On August 9th, 2019 my band Arm’s Length from Belleville, Ontario released our first studio EP “What’s Mine is Yours.”
On a personal level, I’ve never been more proud of anything I’ve created before in my life.
It is a euphoric experience to be able to hear share the songs you’ve written with the world and have them doing fairly well on music streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Watercolour has almost 30,000 streams and has come out to be the indisputable hit from the EP! In the summer we shot a music video for the single that has received international attention.
What amazes me the most is how many different countries our listeners come from. We currently have listeners in 63 different countries! You can find the EP on all streaming services. Producing my own music has been a life-changing experience and I will continue to use Arm’s Length as my platform. We are gearing up for a big 2020. Listen here:
Below are two of my favourite pictures I took on my own time during my first two semesters of Journalism and Communications. I used an Olympus E-M10 Mark III Digital Camera to shoot these.
In the Winter, I had the opportunity to do some work for the Quinte Arts Council where I published an article about a local band, Long Range Hustle. It allowed me to use the tools I’ve learned from my program as well as get some practice in the field taking my own pictures and developing my own style. Long Range Hustle has become very successful since then, earning thousands of plays on Spotify.
Last week, my band Arm’s Length travelled to School House Studios in Hamilton where we began recording our upcoming EP. This is a demo of our song Watercolour. Returning next week to finish the tracks!
Quinte Arts Council Looks Forward to Their Future. Photo by Quinte Arts Council
When Janet Jarrell took on the title of general manager of the Quinte Arts Council late last year, she had one fundamental goal: To allow artists and their work to thrive in the community of Quinte West and surrounding regions.
Funding,
specifically for the arts in Quinte, has been hard to come by in the past from
municipalities, leading to an inevitable limited arts scene within the
community.
Not so coincidentally, on March 10th, 2019, newly appointed mayor Mitch Panciuk along with his city council announced that Belleville would be doubling funds for local art organizations from $25,000 up to $50,000. For one single artistic organization, funding got doubled to $5,000.
Jarrell voices the importance on municipal funding for local artists, and how Belleville city council’s decision will be instrumental in making Quinte’s art scene blossom. She says, “The biggest key in this advocacy with the municipal government is getting more funding to the artists in the outlining areas. If the artists have the support financially, they will do the work.”
She
plans to move the Quinte Arts Council forward with this increase in funding, as
the council’s seasonal newspaper, The Umbrella, will now be available as a magazine for their upcoming summer issue. Quinte Arts Council will also be looking to expand their range of what they can do for artists around town with organizing community art workshops.
For
a city aching to bring in more youth into the community, having a dynamic art scene
is seen as crucial. To some, the city’s current art scene is nothing short of
lackluster.
Jeremy
Whyte, an aspiring musician and local concert-attendee says “As long as I’ve
been here, Belleville has never had a crazy (arts) scene. I feel like it’s
harder for me to pursue music around here because there aren’t really a ton of
footsteps to follow.”
“Make more artists want to be here.” Jeremy Whyte (right) smiles with Patrick Kendall of Belleville-based band The Enrights at The Core in downtown Belleville. Photo by Allen Steinberg, QNet News
When
asked about how he thinks the city could make art more relevant, he followed
with “Make more artists want to be here.”
As funding has increased substantially for local artists, their work can be supported so creativity can become the main focus in a region that does not have a prominent artistic reputation. With creative and financial blocks aside, the Belleville area now has better tools to truly make art a priority and to pour much needed life into the arts community.
Last Tuesday, my band Arm’s Length toured Schoolhouse Studios in Hamilton, Ontario to get a feel of the studio environment. We are recording our first EP there from April 11th to the 14th, so getting this initial feel for the studio was key for us. Schoolhouse studios is notorious for recording indie and alternative bands, and Arm’s Length is leaning towards an alternative sound which makes it a perfect fit. Nick Ginn, the studio founder, was very friendly and was extremely excited to work on this EP with us. The video above features a small clip from our song “Loving Memory” along with a quick montage of our trip.
Our EP will be coming out in the early summer of this year. Below is an early demo of our song “Loathe”, recorded in our friend’s basement.
On Tuesday January the 29th, our Indigenous Reporting class made our way to the community of Tyendinaga to explore indigenous issues and culture.
First off, we visited Legacy 420 regarding medicinal marijuana and its benefits and challenges in this region. With the recent marijuana legislation in Canada, owner Tim Barnhart exclaimed that they would be staying put because they are a staple in the indigenous community. The facility was extremely roomy with multiple sections including a biochemistry lab, a kitchen and a ship from store area.
The welcoming “store” area of Legacy 420.
After, our class made its way to the local midwifery. This midwifery in particular is crucial to the community of Tyendinaga as Mohawk nations from far and wide utilize the place due to its “homey” vibe.
A balcony overlooks the main room of the Tyendinaga midwifery.
Lastly, our class stopped at a Mohawk primary school that teaches young children about Mohawk culture and languages. The language revitalization in indigenous communities is most prominent, so schools that reinforce the culture to the youth are vital in keeping their communities thriving.
Blog of Allen Steinberg 