Josh Chang 0:13 The music industry, what a dreamy life to live, write a song, sing it loud, and let the fans come rolling. It seems easy, doesn't it? Jyrylle Penarroyo 0:22 For some it might be. But in Toronto? Toronto's a big city, you'd think that there would be opportunities lined up out the door for a young passionate artist. Josh Chang 0:32 Well think about how many artists there are in Toronto. Not all of them can show up on the front page of the Toronto Star and achieve something like headline success. There's way too many of them, I would think you would need connections or something to get started. Jyrylle Penarroyo 0:48 I agree, there can't possibly be enough room in the spotlight for every artist who wants to be successful. To get some insight on this. I reached out to Cian Boyd. She's an up and coming indie artist based in Toronto, and she spent a fair amount of time navigating these waters. Cian Boyd 1:04 My name is Cian. Cian Boyd is my artists name. I am a DIY artists here in Toronto. So I make music and I am starting to play live and kind of immerse myself into the music scene here. I moved back here, I was away for a while. And I moved back here with the intention of just getting out there in any way I could. Because I find making connections is kind of the key to really like, kind of finding your faucet a little bit. So I started doing open mics. Since I was a kid. I've had huge dreams and I decided to just go for it. And I think for me, it's about going for it and seeing where it goes because I think I would regret it if I didn't even if it doesn't work out. Josh Chang 1:45 I never even stopped to imagine how many steps it takes to get to the milestones in the music industry like this. You develop connections, you seek opportunities, you write songs until your hands are sore just to make it on a live set. Jyrylle Penarroyo 1:58 Especially during the pandemic. How did Cian build upon her studying music career after COVID took so much opportunity away. Actually, there were more silver linings to the pandemic for artists than some may think. Cian found that it provided the chance she needed to progress in her music career. Cian Boyd 2:16 The pandemic actually pushed me to focus on music more because I was kind of stuck at my parents house and I was bored out of my mind. But we have a bunch of equipment because my dad as well likes to do music for fun. So I started kind of getting really nostalgic and thinking about the past. I think we all kind of had that in the pandemic because we're like time right now sucks. So think about other things. And then I started to write a lot during the pandemic. Josh Chang 2:41 So I'm willing to bet that a lot of artists found themselves in the same boat as her in the sense that they use the pandemic as time to refine their crafts. Jyrylle Penarroyo 2:50 Definitely. But still, the studios and venues in Toronto were mostly closed down or low traffic during the pandemic. Josh Chang 2:57 You're right. Take hard look bar, for example, in Toronto, we were able to get in touch with its owner Tanya Tarun, and she gave us excellent insight on what artists are up against when trying to make it in the music industry. It isn't as easy as it sounds. Tanya Tonon 3:11 We're only a 300 cap venue. So we definitely focus a lot on people trying to develop a following because it's, it's a good room to do it in because it's not too small, but it's not huge. Toronto has a really big music scene, which is great, because there's a lot of options, a lot of bands, but that can be difficult because it's oversaturated there's so many bands only so many spaces. So again, like you really have to work to set yourself apart. Because if you can't play a show somebody else can you know, like there's just so much talent in Toronto. Jyrylle Penarroyo 3:48 So I guess there are opportunities available. Josh Chang 3:52 Of course there are. It's just a matter of how effective those opportunities are going to be. Since Toronto's music scene is so big, standing out must be hard, especially when there's so many artists in the city. Jyrylle Penarroyo 4:05 Actually, we were able to talk with Jake Thompson the lead for the band Tamale and his genre relies heavily on hardcore punk. But he is dedicated to staying true to the unique sound that he and his band wanted to keep. Now I see why it isn't just as simple as hitting up a venue and playing to get a larger following. Jake must know how hard it is to stand out. Jake Thompson 4:26 After the pandemic we started meeting more people and like people in the industry or people that have been around for a while and like kind of was like yo, these are some things you should do like as a young man giving us guidance. So like, I guess our biggest struggle is just kind of like we are a different band then kind of like a lot of hardcore bands kind of follow the same structure. But like we offer something a little different where it's a little bit harder to get respect from some people or like older heads and also the fact that we rep Brampton as hard as we do Josh Chang 4:59 I honestly didn't realize how hard it was to make a name for yourself. I guess it makes sense after hearing from Tanya and Jake. Jyrylle Penarroyo 5:06 Yeah, especially with artists like Cian and Jake, who are entering the industry in the primetime of their youth, I would find it so hard to find the motivation to keep following this dream. Josh Chang 5:16 Yeah, I mean, look at everything we've heard the industry is huge and unpredictable. Jyrylle Penarroyo 5:20 And their success is dependent on all these factors to make ends meet. How do they find the motivation to continue? Josh Chang 5:27 Yeah, I agree. From finding connections to pleasing your audience to staying relevant to upping your streams, what's their secret to staying with it? Cian Boyd 5:36 Major struggles are when you kind of drive yourself into the artists life or dream. There's so much uncertainty. So it's really easy to kind of get in your own head and be really hard on yourself. And I'm definitely guilty of being hard on myself and kind of making myself feel like I'm not capable or good enough. And also just resources, it can be difficult. It's a lot of money that goes into music. And sometimes there's a lot of falling outs, with, like certain players say that play for you, etcetera. So, there's a lot of moments where it seems like it's going really well and then all of a sudden, it falls apart. And you're like, Am I doing the right thing right now? Like, what am I doing with my life, you know, but it's a part of it, it kind of comes down to the core reason of why you're doing it and what that means to you personally. And that can be same as many other artists but like, for example, for me, it comes down to writing with my heart on my sleeve, and that's kind of how I promote myself and connect with the audience and such and just making your brand who you are, I think, is like the base of it. Even if you don't know who you are, you kind of discovered your music. Jake Thompson 6:56 Music in general, but especially like with hardcore punk, like, that is just something that like, you know, gives me like a sense of belonging, and kind of like a second family and community. Where it's like, I can go and be in these spaces be who I am, feel at home and like, just have like, I don't know, it's just it's sometimes it sounds corny, but like, it's just really like, just such a, like, big release or welcoming space for me where like, I feel really comfortable and like, I can be with like minded people. Josh Chang 7:42 It really is inspiring to hear how their passion overrides their struggles. Jyrylle Penarroyo 8:02 You know, what's even more proof of that? Josh Chang 8:05 What? Jyrylle Penarroyo 7:37 The artists dream, it really is something So the Toronto music industry may not be as easy as it seems on the outside. But still, if you're passionate enough in your craft, you're gonna succeed. Josh Chang 7:58 Absolutely. Besides, it's proof that you work for what you love. Jyrylle Penarroyo 8:07 The fact that they're in Toronto