By Dan Walton

Pioneer Staff

songwriters-poster

The songwriters of the valley are about to celebrate the release of their latest record. The 20-or-so musicians will be at Pynelogs Cultural Centre to be part of the CD release party on Saturday, November 1st.

After the huge success of last years Christmas in the Valley CD, Windermere Valley Musicians Who Care put together an album which can be enjoyed all year round Songwriters in the Valley.

And most of those songwriters will be stepping out of the record and onto the stage for their first full assembly.

Theres a comradeship between musicians, said Windermere Valley Musician Who Cares member Bill Cropper. You make new friends, meet new people, and you might get exposed to a new art form or a new way of approaching something. Its a really positive experience.

Each artist will take the stage to share two or three songs from their repertoire. With the numerous musicians in attendance, mashups and collaborations are inevitable.

They thrive off of playing for each other as much as they do for the live crowd, he said, adding that the set time will be unpredictable.

Musicians are famous for not showing up on time.

But the stage will be alive non-stop, where musicians will be offering a full range of genres from beginning to end.

Theres everything from soup to nuts, Bill said. Its got everything from country to western; folk music; hip-hop; some blues all kinds of interesting stuff.

And just like the albums, the event has been organized to share local talent and keep money flowing in the valley. Among the groups to have benefited from the success of the two albums, the valleys loudest band, Otters, received help producing their first album, instruments were purchased for local schools, and donations were made to the Columbia Valley Christmas Bureau, and Columbia Valley Food Bank.

Purchasing the album helps spread the money around the community. All proceeds from the projects go back into the local music community in one form or another, Bill said.

And Fraser Smith, also a member of Musicians Who Care, says theres much more to the album than goodwill.

Its not just a heart-warming purchase to make you feel like your moneys going somewhere nice its a really good album, he said.

Both albums are easy to find at shops around the valley, but for those without either album yet, a bundle deal will be on sale at the release party (the two are currently sold separately for $20).

Ben Cameron of Woodshop Productions in Windermere is the mixmaster who put both albums together.

If thinking youre going to go then dont wait , the events going to sell out, Fraser said.

Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at Pynelogs or Tiffanys Thredz.

And the event has garnered the attention of Shaw Cable, which will have a crew recording the show that will be featured as a promotion for the Kootenays.