A local musician has won the grand prize in the national A Song for Canada contest. Due to his own actions, news of the win was slow in coming to 19 –year –old singer-songwriter Calum Graham.
The young High River resident was recently in Los Angeles to record his second album. For the flight south Graham disabled his phone’s ability to place or receive calls and then he failed reactivate it for a long period of time afterwards.
“I kind of keep it on airplane mode when it’s in my pocket,” he said of his cell phone. “This was a bad time to have it off because they (people from the contest) tried to contact me a bunch of times. They left me like 19 voice mails trying to get a hold of me.”
Graham admitted he was glad representatives from Canada’s Walk of Fame, who put on the competition, didn’t give up trying to reach him. He would have been devastated if his grand prize package, which includes $25,000 cash and $10, 0000 in studio recording time, had instead been given to the contest runner-up.
Luckily for the High River performer, the organizers held in there until one of them finally got a hold of him.
“I was actually at a gym in Los Angeles working out and they called me,” he said. “I just stepped outside and they told me the news. I was a little bit exhausted from the workout but I was also a little bit surprised to be hearing about the contest too. So it was sort of a mixture of emotions. I still can‘t believe I won. It’s almost surreal in a way.”
The A song for Canada competition called on people of all ages to write a poem explaining what the Canadian identity means to them.
In a press release contest judge Stephan Moccio, who co-wrote the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics theme song “I Believe”, explained why Graham’s entry was selected as the best of well over 600 submissions.
“Calum’s entry resonated strongly among the judges,” he said. . “His poem celebrates the cultural mosaic that is Canada. He has captured the diversity of this country – something that we as a nation are renowned for and proud of – and which we (the judges) felt symbolizes the true Canadian spirit.”
Graham’s poem can be read and heard spoken by the author himself at www.canadaswalkoffame.com
Fresh back from LA, Graham will be off again from September 7-10 to Toronto for the recording of a new Canada’s Walk of Fame song based in part on his poem.
“I’ll be doing guitar and vocals for that,” he said. “I maybe co-writing part of the new song they are creating. They will have the orchestra there and all these different people for the recording.”
During those sessions Graham will be working with the aforementioned Moccio as well as celebrated Canadian songstress Chantal Kreviazuk and Our Lady Peace band front man Raine Maida.
After this heady recording experience Graham will be in Toronto again on Saturday October 1 for the 2011 Canada’s Walk of Fame induction ceremonies.
“I have been thinking about it and I’m pretty sure I am going to have to take my mom (Barb Graham),” the musician said of who would be his plus one for the event. “She’s my number one fan and a big supporter.”
