The first round of results are in, and three Flin Flon musicians are in the national top 100 of the CBC Searchlight competition.
CC Trubiak entered his original tune “Raven” off of his third album, McBain in early February. The song was co-written by Trubiak’s close friend Aileen Martella and features Erick Bergman and Brent Lethbridge. Mark Kolt and Jennifer McLean, under the moniker “Jenn and Mark” submitted Kolt’s track, “Thunder” shortly after.
More than 2,000 Canadian artists entered original songs into the contest. That number was whittled down to 100 national finalists over a two week voting period. The 100 finalists are split in half, with 50 songs being chosen by CBC Music producers and 50 songs being chosen by number of votes cast. Both Trubiak and Jenn and Mark’s songs fall under the 50 that reached finalist status through the voting process.
Trubiak said he was sitting at his desk at work when he received texts and a phone call from his partner, Alain, with the news. “I was floored,” said Trubiak. “I thought, ‘Is this for real?’ I had a healthy combination of shock, disbelief and real emotion. Excitement and hope, too.”
Trubiak said finding a spot in the top 100 is a great feeling, having worked hard on his music for years. He noted that “Raven” is a song near and dear to his heart and that he was thrilled people have responded so well to its message, which he feels is universal.
“I also know without a doubt I could not have achieved it without the backing and support of a lot of people who were voting daily … and that two of the 100 are represented by Flin Flon? It’s quite a feat.” “The support I’ve received from both far and wide tells me I’m where I need to be. I love my hometown and want to give back as much as I’ve received. Flin Flon has my back. I want to make my hometown proud.”
Kolt said he was overjoyed at the results of the competitions, and expressed gratitude to his wife, Crystal, who encouraged him to take the contest seriously, as well as the community as a whole.
“What you’re seeing is the vitality of the Flin Flon music scene that has existed over a long period of time, now being ramped up with increasingly intense development over the past two or three years, as a whole new generation of musicians and singers has arisen and engaged in new and ambitious projects,” said Kolt, who added he would like to believe that even if the votes had not propelled all Flin Flon artist entries into the top 100, the judging would have.
“But the fact we got there based on votes speaks volumes about the incredible support Flin Flon gives the arts in every way … It’s impossible to say enough about how important this is, and how, as a performer, looking out on a sold out house at a place like Johnny’s motivates you to give the best of yourself.”
A second round of voting will determine five of the top 10 finalists in the contest from the existing 100. The other five will again be chosen by CBC Music producers. The top 10 will be announced on March 8.
