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26 -\~‘Al'hkl1n)(ZHRUNlCl£ - Wednesday lune 16‘ 2010 j iiiii‘MHtlllliiHllll i ! __V__~ ._____fiss [ L . i ear IllIlg to y j C . ’ I ; Gomg from writer to performer has lead Banks to UpTown Countrys mamstage i BYBOBVRBANM - - a _ : “ha- s?“ 1 ‘ w» " And son itin success eventuall 'came 1 Â¥k (fhm'l‘fh’Nflfl ‘ ‘ AC7 _ 1 5:3 12 I? “to. j . from a mug: of p§eces she wrote forylessica j j I \ h - 55' V s" ’* ‘f' ;'- a (- Simpson's debut country album, Home on 1 ctoria banks has written songs front . ’ , ' “ \ ‘ 3 ‘3“. ‘i‘. “r t L 13‘ ' Over and Remember That. The single (Ionie g ’ some off coutitry music's biggest stars I ' " ‘~ V y i 1“, I" ' '~ on Over became the highest charting debut j including Sara Frans Doc Walker and k j x y is. (3'. E.» {’33 country single in Billboard magazine's lllsltr ‘. ltxsica Simpson in her lit yeausoi'tryingto make \ i t - . ”y -‘ 1 ’ ‘ 7 ry in 2008. and was a Top 20 song on the Us. ’ It iii the music businessin Nashville s - \ ‘| i v . if . ‘ Billboard Chart. } But it was only after the Muskoka native - , .. ‘34 a H‘ it followed on the heels of ii lop 30 single started to write about things she was trying . ‘ ' A 3 ‘7 v Banks had written for Sara lzvans called to work out herself that she found her self % 3'(°/. ‘ ‘ ‘ 95 '3 ’ a ‘ Saints and Angels in 2007 l stage centre singingabout it. , _ K 3:. ,, '4'” . ‘ . 7' ‘ “I didn't think i would ever be able to And she's glad she did as her debut ' . y ,\ f3 .- . writeasong," said Banks “1 always thought I \ album. When You (Sun Hy. earned her the . ' ‘ : ‘ ‘E if? u»! would be a singer or interpreter of muslin l most nominations by a female artist front - i ' i . \ “ "g 4 didn't think I had that creative streak in me (ianadian (lountry Music Association in 1' ’ if ' ‘ btit it just sort ofcameoiit BOUT-L including female artist ofthe year and i ",1 s. a ' i . "I took a stab at it and went to Nashville rising star. 7 r i r 4 ‘ l _ and took a shot. and Within six months I had Banks will be headlining the 81h annual ;' ' ' 1 " ‘9 ' riiy first staff songwriting position at it pub Up lown (lountry Festival that kicks off this . ‘ W ~ ’ lishing company, Since then he gone troiii lriday with a special performance at the t ' , I 3' ., one company to the next and grown as 2i Waterloo public square from 7 pm, to 3 _ . \ , fix - writeroverthe years: p m , before returning to the much more .. ‘7' . But the end ofa difficult relationship and familiar Regina Street parking lot next to . " - ' ' ‘ g . 2i dark period in herlife left Banks wanting to Waterloo (Zity Hall on Saturday starting at 'l U ' ' i ‘ share more than just her songwriting, That’s pot * - " ' ; when what she was going through all Banks, a University ofToronto alum who ,’ i . ., poured out of her and that act of catharsis graduated with a 7(iologv degree of all i . - '\ lead to her success as performer things. said she is looking forward to per» ‘ .‘ .. '- ' "it‘s been an interesting journey because forming on the main stage Saturday in ‘ ‘ z ‘ it . 1,1 , ' 1"" when I went into the songwriting side i did \‘l’atcrloo Most of her totiring schedule in j ‘ .'._ ’ _‘ L ‘ puns ' ‘ fix I . n't have any aspirations of being an artist.” (anada has taken her to the west coast and , "x w '. ‘J M , said Banks "l was focused on writing the the Prairies. but this gives her friends and , A ‘ ' ' t ' ‘ ' best songs i could write and handing them family a better chance of catching her act a g i ' c -' ofto other people. little close to home ' ' 3 “But the transition for me came when I Banks has been a writer all her life. using I g "‘ ' A was going through a divorce and struggling it as a means of expression since she was a ’ {V . to find myself again." girl growmg up in the heart of cottage coon j \A j s ‘ . it was a musical journey that struck a in [hat was why it was so strange that she " ‘ ’ chord with a lot of people in the audiences ended up studying zoology when something Muskoka native Victoria Banks, nominated as the female artist of 2009 by the Canadian Coun- she performs for these days. related to the writer's craft made more sense try MUSIC ASSoclatiOn. is headlining this week's UpTown Country festival And she also moved by how many people But that choice came out of a sense of ‘ “mm" ”‘0” come up to her after a show and say one of broadening her horimnsrv and maybe hav- her lyrics really touched them or spoke to mg something to fall back on if the writing said Banks from he! Nashville home. While perfecting the songwriting craft something they were going through in their [mug (“any work 0le m the end, the lifelong "My first passion being songwriting, i felt she orbited the same universe as other suc- own lives musit hill said the pull to write and create the call to move down and sort of immerse cessful songwriters who have gone on to “You just have to do it from the bean and miisit still turned out to be the strongest, "WWW“ it, make their names as singers. including people connect with that." said Banks. “i came here originally because it was the “And in one way or another it‘s been put Deric Ruttan. whose couch was Banks’ songwriting Mecta of the universe really,“ ting food on the table.” home during her first winter in Nashville. Continued onpagc27 ‘. . ‘v . Shop and r ’ . 7W4N W antertowm ‘- . 1‘ . ' SIDEWAL 10M 1 W - l ‘ ' , Friday, Jam 25 8. 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