Smothered In Hugs by Matt Dixon, January '09

All Photos by Matt Dixon

I'll wager there isn't another band on Prince Edward Island as hard working as Charlottetown's Smothered In Hugs. These Island vets will once again be taking part in the upcoming PEI Music Awards and will be playing a number of shows in the coming weeks including a truly special event this Friday night at Hunter's Ale House in downtown Charlottetown.

Blank Test from The Healing Power of Injury

1. Hi Ryan. first of all I'd like to congratulate you on your two Music PEI Award Nominations. You'll again be taking part in the festivities and playing a music showcase at the Solid Rock Cafe on the 22nd of January alongside Racoon Bandit and The Danks. Let me tell you I think it's really cool that you'll be doing an all ages show. What do you think the Music PEI Awards and weeklong showcases have done for the PEI music community?
Hey Matt. Thanks for doing this. As always, you're the best. All ages shows here in town are good times. Hats off to folks like yourself and Banana Productions at Solid Rock and the good people at Ampersand for working so hard to make these events happen.

The MPEI Awards week is growing and getting stronger every year which is an indication of how much effort the MPEI team puts in to this event and also a reflection of the deep talent pool here on PEI. One thing I've noticed is how many indie (for lack of a better word) bands are getting involved - us included. I've always wondered why more non-traditional artists didn't take advantage of the opportunity and have some fun with MPEI Awards Week. Obviously that's now becoming the case. Every year, more artists participate. The community gets tighter, the event grows with the artists and the Island music community gets some much needed outside attention (Grant Lawrence from CBC Radio3 will be here this year for instance) MPEI has been a great source of support for the community. More artists should take advantage of this resource and should actively participate in events like these.

2. Do you have any advice for PEI Music Award first timers? How can they get the most out of the festivities?
Don't get too caught up in trying to act cool (this is not a competition), don't be shy, and be active. Meet people, talk to people in other bands (especially outside of your genre), attend the workshops (even if it doesn't seem like "your thing" I guarantee you'll take something away from the experience), learn something new, say thank you to the people who worked hard to make this happen, and eat your vitamins.

3. Now before the PEI Music Awards take place you guys will be doing something pretty special. Could you tell us a little about the customer appreciate night at Hunter's this Friday night? What's it all about?
This is something we had planned for a while. But we kept it pretty close to the vest. The idea of giving something away for free to our fans here in town. We really really appreciate their support over the years and wanted to show it. Rather than making the new songs available exclusively for download (which admittedly would have been waaayyyyyy cheaper) we wanted to do a little extra- to be able to look everyone in the eye and place the thing in their hands and say 'thanks". So that's what we're doing. We called the EP "Customer Appreciation" for good reason. You'll get a nice piece of artwork enveloping a manufactured CD with four brand new previously unrecorded songs. We're happy that we are able to do this. I won't lie, this is also a good way to get the new music out there, we're just trying to make the process a little more personal for everyone. Come to our show at Hunter's and get a free EP. HOWEVER, if you don't make the show, and don't have a good excuse, you'll have to pay for the EP. We're generous, but not that generous.

Also, in addition to all of this, we have some big surprises planned for the night. Should be fun and memorable.

4. Thanks Ryan!
You betcha. Thanks Matt.

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