Northern Groove

Just because things have always been done a certain way, does not mean it is the only way to do them. This is exactly how Joseph te Bulte has recently approached his music. Joseph worked backwards, by getting the gig and using it as motivation to build up his song repertoire. 

Egan's is planning a foot-tappin' good time on Friday! Joseph te Bulte and his band of awesome peoples are coming out to play a great live music show.

Joseph te Bulte hails from Fort St. John. This singer-songwriter combine elements of Roots, Reggae, and Folk to create a "Folk-Rock" sound that is both entertaining and musically intriguing. Having grown up in the West Kootenays and lived in a variety of BC interior communities, Joseph has many small town and rural life experiences from which he draws on to craft his songs. Thriving off of the live performance experience, Joseph brings a contagious energy to the stage. Friday night will be featuring Simon Andrews on bass and Todd Koponyas on drums. Both Simon and Todd are very skillful, trained musicians and they know how to bring a funky groove to every song. Simon is primarily a guitar player, but doesn't get as much stage time as he would like on his main instrument because he is in such high demand as a bass player. His creative bass lines will keep you wanting more. Todd also has a name in town as a extremely solid drummer. His creative beats are the backbone of this trio.

On Friday they will be mixing unique brand of originals with a few tasteful cover tunes from other Canadian artists. So come down to Egan's at 8 pm for a lively live show.

Building on Fort St. John’s designation as The Music Capitol of Northern BC, Face The Music has been an outstanding success. We’ve have been running the workshops for over 8 months and each one has been a creative playground for both the artists and the community.

This year alone we had the opportunity to expand our reach to songwriters, musicians, classical pianists, blues guitar players, dj’s, and many more. We had Peter Katz, and songwriter from Toronto. We got to learn how to play the blues with Guy Davis from New York City. Harpdog Brown taught us the intricacies of the harmonica. Sarah Hagen explored the classical realm and Fred Eaglesmith told us the reality of what it takes to be a songwriter, really... no really. Ill Gates educated us on how to work with Abelton Live and produce music with total different inspiration. Harry Manx showed us how true life experience will build beautiful music. Harry did put out his first cd out when he was 47.  We all still got time.

All in all Face The Music has been a really great experience for both the artists and the community. Getting the opportunity to explore new ideas, different styles of music, and discover music we may have never heard before will forever leave a legacy of talent in Fort St. John.

If we’re gonna claim to be The Music Capitol of Northern BC, we gotta own it, and show the rest of the world that we can put the music where our mouth is.

Place Quotes around page, use pics from past FTM articles...

"Face the Music workshop were always inspirational, entertaining and a hell of a bargain at $5"
-Nick Baccante

“An initiative like Face The Music solidifies our city’s reputation as The Music Capital of Northern BC. A collaborative effort between city government and the music community, it goes a long way to taking music out to the community, which adds significantly to the quality of life in Fort St. John.”-Bruce Lantz, Mayor, City of Fort St. John

Dear Face the Music people:

I am writing to thank you for your involvement in the Face the Music workshops that the City of Fort Saint John has been sponsoring. I have had the pleasure of taking in a few of them. I really think these are valuable to the local arts and music community. I personally have grown a lot as a musician and song writer by attending these workshops.

The Peter Katz workshop especially was so enlightening for me. When I attended the workshop I was in the middle of a writing dry spell.
In the two weeks after Peter coming I wrote and completed 4 songs, two of which are in the process of being recorded.

I also have a handfull of friends who attended the Guy Davis blues workshop and found it really valuable.
I just want to say thank you again and hope that this can continue on in the future.

Sincerely, Joseph te Bulte

Experience an evening of great food, great art, and great music on Saturday January 29th at Whole Wheat 'n Honey.  Visual artist Amy Te Bulte will be transforming Whole Wheat 'n Honey into a one day art exhibit.  As an artist, Amy loves portraits and is drawn to the energy and intimacy of human form. Combining her love for creativity and community, Amy also works part time as the Music & Arts Director at her local church, often painting live on stage during the music as well as developing a small gallery space in the building. Like many young families, Amy and her husband were initially drawn to Fort St John for work, and were thrilled to discover, and subsequently become part of such a thriving, exciting and supportive arts community.

If you haven't seen Amy's work - this is the ideal opportunity to see many of her best available pieces, all at once.

To complete the evening of entertainment, a concert will be performed by Rik Leaf, with friends Joseph Te Bulte (Amy's husband), and Adam Winn. 

Rik Leaf is the kind of artist that inspires all the people around him to add a little creativity into their lives.  Rik’s career is as diverse as the cultural climate of his hometown of Winnipeg; a city where English, French, First Nations and Metis artists and cultures create a truly unique creative environment. Featured on six internationally released compilation CDs in addition to four of his own, Rik has consistently worked to establish an intimate and lasting relationship with audiences drawn to his thought provoking and socially conscious music. Click Here to listen to Rik’s music.

Portions of this evening will be filmed as part of Amy's story featured in the "Where The Art Is" Project.  For more about the project, click here.

Doors open at 7:00 with performances starting shortly after.

Well... on Tuesday we put together a few musicians, a well dressed bunch of strangers, and put them all together in a packed public transport bus.  We drove around town, sang songs in minus thirty degree weather, and an accordian may or may not have been present.... Add it all up, and Tuesday chalked up as an evening for the history books for the City of Fort St. John!

It was all made possible via the efforts of the forward thinking crew at the City of Fort St. John through the project titled "Music that Moves You".   Together with the City, BC Transit, and the amazing musicians of Fort St. John...

Simply put, this is an absolutely unique event, that we wish everyone in our community experiences one way or another!  We took a few pictures, and captured some video (which we may, or may not release one day).  Either way, please take a browse through these photos and next time, hopefully we'll see you on the bus!