Have you heard of The Happy Country Gang from Kelowna?
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June 02, 2019 - 12:00 PM
KELOWNA - Scott Gibson was digging through the records at the SPCA thrift shop in Rutland when he struck by inspiration.
Gibson, whose company Sleepovers for Life makes small batch vinyl records, found an album from the 1970s by a band called The Country Happy Gang that was based in Kelowna.
“(We) looked it up online and couldn’t find anything,” said Gibson. “The record packaging was black and white, and you could see it was done on a budget … but the question was who was making records in this town back then? It was just a small orchard town.”
The idea sparked a conversation with his friends and then a project.
“We set out to do a 15 minute documentary for our own enjoyment, where we would try and find the band,” said Gibson.
READ MORE: A vinyl record maker came across this old Kelowna album and has a great idea
Not long after starting that project, though, they learned that StoryHive was offering grants for people who have stories they want to tell in towns and cities across the country. So they changed tack and decided to create a feature-length documentary about their search for the Country Happy Gang. While they’re just embarking on their band search, they’ve had a few ideas on where to look next.
“I live on Lakeshore Road, by Bertram Park, and we talked to some of our neighbours there and they’ve given us a few leads,” said Gibson.
“But we’ve taken it slow since the funding became available, because not supposed to have more than 15 per cent finished at this point.”
Once everything falls into place, the band has been found and the documentary is well in hand, Gibson hopes he can make them a new record.
He’s already enjoyed listening to the old one for how it represents a time and place so well.
But first, they hope to get the funding from StoryHive. There are only three days to vote for the project, which also has to win the favour of judges to get funding. If they don’t win, the project will go on. Just in a smaller scale.
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