It’s down to the wire for Okanagan Idol contestants to make the final cut

It might not be as big and well known as its American counterpart, but Okanagan Idol 2003 is stirring up some excitement here in the valley. And for finalists Kristin Mazuren and Tim Tribble, the Okanagan Idol event is  giving them the kind of exposure they have always dreamt of.

According to event organizer, John Karroll of Sky Z Limit productions, some  150 wanna be entertainers from Kamloops to the Kootenays have made their way to  Costello’s on Abbott to take part in this 10 week event, and with just two weeks remaining, they are now narrowed down to 16 finalists. Tonight sees the final  selection of the 10 lucky contestants who get to be recorded on the Okanagan Idol 2003 CD.

“There were all styles”, says Karroll. “We had one girl do a Moulin Rouge bit  with a piano’s some brought in musicians to accompany them, and others, like  Sherri-Anne Nyberg, accompanied themselves on guitar singing their own originals.

While the stakes aren’t as high as the televised American Idol, there are  plenty of prizes up for grabs for the winner, ranging from dance lessons and a photo shoot to being recorded on a CD.

And local interest has created standing room only crowds at the weekly event.

For young performers like Maruzen, Tribble and Nyberg, one of the biggest  benefits of this contest is the stage experience.

For Maruzen, her first taste of the limelight came in Grade 9 when she took  to the stage in a school performance of Grease. And even though she’s been  singing for the past four years, as she sits on the eve of her 19th birthday,  she hasn’t had a lot of club experience.

“It really helps with getting used to the club feeling and singing in front  of more people,” she notes.

Nyberg confirms this as well, saying, “sitting in the living room playing for  my brother and parents is one thing, this is totally different”.

Tribble jokes about his musical roots, saying, “I think I was eight years old  when my Mom forced me to join a choir in Grade 4. I was the only guy there, but  I got into it after a couple of weeks”.

Since then, the Grade 11 Penticton secondary student has been active as a  singer/songwriter.

The Okanagan Idol will be selected by a panel of judges who rate each  performer on everything from audience response to stage presence.  One of the judges is the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra’s stage manager, Ernie Webber. Says “a fairly lengthy list (of categories to mark contestants on) and we don’t even  know the scores as we’re doing them,” he notes, so it’s a surprise at the end.
”And as it gets closer to the end, it’s getting really tough we are down to having contestants separated by decimal points”, Webber says.

After tonight’s competition, the final 10 performers will be selected to record the Okanagan Idol 2003 Compilation CD, with each performer getting one song, and the Okanagan Idol getting to record four.

Next Wednesday, April 2, the 10 finalists will perform again and the Okanagan  Idol will be selected. The next Wednesday, April 9, the CD will be recorded live.

The competition gets underway at Costello’s on Abbott starting at 7 p.m. each  Wednesday and runs through until about 11 p.m.

Anyone looking for more information can contact John Karroll at  707-3497.

Sounding Off Music- Local blues becoming a hot industry

The Best of Blue Gator; July 1, 2002 (Sky Z Limit)

By Bruce Mitchell, Showcase contributor, Capital News

A few months ago I reviewed the Dogskin Suit CD that was recorded live at the Blue Gator club and I was blown away by its excellence.

Well the Blue Gator must have some kind of ultra cool mojo working for it. This live anthology with the aforementioned Dogskin Suit, Glockwerk Orange, Blues Tribe, Blues on Tap, and Ricky and the Blue Cats is uniformly superb and illustrates just how strong the blues scene is in the Central Okanagan.

Someone ought to get a copy of this to Holger Petersen of Stony Plain Records out of Edmonton, who specializes in roots music.

One listen to this deluxe biscuit and Petersen just might move his whole operation here!

Anyway, there are just too many highlights to mention them all as each act had only three songs to add to this compilation and they have certainly chosen their tunes well.

Dogskin Suit offer a marvelous, extended take of Savoy Brown's Made Up My Mind while Glockwerk Orange stick to the roots with Willie Dixon's I Just Wanna Make Love To You. This latter cut is probably my fav track here as the Glock boys find the perfect groove and ride it smoothly.

There is a hint of country to the blues of Blues On Tap and their wonderful original Long Hard Road, whereas Blues Tribe rip through a fine take of Jr. Wells’ signature song Messin' With The Kid.

Last but hardly least is Ricky and the Blue Cats who tackle the challenging nugget Can't Hold Out and actually surpass the Eric Clapton version according to my ears.

I also like the fact this disc was released on Canada Day as this is a fine tribute to Canadian-made blues.

Finally, hats have to go off to Sky Z Limit Productions who were absolutely masterful at getting a great sound throughout this disc.

The infrastructure is certainly here for this situation to really blossom and I know I've mentioned this before: watch the blues boom after Ken Burns PBS documentaries this fall.

So head down to the Blue Gator now before the lineups become common place.

***** (and I'm not just being a homeboy reviewer).