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Local Prince Albert band trying to make name for themselves

Mar 31, 2012 | 10:15 AM

A local Prince Albert band is working hard to get their name out there.

We Make Our Trophies have been together for just under a year.

The band is made up of Jason Gabora (guitar), Burt Tunstall (guitar/singer), Shayne Carlson (drums), and Jody Johnson (bass).

Although the band doesn’t have a definite style type they are slightly progressive, very melodic, very harmonically interesting, and not your typical fare.

The band has played a few live shows since getting together last summer.

“All of us in our own rights have played a lot of live shows over the years. I’ve spent most of the 90’s playing around in a punk rock band. Shayne’s played with a bunch of bands; Jason’s played with a bunch of bands. Jody’s been playing music since the dawn of time I think,” Burt said .

They’ve played at Rogue’s, they were out in Melfort a few weekends ago, and they have a few gigs coming up.

Tonight they will be in Regina at the Gaslight Saloon at 9 p.m. and will be auditioning for the Ness Creek festival out in Big River next weekend.

For info on their show visit their Facebook page.

“The sad truth of being in an original band out of anywhere, especially in Saskatchewan, especially Prince Albert Saskatchewan, it’s not something you can live off of. There’s not a lot of places for an original band to play,” Burt added.

As much as the guys would love to make the band their full time gig, they each have day jobs.
“We all have to work day jobs to keep afloat. I got two kids, you got to have a job when you have babies,” Johnson said.

The band said they could do the typical band thing, where they just do covers of songs and make money, but they’d rather make their own unique music.

They put it best by saying they are taking the sonic high road and it doesn’t pay well.

“I just remember when I was a kid trying to play in my own little bands as a teenager and always looking forward to some of the better bands playing and going out to see that. It’d be really neat if we actually got a little following and had people, especially all ages show venues, and have kids come out and see what’s up with us. And hopefully it inspires them to write their own original music and play in other bands,” Gabora said.

“I think we all kind of started out doing the same sort of things. We were all into skateboarding and punk rock music and kind of a different take on music and kind of just grew up with a certain culture; it sort of progressed it while we’re learning to play music and incorporate those things in what we play but try to make it unique in our own. That’s kind of what I look at today in terms of writing, taking pieces of the different things I’ve been influenced by and putting it together to try and make it unique,” Gabora said.

You can visit them on MySpace.

swallace@panow.com