Brandon’s Matt Cory has been making steady strides to becoming a major player in Canada’s music industry. This week he has been given 4 nominations for the upcoming Manitoba Loud Music Awards
Matt please explain to all the BDNMB.CA followers what the Manitoba Loud Music Awards is this something new?
Cory – The Manitoba Loud Music Awards is an award show showcasing “loud music” in Manitoba. They utilize a voting system to pick winners in a variety of different categories including Rock, Hard Rock, Punk, Metal and more. The voting period is open September 1st to 30th at https://loudawards.com/vote/ but there will be in person ballots available at the fundraiser on September 15, 2023 at XCues Cafe & Lounge (551 Sargent Ave) in Winnipeg. From the Manitoba Loud Music Awards website: Our goal is to show support to musicians, whether it’s a new band that wants to gain exposure, an established band that just wants to share their passion and new music with fans , or a touring band that’s rolling through our beautiful province. We thrive to inspire young musicians to present their music with us. One of our main goals is to help heal mental health through the love of music. We Support Your Local Scene
Now you have been nominated for 4 awards
1 – Band of the Year
2 – Singer of the Year
3 – Guitarist of the Year
4 – Single of the Year – Lit Up and Out of Line
Cory – In regards to my nominations, I am incredibly honoured to have been recognized! I’m very proud and grateful to have my work and dedication be acknowledged in four different categories. None of this would’ve happened without my band. I want to give a huge shoutout to Nick Schoonbaert, Ian Morrice, Terry Brown and Cy Arthurson for all their effort, talent and patience in working with me. I’d also like to mention past members as well including Wes Lipischak, Troy McKenzie, Ryan Felstead and Mike Leech for all their help. My life is music. My passion is music. It is constantly on my mind. I never stop thinking about it. If I could perform every single night of the year I would without hesitation. I live to create, perform and write music. It’s what I’m on earth to do. I’m not necessarily in it to win it in regards to the Loud Music Awards. I’m just so happy that this style of music has an outlet to be seriously recognized in Manitoba. As Chris Jericho once said on his Talk is Jericho Podcast, “Winnipeg is a true metal town.” I agree with this, but I think Manitoba is truly a metal province. I am ecstatic that through the Manitoba Loud Music Awards, we can finally acknowledge that loud music has a place as some of the government bodies that are supposed to help our Manitoba artists grow have put in almost zero effort and will not take loud music seriously.
Matt Cory performing at the Salamander Music Festival
What is wrong with Rock Music today for example local radio loves artists like Trooper and Toronto but where are the new bands?
Cory – I can only speak for myself in regards to what’s wrong with rock music today. There are tons of amazing rock acts out there making fantastic music. Unfortunately, you just have to seek them out at this time. I’ve had the honour of sharing the stage with many of these acts over the years across Manitoba and they continue to blow my mind and push me to be better. I feel that certain rock radio stations aren’t willing to take a chance on newer acts and often rely on old acts because they know it “works”. Unfortunately, our local “rock” station isn’t interested in new rock, that’s just not what they do. The play the classics. As far as I understand, our local rock station doesn’t even pick their own material. It comes from an office outside the province… which leaves djs hands tied and that seems very strange to me. This leaves listeners unaware of what’s going on in their area. If we want rock to comeback into the mainstream in a big way, I think rock radio need to seek out 10 Canadian rock acts that are the whole package. They need to have the look, the business savvy, the following, social media skills, but most importantly they have the songs. They need to take these 10 bands and pump the hell out of them on stations. They don’t need to remove the older bands all together, but mix the new and old together like stations do in larger cities. Westman needs a station that will play NEW rock! Simple as that.
Why does Canadian Rock Music seem to be in a slump so to speak?
Cory – Rock isn’t dead. It’ll never die. The analogy I like to use is rock music is like mosquitoes… no matter how many times you think it’s dead, it keeps coming back and will continue to do so.
At a local level how can people support local not only rock music but all types of music?
Cory – It’s so easy to support local acts, go to the shows, buy their merch, listen to their music, share their music across social media if it speaks to you, request their music on stations and if they say they can’t help, keep bugging them until they need to make a change! The Manitoba Loud Music Awards will take place at the Park Theatre (698 Osborne St.) in Winnipeg, MB on Saturday, November 18, 2023.
Good luck and thank you Matt from all of us at BDNMB.CA
