Week of December 4, 2008, Issue #684
MUSIC
Mark Templeton
Eden Munro / eden@vueweekly.com
It’s been a while now since Mark Templeton sold his house in Edmonton and moved to Montréal. The experimental songwriter, as fond as he still is of his home town, is grateful for the opportunity to try a city like Montréal on for size.
Of course, in the months that Templeton has called Montréal home, he’s actually been away from the city for a good part of them.
“In the time I’ve been there I’ve been away for probably two months of it,” he laughs. “I came back here in September for a collaborative project with aAron Munson. We presented that in September and then I hung around for a bit to finish that, and then I went on tour in October to Europe.”
Though Templeton had travelled in Europe before, this trip was his first time performing there, and he was pleased with what he found: an audience ready and willing to listen to the music.
“In the Netherlands, for example, the bar shuts down almost—nobody goes to the washroom and nobody goes to get a drink,” he recalls of his experience. “They’re just sitting, standing, watching the performance and then when it ends they go get a drink or go for their smoke or whatever, but during the performance it’s like everything is focused in one direction.
Templeton believes that the difference between European and North American audiences comes down to several factors.
“I definitely think that perhaps there’s not as much of a social aspect—they’re there to see the performer—but also I think culturally it’s maybe how they’ve been brought up,” he considers, before adding the the physical characteristics of the venues also makes a difference. “The venues in Europe are built to bring about an atmosphere that draws people to focus in on the performer.
“The way the room is set up, it’s maybe not super long and narrow,” he continues. “It might just be a smaller area that’s not really built for conversations in the background. It’s built for a listening experience.”
With all of the travelling that Templeton has been doing, it’s almost certain that his experiences will manifest themselves in his songwriting—he’s just not sure in what way.
I think it affects not only songwriting but different aspects of your life and also your art form,” he says, “because when you move from a city that you’re well rooted in and that’s familiar and you go to somewhere new, your support network of artists is something you need to find and create.
“It’s been good, but it’s been an effort,” he adds. “In Montréal everything is new for me visually—when you look at the architecture and the surroundings and just the way the city is set up ... subconsciously it affects the way you create. V
Fri, Dec 5 (7:30 pm)
Mark Templeton
Hydeaway, $10 (all ages)
Social Bookmarking
Got something to say? Send a letter to the editor.
letters@vueweekly.com