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juLY 6, 2016
Corb Lund kickin it country style at Veggfest Joe Machney Reporter Corb Lund, the lead singer of the Hurtin Albertans and one of the headlining acts of Veggfest at the end of August, is super excited about the event and all the hype that has been growing around it the past few weeks as people count down the days until the end of August. The through and through country musician grew up in Southern Alberta living on his family’s farm and ranches near Taber, Cardston and Rosemary. Proud to be Albertan, Corb left his country life to move to Edmonton where his life of playing music began as he enrolled in in the Grant MacEwan College to study jazz guitar and bass. Mr Lund took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with VNA before the Sugust event. VNA: I’m really looking forward to Veggfest at the end of August. Corb Lund: Yeah me too, sounds like it’s going to be a blast. VNA: Can you talk about that one defining moment when you knew you wanted to be a musician? Corb Lund: I grew up listening to western music, my parents are cowboys, but when I was 15 my friend Mike from The Smalls turned me on to heavy rock music, so I started to play music back then and started to write my own songs. Eventually I went from rock songs to country and western song writing. They aren’t as different as people think. I like the older music, both western and rock from back in the 70s.
Rosanne Fortier The organization, 100 People Who Care is a local group that gets together bi-annually at the beginning of December and June to vote on which local charity they will each forward a $100 cheque to. On June 23, members gathered at Maple Street Worship Centre for this meeting. The chosen charity then has to hold the next meeting. Vegreville Food Bank
VNA: Yeah, music and the messages that it conveys has changed through the generations. Does your music carry a certain message, or is it for pure listening pleasure? Corb Lund: I’m not really one for hitting people over the head with a message, I mean I just sing about things that are important to me. Sometimes I write to get a message across and sometimes it’s purely for fun. I avoid the political stuff, or am cautious about it. Same for certain causes. I think it’s a good thing for some people to do, but I also think music has a purpose that is deeper than that and can reach people on that level as well. VNA: What challenges have you had to face in your career as a musician? Corb Lund: Well, when you’re trying to make original music it’s always an uphill battle. You have to live rather frugally in the beginning, because there is so much music out there and so much competition. You also have to get used to living in a vanhouse while on tour and I actually didn’t mind that. It’s all part of the process, and kinda builds character. VNA: Good attitude! So life is short, when you find your passion, you gotta pursue it, what advice would you give to future musicians? Corb Lund: You gotta really want to do it for the right reasons. It’s not for money or fame. People who really want to make a go of it have to put in the time, it’s a full commitment and you really have to mean it. You have to go all out for it with no guarantee of income at the end of it all. There are no where Alicja Gruntowicz is the Cordinator hosted this gathering because they were the chosen charity at the last meeting held in December. Representatives of three local charities who were nominated by members were Dee Palichuk (CALS) Community Association for Lasting Success, Kathleen Bohaychuk for (VALID) Vegreville Association for Living in Dignity and Lois Byers from Rotary Club of Vegreville. Gruntowicz opened the meeting where she thanked members for voting for Vegreville Food Bank last December. Olga Jamison, President of Vegreville Food Bank said that they are totally supported by donations of food and cash by the community. “Since December, our numbers of users for the food bank keeps growing. Our supplies are going down a bit again and we would welcome any donations that the people would have. We really appreciate the community and all they give us.” Following this,
guarantees in the arts, you have to do it for the love of the music. But it’s super satisfying to have people relate to your stuff. VNA: Which famous musicians do you admire and why? Corb Lund: Marty Robbins is probably my favorite ever. I like the way he sings, there is very few people singing western songs, like cowboy ballads as opposed to country songs. It’s something that he does and it’s my family’s heritage. Ian Tyson I really like as well, we’ve become good friends over the years and he’s been a big help in my career. I like all kinds of music actually, Irish music, Jazz, heavy rock, all kinds of stuff. VNA: One last one. How often to you
practice? Corb Lund: I try to play every day for an hour or two, but it doesn’t always work out. When I was younger people would say, play as much as you can now because once you get a career you won’t have time. I use to think that wasn’t true, but I found out that when your career gets going you’ve got to design your album cover, tour, you’re in the van, and I learned that I really don’t have time. VNA: This was great Corb, thanks for your time and I’ll probably see you at the end of August! Corb Lund: Thanks I’m looking forward to coming, I think it will be a lot of fun.
Caring individuals gather to give the first representative was Palichuk from CALS and the Head Start program that operates an early childhood education program that supports families with children from three to five years old who are at risk for learning for a variety of reasons. “This program focuses on developing skills and experiences necessary for successful lifelong learning. It is an inclusive program and we work in partnership with the Vegreville Preschool Association and there is no cost for families to participate in this program,” Palichuk said. “Our Family Literacy Program supports parents in their role as their child’s first and most important teacher. With this program, the parents work with a family literacy facilitator and they expand their understanding on the role that books play in promoting world language development. “The Breakfast Club is our school snack program where we feed 650 children three times a week to reduce hunger which helps to increase the readiness to learn. This program operates totally on donations, fundraisers and volunteers,” Palichuk explained.
Bohaychuk, representative for VALID presented her address next where she said this organizations helps to promote the highest quality of life and independence for adults with developmental disabilities. They will use the funds towards the purchase of a new wheelchair van for transportation for these individuals. Byers, representative for Rotary Club of Vegreville said they are embarking on building a Bike and Skate Park for Vegreville which is in the early stages of development. “We are working with the Town of Vegreville, the County of Minburn and other groups. Rotary does do international work but we do more community work than international work. If we are chosen as the charity of choice tonight, that is where all the funds will go.” CALS was the chosen charity that the members voted for where they received $2000. The majority of these funds will go towards the Breakfast Club with the rest being split between the Family Literacy and Head Start Programs.