With the 2024 Whistler Film Festival (WFF) featuring a heavy dose of music, it is fitting that locals will have two exciting concerts to check out around the same time.
Stephen Vogler, director of the Point Artist-Run Centre (PARC), is bringing his West Coast Front band to Après Après on Dec. 6 and the Pemho Pub on Dec. 7. He'll be joined by C.R. Avery and the Prime-Time Players on both nights.
The groups previously teamed up at August's Flag Stop Festival to a rousing audience reception.
For those not in the know: the West Coast Front represents an evolution of Vogler's old band, Some Assembly Required. He changed its name for the 2021-22 season after releasing an EP dubbed Corn Chips & Bourbon. The West Coast Front specializes in reggae, ska and roots rock.
Avery, meanwhile, has toured the globe both solo and with various backing bands in tow. Together they've livened up stages with everything from rock and country to hip hop, outlaw blues and beatboxing. Thirteen-time Grammy nominee Charlie Musselwhite is one of many people impressed with Avery's talent, remarking that "no one plays like him, no one."
Not limited to one creative realm, Avery has directed and produced a pair of feature-length movies: Victory on East Hastings (featuring a live musical and theatrical act) and The Bar Without a Neon Sign (which screened in Japan, New Zealand and the United States).
A special and open-minded bunch
Vogler first met Avery years ago at a previous edition of the Whistler Writers Festival (WWF). The exact date eludes him, but he remembers Avery performing spoken word and music with great aplomb. Naturally, Vogler invited his new acquaintance to an event called Creative 5 Eclectic—something of a predecessor to the now-established PARC.
"C.R. spans artistic disciplines seamlessly," Vogler says. "He’s a poet and a born performer and you never quite know what you’re going to get. Yes, it’s great having him on the bill and collaborating with him."
For Avery, the respect is mutual.
"The Point community has been really good to me, and of course Stephen plays a huge part in that," he expresses. "There I’ve performed with a scratch DJ and burlesque, with my cinematic opera, with my rock-'n'-roll band and most recently with my soul revival group. There's a special and open-minded bunch [in Whistler].
"Stephen and I had a blast [at the Flag Stop Festival] with his punk and ska background and me bringing the dirty blues and hip-hop. Stephen’s my kind of guitar player … like a soul player, a guitar player for the working class wanting to have fun."
'The original northern star'
Every artist starts somewhere, and for Avery that first proving ground was an Ottawa coffee house named Rasputin's. He played there with a number of bands as a 17-year-old, commenting that "there were lots of chances to get up on stage underage if you had a beard."
Avery then branched out to Kingston and Hamilton on the shores of Lake Ontario, where he became a skilled pianist, singer and composer.
One of Avery's favourite records is Jack Johnson, crafted by Miles Davis and named after the first black heavyweight champion in boxing. This particular album proved Davis' trumpet could complement rock riffs and string arrangements—so why shouldn't Avery likewise dabble in an eclectic range of sounds?
As of this writing, Avery is in Whistler editing his third film. This one's called Hip-Hop For Hobo Sailors and it's loaded with dialogue and songs from Bob Dylan. "It feels very Irish, like I’m going back to the original northern star of poetry that set me ablaze all those years ago," says Avery. "Music and movies have always been married, even in the silent film area."
Speaking of films: both of Vogler and Avery's upcoming concerts will begin at 9 p.m., giving WFF patrons a chance to finish their daily viewership before giving their eyes a rest and enjoying some live music.
"Après Après is a great venue, really flexible for everything from DJs to comedy to cabaret and live music," says Vogler. "It has excellent audio and lighting and I’m really looking forward to hitting the stage there!"
Visit this link for tickets to the Dec. 6 show in Whistler and this link for tickets to Dec. 7 in Pemberton.
