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April 29 2011 » News Clippings » Muskeg News

Van Zanten Premiers Protest Video


By Gina Clark

For decades, musicians such as Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and John Lennon have sung about the important issues of the day, from war to poverty to racism. That tradition continues tonight when Rachelle van Zanten premieres her new music video “My Country” at the Tom Rooney Playhouse. She will also be performing an acoustic show. The event is hosted by the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition.

Van Zanten was inspired to write the song when she saw photos of the Tahltan Elders standing up to Shell, trying to protect the Sacred Headwaters. She says she wanted to write a song that could resonate with the people up here.

“I know many Northwest people can identify with the line ‘my Harlem grows 500 miles from the city ‘neath the poplars and the evergreens,’” she says. “I wanted to convey pride, passion, and concern for this country while making the music and melody catchy.”

She said the music video is far from the usual Much Music kind of vibe, but she thinks viewers would like it. It features the Sacred Headwaters and the Tahltan People, as well as van Zanten herself. She said she loves it because it is real, it evokes emotion and it makes people think.

Shannon McPhail, Executive Director of the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, says the song has become a rallying cry for communities faced with development, adding that the video speaks volumes about the way government awards oil and gas companies tenures and drilling rights.

McPhail said the Coalition wanted to do this tour for a couple of reasons. One is to get the music video out into the region since she says Shell is not going away.

The other reason, says McPhail, is to honour the people that stood up to protect the Sacred Headwaters from development plans. “When they were arrested, the Sacred Headwaters weren’t a household name, but because of their courage, we now know it’s one of the most spectacular and important places on the planet, and so does the rest of the globe,” says McPhail. She hopes that the audience will learn about the issue, be inspired by the music and turn that inspiration into action.

Joining van Zanten on tour are two youth bands from Hazelton, the Racket and Blind Vinyl. The band members range in age from 15-20 and van Zanten says they remind her of early Led Zeppelin.

McPhail says if they make money from the event, it will support the Coalition’s Youth on Water Program, but the goal is not to make money. They believe there are not enough cool events for local youth and they wanted to do something fun for the youth of the region, she says.

“It’s really easy to look at some other place or some other celebrity and wish that they lived here. We often fail to recognize the things we already have right here,” says McPhail. “We really wanted to give people something incredible from their region, something they can be proud of. Ali Howard’s swim of the Skeena in 2009 was the beginning of that. We have so many amazing locals doing some really amazing things and we want to showcase them to the world.”

The show begins at 7 p.m. April 29. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for youth and free for kids 12 and under.

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