WE SUPPORT SASKATCHEWAN’S ENTERTAINMENT & MUSIC SCENE

Whether it’s reaching out to a newly released project, musician or creating a spotlight for local talent to be heard on any of our stages, as well as opportunities to be heard opening for larger acts on a full-venue stage. We look forward to assist and launch newest concepts that strongly support the local music in this province. The local music scene is super important to us – we are a small province, but we have big dreams. Let’s grow and support each other – putting Saskatchewan on the map for premium music and entertainment experience.

A HARMONIOUS CONNECTION THROUGH EXCELLENCE

When it comes to the best in production, and events – you can pick apart what is good and what is great. Armed with Harmony has been a trailblazer in the corporate entertainment world for many years now. Excelling in best quality event services while adapting along the way. They have been successful in offering Wedding Service, graduation, Corporate guest speaker panels, DJ Services and so much more. When the pandemic hit the music and event industry hard in 2020, Armed with Harmony didn’t skip a beat. Quickly picking up where they started, they put their experience to work and problem solved along the way. Andyy Coulic was quick to help. Andyy Coulic resides as the in-house Audio and Visual Technician for Coors Event Centre and Amigos Cantina. Andyy is an entertainment expert and not afraid execute a vision. Nothing is impossible, his exceptional work ethic and experience was put to use. Together the partnership fostered a successful 2020, and they are on their way to an amazing 2021.

Trystan Meyers of Armed with Harmony and Andyy Coulic join us to chat about how they started to work together. We chat about how they quickly adapted in the early beginnings of the pandemic, and how a collaboration of corporate entertainment experts and a live music expert worked. Trystan shares how this experience shaped his outlook on his career, the services they are currently offering, what entertainment we can expect in 2021, and so much more.

“DEFINITELY REFRESHING”

– ANDYY COULIC

SAME PROFESSION, TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS.

CORPORATE ENTERTAINMENT AND LIVE CONCERT WORLDS COLLIDE. SINCE LIVE MUSIC SHUT DOWN, TECHNICIANS LIKE ANDY COULIC WHO HAS RUN THE STAGES OF COORS EVENT CENTRE, AMIGOS CANTINA, AND MANY OTHER VENUES PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC HAD TO CHANGE GEARS AND FOCUS HIS TALENTS TO DIFFERENT FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT – THE ENTERTAINMENT THAT ARMED WITH HARMONY PRODUCES. HOW HAS THE COLLABORATION OF SKILLS HELPED BOTH ARMED WITH HARMONY GROW AS A BUSINESS AND ANDY GROW AS A TECHNICIAN?

TRYSTAN MEYERS (OF ARMED WITH HARMONY): In a world where great sound will always be the most important thing, great audio tech’s will always be a huge part in any performance, speaker or band wanting to convey a message to the audience. With events we have come to expect other great things, like visuals, lighting and special effects, but audio will always be #1. Andy’s attitude and work ethic is what makes him great. With his experience he understands that each event has it’s own unique set of expectations and that we are working with a real world client who at the end of the day is just looking to put forward the best product they can. This comes with unique challenges from the talent/performer to the client and audience expectations. With everything going virtual now we have to send that same message to a 2nd live but at home audience and even think about recording/playback and post editing. Andy has been able to help the team at Armed With Harmony see that no matter your level of experience or specialized skill, you still have to “pick things up, and put them down.” Every event is always a team effort and budgets are tight, you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to make the show go on. Andy has been a great example of that to our current staff and he even helped out with things like gear repair and some great suggestions on pieces of gear we should invest in to help better run our business.

ANDY COULIC: The corporate entertainment industry has never really been my cup of tea. I have always loved the high energy of the live concert industry and since I first started doing audio, I have been very particular with staying in the live concert industry. Working with Armed With Harmony mainly with the Cinema Under The Stars aspect this past summer was definitely refreshing in a way I didn’t expect. I’ve almost always turned down any sort of corporate work in the past, but with covid and live music at a stand still, i was bored and going stir crazy! Cinema Under The Stars was a great outlet for me. Traveling to all parts of Saskatchewan to set up a pop up drive in movie theatres for communities was a lot of fun. Everyone was excited to see us arrive on site and blow up the huge inflatable screens. It may not have been my sweet spot in the industry that I’ve worked with and honed my skills in to, but i was able to apply everything i know to make these events go off without a hitch. 

When it comes to corporate work, for me the most important things are presentation of the service and the presentation of the technicians operating the event. For people that know me, they know i have some OCD when it comes to cable management and organization. So the last year I have focused more on my work ethic and how to be more efficient with cable management and presentation of the service. While at the same time working with the clients concerns and helping their vision for the event happen with as little stress as possible. It’s been nice to help other friends in the industry grow in their specific field while making new friends and building friendships that wouldn’t have happen as quickly working in different parts of the industry. Having a different perspective and experience than the AWH team, I felt like it was a really good match and that I brought a lot of knowledge and guidance to the table to add on top of their already well established corporate skill set. Seeing these guys grow and expand this past year while adapting to covid times while the rest of the industry was at a stand still, and being able to help with that is a great feeling!

“WE ARE BLESSED TO STILL BE DOING EVENTS”

– TRYSTAN MEYERS

THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY WAS HIT HARD.

WHEN THE PANDEMIC BEGAN, THE KEY TO SURVIVAL WAS TO EVOLVE. ARMED WITH HARMONY DID JUST THAT! YOU WERE QUICK TO REFOCUS AND BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER THROUGH SOCIAL DISTANCE AFTER GRADS AND DRIVE-IN MOVIES. HOW DID THAT EXPERIENCE SHAPE YOUR OUTLOOK ON THE PROFESSION YOU ARE IN?

TRYSTAN MEYERS: We feel blessed to still be doing some events, if it wasn’t for the movies, we might be having a totally different conversation right now.  We were lucky enough to make this pivot a few years before covid-19 hit and already have the much in demand FM transmitters which put us in a position to explode with our outdoor inflatable pop up drive in movie screen rentals all over Saskatchewan. Similar to some of the other events we do like Dj’s for Saskatoon Weddings, the age range of guests is age 3 to age 93 for movies and weddings. Our corporate clients and school dance clients were looking for a safe but fun alternative so it was just a matter of servicing our existing clients but with a different service. The world has also woken up towards streaming which we have done for many events now and expanded our offerings virtually and online. It has potential to be huge when events return as people will want to gather and have traditional events but are aware of the power of pushing out the content live, which can be great for additional revenue for us and work for camera operators, audio tech’s and I.T. people.

Introducing the Newest Hard Seltzer Vizzy – Another Hard Seltzer? Yeah, but we’ve got superfruit acerola cherry. Vizzy provides a healthier alternative to traditional Hard Seltzers. Superfruit Acerola Cherry is an antioxidant and typically contains the highest amount of vitamin C compared to other fruits. Making Vizzy not only taste amazing, but you feel great consuming the refreshing beverage. Vizzy is new to Saskatoon and is exclusively available at local pubs and bars. Support your local restaurant before Vizzy is available at retail stores. Follow MolsonCoors306 to find out where you can find the new addition to their lineup!

Sparkling Hard Seltzer with Acerola Cherry – 5% alcohol, 100 calories, 0 grams of sugar

CAN SASKATCHEWAN EXPECT MORE?

ANY MORE SOCIAL DISTANCE ENTERTAINMENT PLANS FOR THIS SUMMER? WHAT DO YOU HAVE UP YOUR SLEEVE THAT OUR READERS CAN LOOK FORWARD TO?

TRYSTAN MEYERS: Yes! We will be bringing back our Pop Up Drive In @ Agar’s Corner every weekend starting Fri May 7th until Sat June 12th. You can buy tickets (here)!

We will also be providing movie’s for 5 provincial parks this summer AND Showing Jaw’s for a Float In Your Boat Movie on the waters of Prince Albert National Park for an invite only show. Of course, we will be servicing many of our return clients movie’s and grads for Summer 2021. Check out our website to book with us!

WHAT SERVICES ARE YOU CURRENTLY OFFERING?

TRYSTAN MEYERS: Pop Up Drive In Movies would be our most popular, as it’s the only safe “mass gathering” we can have right now.  We offer live Streaming and have partnered with Saskatoon Audio Visual for this. It can include wedding ceremonies, funeral services/celebration of life, corporate guest speaker panels, musicians or DJ’s and we even live streamed Ryan Meili’s NDP rally in Regina back in October 2020. We also offer DJ’s, interactive games and trivia virtually online where we supply the Host/MC plus all the questions for corporate, youth or religious groups. Lastly our Saskatoon Photo Booth rentals have been a big hit plus sales and rentals of streaming gear and the expertise of how to set up OBS/Twitch has been something we have been helping a lot of people with.

ANDYY COULIC: I’ll be out with Cinema Under The Stars again in the 2021 season, possibly even if live concerts to do come back before the fall.

All photos inside article supplied by guest.

*hover over photo for issued credit.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT’S TO COME…