In 2015 in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, Blessed was formed from a shared creative objective. From the start, its original four members found themselves naturally amalgamating elements of post-hardcore, minimalism, new wave, krautrock, and punk. The result is a blend of experimental art-rock that (borrowing words from Post-Trash) “defies expectations, eschews common structures and forms, and breeds its own alien landscapes.” 

They’ve released two critically lauded EPs and an LP called Salt. They kindly let us use their song, “Endure” as our intro music for this season of The Process. For this episode, we spoke with Drew Riekman (vocals and guitar) and Mitchell Trainor (bass). Other band members are Reuben Houweling on guitar, Jake Holmes on drums, and Matt McKeen on guitar and keys. Listen above or on iTunes or Spotify.

In this episode, we talked about:

• their intense touring schedule in 2019
• their intentional day job balance
• the experience of having a creative career in a small town in British Colombia
• how Canadian funding of music and the arts works
• the wildly difficult process of coming to America from abroad
• why touring America is a necessity for them to sustain
• why they self-released their album, Salt
• advice on when and how to build a team around your band
• how they make space for each other to be vulnerable and share any issues on tour
• what’s worked for them in building longevity as a band
• looking at long-term life goals vs. the pressure to be prolific
• their songwriting process and approach to experimentation

Resources mentioned:

• Blessed’s music 
• Blessed on Instagram and Twitter
• Dead Soft (band)
• Arts & Crafts (record label)
• FACTOR – federal funding for the arts in Canada
• Music BC – provincial funding for the arts in British Colombia
• Amplify BC– marketing funding for the arts in British Colombia
• You Say Party, We Say Die (band)
• Kingfisher Bluez (label)
• Coin Toss (label)
• The Business Records (record store)
• Tunic (band)
• Loans (band)
• Teen Daze (band)
• Kristin Witco

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