Lakecity local Jamie Warnock is one step closer to making his dreams of becoming a professional performer and musician true.
Warnock, alongside his band the Jins, is currently in the first few days of pre-production with producer David Genn, of 54-40.
It’s an exciting moment for Warnock, now 23, who moved to Vancouver when he was 18 to pursue a diploma in the Professional Recording Arts at the Vancouver Art Institute.
“When I was six years old my parents gave me a guitar. I stood on the fireplace for the whole day just strumming the guitar,” he said. “I knew I had to do something.”
Now, Warnock plays drums and does back-up vocals for the band, alongside his two other bandmates: Ben Larson (guitar and vocals) and Hudson Partridge (bass).
The three met when they moved in together as roommates, and were friends before they started the band.
The opportunity to work with a professional producer is an exciting step.
It began when Warnock submitted their first official music video to 604 Records, a production company founded by Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger and attorney Jonathan Simkin, via e-mail.
Two days later, he said he got an e-mail back, saying they liked it, and asking when the band would be playing next.
“I was like, hey, is this really happening?” said Warnock.
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Since then, the band has been slowly working with the label. The first time the label saw them play was in November, and when the sound quality on their demo wasn’t quite up to par, offered them a demo deal.
They’d be able to use one of their engineers and, based on the songs, decide what they want to do from there.
The results of the demos were good enough the company set them up with producer David Genn, of 54-40, and now the band is now hard at work, working long sessions in the hopes of a potential future record deal.
“He is helping us to restructure the songs to be in a more pop format,” said Warnock.
“It’s interesting, it’s a lot different than our regular rehearsals,” he said, adding it’s more directed, and almost two hours longer than a normal practice for the band.
“It’s been lots of fun. Last night was the first official time someone has put money behind us to do recording.”
They’ll be headed to the recording studio in May, which Warnock said he is looking forward to.
The band is working to keep a sound that stays based in their performance skills as musicians, and is less production based.
“I like this idea a lot because it will showcase our musicianship as well,” he said. “We want to be good at playing the instruments, we don’t want to have somebody edit us after.”
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Warnock describes the band’s sound as “Nirvana meets the Strokes meets Black Sabbath and the Killers.” In other words: multi-genre, loud, “fun rock.”
The band has been playing together for the past three years, which has resulted in an accumulated 120 live shows, Warnock estimates.
They’ve also taken two long-distance tours together, including one across Canada, in a van that Warnock admits breaks down a little more frequently than it should.
“Because we were better friends before we were a band, it helps solve issues,” said Warnock of his bandmates. “After three weeks stuck in the same van, it’s good that we are friends and know when it’s time to give each other space.”
While Warnock started his music career on guitar and vocals, it turns out he’s also a not bad drummer — a skill he has picked up since the band started.
After they connected with 604 Records, they were also invited to a pre-Juno event, where they had the ability to connect with a number of industry reps.
While their hopes are for a record deal and perhaps to get on as an opening band for a bigger act, it’s been an exciting few weeks for the Jins, and they’re looking forward to what the future holds.
“I just want to keep progressing and keep writing new music and keep touring.”
The Jins music is available on iTunes and Spotify, and you can follow along with them on their Facebook page, by searching the Jins Band, or checking out their Instagram at @thejinsband.