Cal May is a homegrown talent who grew up in Barriere, worked as a newspaper carrier for the Star/Journal, and graduated from Barriere Secondary.
Cal says he became interested in music from a young age and was always involved in different bands and music groups around Barriere.
“My first job was delivering newspapers for the Star/Journal, and all the money I made went to buy musical equipment.”
During these years Cal soon found recognition, “Our band Obsidian Sun won the Barriere Battle of The Bands and was featured on The River radio station with two of their songs.”
After graduation, he moved to Calgary, AB., where he attended Mount Royal University in a three year Music Jazz Performance Program. Cal further continued his post-secondary music education by attending York University, in Toronto Ontario, in their Jazz Performance Degree Program under the tutelage of world class jazz musician Lorne Lofsky.
He has also taught music for three years while in Calgary, and later in Barriere.
Returning to Barriere in 2005, Cal continued with his music career as lead guitarist for local rock band A Social Portrait, formerly known to their fan base as The Kin. This band has been playing successfully for four years, are the house band at Knights Inn, and have played for Sun Peaks Resort for three years.
He and his band have played numerous charitable events over the past four years. Cal has provided sound engineering at the District of Barriere’s Friday Night Music in the Park, and his newest venture is being owner-operator of CM Music Services.
Cal says he is passionate about bringing music in all forms to the community. “My mission is to help revive a music scene in Barriere, with one of the goals being to give parents the opportunity to put their kids through a music course within their own community.”
He says a driving force in creating CM Music Services is to prove quality product that suits any musical need and to enrich and expand the music scene within the community.
As a new business CM Music Services has been in the works for quite some time, and Cal says he is excited to finally see it come to life.
CM Music offers a recording studio fully equipped with the latest digital recording technology and equipment, suitable for every type of artist. It features a two room 800 square foot facility that provides a comfortable and creative environment for artists to maximize their potential. Best of all for local talent, the recording studio is situated in Barriere, in the Midtown Mall, directly across from the Employment Centre on Barriere Town Road.
Cal says the studio, where A Social Portrait practices, welcomes other bands who need somewhere to practice for a “nominal fee”.
There is also a room that will be used to provide music lessons, and he notes that supporting the parents of young music students in helping them to access instruments, music, etc... is an important part of the process.
“We have an open door policy, and also mentor students,” says Cal, “We are not just someone you see once a week. We can also restring and tune guitars on site, order in music, and advise before purchases are made. It’s great for people not to have to make the drive to Kamloops just to buy music.”
He notes that growing up in Barriere and being a music student himself, he can really understand how hard it can be for parents to access and find what is required.
Cal closed the interview by saying, “This is something I’ve always wanted to do since I was about 14 years old – and now I’m doing it!”
Everyone is invited to attend CM Music Services Open House on Thursday, Dec. 12, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., where people can meet the staff, take a tour of the recording studio, music lesson room and artist studio club.
The public is also invited to attend Studio Club Music Night from 7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. the same evening, to listen to a jam session and meet local music artists for an intimate musical performance.
You can find out more by going to www.cmmusicservices.com, by emailing: guitarcal84@hotmail.com, or by calling Cal May at 778-220-3075 or 250-672-9915. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.
For more about the rock band A social Portrait, go to www.socialportrait.com.