Behind a thick door and up some stairs of an old downtown apartment, stands Redwood Fields’ frontman Cedric Noel. He’s also a journalism student here at STU. Wearing a black and white striped shirt and a casual fitting cardigan, he leers over a stove top sprinkling spices and veggies into a pan. I ask him if he is excited.
“Yeah I’m really excited. I’ve never made lamb before, but I think it’s going to turn out well.”
No, not excited about that…
Fredericton’s own alternative-pop band Redwood Fields was nominated for two categories at this year’s Music NB Awards.
“Oh that, yeah I think it’s cool to be nominated. A few weeks ago, I got the call that said we were nominated for some awards and I totally forgot about it because you essentially have to enter the race to be nominated and then a panel or jury decides whether you’re actually nominated,” said Noel.
Music NB is a provincial music industry association which hosts a network for New Brunswickers involved with all aspects of music creation. MNB’s primary responsibility is to look out for whatever is best for the NB music industry. Each year they host a music week which wraps up with an awards gala. This year’s music week took place from Oct.17-21.
Redwood Field’s first album Accidentals was nominated for Pop Recording of the Year and their title-track was up for the SOCAN Song of the Year award. Every musical artist or group is also thrown into the fan’s choice category. The group had applied for a stockpile of categories and were pleased with what ones they were chosen for.
There are some people who feel that music and arts should not be a competition and don’t believe in the whole awards system, Noel is not one of them. This musician believes the Music NB awards are a great way to show some appreciation to all our hard working creative folks.
“You don’t make a record for no reason. There’s a lot of stress involved, a lot of money so why not apply for an award? I think it’s really important to acknowledge really great art or music that is made in New Brunswick or wherever in the world,” said Noel. “I think awards like Music NB fosters some kind of competition and some kind of energy in which you want to make the best record possible.”
Accidentals is chill pop with some dreamy hooks. Their humbling yet realistic lyrics are diverse and textured with Noel’s deep voice which is soothingly accented by bass player Heather Ogilvie’s sweet soft voice. These sincere words are backed up with melodic riffs and chill base lines. This is definitely a respective day-dreaming record and their title track is no exception.
“The song started off as me trying to write a song about musicians who are really cynical about the music scene in the terms that they are willing to play shows, but not willing to work hard and then it just ended up being about us as a band and how you balance notoriety, but also being good. It’s about accepting failure, but accepting not to fail,” said Noel.
The frontman says that the above sentiments is how he feels about a lot of local bands. He is hoping things like the Music NB will be an encouragement for Fredericton bands to take that jump and try to make it to the big times.
“I think a lot of Freddy bands just need to go for it and tour and get out there, but it’s tough and expensive. That being said, I do think NB does have a lot to offer. So, hopefully, the scene will get bigger and bring our music to the same level as the rest of the East Coast.”
