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Rockin' Rhonda: Peter and Dave, they're on the mics. All right, join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.

Dave Graham: Welcome back to the Pulse Community Podcast. I'm Dave Graham. Yes, we are deep into the holiday season here on Mid Vancouver Island and we come bearing gifts in the form of stories of community spirit and Christmas magic. 

Peter McCully: And I'm Peter McCully. Yes, the decorations are up, the lights are on as the big day approaches, but shopping hasn't yet reached that last minute frenzy stage. And speaking of magic, Dave, have we been out to see the lights at Milner Gardens this year?

Dave Graham: Indeed I have, and I'm pleased to report that they have managed to raise the bar yet again, it is a spectacle of the highest order. You know, I tried to keep track of the number of lights when I was visiting there, and I kinda lost count before I got to 20. Of course, the question of the number of lights they have in the show comes up every year and Geoff Ball from in the gardens will tell us all about it.

Geoff Ball:  We have grown from a few thousand. I am, I'm estimating we're up around 150, 200,000 lights. Our volunteers started in September to hang them and we had a great team of, I dunno, there's probably like 15 people out to every setup day. We have lights from the welcome centre all the way down to the house that's over half a kilometer. 

Dave Graham: That is an astonishing number of lights. Good thing I'm not in charg. They'd still be untangling extension cords. I encourage everyone to check out the show, especially locals who have never been good heavens, find out what you've been missing. So we'll hear more about that coming in this episode. And we also have the Festive brass joining us today. They're bringing their holiday shows to communities across Vancouver Island. 

Peter McCully: That's right. Stevan Paranosic will be here to talk about their interactive Christmas concerts. 

Stevan Paranosic: We always say this at the beginning of the shows. If you want to sing with any one of our songs, don't worry. You're never gonna drown us out. If you want to get up and dance, we're all fine for that. If you want to film us, just make sure you post it and tag us afterwards. There's a lot of audience interaction in all of our shows, but we do have some planned moments for Singalong.

Dave Graham: Plus we have a very talented singer songwriter from Nanaimo. Vince Warry just released a new EP called like a Runaway Train. Vince has a history of performing in tribute bands, including The Cult, Led Zeppelin and the Doors. 

Vince Warry: It's been great because doing it has changed my voice in ways that I'm happy for. Like I, I didn't actually think that doing Morrison will change my voice or strengthen my voice because it's a very comfortable range for me. Doing his deep register has strengthened my voice in a way that I didn't expect, so it's been really nice. Side bonus. 

Dave Graham: Tribute bands. I gotta figure there's an art to channeling someone else while still somehow bringing your own authenticity.

I'm certainly no impersonator. I think my best bit of mimicry was doing Mr. Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street, but no, no, don't ask me to do it now. That little gift from the universe faded away long ago. 

Peter McCully: Well, we'll try to manage without your snuffleupagus impression, Dave. Instead, allow me to direct your attention to our latest contest. We've lined up a prize for two. We figure it's the kind of prize that will be all the more welcome this time of year.

Dave Graham: I should say. So we are talking about little timeout in Canada's number one rated spa. The grotto spa. Time tomorrow to enter, to win this pampering prize, simply go to our website, the pulse community.ca, or our Facebook page, the Pulse Community. We'll make the draw December 17th.  

Peter McCully: Future guests to the Pulse Community Podcast will include Kristen Nicoll of Toastmasters. Kristen will share some insights about the power of public speaking and building confidence. 

Dave Graham: Ah, yes. Public speaking. One of those things that terrifies people more than spiders or heights or, I don't know, eggnog, actually, I've heard some people like eggnog. We'll also be speaking with Kirk Krock from Campbell River. He's a professional diver and diving trainer who worked on the avatar films. Training actors on free diving techniques. Oh, free diving. I should have used that as an example. That's better than eggnog. 

Peter McCully: In episode two of season two, we chatted with Darrell Mackay of Campbell River as he was volunteering in Ukraine. Darrell sent us a message on our speak to us line. 

Darrell MacKay: Hello, Peter and Dave. Just want to thank you guys for the coverage on your podcast. It was a very successful, we raised quite a bit of money and we got medical equipment to the front line for the Ukrainian soldiers. They're very grateful. This has opened up a lot of doors for me. I made some amazing contacts, and the last trip, which was my eighth trip, was like a Netflix movie. It was absolutely unreal. I just wanna push my book here too. It's trending on Amazon as number one sales, and also number one for biographies and travel memoirs. So it's 20 dollars at amazon.ca that can be bought here, the States and the uk. If anybody's interested, get in touch with me on Facebook or through my email and I hope you guys get that book for Christmas. It's a good read and I've had awesome reviews on it, so thank you very much. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Dave Graham: All proceeds from my time with Heroes will go to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

Ian Lindsay & Associates: 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. 

Thrifty Foods: At Thrifty Foods We love to help nonprofits, charities, and schools. Our Thrifty Foods Smile Card bulk programme 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. 

Peter McCully: This is the Pulse Community Podcast. You can find us on Facebook and Instagram. We're otherwise available on Apple, Amazon, iHeart, Spotify, TikTok, and YouTube. 

Dave Graham: Share your thoughts. You can contact us through our website talk or type your message. Maybe you have a Christmas story to share, or you have a community event to announce, or you wanna weigh in on the great fruitcake debate. Now, just where do you stand on this issue? Yes, no light. Dark inquiring minds need to know. You'll find us at thepulsecommunity.ca. Okay. It's time to bring on some guests. Here's Marilyn 

Marilyn: In the green room, our Geoff Ball of Milner Gardens and Stevan Parnosic of festive brass. Thousands of people enjoy Milner Christmas magic each year and come from all over the island to enjoy the thousands of lights and displays. Festive Brass will bring their musical shenanigans and holiday cheer to 10 Vancouver Island communities. 

Peter McCully: Thanks for taking time away from being up on the Stepladder hanging lights to talk to us about Milner Magic today Geoff. Yeah, always happy to thank you for the offer. Looking back, it must have been a fairly simple project to put up a few lights and have a Christmas event at Milner.

Geoff Ball: In retrospect, it was much more simple. I think at the time it may have seemed daunting. But the event itself started off on very humble space. Half the trip down was walking past candles that we had volunteers or staff running up and down trying to keep lit and covered in the rain. It was charming, but it's come a long way since the early days. 2003 is when we started this event. So it's evolved an awful lot. 

Peter McCully: Now you have thousands of Christmas lights, literally, and a number of attractions and displays that folks can. Enjoy when they're at Milner Gardens. Perhaps you could take us through what folks will find when they come through the front gates.

Geoff Ball: Sure. Because as you mentioned, we have grown from a few thousand to, I am, I'm estimating we're up around 150, 200,000 lights. Our volunteers started in September to hang them and we had a great team, it's probably 15 people out to every setup day. And they've been going at it hard, so just the scale of it has grown an awful lot. But the experience wise, we have lights from the welcome centre all the way down to the house that's over half a kilometer along the way. There's a few good stops for photo ops. If you wanna get a selfie, it is a kissing ball if you wanna smooch your sweetie and post it if you like, or just keep the photo yourself.

We won't be having Santa and Mrs. Claus this year. They've been very generous to us over the years. They're spreading the magic around the world. They send their best to all the kitties. They will certainly visit the kids, but not at the event this year. This year. Instead, we have singing happening on site.

We brought music back for the first time since COVID. On several nights we've got choirs or a quartet singing on the mates. We don't have singing. We actually have volunteers reading Christmas stories for the kids. There's activity happening there. And then as you go through all the windows in the main house and in the cottage, we've all been lit up into little vignettes.

One of our volunteers has spent a lot of time dressing up the rooms. As you look in. Charming views into the house and just the sense of old Christmas what's going on there. And it's just a fantastic chance to walk along with your family and your friends and enjoy a great Christmas, winter light show.

Peter McCully: Now, I know a lot of folks don't know this, but of course, with your power bill being as high as it is during the month of December, Dave Graham is actually riding a little generator bike out in the front every evening to try and keep a few of those lights on for you. 

Geoff Ball: We greatly appreciate his help. 

Peter McCully: And he's wearing these groovy holiday glasses. Could you tell us about those? 

Geoff Ball: Yeah, these are great things to pick up. So just as you come in there, we have 'em for sale. They look at first real simple glasses you put them on. They're kinda like the old 3D glasses you'd go to see a movie with. And as you walk through, every single point of light will turn into a holiday feature.

So if you pick up the candy canes. As you walk through, there will be a halo around every single light. There'll be a little candy cane, or you can get them in Snowman or snowflakes or Santas. So they are lots of fun. They bring a whole different new aspect to the garden experience. So do highly recommend picking some up. Pick up a few different styles, and you can see it as Christmas trees or candy canes as you walk through. They're lots of fun. 

Peter McCully: I imagine on the busier nights, parking is a bit of an issue. How do you deal with that? 

Geoff Ball: It definitely gets busy. So we've got a few things. One of the things we brought in, and so thanks to Windsor Cloud on Saturdays and Sundays only, the RDN has got a bus running from the Civic Centre in Qualicum Beach to Milner Gardens and back free service.

If you wanna throw in a donation, that's wonderful, but it'll take you from the parking lot in the Civic Centre. Lot of room there to. And then the drop off is right near our gates and comes by every 20 minutes from just before five o'clock at the Civic Centre until after we close pick up at the gardens.

So a great, easy way to get to the gardens if you're not coming on those nights. I don't wanna do that service. By all means if there's, if their parking is far away from the entranceway, folks are welcome to drop off their party and then go park and then walk back, and then later on come by it and pick them up again.

Right down  at the welcome center.

Peter McCully: Can you talk about specifics in terms of tickets and costs and hours of operation? 

Geoff Ball: First of all, we open up Thursdays to Sunday, starting on the fourth, and then going till Sunday the 21st. The events, the gates open at five o'clock, last admission at eight o'clock. We start to wrap things up at about 8:30.

It's an entry by donation. This is a fundraiser that helps to keep the garden running, helps to support our programming or shoots with Roots program, and just maintaining this whole estate. So suggest a donation is $8 an adult, four for a child, or 20 for a household. We appreciate the support of all of our guests 'cause it really helps us to keep this place going.

Peter McCully: I know that it's a very popular event for folks to attend up and down the island. Any idea how many people showed up at the gates last year? 

Geoff Ball: We had well over 12,000 last year and we actually had to close a couple nights though once 'cause of snow. And unfortunately last year, on our last night, a tree way off of our property a few doors down, went right through a power pole a few hours before opening.

So we had no option limited our opening last year, but it is well attended. I think everybody thoroughly enjoys their time here and it's wonderful for us and all of our volunteers who help to put this on 'cause it takes a big army of them again starting in September with the light of crew to all the 20 to 24 volunteers every night.

Who help us to put this on, it's a joy to put on to see the community come in, all the families, the groups to help celebrate their Christmas and their winter festival. 

Peter McCully: Walking around Milner Gardens, I'm sure that folks get a little bit of an appetite, and of course it is around supper hour for some folks. So is there some food service on site? 

Geoff Ball: There is, we do have our food tent right outside the main house. Volunteers and staff have chili and Smokies, hot chocolate, spiced tea, lots of cookies, gingerbread cookies, all in for offer. So you chance to top up there. And most every night we have a food truck, coffee service. Just as you walk in if you need something before you even start where your walk around. And then we also have no food, but our gift shop is open as well every night. So if you need to find something to put in your friend's stocking or something else under the tree. If you feed Dave Gingerbread cookies, he'll peddle that bike all night. We've got a whole stack load ready to go.

Peter McCully: Geoff, thanks very much for talking to us about Miller Gardens and happy holidays. 

Geoff Ball: You as well, thank you.

Peter McCully:  Thanks for joining us on the podcast today, Stevan. The Festive Brass Christmas tour. Spans 10 Vancouver Island communities across the island during the month of December. So I'm wondering what it means to you to be able to bring the music to audiences across the island rather than performing in just one or two venues.

Stevan Paranosic: Many of the Festive  Brass had important performing roles in major Symphony orchestras playing to packed houses, large theatre spaces, and those are incredible experiences in themselves. Playing small, intimate venues, bringing the brass supplier back to the roots of the church. I don't think there's anything like it acoustically, some of these spaces are astounding.

There's something about the old bones of the church or whatever that just help us resonate in that space. And the brass. Often in the big venues, we're playing with other people that we drown on, so we're relegated to the back row. So this gives a chance to be a little bit more. Upfront and personal with the audience.

Also, these small communities, there's a lot of people that that just don't have the chance or can't make the drive to a bigger city to see professionals playing. Nothing builds community like Christmas at this time of year, and so we're just happy to take all these shows on the road to these wonderful locations and provide music for some of these people that maybe never get a chance to see it.

Peter McCully: In the show notes, we'll have links to where folks can see you. On Vancouver Island is December. I wanted to ask you about partnering with different community choirs at most of the stops on the tour, including in Qualcom Beach, the Village Voices for the show in Parksville at the Knox United Church. How does collaborating with local choirs enhance that concert experience for both the performers and the audience?

Stevan Paranosic: The choirs are really a kind of perfect foil to the brass sound, and also to some of our musical shenanigans that we'll talk about a little bit later. But brass and carols did they just meld so well. It's this kind of year. It's like missile toe and eggnog or Turkey cranberry sauce. They go together. This Salvation Army has a longstanding tradition of brass and carols.

The outdoor events and brass percussion are. A few of the instruments that can play outdoors without adverse effects on their instruments. And so the sound of a Christmas caroling group supported by the bra really just has become a longstanding tradition. I don't wanna understate the obvious too, that these local choirs are made up of singing members of their communities and that they have family and friends that love to hear them perform.

We love just having such a faithful, admiring audience that gets to come hear them, but also gets to hear us. So it's a wonderful collaboration between us and these choirs. 

Peter McCully: You mentioned musical shenanigans. Let's dig into that a little bit. Can you explain your philosophy behind adding a poker twist or turning the first Noel into a bit of a slow jam?

What's the creative process behind those reimagined arrangements? 

Stevan Paranosic: I wish I could say that the creative process have a lot of depth or was born of incredible inspiration, but honestly, the ideas are a little whimsical. They're born from a need to just spice things up more than anything. Many Carol and Christmas songs are just, they're instantly recognizable, but they're just so simple, for lack of a better term, and that, of course is part of their appeal to the masses.

For us changing or expanding the underlying harmonies or rhythmically, shifting them to the different genre of music really ens them up for giving everything a glow up. Part of the creative process is that we all share the same sense of humor, and I just get these weird inspirations, and the members of my group would joke that I'm the architect and they're the engineers.

One of my members likes to tell this story how I. Phoned him mid-July in the middle of a heat wave, and I said, Hey, what about I saw three ships, that famous Carol, but we mash it up with some music from the Pirates of the Caribbean, and we call it, I saw three pirate ships. He would just shake his head and say, okay, I'll see what I can do.

And so these are how these things come about. The inspiration just strikes you in weird ways. In weird times, we're lucky enough to have some brilliant arrangers that are able to manipulate my ideas into great musical moments. 

Peter McCully: Sounds like a lot of fun. You've said that the trumpet is a weapon of mass sound destruction, but also capable of tremendous beauty.

Of course. For someone who's never experienced live brass music, what should they expect when they come to a fest of brass concert? 

Stevan Paranosic: The brilliant energizing sounds of brass resonates, I think have always been synonymous with the magic and joy or the holiday season beyond the tradition of the answering, sounding out Christmas Herald.

I'm sure at some point it's been studied, but we know that there's something about the rich minorities of the brass, the overtones, the vibrations. It has a physical affect on a listener, and we also like to believe that Professor brass audiences always lead the show on a high because of these physical feelings.

And the magical feeling of fun that we put into the experience of our concerts is one of our traditions. The way we challenge any of our listeners to come to our concert and not lead with a smile on their face. 

Peter McCully: Now, festive Brass has been performing for over 20 years just at Butchart Gardens, for instance.

I understand you have a library approaching 200 arrangements. So how did all this start? How did the ensemble first come together and when did the light bulb go off and you understood that this was going to be an enduring holiday tradition across the island? 

Stevan Paranosic: Butchart Gardens, IS where Festive Brass started almost 30 years ago.

Our background might actually give some context to our musical shenanigans. Actually. We began as a brass quartet. Butchart Gardens in Victoria wanted to add some live music for the. Patrons as they strolled through and looked at the light displays. So they hired a brass group and that group was hired to play festive music, toggling with a group of traditional carollers.

Quick little story. My wife was one of the carolers and that's where I met her up at Butchart Gardens. So, so a gig up at Butcharts, which she still runs to this day is 36 nights in a row, two hours of Christmas music. So the brass started to find ways to entertain ourselves and on the spot improvising styles, like playing this one like a blues.

We started amusing ourselves so much that we started to write down some of these ideas, and our arrangements got more and more out there, and the audience were coming along with us. They were asking for more of this kind of stuff. When the pandemic hit, we didn't play butcher gardens. I had the idea that it's too much good musicianship here.

This is too much fun. We're having to just keep it relegated to Butchart Gardens. So let's take this on tour. Let's take this out to concert venues. Let's get out of the cold and play jingle bells maybe instead of freezing where ice cubes are coming out of our bells. And that's when the inspiration for the tour hit and we've been having a lot of fun.

Peter McCully: Is there an opportunity for audiences to sing along? 

Stevan Paranosic: Absolutely. We always say this at the beginning of the shows. If you want to sing with any one of our songs, don't worry. You're never gonna drown us out. If you want to get up and dance, we're all fine for that. If you want to film us, just make sure you post it and tag us afterwards.

There's a lot of audience interaction in all of our shows, but we do have some planned moments for Sing Along. We have a very beautiful silent night that we're looking to close our concert with and should be a wonderfully emotional moment for everyone there. 

Peter McCully: You've got 10 stops across the island in the month of December, you will be busy.

Stevan Paranosic: We wouldn't have it any other way, and it is the most wonderful time of the year, 

Peter McCully:  Thanks very much for joining us on the Pulse podcast and happy holidays. 

Dave Graham: Thanks so much, man. Happy holidays all. Are you. Well, there you go. Two fine examples of ways to celebrate this season. Christmas Magic at Milner Gardens and Festive Brass.

Performing at various locations on the island, including Knox United Auditorium in Parksville with the much loved Village Voices choir. 

Peter McCully: Check out the latest episode of Non-Partisan Hacks with Joel Grenz and Sean Wood, the Pulse edition. Also check out the F3 Football and Food Podcast hosted by Erin and chef Jonathan Frazier from Courtney Comox.

Chef Jonathan always has a great tailgate recipe that you can download and try for yourself. 

Dave Graham: Our Skookum Kids story this week features Captain Dave and the crew of the Mellow Submarine. Join Captain Dave and his loyal first mate, Larry The Lobster for a very special celebration. The submarine's 10th birthday!  download and print coloring pages featuring Captain Dave's submarine Adventures 

Peter McCully: And our radio archeology classic radio series this week features an original episode of Gun Smoke. Marshall Dillon discovers that one suspect wanted for murder committed 17 years ago bears a striking resemblance to his trusted friend, doc Adams. 

Dave Graham: You’ll find these podcasts and more at thepulsecommunity.ca 

SOSD69: for more than 55 years. The SOS Caring for Community at Christmas programme has ensured that local children, youth, adults, and seniors, experience the joy of the holidays, the thrill of finding a gift under the tree. The happiness that comes from sharing food that has special meaning to donate to the SOS Caring for Community at Christmas program. Visit SOSD69.com or call 250-248-2093. 

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Peter McCully: We're eager to share our visit with Vince Warry. He's had quite a career as lead vocalist in a number of tribute acts. 

Dave Graham: It makes me think of how a painter studies the masters as a component to becoming a great artist themselves.

Well, I would think that following in the footsteps of the extraordinary in any field is kind of a useful thing to do, but that's enough of me talking about it. And here's Marilyn. 

Marilyn: The Green Room is Vince Warry from channeling rock legends and tribute bands that include music by the cult Led Zeppelin and The Doors Singer songwriter Vince Warry brings decades of rock history to life while releasing his own music, the latest being an EP entitled Like a Runaway Train.

Peter McCully: Welcome to the podcast today, Vince. 

Vince Warry: Thank you very much, Vince. 

Can you walk us through the moment or the experience in your life? And what age you were that made you realize that music was going to be more than just a hobby for you? 

Vince Warry: I wouldn't put one particular moment on it. It was just like a progression.

But I remember. Sitting in my friend's basement watching the monkeys buying the Beatles rock and Roll volume one tape deck from a clearance table in the bay with my mom when I was like eight, and listening to it nonstop. And then there was like a big gap when sports in high school kind of took over.

And it wasn't until later that I connected with Zeppelin and the Cult and ACDC and some of the bigger bands, and even the Tragically Hip. That's when I started testing out my voice and realizing I could get into doing this. What age was that? 

Vince Warry: Around 18 or 19. I also had very important things that I've challenged myself with over my life, 'cause my stepdad passed away.

Around that time, and he was the kind of fellow who always wanted to do stuff when he retired without really knowing it at the time. Just went at my bucket list like crazy. I didn't want to be the same and have regrets. 

Peter McCully: I had the monkey's lunchbox. 

Vince Warry: Sweet. 

Peter McCully: Which artist, or, albums fundamentally changed how you approach making music, and what specifically did you take from them? You had mentioned the doors and the call to ACDC. 

Vince Warry: I think the catalog of the Beatles and just not being confined by any particular style was always important to me. Then learning about Zeppelin once the internet broke and you were able to learn more about a band, learning about Jimmy Page, learning about how session players could do anything they wanted and then bring it as an influence to the band.

Then more personally like, uh, I think it was the song Love Removal Machine by the Cult was the first song that I ever was like, I don't know, that voice sounds like I might be able to do that. And I sang it and was like, oh, I think I might actually be able to do this, and went from there. 

Peter McCully: Do you think tribute bands serve as an important cultural preservation?

Keeping the classic rock alive for the new generations and keeping us old folks happy. How do you see your role in all of that? 

Vince Warry: And I absolutely do. Once I connected with this band in Nanaimo, which is a story in itself, and we decided to do the doors, we did our first shows and the range of people that were there, it was almost like the middle was missing.

There was original Doors fans and like grandkids. And both sides loved it and it's a terrific feeling and you give them the most honest representations you can. I guess it appeals to me as a historian, a living history kind of thing. 

Peter McCully: And you get into the park too, Vince, I was watching you on YouTube with the Doors tribute, and I was looking around.

I was thinking, where's Vince? Oh, he's wearing a wig. Yes, he's on stage. He's got the glasses, he's got the wig. And it was a fine job. 

Vince Warry: Thank you. Thank you. You put all that stuff on and it, it's part of the whole download that I use to channel the energy. 

Peter McCully: What's the most challenging song to perform from your tribute projects?

Vince Warry: That's a good question. Range wise, it would be anything in the Zeppelin catalog, 'cause there's some pretty high stuff. But personality wise, of all the tribute bands I've done. And it's very ironic because of all the looks that I've had to do is probably the one closest to what I actually look like was Gord Downey doing the Tragically Hip.

We did a, a tribute band called In the Evening in Vancouver, and Gord had passed away. The responsibility of doing Gord justice really got into my head, and he's such a lyricist and he's such a personality and having seen him so many times, bringing his vibe. I think we did about five or six shows, and I think I only really felt comfortable once or twice.

Peter McCully: What's the most interesting thing a fan has come up to you and said after a tribute show that made you realize the importance of what you do and how you do it? 

Vince Warry: A show the Tidemark, I go into the crowd for Roadhouse Blues, and I had never had this happen before, but as I was wandering through the crowd, somebody pulled me close and I snapped a picture with them and I thought that was cool.

After the show, a group of women told me, the woman who had been in the picture with me, that she was in stage four cancer, and all she wanted to do was see the doors tribute before she passed away. That really hit me and I was glad that we had a good show because I did my best. I had no regrets and no missed notes or anything.

And she posted that picture and then I found out a few months later that, that she had passed. So it was quite a story for me. 

Peter McCully: But you were living in the lower mainland for many years and then relocated to Nanaimo to join the school system as a teacher? 

Vince Warry: Yes, correct. I was a teacher in Burnaby before that.

Peter McCully: And what subjects do you teach? 

Peter McCully: I teach history and geography, and I was lucky enough here to create a course called the History of Music and Pop Culture, and that was a fun take on some of the history that I've taught. 

Peter McCully: There's no curriculum for that. You make it up.  

Vince Warry: I made it up, yeah. 

Peter McCully: I was watching the video that we're gonna be talking about shortly, and as I watched you walk down the railroad tracks, I thought that guy's a physical education teacher, like you're pretty solid.

Vince Warry: I appreciate it and I looked after myself with lots of martial arts and skiing, but that also led to two replaced hips. I guess that leads me back to the tragically hip discussion we just had. 

Peter McCully: And Vince, you've joined Label big records. How does the Nanaimo music community compare to Vancouver's music scene?

And are there opportunities on the island that you've been provided just because you're here that perhaps the mainland did not? 

Vince Warry: I find that the musicians here are like stealthy. There's some amazing musicians that are tucked away because there's no rehearsal spaces here, at least in Nanaimo or there's one.

So you don't go to a big rehearsal room where there's like bands coming and going, and you're hanging with people. I found the gigs to be like mostly one night gigs. You're the only band for the night, so you're not mingling with other players. So unless you meet, or lucky enough, as I was to meet an amazing group of guys for the first four years I was here, it was pretty lonely.

In Vancouver, like it's in your face. You're all vying for the few venues that there are, but you meet everybody. It's competitive here. It's quiet, and I definitely did not feel like an island boy until recently. 

Peter McCully: You've got a new EP that we're going to talk about. I wanted to ask you, after years of inhabiting other personas on stage, other artists, there obviously is a Vince worry that exists separate from all those other influences.

Vince Warry: Vince Warry was the lead singer of a band in Vancouver called Obscene Silence. Good group of guys, friends of mine, brothers of mine. Really. We grew up in music together and we disbanded in 2006. It wasn't till most of us got back together that we started doing tributes. I was singing originals for a long time.

There's quite an catalog of obscene silence music out there. And then. We did the cult and then we did Zeppelin, and then I moved here and I hooked up with a band, also a big records band called The Yesterday's Fate. I was warming them up for a tour because they're singers in the uk. After that happened, the guys were like, we want to keep working with you.

What are we gonna do? And that's when the doors came out. It, it's been great because doing it has changed my voice in ways that I'm happy for. Like I, I didn't actually think that doing Morrison will change my voice or strengthen my voice because it's a very comfortable range for me. Doing his deep register has strengthened my voice in a way that I didn't expect, so it's been a really nice Side bonus, 

Peter McCully: You have a new ep, which dropped in October after years of channeling other artists in some of these tribute bands. How does it feel to release a collection that's entirely your own voice and vision? 

Vince Warry: I can't say it's entirely my own vision. I work closely with a good fellow, my producer, my guitarist, Jim Kraneveldt.

Together, we have come up with this music and all of the music since I've been with Big. It's really nice to have found a group of guys that I feel at home with and again, like a brothership with, and whether it's Jim's tune. That I'm writing lyrics for, or sometimes I have a tune and we work it out together.

It's just been absolutely positive and fantastic. It's been a dream come true, really. 

Peter McCully: The EP title and the single, like a runaway train, is this a metaphor for your musical journey? 

Vince Warry: I suppose it could be. That is the one track on the entire EP that is an entirely gym creation. He wrote the music and the lyrics.

I've been around long enough and I've worked with enough people and collaborated with enough people that I rarely like singing other people's lyrics. It just doesn't feel natural to me. But runaway train worked. There's a few phrasings that I made my own, but lyrically speaking it, it made sense to me.

It was just the right. Pocket that I like. It resonates with me too, because ultimately the sentiment is that once your mind gets going on something, it can go like a runaway train and I can completely understand that.

Peter McCully: like a runaway train. That's Vince Warry. Vince, take us inside your songwriting process. Do you start with lyrics and melody, scrap a paper with a couple of words, maybe a feeling you're trying to capture. 

Vince Warry: What typically happens actually is whether I came up with the tune, which is me plunking it out in the most amateur way possible.

Or if Jim presents me with a tune that almost sounds like it's come out of the Beatles recording studio, like he's has a habit of presenting me with He's amazing recordings right off the bat. But typically the first thing that comes to me is the vibe of the song. And what is the chorus gonna be? What is the main point gonna be here?

Peter McCully: A CDC is coming back to Vancouver in June, I believe. Does that mean Vince war is going to do some sort of a tribute to ACDC? 

Vince Warry: In the meantime, I would have to ask Jim to put shorts and a cap on, and I'm not sure he'd be into that, and I can only do the Bon Scott stuff. I can't do Brian Johnson.

Peter McCully: Between your tribute work and your original material and your ep, you're essentially maintaining multiple musical personas that must keep the creative energy flowing when one night you are Morrison and the next day you're Vince Warry.

Vince Warry: I'm pretty spiritual when it comes to stuff like that and I use the term download 'cause they're songs.

For example, like with the Doors, tribute Mojo Horizon. When we were picking an opening song, the song that puts me in Jim is actually Backdoor Man. Some of the guys were kinda like, nobody really knows that song, so you're a casual fan. And I was like, let me do it and show you the difference. And I did. And they all appreciated. Yeah. Okay. That sets him up to be Jim. When it's time to take all that stuff off, it takes me a week or two to get my own voice back. Absolutely. And gyms kept me hot. This last little stretch of Phish, the EP while we were doing mojo shows was interesting 'cause I was bouncing back and forth and I guess it trained me a little bit better to do that.

Peter McCully: What advice would you give to young musicians who are trying to build a career in music these days? 

Vince Warry: Collaborate, be open to doing anything, even if it sounds lame. Jam with old dudes and young jam with everybody because you never know who's there, who's listening, and who you're playing with. What you're gonna learn and help each other out. In Vancouver, in 1995 to 2000 was so cutthroat it was so much nicer, and it's so much nicer here with bands helping each other out and helping find bookings and stuff. 

Peter McCully: As someone who's spent years honoring the past, while creating your own new music, what do you think rock music needs to remain relevant in 2026 and beyond. It seems more than ever we're seeing old rock and roll guys show up on the country music 

Vince Warry: charts. There are bands out there that are still throwing it down like the cult, for example. I know a lot of people who like the cult, like myself, they don't know they're still going, and it's actually, they're better than they've ever been.

I guess it's like walking that fine line. I think the elder artists should probably go out when they're on top. I look at David Lee Roth. Is he doing anybody any favors doing what he's doing? Sounding like that yet. I understand it's like a double-edged sword 'cause I would probably still wanna be doing it too.

But to keep it relevant, I think you should put your best foot forward like that last AC DC album was a pretty solid outing. Almost every track. That's rare for AC DC. Usually they have a few songs and the rest are filler. Moving forward, you can release a single to keep your name and keep people listening to you. That's what I would say. 

Peter McCully: We hope that's what you keep doing. Went. Hey, thanks. Thanks for your time today. We really enjoyed this. I enjoyed this.

Vince Warry: I did too. Thank you so much. Nice to speak to somebody on the island. 

Dave Graham: Vince Warry like a runaway train. What a great story that makes his journey from tribute bands to original music.

You can find links to his music in our show notes. It's inspiring. It makes me think that well, maybe someday I will be able to get my guitar out and play more than just the first five notes of LED Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven. David, I didn't know you played guitar. 

Peter McCully: Just five notes. Before we wrap this up, a reminder to give what you can. This time of year, food banks and the Salvation Army provide great options. 

Dave Graham: We had to bring up wrapping, that's another issue, trying to get the wrapping paper all lined up and wrinkle free and without too many tears and holes. And oh, by the way, do you happen to have any rolls of sticky tape on you? I have a couple more gifts to wrap, so I figured two more rolls ought to do.

Peter McCully: Well, I'll see what I can do. Hey folks, there's lots of ways to help out. Volunteer your time, check on your friends and neighbours. Spread a little kindness. They all add to the magic. 

Dave Graham: And if you still have shopping to do, of course, we encourage you to keep it local. And don't forget our contest, your chance to win a wonderful experience for two at the Grotto Spa time tomorrow.

Peter McCully: Thanks for joining us. We'll be back soon with more stories from mid Vancouver Island. 

Dave Graham: Hey, I haven't finished my letter to Santa yet. Maybe I should ask for the ability to wrap gifts. Is that a thing? No, wait, wait, wait. I should ask for a gift wrapping robot. And that's way better. Come on Santa. You can do it You big elf. 

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. Peter and Dave, they're on the mics, all right. Join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.