By Steve Hubrecht
Homegrown Invermere hip hop artist Joey Rogal (also known by his stage name MC Joey Vyvanse) is gearing up for his biggest show in his hometown since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The show, at ULLR Bar, is free and will help Invermere kick off the long weekend on the night of Friday, Aug. 2. It follows hot on the heels of Rogal’s latest release, an EP titled ‘GELATO’, which just came out on Sunday, July 28.
Wait a minute – a new EP and a big hometown show for a homegrown hip hop artist from Invermere?
Yes, Invermere. And indeed Rogal, a self-described “theatre kid,” does not fit the normal hip hop stereotype. But give his songs a listen. He not only writes and raps the lyrics, he does most of the instrumentation, and does the produc- tion work as well.
His songs deal with a range of topics — relationships, romance, friendships, addiction, personal struggles. The in- spiration for them is both universal and personal.
“I’m just trying to tell stories about the things I see around me,” Rogal told the Pioneer. “I draw on the experiences of friends, family, myself, acquaintances and anyone else I know, or even just kind of know, who I think might be interesting. I try to imagine things from their perspective.”
The beats are catchy (at least to the untrained ear of the Pioneer); some of the songs are slower, some heavier. But fast or slow, they all seem to have a knack for making you click on the next song, then the next, then the next, much longer than you intended.
Rogal is the first to concede that “growing up in Invermere meant I was a far cry from any kind of environment that people would think of as fostering hip hop . . . there is not a big rap scene here by any means. Or really any kind of rap scene.”
The first concert he remembers attending was a Justin Beiber show in Calgary.
“That sparked a songwriting thing for me,” recalled Rogal.
He was first inclined to pop music (somewhat naturally, given the Beiber concert) while his parents always listened to country music. Around Grade 3 he tried to start a band. That didn’t take off, but he remained keenly interested in music, and as he grew up his older siblings (he is the youngest of four), particularly his brother Sam, introduced him to rap and other types of music.
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In high school he and a friend made up a track list for a mock album about a Star Wars movie. It was a joke, but Rogal went home and wrote a verse for one of the songs. He rapped it for his friend, who was impressed.
“And something happened there. I liked it. I really liked it,” said Rogal, adding that in hindsight “I have always loved writing, loved words, loved English, so it was honestly a fairly natural progression . . . I’ve been doing it ever since, and from then on it’s been about finding inspiration and about constantly trying to improve.”
Rogal began putting out songs on Sound Cloud when he was 16 years old. Through the years those songs got progressively better, in Rogal’s own estimation, and he began distributing his music through other platforms. He’s now 22 and has two full albums, the GELATO EP, and plenty of singles. You can even find his very early releases still on Sound Cloud, and episode four of his ‘blue door freestyles’ on Tik Tok is a blast of pure listening fun.
He had his first live show at the former Copper City Saloon (now Begginnings restaurant) when he was still in high school, and began performing at the Fresh Friday events at Pynelogs. Eventually COVID-19 hit and put an end to live shows for Rogal and for every other musician on the planet.
Rogal has only done one truly big live performance since, at a music festival in Sundre, Alberta in 2023, and even then he was pushed into it by a friend (who just happened to be a festival organizer).
“So my buddy made me go through with it. I got up there . . . and it was one of the best times of my life,” said Rogal.
Part of the delay was that Rogal wanted to take his time to put out some music that he felt was better quality than what he had previously released. Now that he has, he’s eager to take the stage at ULLR this weekend.
“Hip hop is an art form, and as a hip hop artist in Invermere, I feel like I’m always trying to convince people to give me a chance,” said Rogal. “Whether you feel like you understand hip hop or not, if you have an appreciation for music, especially local music, then come to my show.”
The show starts at 10 p.m. at ULLR and is part of the First Fridays, a monthly event started a few years ago by a group of art galleries in Invermere. They are held on the first Friday of each month through the summer
What began as an art walk and arts event, outlined organizer Cajsa Fredin, “has now grown to include the whole downtown core and more, with arts events, music, art openings, workshops, local independent films, shops open late and pop up street art and happenings that take you through the town.”
First Fridays kick off at 5 p.m., including this Friday’s show.
“We have a lot of amazing talent in this area, and our shops are vibrant . . . so it is fun to mix the two,” said Fredin. “The focus is local talent, including art- ists, musicians, writers . . . having them featured in favourite local hangouts creates a unique experience where people can pop in and out to various locations and experience a little taste of East Kootenay culture.”
Fredin is excited for Rogal’s concert.
“He’s really talented. He’s unique in Invermere, and he’s already got a good local following,” she said.
