By Adam Bradley
Things are about to get a lot busier for Trevor Bennett, leader of prog-pop phenomenon Catcher. He's also a MUN Music student, and the regional winner of the Canadian RadioStar National Songwriting Competition.
This victory means that he will go on to represent Newfoundland and Labrador in the contest's national finals, competing for a whopping $10,000 prize, among other career-bolstering amenities such as 30 free hours at the legendary Metalworks recording studio and a $5,000 National Radio Promotion Package.
"It's not the kind of thing I have any context for, so it's new and exciting and a little bewildering, all at once," said Bennett.
He says entering the contest was almost something of an afterthought for him. "Back in November, I was given a heads up about the contest itself, so I quickly did up a little packet with a few of the songs from the album I released in the fall, submitted them to [local radio station] K-Rock, and almost forgot about it until I was told that the winner was going to be announced on Stephanie O'Brien's show Under The Influence," says Bennett.
His winning song, called "Catch Me If You Can", is an accessible rock piece, but Bennett claims that no specific demographic was in mind when he composed it.
"This is art," he said. "There's no marketing involved on the creative level."
Despite the ideal climate for self-indulgence, Bennett remains level-headed in his desire to share his creative work with anyone who is willing to listen.
"This is the kind of thing that could get my songs to the kinds of people who'll like them, outside of my immediate sphere of influence," said Bennett.
"This island can be a tough place to grow from, so the exposure from this contest, and whatever comes of that, is welcome."
Even considering Newfoundland's small amount of mainstream musical breakthroughs, Bennett remains optimistic.
"We, as Newfoundland musicians, of all stylistic backgrounds, seem to have our work cut out for us," he said. "But whatever happens in the long run, it's my feeling that if you're pursuing music as a means to 'make it big,' you're absolutely in it for the wrong reasons."