Instruments: Drums, Bass, Guitar, Keyboard, Voice (and some flute)

Genres: Danceable Lap Pop, LoFi Silly Songs, New Wave, Acid Jazz, Grunge and More

Joel Klaverkamp is the mastermind behind the varying styles of beefdonut. After a short and sweet introduction and interview, I could immediately tell he is a relaxed and laid back dude. His musical CV is all across the map when it comes to genres and musical styles so the best thing you can do it check out his soundcloud and hear them for yourself. I promise you won’t be disappointed! 

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Ashley: Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

Joel: I’ve played for a long time in the Winnipeg music scene. I played bass in Skingerbreadman and bass in The Hummers. I also played keyboard in Drums and Wires and I played guitar and everything with beefdonut which is sort of just me and my songwriting. I also play drums for people like A La Mode and Boats.

Ashley: So where did the name come from?

Joel: I worked at HMV a long time ago and I worked with a friend of mine who brought donuts from sears and they tasted like they were deep fried in oil that had deep fried beef so it had this disgusting flavor to it. We started calling them ‘beef donuts’ and later on I thought it would be a pretty good name so I took it.

Ashley: How often are you practicing your instruments? 

Joel: The correct answer is not often enough, but it also ebbs and flows. Lately I’ve been practicing drums a lot more because A La Mode was preparing for Real Love summer fest and a show at the Handsome Daughter. It all depends on which gig is coming on. I am mostly practicing for shows three times a week.

Ashley: What is a practice or jam session like with the band?

Joel: It depends on the project, if its very collaborative it’s very magical. I try to respect that magic and allow it to happen and that’s one of the main reasons I play. If it’s not collaborative, if it’s someone else saying theses are the parts or if I’m saying these are the parts it tends to be not as magical and a bit more technical. You have to actually figure out their vision or you have to try to communicate your vision [to others] so it’s less just “letting it happen.”

Ashley: And with beefdonut, how do you perform your music? Do you do it solo or do you book musicians?

Joel: It depends, we played at Graffiti Gallery and it was a whole new line up. I got flute synth parts, electric guitar, backing vocals and percussion, synth and drums and it’s got a bigger band and dance focus. The last record I did was very grunge rock themed where there are very little dynamics. It was a four piece [set-up]. Before that I have done performances alone with laptops but I don’t really like that; I’ve also had guitar loops solo shows where I’ve had a guitar loop pedal and play. It can be whatever. I’ve also done a lot of recording for sound track work mostly for modern dance shows so a lot of the times I’ll be live mixing that while the show is going so the sections all match up with each other. It really depends.

Ashley: What is the most stressful part about being a musician?

Joel: I’m really easy going and relaxed in general so there really isn’t anything that stresses me out about music that I can think of. For me, that’s the fun part.

Ashley: Then who inspires your music?

Joel: That changes a lot. Currently I’m really inspired by Goat and Thee Oh Sees although if I had to pick, in the past I would have said Bjork or Prince. But now I would have to say James Murphy. The stuff he makes is just perfect in my mind. If you were to break it down into actual quantifiable metrics, thearrangement of the song, the tones of the instruments, the lyrics, the melodies and everything about what he does is matched in my DNA for music.

Ashley: So then what is your songwriting process?

Joel: I don’t have one. Nope, I just sit down and let them come out. I don’t think of them as coming from me.

Ashley: Is it what’s in the your head and you put it out there? 

Joel: Yes the music will usually come to me, usually on the bus, and I’ll write down the words I’ll hear. I’ll try to keep the melody in my head until I’m near an instrument and try to figure it out. Usually by then it’s somewhat changed or I don’t get it exactly right.

Ashley: Would you say your music is more lyrically or melody based?

Joel: Oh definitely not lyrically based. Although a lot of times the music will start with one lyric or one phrase that comes into my head and it will have a melody attached to it already and I’ll just build on that.

Ashley: What accomplishments with beefdonut are you most proud of?

Joel: I recently won an award for ‘Best Music for a Short Film’ that was in a film festival. The film is called Alice and Kevin; it’s a really touching movie, really well done. It’s about a mom and her son and the son has I believe its cerebral palsy; basically he has special needs and she lives on a reserve with him and she’s not getting the same level of health care that she would get if she lived in the city. She’s filed a human rights claim and she’s just found out she has cancer and has a limited amount of time to live. She feels that if she’s gone then he’s not going to get the proper care to live without her. It’s a very powerful story and it’s true. It’s a documentary. I didn’t even know it was in festivals and I got a check in the mail and it said ‘Best Music’ from the Nanaimo Arts Council.

Although that said, that would be for beefdonut. For other projects I’ve been in, I’ve been doing [music] for a long time but playing at Folk Fest with The Hummers in 2007 was probably the highlights. We went on we were supposed to play for maybe an hour long set but we ended up playing from 3:00am to sunrise. There were just thousands and thousands of people, it was a lot of fun.

Ashley: What’s your favorite song to perform?

Joel: My favorite song to perform is Signs of Seasons. I also really like performing with Robo Jam; which is a band I play drums in. We have a lead vocalist/dancer and a keyboard player and we use prerecorded loops and a software that generates music and it’s a lot of fun. It’s very theatrical and we all dress up like robots. It’s a high-energy band and the crowd reaction is pretty good.

Ashley: How do you balance with your other obligations?

Joel: I don’t do anything else. I work and I have a family and I have music. I’ve never seen an episode of Breaking Bad and I miss out on all those pop culture references. I work with a lot of people who reference shows that I’ll never get around to watching. I probably won’t see anything until I’m 70 and I’m in my hospital bed and I have nothing else to do but watch them. Hopefully I’ll be mentally fit to understand them.

Ashley: Since you’ve started working with people, what’s the best advice you’ve heard since you started as a musician that has stuck with you and helped you with your music career?

Joel: [I would say] I try to be, as much as I can, a person in the music scene. The music community in Winnipeg is pretty wonderful and pretty open. Anyone can get in there, just start going to shows and you can start being [one of those people] that are part of the community. For me, I try to go to as many local shows as I can, listen to their stuff in the car and the Internet radio. For me everything it gears towards that. What I’m talk about is just support. I try to support the music scene as much as I can in confidence that it will be reciprocated. The people who come out to see me play are the people I go out and see play.

A photo posted by Ashley Bieniarz (@ashleybieniarz) on Sep 24, 2015 at 11:15am PDT

Support Winnipeg Musician beefdonut!

Genre(s): Alternative, Folk, Indie, Pop

Instruments: Drums, Piano, Alto Sax, Guitar

I had never met Ty before this interview so I was really nervous meeting him. I realized right away that he is actually really cool and super easy to talk to! It didn't really feel like I was interviewing him, it was more like we were having a nice and friendly conversation. We actually lost a chunk of the recording, so I missed some really cool stories Ty shared with me; but I still learned so much from him. Check it out!

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Ashley: How often and how long do you practice as a band?

Ty: Practicing in a band is much different from practicing on your own. If we have a show coming up and we feel really comfortable with the set, we will just play through start to finish. If we notice there is something off, that’s a little funny. We stop and work at that part. We’ll try to break it down if it’s a rhythmic thing, make sure out harmonies are correct, that we can hear each other, or see some parts are overbearing. If we find a particular line that we keeping flubbing up, we will work on it. If we do have something coming up, the main thing is we practice out set and transitions to make sure there is no dead weight.  We practice for the stage.

A: Who inspires you musically?

T: Everybody. Mostly. My dad was a big influence because he was always playing when I was little. He was in a funk/R&B/blues band so I grew up on a lot of Motown,  Marvin Gaye and Wilson Pickett. They played a lot of 80s and 90s so a lot of funk and rhythm sensibilities that I picked up early on translated well into soloing and grooves. Later on when I was learning piano, I got into classical and rock piano like Elton John. Also lots of classical rock, alt. pop, blues for soloing, and jazz because I was in jazz band in middle school. 

A: What kind of music did you learn for each instrument you played?

T: In terms of piano, when I was taking lessons at my neighbors, it would have been a lot of pop stuff from all over the place while using early technique books and stuff like that. The first time I focused on classical music was my grade 5 Royal Conservatory of Music exam for the high school credit. I also wanted to make sure I had something in my back pocket for teaching, and grade 5 seemed like a good benchmark. I ‘ve always had classical training but started jazz band in school. I also did a little jazz on the guitar for a little bit on the drums. In band class I was playing tenor and alto sax also upright.

A: What got the band Sc Mira together?

T: Well it started with the singer Sadie and I. I was a producer for a couple of her first acoustic folk songs and then we started writing together. A year and a half ago we were started as a duo, but decided we wanted it to be a full band. 

A: So then, what accomplishments are you most proud of?

T: Teaching little kids. I teach at a unique place, where at the end of the year instead of a concert or recital; we put all the kids into small bands. We then have five weeks of them rehearsing together on the same song. When you have these 6 year old on stage completely on their own, playing a rock or blues song, I guess it’s not my own accomplishment, but when I see them on the stage the feeling is so neat.

A: What do you like most about being a musician?

T: The biggest reason I like being a musician is because I’m good at it.  I mean that sounds arrogant but I feel that’s fair to say. For a lot of things that people do, if you’re good at something you generally follow that path. I’m good at it and I like it. It’s an artistic challenge. It’s logical challenge with pattern forming; mathematics, science and art components. It makes people happy and you get to share that with them. You go on stage and let go, play characters if you want. Open up and tell stories. As lame as it sounds, you reach for the stars. You get to travel or tour and play with other people. I love how you get to connect with others that are not a necessarily normal [way to communication with others], like talking. It’s kind of like an extra level of interacting with people. No one really knows why he or she makes music. I think I’m just making excuses as to why I make music [laughs].

A: What advice would you give to beginners who are just starting out?

T: Suck it up, [laughs] in the nicest way possible! For me, I still get extremely nervous. Not as much in the last year or so, but I would be terrified about doing any kind of performing with other people. I still get nervous. I don’t know how I got through it all those years or what kept me going; but there is always going to be some kind of nerves with showing something so personal to other people.  It takes guts to get out there. It’s not something everyone deals with on a daily basis. It’s not like your forced to go and play songs with everyone from the day you are born - like talking and walking. It’s still interesting that we don’t really understand why we connect to others with music so much.

To come out and say “ Hey I play music” and sharing such an intimate part of your like can be daunting. So to get over it, just close your eyes and jump off the cliff. Baptism by fire is the absolute best option for me. Some of the biggest things I’ve have to overcome, like when I played at the MTS Centre, that was the absolutely terrifying. If I had sat back and thought about it like “oh no I can’t do this, I’m going to mess up” I would have started doubting myself and throwing all of these things in the air that hadn’t been there before. I just closed my eyes, closed my ears, shut up and went out and did it. When I finished, the adrenaline and the feeling of accomplishment were amazing and there are very few things that match that feeling. On the flip side and you do go and make a mistake or embarrass yourself, which I have don’t countless of times, it will freak you out for a bit but it gives you really good incentive to never to that again.

Trust your gut. Trust your talent. Don’t listen to the voices in your head, just listen to the feelings; because that’s what music is. It’s feeling not thinking.

A: How do you balance music with your other obligations?

T: I’ve managed to turn music into my obligation. For example, being able to teach music as a job. I also do composing and songwriting or I produce and mix for bands, TV shows and movies; so that fits in really well. It’s difficult. But, the more I focus, the more it’s easier to become apart of my work and school life. It’s definitely a juggling act. You’ll find yourself  saying “I really want to work on this right now but I have an exam tomorrow” and it’s unfortunate. I could be 100% invested in music but it would make life very difficult at the moment. 

A: What is your common and successful songwriting process?

T: I would say there are three main ways I personally go about it:

1.     Someone needs a song. You sit down and say. “Okay I need to come up with something.“ It’s not very inspirational; but the music will be good! The music sensibility will still be there, but you’re being told to write something. The producer will tell me  “I need this, I need that” and I work on something and send it to them. They’ll tell me what they like and what they don’t and I’ll keeping working on it until it’s completed. That’s the least creative way. It’s still fun, it’s just a different kind of challenge. You’re trying to work to someone else’s schedule.

2.     The second way to compose is in a group, where I might start with some kind of melody or structure and sit down at the rest of the group saying “here I have this, I don’t know where it’s going. “ I’ll play something, they’ll play something; they’ll sing something, I’ll sing something.” We’ll sit together and work on a tune or two. It might take a day or a week; but the entire band works together. It’s really interesting because you get everyone’s different ideas. It’s like sculpting a weird sculpture with everyone brining his or her own chisel. It’s a very interesting process. A good team-building project.

3.     The last way to compose is the most personal way. It’s 100% just myself. I’ll hear a tidbit of a song and immediately have cogs turning in my head and out of nowhere I’ll coming up with a melody. Sometimes it can be quick, other times it will take forever. Many items it just clicks: BOOM, there it is. You’ll get an idea and sit down with it. Just keeping at it and building on it. Lots of times that will be without any instruments in front of me.  When I have something I like, I’ll run to an instrument to try it out. I’ll even try to record it to make sure I don’t forget it. I usually don’t but it’s a good safety net. The third option is the way I write most of my own personal stuff. 

A: Anything you are currently working on that you would like to share? Upcoming performances?

T: Nothing until the EP or Album release. We are releasing it at the West End Cultural Centre in June. Once we finish that show, we are going on the road for three weeks. We have a big tour across Canada and the United States planned. 

A photo posted by Ashley Bieniarz (@ashleybieniarz) on May 22, 2015 at 6:00pm PDT

Support Winnipeg Band Sc Mira!

If you like this post, please hit the like and share button below! Please reach out to me via Twitter or my contact page! I would love to hear anything you have to say! Really, anything. I'm lonely. Also I now have a new Facebook page that will let you know when each post is posted! I would really appreciate if you could like it! Thank you!

Instrument(s): Opera Voice, Guitar, Piano, Flute, Drums, Bass, Mandolin 

Genre(s): Classical, some jazz, classic and progressive/art rock

Tristan Zaba is a Canadian composer, arranger, producer, and instrumentalist. In 2012, he released his first album, Thoughts Past Pondered, and released his second album, In The Round, in 2014 with his band ZABA. Both albums feature the band's progressive rock style bringing in modern influences such as Steven Wilson, Rush, Jethro Tull, and Pink Floyd. Currently he is studying music composition with the Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba.

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Ashley: Let's start with you telling me how long have you been playing?

Tristan: I have been playing guitar since I was in grade 1, but I don't have much formal training. Actually, I never really received any formal training on guitar, but I’ve always made an effort to drill myself technically so I consider myself decent with classical and jazz technique.

As far as the instrument I’ve studied the longest in a formal setting I would have to say is voice. I’ve been singing opera for 6 or 7 years now. I trained when I was living back in Calgary.

A: That’s where you are from, right?

T: Yeah, I’m from near Calgary but I was originally born in Toronto.

A: Did you move to Winnipeg for school?

T: Yeah, I did. I’m living in residence right now, and I came here because I’m a composer. The composition program had a really good offer. It came down between this and McGill and this seemed like a way better choice.

A: How so?

T: I was accepted at a few places, like University of Victoria, UBC, McGill, University of Manitoba and University of Western Ontario. For each university, I was accepted into their direct entry composition. The thing is, at McGill they have the largest number of music students of any school in north america in terms of sheer numbers, and it’s not huge in the composition faculty. I mean, there are only 8 students here. But there is not nearly as much flexible [at McGill]. Yeah, they are going to give you a great training but, it’s extremely regimented and you know exactly what you are going to be doing for your entire degree. They have it all mapped out.

Here at the University of Manitoba, it’s extremely free. I’m getting the same sort of training as I would at McGill; but I can also get away with a lot more. Gordon Fitzell and Orjan Sandred are fantastic composers. If I want to compose an opera or a chamber opera, even in my first year, I can get that performed. It’s great. That would never happen in McGill, not for awhile at least. Definitely not in the early years.

A: So how hard do you push yourself when you practice? How often and how long?

T: The thing is because I played so many instruments, it’s hard to say. What I perform on most with is voice, I do recitals every now and then and perform in my own compositions. And now I’m currently in the Manitoba Opera Chorus for their production Turandot. But for that, I don’t practice as much as I should. I practice maybe a couple hours once or twice a week; but the thing is it’s different because I’m doing a lot of practicing anyway. I’ve got opera rehearsal from 7:00 to 10:00pm every single night except Thursdays and Sundays so I’m doing so much singing anyways. I just don’t want to spend the extra time on it right now.

A: So when you are practicing, what are you doing - exercises, new music, technique, etc?

T: Actually when I practice on most instruments the first thing I think about it tone production.

A: What does that mean?

T: On flute especially when I’m practicing long tones there are extremely specific ways to get a really good tone and there are slight changes between octaves. And I think with singing and with wind instruments, it’s all about proper breathe support and from there you can kind of work on your tone so it comes a lot easier.

Piano and I have an interesting relationship. I had already learned a lot of instruments before I started playing it. I didn’t learn any piano for a long time but then university started coming up and I thought to myself “Oh I better start learning piano.” and after two years I went from knowing nothing to grade 8 Royal Conservatory. I did the same thing with theory.

When I’m practicing anything with dedication for a performance, it’s important to focus on the small sections that you can never get. Because those are the sections you really need to go over. When I was practicing piano every day, my mom would freak out at me because I was playing a measure and a half for an hour before I would move on and it drove her nuts.

A: Who inspires you musically when you are composing or performing?

T: I’m going to say Frank Zappa. He was a classical composer active from maybe mid 60s to the mid 90s. But he was one of those 1970s counter-culture figures. He was a classical composer that did everything else, like jazz and rock.

A: Like you?

T: Kind of like me, but he had a lot more attitude. He blends everything into everything else. He realized that it’s extremely hard to make money as a classical composer in this day and age, so the best thing to do is diversify and he did it without compromising which is really cool!

When you listen one of his rock albums, there are atypical instrumentation and all sorts of bizarre classical stuff. His classical is just off the wall and the amount of material he wrote was just unbelievable. He released 100 albums and he only lived to 55. It’s totally bizarre. If you listen to his jazz, it’s all mixed up with that stuff too. He is also extremely famous for basically pissing everyone off.

A: Anyone else?

T: There are people who have really inspired me on different instruments. In composition, Zappa is one of the composers I’m really influenced by; but, I’m also really influenced by Richard Wagner because I grew up on his music. I was immersed in his music as a kid. I went to see The Ring Cycle live in Toronto when I was in grade 5 or 6 and it made a huge impact me. I really enjoyed it.

As far as other composers go, I really enjoy Ligeti and some other minimalists. There is a lot of stuff I’m into but I try to blend it. On the rock side of things, I love David Gilmore from pink floyd. I love his guitar playing and I decided I wanted to play like him. Then I got to a point where I was like “okay, I can play like David Gilmore, now what?” and since then I’ve learned a lot more since learning to play like that.

A: What accomplishments are you most proud of?

T: It’s hard because music has always been such a huge part of my life. If I weren’t doing music I would have no idea what I would be doing. I can’t think what my life would be like without music. As far as my greatest accomplishments, I’m proud of my second album. My rock album “In the Round” that I released last year. It’s hard, I feel accomplished about certain things about certain pieces too.

A: What advice would you give to beginners who are just starting out performing or starting composition or maybe starting to get out there?

T: I’m pretty sure everyone giving advice to upcoming musicians would say “put in the time man, practice” and that’s part of it but I think the biggest part of music or being a good musician and creating music people with appreciate, is understanding what music really is and what it’s meant for. This is kind of weird answer, but in a philosophical way, but what it the music is supposed to mean to the performer and the audience? When you love a piece a music, what is it you love about it? And you do want other people to feel that way with whatever music you are producing? I think if you understand that, there is that underlying drive that is going to make you practice.

A: How do you balance your music with your other obligations?

T: Music takes up a huge portion of my life, and it has for a long time. I took a gap year before I came [to university] where I basically just practiced. I’m also a black belt in tae kwon do, but I haven’t been keeping up with it since I moved because there aren’t any schools in Winnipeg that studies my style. This year, I have been really buckling down about making everything about music. I have many commitments mostly music oriented. 

One exception, I guess, is I have been doing other classes. I’m in an english class on the thematic approaches to the study of literature with a focus on horror literature. I just got a paper back from my professor that he is wanting me to revise and actually submit for publication. So I’m going to see how that works out.

A: Anything you are currently working on or that you are preparing that you would care to share?

T: Composition wise maybe not so much as I’m starting to buckling down to prepare for juries; but, I have a new band together here in Winnipeg that I’ve been working with for the past couple of months. We’ve been meeting weekly and working on the material from my most recent CD. We’ve got a reasonably big upcoming show with DNA DAY downtown at 72 Princess street on April 24th, 2015. I will be playing guitar and singing. Also Bryson Debroni will be playing drums and Nicolas Pura will be on bass. 

A photo posted by Ashley Bieniarz (@ashleybieniarz) on Apr 7, 2015 at 1:00pm PDT

Support Winnipeg Musician Tristan Zaba!

If you like this post, please hit the like and share button below! Please reach out to me via Twitter or my contact page! I would love to hear anything you have to say! Really, anything. I'm lonely. Also I now have a new Facebook page that will let you know when each post is posted! I would really appreciate if you could like it! Thank you!