Team Canada Spreading the Love Up North

[Kayla Kuhn]

Team Canada Spreading the Love Up North 
By Kayla K. 

Reggae rock’s ability to make listeners feel uplifted and at ease could not be honored more than by the mission of Team Canada Music. While Canada is seemingly the polar opposite of the Hawaiian tropics and glassy shoreline of California, one cannot forget that the power of reggae music comes from its ability to make anyone, regardless of their location, feel the sheer pleasure of island vibes. Team Canada has taken fandom to a new level by creating a non-profit group whose sole goal is to spread their love for reggae rock in Canada. What started as a road trip to visit one of their favorite bands has turned into an opportunity for Bob Bellefleur and his wife Nikki to make a significant change on the impact that reggae has in the Canadian music scene. Team Canada can be recognized by their jerseys, but attending concerts with large groups of friends is only part of what they do. 

 

  Bob and Nikki have been avid listeners of reggae rock since high school, “We both enjoy reggae music by itself, but it is the energy infused into the reggae/rock genre that we find so addictive.” Their exposure to reggae in Alberta, Canada was rare and they soon became frustrated with the lack of publicity the genre was getting in Canada. This meant that they had to drive up to 15 hours on weekends just to attend a show. Their dedication and discontent with the current promotion of reggae rock in Canada pushed them to become the public relation gurus of the Canadian reggae rock scene that they are today. They found that the issue was not a lack of interest for the genre in Canada, but rather the majority of the population had never even been exposed to the music. 

 

Since it's not difficult to fall in love with reggae rock, the main issue was getting the music out into the public. Bob and Nikki have achieved this through a variety of promotional strategies, and everything is non-profit out of their own pockets! When they travel to shows they usually acquire press passes and shoot the venue from two different angles to create a great video of the concert that is then posted on their YouTube site. They also take still shots and compile CDs of their favorite songs to ensure that people actually listen to the music rather than leaving it up to them to seek it out. 

 

Bob and Nikki have distributed over 2,000 CDs everywhere from skate shops to malls and of course Canadian concerts. These CDs feature some of their favorite Canadian acts such as illScarlett and Redeye Empire, as well as American bands such as Pepper. Their future goals are "To start booking shows, tours and festivals throughout Canada. We are currently working on a new promo CD which will feature 24 bands that we hope to one day have play up here. Before booking the shows we plan on using this CD to help build an audience for this genre.” 

 

Team Canada has obviously taken on a huge endeavor balancing touring around with bands, editing hours of show footage, and basically being the sole promoters of reggae rock in Canada while maintaining their own personal jobs. So the question must be asked - what is so special about reggae rock that would drive this duo to such extremes? Nikki answered quite eloquently, “Music should be about the music, not the money. Listen because you love it, love the good vibes and the feeling you get from it. That's the driving force behind Team Canada Music and we think THAT is something worth promoting!”