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B12 Terrace Review — Wednesday, May 2, 1990

_ Country music

talent discovered

Kathy Hanson has been sing-

_ ing as long as she-can remember.
She started out singing at school

functions and even on the radio,
Last week, she won the Country
Music Talent Search hosted by
the Northern Motor Inn and
CJFW in Terrace. .
This was Kathy’s first entry
into a country music competi-
tion. A friend attending North-
west Community College in Ter-
race had heard about the talent
search and encouraged Kathy to
enter. She came out to a couple
of evenings of the competition
before she eventualiy decided io
enter. On April 7, the last night
of competition before the finals,

‘Kathy finally performed for the

judges and audience in George’s
Pub at the Northern Motor Inn.
She was quickly placed in the
finals. On April 21, competing
against eight other finalists in
the Country Music Talent
Search, Kathy came out on top.

Kathy is a social worker by

-profession, but she says, “‘I just

can’t seem to leave music
alone.’ She paid her way
through university in Saskatoon
singing with a middle-of-the-
road band called TICO. She was
with them for three years. After

. she obtained her Bachelor of

Arts degree, she worked as a
supportive living worker with
the mentally handicapped for
two years.
Then she began her own band

called Picture This, based out of

Edmonton. Kathy bought all the —

paraphenalia including a bus.
And they went on the road for

four years doing a Western.

Canada bar circuit. Kathy de-
scribes them as a rock band, al-
- though she was always more into
singing country. After four
years, she got tired of ‘the road’
and went back to university for
one year to obtain her social
work degree. She still had the
bus, though, on the family farm
in Birch Hill, Saskatchewan.
When Kathy finished universi-
ty in July of 1989, she was
recruited by the B.C. govern-
ment from the University of
Regina and offered a job in
Kitimat. Kathy’s co-workers at
Social Services and Housing are
really excited about her musical
success. Kathy says, ‘They real-
ly made it worthwhile. They
made me feel like a star.’
Kathy says she’s going to do
as well as she can in the regional
Country Music Talent Search to
be held in Kelowna May 12. “‘If
something happens, that'll be a
dream come true. If it doesn’t,
that’s okay, too.’’ Kathy says
she’d love to do music the rest of
her life, but she already knows
the bar circuit and doesn’t see
any future in it. It’s also a lot of
work.
Kathy Hanson likes all kinds
of music. She loves jazz and says
some of the best musicians have

WINNER OF THE Country Music Talent Search Kathy

rats

Hanson was presented with an award by

Northern Motor Inn representative Jackie Munson. Kathy will be travelling to Kelowna next week
to compete in the Regional competition. From there, the provincials?

a jazz background. Kathy
herself took classical voice
lessons while attending the
University of Saskatchewan for
her B.A.

Her family is very musical.
Her sister provided all the in-
strumentation while Kathy sang,
when they were kids. Her mom
played guitar and sang. Her dad
was very musical and her
brother formed part of the band
that she played with for three
years.

Her dad always said she
should sing country music. The

whole family is pretty happy.

Cre

that Kathy Hanson is ‘‘on the
road again’’ to Kelowna’s
regional competition for the

Country Music Talent Search.
Kathy encourages anyone from
the region to join her in Kelowna,

| Talent search solved ]

Last weekend Terrace and
Thornhill saw the culmina-
tion of two months of ‘play-
_ offs’ in the Country Music
Talent Finals. Grand winner
out of nine finalists was
Kathy Hanson of Kitimat.
Kathy will go on to the

Kelowna during the Black
Mountain Rodeo on May 12.
From there, three regional
winners will go on to the pro-
vincial finals to be held in
Vancouver in June. At the
provincials, a total of six
finalists will compete for the
provincial title.

The Northwest finals were
held in George’s Pub at the
Northern Motor Inn on April

began to filter into the bar at
opening time (11 a.m.) to en-
sure good seats for the com-

asked to wait at the entrance

because the room was

already filled to capacity.
Each of the nine entrants

petition. By 5 p.m. when the
competition began, people
were being turned away or

PUCTCTCCTTCCCSTEOTEST CTE LT CTS TTT TST

THE FINAL NIGHT OF THE COUNTRY MUSIC TALENT SEARCH found nine, enthusiastic

competitors and back-up bands performing for a panel

of five judges at the Northern Motor Inn.

_ Shown here is competitor Monique Gartiand of Terrace, .

regional finals to be held in *

21. An enthusiastic audience -

‘Mroch of Dease Lake, and

had the opportunity to sing
two numbers, with a panel of
five judges seated prominent-
ly in front of the speakers on
the dance floor, surrounded
on all sides by avid country
music fans. All contestants
were well received, with clap-
ping, whistles, and shouts of
appreciation. throughout.
The only time the crowd got
‘snarky’ was when another
patron, unable to find a seat,
momentarily blocked their
view of the entertainment.
Interspersed among this
year’s contestants were
pieces by previous years’
winners, Karin Ljungh, Jim-
my Larkin and Davy Arm-
strong, all of Terrace, and
Doug Phair from Topley.
The nine country music
contestants were Dave Mac,
Chuck Robinson, Christine
Inkster, Mehrzad Vahedi,
Monique Gartland, Candace
Jakesta and Davy Arm-
strong, all of Terrace, Sandy

winner Kathy Hanson of
Kitimat.

to where entertainment
is at it’s BEST!!

io) Bo Se tad
.
i

TOV VC TTTCCTECTTT VOLE STOTT SESE Ee YT

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