Durham Chronicle Volume XLIV, Issue 11

30 The Chronicle April 10 - 16, 2018 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Entertainment
Demo Derby = smash hit?
Kayano Waite
The Chronicle
Lauryn Macfarlane found herself
in room G213 of Durham College,
filled with several dozen strangers.
She went to the front of the room
with a group of professionals from
her field in front of her. She then
played a song she wrote. She remembers
being nervous as her
demo played through the room.
“I got into my own head. I
didn’t look around to see other
people’s reactions,” Macfarlane
said.
This was in April 2017, at last
year’s Demo Derby.
The Demo Derby is part of the
Oshawa Music Week, formerly
known as the Reel Music Festival.
The second year students of
the Music Business Management
(MBM) program organize the
event every year.
The Demo Derby is a showcase
of local music talent in the Oshawa
community.
People present their one minute
recordings to a panel of judges,
ranging from songwriters and producers,
to music managers.
Tony Sutherland is a professor
for the MBM program. He says
after the recording is played, the
panel gives the singer feedback on
their demo.
He says it is not simply about
Photograph by Kayano Waite
In the spring, Lauryn Macfarlane is planning a handful of
events to celebrate her album release.
the song being “good”.
“We’re talking about is it recorded
well? How can you promote
it? How can you market it into the
marketplace?” says Sutherland.
Sutherland also believes the point
of the Demo Derby is less about
winning overall.
“The prize is the feedback you
get. If you can sell stuff and get an
audience (after) that’s your prize,”
Sutherland says.
Macfarlane agrees the feedback
given was helpful for her after the
session.
“You can take this part that
would have been the hook and
switch it around to get a bit more
dynamic” was advice Macfarlane
received from one of the judges.
Macfarlane was also an MBM
student when she played her work
for the Demo Derby.
Because she was in the program
she knew the judges would
be more honest about the quality
of her work.
“They knew I was strong
enough, they weren’t going to baby
me,” Macfarlane said. “They’re
going to really rip your song apart
in front of everybody.”
Though several singers in the
Demo Derby are MBM students
like Macfarlane, some end up becoming
judges like Dan Hand,
who was a MBM student in 2008.
After graduating, Hand has
worked for both major and independent
labels, such as Universal
Music Canada and his own Black
Lamb Music.
Recently, he has focused more
on artist management. He manages
such acts as the Silence Factory
and Diamonds.
Hand was asked to be a judge
for the Demo Derby in 2013. He
tried to be as honest as possible as
a judge.
“I try to give them actual critique
that I feel would truly help,”
said Hand. “I legitimately listen
to the song and try to figure out,
‘What can I compare it to?’”
Lauryn Macfarlane, musician and composer.
Photograph by Kayano Waite
Hand says he tried to give
enough of a critique that the musician
felt their time spent was valuable.
Hand says he would return as
a judge for future Demo Derby if
asked.
He also believes future musicians
participating in the Demo
Derby should be sure to select
the song they are most passionate
about.
“Don’t just pick a song because
it’s the first one on the album,”
Hand said. “Pick the one song
that defines your music the best it
can. Find the best 30 seconds of
the song and focus on that,” said
Hand.
Macfarlane won last year’s
Demo Derby. She is currently recording
her first major album.
The album is being produced
by Damon de Szegheo.
De Szegheo has worked with
breakthrough Canadian acts such
as Serena Ryder, Said the Whale,
and the Barenaked Ladies.
De Szegheo reached out to
Macfarlane in November.
“He says he’s been following my
work for a while and would like the
opportunity to be the producer on
my first record,” Macfarlane said.
Macfarlane’s album is tentatively
scheduled to be released in May.
She plans to do a release show in
her hometown of Peterborough,
Ontario before having it officially
released on streaming sites, then
follow the release with her first
Ontario tour.
Importance
of laying
back, being
punky and a
bit rebellious
Aly
Beach
Punk: a word that makes you think
of anarchy, ass-kicking and rebellion.
Some may argue punk is dead.
Others would have you believe
there is no need for punk because
there are so many sub-cultures that
fight the system.
However, there is still a need
for the classic punk attitude. There
needs to be someone who will
smash the white-picket fences and
give the finger to the American
dream.
Maybe punk isn’t as in-yourface
as it once was but its ideologies
around humanitarianism, anti-establishment,
civil rights and gender
equality still hold true today.
Many movements have embraced
these concepts.
What is more punk than fighting
the system and being political
by fighting for what you believe in?
Punk music and culture is believed
to have started sometime in
the mid-‘70s in the United States,
United Kingdom and Australia.
The movement created a new subculture
and a new generation of
rock bands such as Sex Pistols, Ramones,
The Clash and Black Flag.
In the late ‘70s and ‘80s, the
punk movement experienced a
second wave as genres such as newwave,
hardcore and anarcho-punk
emerged with bands like Minor
Threat and Subhumans.
In the ‘90s punk influenced new
genres such as post-punk, indie and
alternative rock.
It evolved into new sub-genres
like hardcore-punk like Anti
Flag and pop-punk with bands
like Green Day, the Offspring,
Blink-182. Green Day is known for
their iconic 2004 song “American
Idiot,” which is still relevant today.
Now, punk music is thriving in
its own way with the many popular
sub-genres and its influence can
be heard throughout many rock
genres.
Punk portrays its ideologies
through its music, fashion and general
culture.
Many bands have continued this
trend with having complex, politically
charged lyrics.
Examples include The Wonder
Years, Neck Deep and Senses Fail.
On their seventh album, in the song
“Gold Jacket, Green Jacket…”
Senses Fail speaks on gun violence,
twisted Christianity and the impact
of 9/11.
Punk isn’t dead, it has just
evolved. And in this current political
climate, we need punk more
than ever.
We need people to fight the system,
smash the white picket fences
and give the finger to the American
dream.