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you ’ re not particularly close on a personal level . That ’ s surprising , considering you ’ re a duo by choice and not a full band , but I could also see some benefits to not always being in each other ’ s pocket ?
Jason Parson : I ’ ll say one thing that Ash always said in interviews when people would be like , “ Oh , you guys must be the best of friends ever since you met at Angus Glen Golf Club in 2004 !” and he ’ d always say , “ No , no , we ’ re contractually obligated to hang out .” [ laughs ]
Ashley Buchholz & Jason Parsons of
UBIQUITOUS SYNERGY SEEKER ( USS )
For the full interview , listen to the Jan . 13 , 2021 episode
CM : Ash , you ’ ve referred to your guys ’ dynamic as a “ melodic arranged marriage ” that works well musically , and said that
Ashley Buchholz : [ laughs ] Here ’ s the bottom line ; the guys who fix the train tracks , the guys who make the schedule for the train , and the guys who choose the music for the train , it isn ’ t part of their job to deal with the train wreck when it crashes . Let ’ s just say this train crashed a lot of times in our relationship , and it wasn ’ t Jay ’ s job to be part of the train wreck . So , our melodic arranged marriage had some unspoken terms … and it actually did serve the band very well . I think that could break up a lot of bands . There ’ s a lot of stress and pressure , and here we are . It ’ s nice that we ’ re amicably speaking and this is a celebration , you know ? There ’ s been a lot of acceptance and compassion and , to be completely forthright with you , I don ’ t know if there ’ s anybody else in Canada – let along North America or the world – who would ’ ve had the patience and compassion to stay with me through the process I ’ ve had to go through with mental health , as well as in business and creativity .
Rapper , Speaker & Northern
Power Summit Co-Founder
DUANE “ D . O .” GIBSON
For the full interview , listen to the Feb . 17 , 2021 episode
CM : In an interview a few years ago , Cadence Weapon pointed out to me that there is a large gulf between genres in Canada when it comes to industry support and infrastructure . Meaning , rap doesn ’ t have the network of conferences , showcase festivals , educational opportunities , networking opportunities , and so forth that are available across the country to , let ’ s say , guitar-based genres . I ’ ve seen some progress there , your North Power Summit conference being part of that , but how would you assess that current situation ?
Duane “ D . O .” Gibson : It ’ s a fine line between getting outside the box and searching for it , versus the industry coming towards us . Like when you mentioned Cadence Weapon , the last time I saw him was at Pop Montreal , and I ’ m thinking to myself ,
“ That ’ s very cool , I enjoy my time there , but it ’ s not a hip-hop thing ” … So , I ’ ve learned early on in my music game in Canada that you have to get outside your comfort zone and go to these events . They might not typically be for urban music , but you can create great relationships with these people .
Also , now I find myself on the other side . What I mean is , there ’ s a prominent music journalist I was engaging in a dialog on Twitter – and it was friendly , not combative – but he was saying , “ The Canadian music industry has to seek out these young people because it ’ s the older generation in hip-hop who is leading the charge and being the gatekeepers .” I realized , I guess I ’ m part of the older generation now [ laughs ]. You know , I think I ’ m trying to do my part with Northern Power Summit and trying to provide for the young generation . But the point is , I know that that 50-year-old white guy from Winnipeg might want to know more about hip-hop and urban music and connect with it , but he might just not know how . So , even me , to try to find some of these new and emerging artists who have millions of streams , but who have no connection to the mainstream Canadian industry , I ’ d love to get them involved , but I ’ m wondering how to do it ! So , there is an onus on us , but I got to say , there ’ s also onus on artists . Artists have to educate themselves .
You know , a Facebook memory came up for me today about grants , because I do a lot of grants for artists . It was about a question ; “ Yo , D . O ., can you tell me Factor ’ s website ?” If you ’ re asking me what Factor ’ s website is , you ’ re not going to get a grant , man . If you can ’ t google “ factor website ,” and can ’ t do the basic work … And this is not just a hip-hop problem , it ’ s a laziness problem . And that exists not just in hip-hop , but across all genres , and artists have to go out and pursue these things . Like , Canadian Music Week is an incredible system and resource – go out , maximize it , network ! Don ’ t blame everybody else , put on for yourself .
Listen to new episodes of the Canadian Musician Podcast every Wednesday at www . canadianmusicianpodcast . com . All episodes can be found on the website or through Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Stitcher , Spotify , or wherever you get your podcasts .
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