Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops

Roots & Blues Still Alive and Well

Ears are still ringing, mind still busy after watching the Sam Roberts Band freewheel through a roller-coaster 15-minute encore set here in Salmon Arm, bringing the 17th annual Roots & Blues Festival to a close this evening.

Despite the headliner's great finish, I can't stop thinking about Johnny Winter. In spite of his frail appearance, Mr. Winter delivered heavy blues licks that echoed memories of his music from my childhood. I would often listen to my older brothers' vinyl before they arrived home from high school, and so spent most of those intervening hours listening to Ten Years After, Santana, and Johnny Winter. I liked the album art of the last two best; Santana for the heavy-breasted women featured prominently on the cover, and Johnny Winter for the novel appearance of the talented albino bluesman.

There's something familiar and appealing about the blues that can hook a person, even when they're unfamilair with the specific artist or song. It's difficult to say the same thing about a lot of pop in a fairground environment however, where otherwise obvious hooks get lost in echoes and imperfect sound systems. Although I personally enjoy Sam Roberts, it was pretty obvious that a portion of this evening's crowd just kind of lost interest once his band took the stage.

Too old? Probably. Too young? Some of us.

But when the blues are on stage, most of us are still alive and well.

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Let My People Go!

Jay Malinowski may have slurred his way through the lyrics of half a dozen songs, but it was the way he slurred during Bedouin Soundclash's wind-up set at the 17th annual Roots & Blues Festival in Salmon Arm that gave the day such a rolicking finish.

Shortly after taking the stage, Malinowski ordered the typically restrained crowd seated in front of him to its feat, and out from behind the barricades erected to keeping dancing attendees away from the stage. But even with his direction, the audience at this festival is so well-mannered it actually took a couple of minutes before the party started.

As related here in previous years, many at this family festival seem to expect their entertainers to deliver a healthy portion of propriety with their music. But Canada's reigning reggae-ska duo would have none of it, inviting a couple hundred grinning/bleary/pungent youth forward to dance in the grass under the stars.

Malinowski and band mate Eon Sinclair, accompanied by horns and percussion, were joined on-stage by Canadian blues hero Gordie Johnson, the frontman formerly of Big Sugar and currently of Grady, for a couple of songs.  Malinowski and Johnson giggled and flubbed their way through, obviously enjoying themselves in a way that was pretty refreshing. The Roots & Blues may be a family fest, but its nice to see that there's still room for acts like Bedouin Soundclash and Bobby Rush to deliver their sets their way.

Earlier in the evening Ana Popovic made a solid case for fastest hands in the West with stellar guitar playing, and a sound one would expect to have originated in the Big Apple rather than Belgrade.

Prior to Popovic taking the stage, Darondo scandalized the evening when he brought the funk out, singing about "titties" and intimate love. But I wonder... is it really the occasional vulgarity that offends, or the fact that it's a sexually confident senior singing it?

The very large majority of acts during the the two and a half days of this festival are completely appropriate for children of all ages. And the wonderful family-oriented activities available throughout the day make this a must-attend event for the Kamloops Bakers. So while others grouse at the occasional late-evening act introduces some spice to the mix, we have learned to enjoy the full menu, and plan our summers around it.

To share your thoughts about the Darondo, funk, Bedouin Soundclash, reggae, Ana Popovich, the blues, family festivals, or anything else with readers of Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops, just click on "Comments" (below)

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda Published Convergys Comment

Some of my long-time readers might recall some eighteen months ago, when I broke the story (Will Convergys Close Kamloops Call Centre?) of comments from Convergys President and CEO David Dougherty that the company planned to move some of its Canadian operations to Asia, and questioned whether this would impact the Kamloops operations.

That post generated a lot of attention both in terms of traffic to this web site, and within the local media. The latter I found rather curious, given that I hadn't actually added any value other than to discover information that was already freely available in the company's public record.

Anyways, an anonymous comment left on a follow-up post, Convergys Relocation Statements Cause Anxiety Across Canada, stated that the Kamloops location would in fact shut down, and that Convergys would evacuate the country completely by the end of 2008:

I cant say who I am or what I know but Convergys Canada will be completely gone by December 2008. Kamloops and Ottawa will be closed 100% by September 2008, and the rest will follow in the coming months.

In subsequent posts (Ethics, Anon!) I troubled a bit over whether or one should publish anonymous comments, and invited the author of that comment to contact me off the record. Then, after speaking with Convergys' Vice President of Business Development for Canada, Igor Sarenac, who unequivocally refuted any intentions to shut down Kamloops operations, I ultimately I chose not to share the comment, either with my readers or with interested local journalists. Given recent events however, the point is now moot.

Yesterday, news broke that the Kamloops Call Centre would in fact close (Dave Eagles, I am again in awe of your nuanced photojournalism).

So, I'm looking for input... did I miss the boat, or did I get it right by not publishing the comment? It's very possible that the commenter was spot-on, but that shifting economic realities (like a Canadian dollar that plunged during the recent financial crisis) kept this call centre open when it otherwise would have closed back in December. Should a blogger care whether or not interesting information comes from a single, anonymous source?

Obviously there is value in verification, but I personlly engage greater skepticism when reading blogs by amateurs than when reading professional online media, and expect others to do the same. Does that render absent the need for any even a passing wave at journalistic practices? Believe me, bloggers like me typically struggle to simply post on a regular basis, let alone verify (or even consider following) reader-submitted leads.

I'm listening...

To share your thoughts about the Convergys, the local economy, journalism, blogging, anonymity, or anything else with readers of Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops, just click on "Comments" (below)