that I got from both of them is just don't be shy. Go out and do your thing and be unapologetic about it.

I've definitely taken that to heart since getting to hang out with them and share the stage. That goes for the business as well. You gotta be confident in yourself and you gotta believe in what you're doing, and yeah, just be unapologetic with your craft and your talent, and that's a valuable lesson that I've definitely learned from both of them.

Peter McCully: Who are your primary musical influences, and who do you listen to when your dad is driving you to gigs in the van?

James Vickers: First and foremost, Stevie Ray Vaughan would be probably one of the biggest, and of course Jimi Hendrix. I can't go in an interview without talking about Hendrix. Over the past year and a half, it's really inspired my songwriting.

I've been really into grunge and like Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains, and I feel like that sort of music definitely has some parallels with blues because it's very honest and raw, and a lot of the time is very angry, which I really enjoyed. That raw emotion and the imperfections is what makes it perfect for me.

I could sit here for an hour and say this and talk to you about who I listen to. I've been really enjoying R&B and soul and rap, and a little bit of jazz. Like Stevie Wonder, you can never go wrong with Stevie Wonder. "Songs in the Key of Life" is probably my favorite album ever. If I've ever had a bad day, I have a turntable and a sound system in my room. I have "Songs in the Key of Life" on vinyl, so I just throw it on and it makes all the problems go away.

Peter McCully: But I had it on vinyl too, but I'd hate to tell you how long ago that was. Tell us about your first full-length album. "Last Goodbye." How does this project differ from your EP that was released the year prior?

James Vickers: Both the songwriting and the technical recording side are very different because for the EP, we recorded everything live in the studio. Like the guitar, the bass, and the drums were all just—we were all in one room just playing together. But for "Last Goodbye," I wanted more of the studio sound. I wanted to sound bigger.

I wanted more grand production on it to make it feel a little more cinematic, more so than the EP. And I love both of the sounds. But yeah, "Last Goodbye" is just where I'm at right now. Sound-wise, songwriting-wise, the EP was just the five originals that I just threw together. It felt like it was a strong debut.

Yeah, those were just the best songs that I wrote at the time. For "Last Goodbye," I wrote all of the songs between October and December of 2023. And if you listen to it, they all tell a continuous story. I'm not gonna tell you the story—you just can have to listen to it and figure it out. A magician never reveals his secrets, right.

Peter McCully: Let's do a little speed round of questions. James, since you're 15, who drives you to and from all the gigs?

James Vickers: My dad.

Peter McCully: What guitars do you own and play?

James Vickers: I have a Yamaha RevStar. That's my number one right now, and I also have a PRS Silver Sky Special Edition. I have a Gretsch that I love. And I also have a Fender Telecaster that I love.

Peter McCully: So we know where all the gig money is going. Do you use a pick? And if you do, what type or style do you use?

James Vickers: I've always used the Dunlop .88 mil, the green one, but I'm leaning more to the Ernie Ball one. It's also .88 mils, but it's yellow and it feels a little cooler in my hand.

Peter McCully: Best gig so far.

James Vickers: The Blues Festival in Nanaimo, for sure.

Peter McCully: Stevie Ray or Eric Clapton?

James Vickers: Stevie Ray.

Peter McCully: Who would you most wanna share the stage with? If you had the chance, if you were able to call anybody and say, "I'll meet you here. Here's the song list." Who would it be?

James Vickers: I'm gonna go to my top three. I'm gonna go Stevie Wonder, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jimi Hendrix.

Peter McCully: Can you read music?

James Vickers: No.

Peter McCully: Neither could Stevie Ray. Yeah, that's right. Where would, uh, that gig happen? The dream venue?

James Vickers: Madison Square Garden.

Peter McCully: That's a good one. James, what's your number one goal right now as a teenager?

James Vickers: As a teenager, is to have fun and spend time with my friends and take it in and just enjoy it all and graduate.

Peter McCully: What's your number one goal as a musician?

James Vickers: To take over the world.

Peter McCully: What's your quirkiest habit?

James Vickers: The quirkiest thing about me is I don't know how to ride a bike.

Peter McCully: That's quirky. What do you like most about being you? That could be a tough question for a 15-year-old.

James Vickers: Living. Just living and improving, and I enjoy being myself a lot. Mm-hmm.

Peter McCully: Any advice for other teenagers looking to break into the music scene?

James Vickers: Yes, always be open to learn. Be humble, but be confident in yourself, and if ever somebody tells you that you absolutely can't do something, go and do it just to prove them wrong.

Peter McCully: Looking ahead, James, what's your vision for where you want to take your music in the next few years?

James Vickers: Madison Square Garden does sound nice. Yeah. I just want to grow and expand, and I love traveling around Canada or around anywhere would be really fun for me. But yeah, I'd want to take it around the world, but I want to take it to a different place and a crazy, amazing, beautiful place that nobody's ever been before.

Peter McCully: James, thanks for your time, and we'll catch you at your next gig.

James Vickers: All right, sounds good. Thank you very much for having me.

Dave Graham: The James Vickers Band will be playing at the Rock the Plaza event in Parksville September 13th. James will be the main act. Yes. At 15 years of age, he's the headliner. He'll be following a warm-up with DJ Connor, who is even younger. Connor calls himself Parksville's youngest DJ. He is 11 years of age, and you know what? He has his own merch. Own merch. Ah, that's so cool to have your own merch. The Salish Coast Music Festival is bringing eight concerts over six days, and it wraps mid-September. 

Peter McCully: This is the Pulse Community Podcast, focusing on the mid-Vancouver Island area, and we're open to suggestions or comments. And we're certainly open to sponsorship inquiries. To reach us, go to thepulsecommunity.ca, and from there you can send text, email,—

Thrifty Foods Parksville: —or voicemail. At Thrifty Foods, we love to help nonprofits, charities, and schools. Our Thrifty Foods Smile Card bulk program allows organizations to immediately save up to 6% on the purchase of Smile Cards in bulk, allowing you to keep more money in your organization's pockets. Ask for details at Thrifty Foods in Parksville.

Tablet Pharmacy: Ever find yourself waiting endlessly at a big box pharmacy, feeling like just another number? There's a better way. At Tablet Pharmacy, they provide the personalized service you deserve. Check their competitive prices online at tabletpharmacy.ca before you even leave home. They offer free delivery and blister packaging options to make managing your medications easier than ever. With convenient locations in Parksville, Qualicum Beach, and now open in Nanaimo near The Brick, Tablet Pharmacy has been serving Vancouver Island since 2019. Stop being just a prescription number. Experience the Tablet Pharmacy difference today. Visit them online and check their prices at tabletpharmacy.ca.

Dave Graham: We here at the Pulse Community Podcast maintain an ever-growing library of stories for kids with the Cuckoo Kids Stories. There's one series that follows a seven-year-old boy by the name of Peter and his dog, Gracie. Their latest story involves dealing with balancing digital screen time with maintaining meaningful relationships.

Peter McCully: Our other series is called "The Mellow Submarine," and the latest story has Captain Dave and his first mate, Larry the Lobster, following a mystery in a story we call "The Submarine Time Capsule." You'll find Skookum Kids Stories at Skookumkids.com, thepulsecommunity.ca, Apple, iHeart, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

Dave Graham: For a decade, internationally recognized artist Robert Held maintained a glass art workshop and gallery in Parksville. The gallery closed last year. Since then, Robert has been exploring other forms of creativity. I'll let Marilyn take it from here.

Marilyn: Artists Robert Held and Brian Middleton return to the McMillan Arts Center in their joint show "Trip the Light Fantastic." It's an exciting, all-immersive art experience, celebrating light, color, and motion in a spectacular and innovative way. Proceeds from their joint exhibition will help to fundraise for the Vital Signs Project at the Oceanside Urgent Care Center.

Peter McCully: Robert Held and Brian Middleton join us. Welcome to the podcast, Robert.

Bob Held: Thank you.

Peter McCully: And Brian, pleasure to be here.

Brian Middleton: Thanks, Peter.

Peter McCully: Robert, you're known for your work in glass art, and Brian, you describe yourself as someone who paints with light. How did your very different artistic paths cross?

Bob Held: First, Brian and I have danced around for many years, but never got together. And some years ago he came in and said, "Let's have a show." And it took me a few years to come from glass to painting again. I saw him at a concert and asked him if he'd like to have a show together.

Brian Middleton: And the fun part was Bob surprised me right off the bat and said, "Let's not do an ordinary exhibition. Let's do something with movement and light and color, and let's do something extraordinary." So that's what's been happening for the last year and a half.

Peter McCully: The last time I bumped into Bob Held, he was doing some specialized pieces for an SOS fundraiser and told me promptly that he was gonna return to painting after about a 65-year absence.

Bob Held: I did. I started as a painter in high school and, um, went into ceramics and then eventually into glass that most people know me for, but now I'm back to painting again. It's really fun. It's not as physical, but it's beautiful light and color. I just love the color that I'm getting.

Peter McCully: Brian, you mentioned painting with light. Can you break down what that actually means in practical terms for someone who is not a painter? What's the process from conception to the final projected image? What will people see at this show?

Brian Middleton: So people will see a variety of images. Bob's work is beautiful, abstract pieces of color, and mine varies. One of the things that I focused on, which I didn't know was gonna have such relevance, is some paintings on wildfires that I did about two years ago when the bluffs on Cameron Lake were first on fire, and I was motivated to capture that. Not so much a picture of the mountain and the lake and the fire going on as the feeling that people might be experiencing as I was as an artist, but as somebody who loves this landscape. Seeing it lit like that, going over and seeing the mountain from a distance and seeing it brown—and it was shocking. So I felt like I had to do something with that. But there are also some paintings about water and swimming and light underwater. I'm fascinated by what happens with color and shape in various situations. So the paintings that I'm doing reflect that.

Peter McCully: Bob, could you explain the interactive show? What will people see when they come into the MAC to view this exhibition?

Bob Held: Yes, we're trying to do something different. I was tired of seeing picture after picture on the wall. People would come in, look at the picture, look at the title, and walk out.

And I wanted to get the people involved in this. And so we're calling this an immersive experience where we're going to have large screens up that interact our paintings together and individually, and you're going to be able to sit down if you want and walk around and be, um, immersed in this light and sound. There's gonna be music, and you're just gonna be hopefully moved along and enjoy a kind of experience that you haven't had before. This is a combination of what Brian and I have done with our color approach. Mine is with alcohol inks, something that I'd never tried before, but the colors are phenomenal and the way it moves is somewhat related to my glass. And then of course Brian is painting on glass with his finger on his iPad, and it relates to what we're doing with the whole thing with light, color, and motion. And they're gonna be hopefully moved by this motion.

Peter McCully: Movement—painting with your finger on an iPad. This sounds pretty interesting.

Brian Middleton: It's a lot of fun. Let me tell you. It's great fun. We really just wanted to wow people. We want people to experience art in a whole new way, and we want them to do it not and have to travel to Vancouver or Toronto, Montreal, or New York. We can do it here. And we've had some incredible participation from our production team. All these people have volunteered their time and skills, things that we needed in order to make this happen. And really, it is with a sense of magic that we've discovered that we can do this.

Peter McCully: Bob, for someone who's never experienced an immersive light installation like myself, how would you prepare them for what they're about to encounter when they step into the MAC Gallery space?

Bob Held: For one thing, you're not going to just walk in the normal way. We've arranged it so that you have to enter through the media gallery and, uh, walk through the hallway. And when you enter the main gallery, you're gonna be immersed in light and sound and color. As we mentioned before, we're covering the walls with something I hope that people will enjoy, and they'll see reflections of themselves plus our images.

And the images will be moving. One of the people on our team is working with our images and they will actually move together and apart, and they will be like a, uh, Fantasia kind of experience where the people are gonna be part of it. And it goes on for about a 15-minute cycle. And then it'll recycle itself.

And hopefully you're gonna have a chance to sit down and enjoy it as many times as you'd like.

Peter McCully: And how big are these images, Brian?

Brian Middleton: The screens are 150 inches across, and we have six screens in total. Five of them are 150 inches across, and the other one's 130. So it's a lot of space covered and moving, but in between those screens, the walls will be moving and reflecting people. We hope it's going to all come alive, and we're very confident that this is gonna be, um, an unusual and fun experience for people. We want people to be changed by it. Come in, take a break from all of the chaos in the world at the moment, and enjoy an experience that's going to improve the quality of life.

Peter McCully: So, Bob, in a traditional exhibition where a painter will be showing some works, you would be able to buy a copy or the original, or a print, or go away with something to remind you of the show and to perhaps invest in the artist's art. So how are folks going to take some of this away with them?

Bob Held: That's interesting, 'cause Brian and I had looked at what they call now merch, and we tried some out and the stuff came back really ugly. So we decided to make it more about the art that we are actually producing. So Brian and I are going to have limited editions of the images you're gonna see on the screens available at the MAC. They're gonna be framed, ready to go, limited edition of so many numbers. We're working with a local printer group, and we've looked at the stuff that they've produced and it's really good, and we're quite pleased with it. And it's gonna be bright and colorful and ready to go.

Peter McCully: And I understand that this is also a fundraising effort.

Brian Middleton: It is a fundraising effort. A wonderful person named Wendy Sears in our community suggested to Bob and I that we think about attaching our exhibition to a local cause. And just around the time that was suggested, we heard about Dr. Drew Digney's campaign to raise money for new vital signs monitors at the Oceanside Urgent Care Unit.

Having all of us being reliant upon that and seeing the growth that's happening recently, I just thought it was a really worthy cause. And we approached the Nanaimo Hospital Foundation and Dr. Digney to allow us to connect our exhibition to their fundraising effort. And we're hoping that people's entry donations will help to support that.

Bob Held: The thing that they're doing there with Dr. Digney, it's called a Vital Signs Monitor system, and they only have four of them now and they're trying to get 37 of them. On the amount of people that are using urgent care now as to when it started some years ago, it's double, triple, quadruple then, and the vital signs means that you don't have to actually be there. They can look at what's going on in your system, your heart, and so forth. And you don't even have to be there. And I think it's a great new process for people that need to be at home and still have this availability of a doctor looking at what's going on with their vital signs.

Brian Middleton: These monitors are gonna allow patients who can't be admitted to hospital at that moment to not be sent home without any support. They'll be connected with the urgent care people and the hospital through these vital signs monitors. So that's going to really improve and help a really strained healthcare system right now.

Peter McCully: "Trip the Light Fantastic" will be September 6th through 27th at the McMillan Arts Center in Parksville. Two artists working in different mediums, coming together for something digital and a brand new experience. But I can't let either of you go without a couple of extra questions. And one, Brian, for you, is after 40 years of painting, everything fits on your tablet now, and these are recorded as movies or still images?

Brian Middleton: Yes, they're recorded as both. I can export the painting canvas as a still and have that printed up to the size of the screens that we're showing, so they can be done that way. It also means that people can use their television sets with digital art and project them and have them lit, have a painting lit in their room at night with no other lighting on. It's changing the history of art. It's changing contemporary art. The Procreate app allows me to record every brush stroke that I make and every mistake, unfortunately, but that's okay.

At one of my shows recently, a man looked at it and was kept watching the looped video version of my painting, and he was fascinated. And I said, "What is it you're seeing?" And he said, "Well, I'm watching how your brain works." That was a bit scary.

Peter McCully: So tell me, what have you done with all the room that you used to set aside for canvases and paints and thinners and—you probably had a pretty good-size room where you had traditional artistic materials.

Brian Middleton: I still have it. And when Bob first came over to meet with me about this show, he looked at my studio and said, "It's awfully tidy." Everything was put away. Well, I still have all those supplies, and when I paint digitally, I'm actually thinking about how it is when I use watercolor or when I'm using a particular brush for oil or whatever surface I'm working on. So I have that experience behind me before I got into digital. And yeah, that's still my reference point.

Peter McCully: We know Bob Held mostly from his career in glass art. I have some pieces of Bob's art at home. Bob, your glass art has been all over the world, as you have been. Who are some of the more interesting people that you got to meet as a result of that career in glass?

Bob Held: I guess I should put top of the list would be Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth. I was able to make something specifically for her, and then I made the piece for the Beijing Olympics. I've got pieces that are all over the world, and a lot of people know me for the little hearts that I used to make, and I started making the hearts many years ago.

I have about a million and a half hearts around the world. People have them. They're all over the place. I see 'em all the time.

Brian Middleton: In fact, I have the very first piece of Bob's art that I ever bought was a little gold heart, and I bought it in Toronto at the Ontario Craft Council Gallery in Yorkville. Bob came over to visit and looked at it and said, "Oh yes, that's the 24-karat gold from Japan that I put on those particular hearts."

It's wonderful working with Bob. It's just a joy to be collaborating with him and working with him and becoming friends through this.

Bob Held: This new approach—for me, from glass—I tried to find something that I wanted to do. I didn't know what I was gonna do after I left the glass, and so I found something that had the color, and this was alcohol inks. You use your breath here, blow through a straw, and I use a hair dryer and I tilt this stuff and I rub it with my hands and fingers, and I get right into the color. It's as close as I can get to doing glass without the heat. I use a glass that I'm working on. I pour the alcohol inks and move them on the sheet of glass and a glass table, so I'm still around glass.

But the colors are unique and they're very beautiful. And I think that if you come to this show, you'll see the combination of what I do with Brian, and they meet in the middle, like our poster.

Dave Graham: "Trip the Light Fantastic" promises to be quite an experience. See it at the McMillan Arts Center until September 28th. Peter, are you gonna see the show? Are you ready for an immersive digital art experience of a lifetime?

Peter McCully: Tell you what I'm ready for: a coffee. 

Dave Graham: Let's push the envelope. Let's make it an experience of a lifetime.

Peter McCully: Okay. Coffee and a muffin.

Dave Graham: Yes. We are living the life, my friend.

Rockin Rhonda & The Uptown Blues Band: Here comes Peter, here comes Dave, oh listen. Bringing stories, making waves. No missing. Spinning tales in the podcast cave. So to speak. Laughs and insights everywhere. What a treat. Peer and Dave. They're on the mics all right. Join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.