Meet Brant Pethick—an Ottawa born and bred musician with a flair for inspirational lyrics, a guitar-driven sound, and catchy melodies that you’ll find yourself humming hours later. Ever humble and down-to-earth, he is in awe of the many kudos that have been directed his way. Only You, has garnered commercial success charting for several weeks on Ottawa’s CHRI and Barrie’s LIFE 100.3. Only You and Awake have been featured in Canada’s Christian Top 20 as Homegrown Hits; Only You and Everything Tonight were semi-finalists in the 2012 ISC International Song Competition; and Imagine Someday was a finalist in the 2012 International Christian Song Competition. It’s Your Fight joined the Indie Music for Life compilation CD in the United States to raise funds for cancer research. And, most recently, Awake has hit CHRI’s top twenty hits.
A relative newcomer to life as a solo artist, Pethick enjoyed ten years as drummer and backup vocalist for On The Edge, a local band. On The Edge is best known for In Your Touch, a song that hit number one in several Ontario radio stations, In My Mind, and The Beer Drinking Song, which was featured in the Genie-nominated film Harmony Cats. They toured extensively, opening for Blue Rodeo and, on one very special occasion, playing to an audience that included Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Minister of Canada. During his time with the band, Pethick found himself exposed to the ins and outs of life in the music industry—touring, performing, composing, and hearing the fruits of his efforts on radio for the very first time—serving as the perfect platform from which to launch his solo career.
As a teenager in the city’s Beacon Hill neighbourhood, Pethick found himself trying to quench what he calls an insatiable appetite to listen, to learn, to sing, and to play music. Glued to local Top 30 stations, he would find himself using his hands to lay down a drumbeat on anything and everything. Quite simply put, he was born for music.
Pethick states that he was always drawn to artists that can “create and perform memorable emotional moments that draw in the listener and make them forget about anything else that is going on.” He has truly blossomed into one of these artists, himself. Patrick Langston of The Ottawa Citizen describes Pethick’s first offering, A New Day, as “music with a message,” and The Ottawa Sun’s Allan Wigney calls it, “inspiring words…a tuneful collection that is most rare of popular music lyrical offerings: Something positive.” Logan Murphy of the Ottawa Music Index writes that the Awake CD “is empowering, soulful, and brings back lyrics that can really speak to you; lyrics with a positive spin on life,” while 2012 Juno Nominee, Colin Bernard, states it “is the beginning of something beautiful.” Yes, mainstream and Christian audiences, alike, have adopted his songs—his poignant lyrics resonating with each of us as we try to find our way in this walk called “life.”
One of the highlights of his career to date has been working with the legendary GMA Producer of the Year, Andrew Horrocks. When asked what this experience was like, Pethick responds that Horrocks opened his home up to him over a six month period while producing the eleven tracks on Awake, generously sharing his many talents. “I never wanted to leave the studio,” Pethick declares. “When in the same room as a multi-award winning Producer, you are awake to every moment. It was an experience that I will never forget.”
He has recently performed at the Orleans Festival, the Awake Release Concert at the Shenkman Arts Centre, and he has just celebrated the premiere of the Awake music video. His plans for the future include continuing to write, performing whenever the opportunity arises, and recording a follow-up CD. He loves “getting his music and message out to anyone that wants to hear it.”
When asked what advice he had for young musicians just starting out he has this to say—“hold onto your dreams, work hard at your craft, dream some more, take chances, let your music lead you. Be your ambition!”
He fondly remembers the first time he heard Only You on the radio—the very medium that played such an important role in his life. He excitedly declares, “Hearing my music on the radio are moments I will continue to cherish!”
If you haven’t yet encountered the music of Brant Pethick, you are missing out on something very special. Visit him at brantpethick.com and take a listen for yourself.