Steve Marc is a man and a band. The Castlegar-based musician, whose full name is Steve Marc Gosselin, has been playing and touring for over three decades with such outfits as the Barefoot Caravan. Recently though, he branched out and his new band, named Steve Marc, is celebrating the release of a new album called “Be The World” this month. The crew is made up of Steve on vocals and guitar, Jamie Kallin on bass, Max Jones on drums, Ron Butler on trumpet, Sarah Sordi on vocals and percussion, and Diemm McLennan on harp, percussion and vocals. We caught up with Steve to find out more about the music scene in Castlegar, some of his favourite and funniest stories from the road, and why he loves living in the Kootenays.
Hey Steve. Thanks for chatting with us. Let’s start with how long you’ve lived in Castlegar.
I was born and raised in Ontario but have been living in BC since 2005 and in Castlegar for the last five years.
What do you like best about living in Castlegar?
The Kootenays are spectacular! I love my daily hikes. There are so many great trails and beautiful views around Castlegar. The outdoor life here is amazing!
How did you get into the music scene? Have you always been musical?
I started playing guitar in 1992 and have been in several bands since then. Most notably I was with Barefoot Caravan for a decade, touring, writing and playing upright bass for the band before moving here. I’ve come back to playing guitar and taken on lead vocals for the first time since starting my musical journey.
How would you describe the evolution of your sound?
Identifying my sound has proven quite difficult for me. Over the years I’ve dabbled in a multitude of genres from hard rock and punk to folk rock to blues and jazz and more recently reggae and world music. I’d say my current sound reflects all of my past experiences, mostly the latter and includes little hints of soul and funk as well.
Where have you played around the province?
With Barefoot Caravan we played many festivals all over the province including renowned festivals like Salmon Arm Roots and Blues, ArtsWells, Edge of the World Festival in Haida Gwaii and more. We’ve been in almost every town and city in BC, not only for festivals but other community events as well. This included school residencies where we taught music and songwriting and had the kids write and perform their own music. As Steve Marc, we’re a more locally based band and have played Sunfest and Spring Fling a couple times each and in many other venues from Kaslo to Trail and Grandforks to Salmo. We’ll be at Blizzard Festival in Rossland for the first time at the end of the month as well.
What’s one of your most memorable shows and why?
My most memorable show was again with Barefoot Caravan at the Edge of the World Festival in Haida Gwaii. It’s magical up there and there are several overlapping stories as to why that trip was the most memorable. That’s where we hosted our first children’s songwriting program, which the festival absolutely loved. I performed with my band and accompanied Tereza Tomek in her band as well. Barefoot Caravan had the whole crowd up and dancing and having fun when suddenly the power went out to the whole festival. We kind of just rolled with it after a brief moment of shock and panic by starting a chant and getting everyone to sing along, clap and continue dancing. When the power came back, thankfully only after about 2-3 minutes, we turned the chant into a song and had a fantastic rest of our set.
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What’s one of the funniest things that’s happened to you while performing?
Besides losing power mid set? It also happened in Haida Gwaii. I was rehearsing with Tereza Tomek for her set when I broke an upright bass string. They’re expensive and I was fairly new to the instrument still so I didn’t have any backups. I scrambled and went to the sound tech to ask if there were any other upright players performing, which there weren’t unfortunately. Then he said, “But my friend Aaron Reese plays, he’s local and camped in the back corner over there” and points. So I go tramping through the forested campground yelling for him and sure enough, his head pops up, “I’m Aaron,” he says. I explained my situation and asked if he had any strings I could borrow because my set was coming up. Of course he had none on him but he told me where he lived, explained where he kept his bass and handed me his car keys to go get it. It was about a 45-minute drive up the island to his house where his neighbours questioned me and his dog almost didn’t let me in but I managed to talk my way through, find his bass, and make it back to the festival. I only missed the first song. So I got mic’d up as quickly as I’ve ever been and had a fantastic rest of the festival.
What stands out to you about the Castlegar music scene?
There is a tremendous amount of talent here. At my upcoming album release party, we have two other amazing acts who write and perform their own music: Wild Will Kruse and the Tumbleweeds, which play old-time country, and Empire of Nothing, which is more 70’s style rock and funk. Other local bands include Reiss Zibin, which have some great pop/punk releases, and Toaster, which is heavier punk rock. My folky friends Double D’s, and my neighbour Katie Command are also excellent, as are Kyle Burk, Riston Turner and his band The Mellow Rows. And of course Rhyan Reign who fronted Blackout Summer is amazing as well. Oh, and there’s Bucket, too. The list is endless!
Where can people find out more info about your music and upcoming shows?
Steve Marc is on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify and all the other streaming platforms. Facebook is what I use most and best. Courier Song is a super fun music video we just put out on YouTube, be sure to check it out. It’s the lead single of the upcoming album “Be The World.” We’re having an album release concert at Castle Theatre on January 17th. Come support a few of the local creatives we have here in Castlegar. You can get tickets from our sponsor, Common Grounds Coffee House or Castle Theatre.