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.

LIVE FROM A GRAIN ELEVATOR IN SASKATCHEWAN

For the 6 person team it started out as a dream from the first look at the ‘cozy jam sesh’. That dream quickly turned into reality when the timing and resources all just lined up perfectly. Brett Arnelien, Darian Dutchak, Mike Vidal, Owen Gerrard, Jourdain Basaraba and Kayle Neis make up the crew that are responsible for putting together the Vator Sessions. The Vator Sessions are a video-series documenting the music scene of Saskatchewan on a flat field inside an abandoned grain elevator. If you are from Saskatchewan, you already know – this is the most Saskatchewan thing that can happen. Saskatchewan is known for their vibrant music scene, and the pandemic just put a shut down to live opportunities. Vator Sessions turned everything back on when they decided to use their long list of talents needed to start up a video series. Season 1 of Vator Sessions is complete, and Season 2 is on the horizon.

The crew from Vator Sessions join us to chat about how Vator Sessions became what it is today. We learn about how the gang started collaborating, how they ended up with a freaking grain elevator, and what made them decide to start this project in Summer of 2020. The 6 person team of music and media talent go over each key persons role within the project, and their common goal. We go through the Vator Sessions time capsule to reminisce on some memorable moments from their times inside the ancient grain elevator, recording musicians, and some mishaps with their furry friends.

Brett Arnelien, Darian Dutchak, Mike Vidal, Owen Gerrard, Jourdain Basaraba and Kayle Neis have wrapped up Season 1 of Vator Sessions. Season 1 featured The Sex Geckos, Taylor Jade, Bicycle Daze, Shirley & The Pyramids, Greg Orrē, Dump Babes, The Night Jays, Hattie and LOGS. We wrap up The Vator Sessions interview by highlighting the fact that the crew introduced people to the inside of a very well-known Saskatchewan structure, while showcasing the talent of musicians to new and loyal fans. We learn what that means to them, and what they have in store for Season 2. All of that, and so much more.

IN JULY 2020, YOU INTRODUCED YOUR PROJECT ‘VATOR SESSIONS’

THE PHOTO OF INSIDE THE GRAIN ELEVATOR ON INSTAGRAM GAVE OFF A COZY JAM SESH VIBE IN A HOLLOW AND HISTORIC SPACE. HOW EXACTLY DID YOU END UP WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY? WHAT INSPIRED THIS PROJECT? TELL US ABOUT THE INCEPTION OF VATOR SESSIONS.

VATOR SESSIONS: Hard to believe it’s already been almost a year since that photo was taken. “Cozy jam sesh vibe” really does sum up our vision for Vator Sessions and takes us back to how the project came to life. A few years back, our band, Fusarium, was looking for a jam space as a home base for our musical ambitions and DIY recordings. A local company with which we have a family connection had owned and operated the elevator for grain storage for years, but as the agricultural world changed, it had been sitting empty and unused. A deal was made that if we put in the time and the elbow grease to clean out the years of dust, we could use it as our band’s happy place. Sounded like a sweet deal to us.

As our set up at the Vator evolved, we threw around a bunch of ideas on how we could share the space we love with others and use it to benefit the community. Combine that with the fact that we all collectively spend hours online watching and sharing live sessions online, and we started thinking maybe one day we could try a production of our own. Now fast forward to the pandemic taking over the world. We quickly came to the realization that the live music events we love so much would be put on halt for the foreseeable future. That gave us the motivation to gather up our friends, pool our resources and talents, and just go for it, using the unique space as the backdrop to give local artists a platform to share their music in a safe and responsible way with Saskatchewan and beyond. And so Vator Sessions was born

YOUR TEAM CAME TOGETHER FOR THE COMMON GOAL

CREATING A VISUALLY APPEALING SERIES THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE VASTLY TALENTED SASKATCHEWAN MUSIC SCENE. YOUR TEAM IS EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED AT CAPTURING AUTHENTICITY WHILE MAKING EVERYTHING LOOK AND SOUND TOP NOTCH. WHO IS VATOR SESSIONS? WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF EACH MEMBER? HOW DID YOU ALL CONNECT?

VATOR SESSIONS: Some of us (Brett, Darian, Mike & Owen) have known each other since highschool and have played music together for a few years now. Prior to the pandemic we had met Jourdain & Kayle through mutual friends, and quickly bonded over our love for Saskatchewan music and the people who make it, and we all became fast friends.

One of the things that helps make Vator Sessions successful is that each member has particular skill sets to bring to the team, but we’re always learning as we go and are able to fill in wherever needed when it counts. Michael is behind the wheel for anything audio related in the sessions. He sets up the mics for recording, rides the levels during the sessions and mixes them afterwards. Jourdain & Kayle both direct the cinematography and editing of the videos. Owen runs extra cameras during sessions, works on set design and does social media with Brett. Brett also communicates with the artists leading up to each session and makes sure rentals, props and anything else needed is lined up and ready to go for a shoot day. Darian is running all over the place on production day making sure every detail is accounted for and that the production is ready to go when the artists show up. As you can imagine, there is a lot that goes into the production, and we all work together to make it all happen as best we can.

“WE ALL WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN AS BEST WE CAN”

– VATOR SESSIONS

TAYLOR JADE, GREG ORRĒ, HATTIE, LOGS, AND SO MUCH MORE.

YOU HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ALONGSIDE SOME OF SASKATCHEWAN’S BEST. WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS OF DECIDING WHO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH? IS THERE A SELECTION PROCESS? CREATIVITY IS OFTEN CONTAGIOUS WHEN YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH LIKE MINDED INDIVIDUALS. DOES OTHER PEOPLES CREATIVITY MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER? WHAT STORIES CAN YOU SHARE FROM YOUR TIME CAPTURING MOMENTS IN YOUR SPACE?

VATOR SESSIONS: Oh yeah, we really have been lucky to host all of these great artists during a time where live music is practically non-existent. For the first season we essentially just reached out to some friends and folks in the Saskatoon scene to offer a chance for them to play a set for us to broadcast. Then after the first couple videos were posted, the word kind of got around and people started reaching out to us. We now have an application form in our Instagram link tree for the upcoming season, and we will be choosing the applicants with a focus on keeping a diverse catalogue.

And yes the creativity of each act has definitely been contagious! The fact that we sort of get our own little private concert makes it so easy to get excited about working on each session. The vibe of each performance really informs the way we record, mix and edit these sessions, which makes it a fun and new experience each time.

The environmental factors of being in an old elevator often make for some funny moments. There’s the indoor office/mixing room which is safe from the prairie elements, but the elevator itself is inhabited by a few bugs and the odd friendly mouse. For example, one of us had to laugh and say “stop!” In the middle of Greg Orre because a mouse was crawling up Jourdain’s heel without him knowing and we simply couldn’t go on without laughing.

Also sometimes with the louder acts, some of the dust in the building gets stirred up which makes it look like it’s snowing in The Vator. After spending a while cleaning in there, we thought we had cleaned the majority of the dust out. Loud bass amps tend to prove us wrong.

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A GRAIN ELEVATOR IS VERY SASKATCHEWAN.

ALTHOUGH A LOT OF SASKATCHEWAN PEOPLE HAVE NEVER EVER SEEN INSIDE A GRAIN ELEVATOR. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO INTRODUCE PEOPLE OF SASKATCHEWAN TO GRAIN ELEVATORS, AS WELL AS NEW MUSIC FROM SASKATCHEWAN TALENT? YOU ARE BECOMING A FORCE IN THE SASKATCHEWAN MUSIC SCENE, WHILE SETTING A STANDARD FOR CULTURE AND MULTIMEDIA. SOMETHING YOU SHOULD ALL BE SUPER PROUD OF.

VATOR SESSIONS: First off, thank you for the kind words. We’re just lucky to have this opportunity, a lot of pieces had to fall in place for us to get where we are now. Shortly after getting access to the elevator we knew we didn’t want to only keep to ourselves. The space has simply too much potential not to be shared. Originally we were thinking of something along the lines of a cooking show in the elevator that would feature a band performance, but realized that may have been a little ambitious to come out of the gate with. When Covid hit, we really had time to focus our ideas and we came out with Vator Sessions Season 1, sort of as a test run to see what we could do and how it would work. At the time we weren’t even sure if we would be able to secure The Vator long term, a problem we have since solved, thankfully.

We love being able to introduce people to this piece of history we have come to love, it’s an indirect connection we all have from living in the prairies, especially because most people that come around are coming in for their first time; a feeling we frequently get even if it’s our thousandth visit. It’s easy to feel the energy when you’re standing in the wooden structure, hearing the faint echo of a large room. Hearing all the music our guests have performed is really just the icing on top. We truly believe Saskatoon has an exceptionally talented music scene and to use our space to help showcase that could not bring us more happiness. Hearing of people discovering new local music they love from our sessions has been very gratifying and definitely keeps us inspired to keep getting bigger and better.

“A GREAT RECORDING EXPERIENCE IS THE FIRST STEP IN DOING THEM JUSTICE IN OUR FINAL PRODUCT”

– VATOR SESSIONS

YOU ENDED SEASON 1 OF VATOR SESSIONS ON MAY 9TH 2021

ENDING THE SEASON WITH A PERFORMANCE BY LOGS. WHAT CAN YOU HIGHLIGHT AS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF SEASON 1? WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FOR SEASON 2?

VATOR SESSIONS: Yeah LOGS really was an awesome way to put a wrap on the first season. It was a super fun set, plus we were stoked to finally feature some hip-hop. All of the acts have been so memorable but I think the first session might have stuck with us the most because it was such a learning experience, and we really came to see what this project would really entail. It was The Sex Geckos, and we had to figure out the best way to capture this loud and chaotic group in a way that would do them justice. Their wall of sound made it snow dust from up high in the building (which we thought we had cleaned), we had to fix technical issues on the fly, and it was a bit chaotic but we made do and had a great time doing it! We really realized that we kind of have a responsibility to make sure that giving the artist(s) a great recording experience is the first step in doing them justice in our final product.

For Season two, we have a few new ideas and tricks we are probably going to try such as doing a mini interview or Q&A section, so that the viewers can get to know a bit about the band and we are also discussing some different visual elements that we can incorporate. We already have a few artists lined up that we are all really excited about so we can definitely promise quality content, regardless of any of the new bells and whistles we have!

All photos inside article supplied by guest.

*hover over photo for issued credit.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT’S TO COME…