Volunteering at the Junos an Eye-Opening Experience

Written for Calgary Herald Q

Well, we can’t *all* be Michael Morrison, and as much as I would love to spend a day walking in his hallowed shoes, not all of us have the clout to bribe Juno officials into getting us media accreditation. So this blogger had to resort to getting a behind-the-scenes pass to the Junos the old-fashioned way: by volunteering.

For me, the Junos have never been more than a two-hour awards show with hosts like Pamela Anderson, who make me embarrassed to say I’m Canadian. Who knew that the Junos were actually a four-day festival showcasing some of this country’s best and most under-recognized, under-supported talent? It almost felt like Stampede around here.

If you couldn’t make it to Olympic Plaza on Thursday for the free concert, there were plenty of other chances for you to get up close and personal. On Saturday, I volunteered at the Juno Fan Fare, a free event where fans could go and have their memorabilia signed, photos taken and questions answered by their favourite artists. And the list was quite impressive. In attendance were Finger Eleven, Theory of a Deadman, Bedouin Soundclash, illScarlett and Hedley, among others. Never heard of them? Me either. All the more reason to head on down.

As you can imagine, I doubled the average-age of the fans there, some of whom had lined up since six in the morning to reserve their spot in line. Fourteen year-olds hyped up on sugar and adrenaline screamed, squealed and shook with delight and awe as lead singer Jacob Hoggard touched their hands on his way past. Sound like hell? As a former junior high teacher, this was just another day in the life. And it was kind of sweet. It definitely took me back to the day. If this had been a New Kids on the Block event and it was 1990, I would have been right there with them, fawning over Jon and sending him my special psychic love vibes. He was clearly the most under-appreciated member of that band. But I digress.

I by-passed the emo group, the rock group and the country group and opted for the so-called “indie group.” I had the good fortune of taking care of Belly, Jeremy Fisher, Jill Barber, Joel Plaskett, Jully Black and Serena Ryder. So what does that mean? Does it mean that I got to sit in the VIP lounge with them and talk about their process and the challenges facing music stars in Canada? Well, no. It meant that I stood and gave out wristbands and held a sign for five hours and then made sure that the fans didn’t get out of line. (Again, very reminiscent of my teaching days.)

But my question is, where were all the fans? Each group gave out 200 FREE wrist bands. This entitled them the opportunity to go and have one thing signed by the artists in their chosen group. As you can imagine, the Finger Eleven and Hedly groups sold out quickly. But in two hours, my group had only given out 21 wrist bands. So was this a matter of poor advertising? Laziness? Apathy?

Is this really the type of event left to the masses of junior high girls? Were people unaware or unwilling to give up time on a blustery Saturday morning to head on down to the Olympic Oval? Maybe nobody knew about it? Approximately a thousand people showed up, but there was enough room, enough staff and enough volunteers to accommodate double or triple that number. It’s a shame really and the truth is, I was embarrassed for these artists, all of whom have incredible talent. Couldn’t we all stand to channel the fourteen-year-old in us?

Eventually as the day wore on, we managed to give away all of our wristbands, but it took some convincing. Based on last night’s Juno Awards Gala where Serena Ryder, Jully Black and Belly all won awards, they definitely deserve some props.

I am the first to admit that had I not been volunteering, I would have had no idea or interest about going down there. So why is that? It ain't easy finding success in Canada…for athletes, artists, actors and writers alike. It’s hard out there for a pimp. So isn’t that all the more reason for us to support the artists who reflect the diversity of our Canadian music scene? And really, getting close enough to see Belly’s diamond grills was reward enough. I was tempted to buy some CDs at the HMV booth and a hoody at the merchandise table, but then I remembered that I'm not fourteen anymore and I just don't have that much disposable income.