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By Peter Biggs
THE BAND Hokus Pick received a lifetime achievement award at the Gospel Music Association Canada's 29th Annual Covenant Awards in Calgary last weekend. This is only the fourth time such an award has been given, with previous recipients being George Beverly Shea, Tommy Hunter and Connie Scott.
"We really appreciated this, and felt like pioneers although we much recognize other bands were doing things too," said singer and guitarist Russ Smith.
Anyone familiar with the Canadian Christian music scene in the late '80s and '90s will remember the energetic, sometimes quirky sounds of BC's Hokus Pick, who originally went by the name Hokus Pick Manoeuver. The rock band became a fan favourite coast to coast across Canada and scored considerable attention internationally.
Smith cited the Barenaked Ladies, the Police and Randy Stonehill among the band's influences. "Over the years I have seen the quality and variety of Christian music go up," he said. "At the awards last week there were 15 different acts!"
Along with an endless string of top selling albums in Canada, the group recorded a duet with the late Rich Mullins and was worked with some of the biggest names in the Christian music industry, including dc Talk and Steve Taylor. The band regrouped to perform live on stage at the Covenant Awards ceremony October 26.
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Other BC artists were prominent at the awards. The big winner was veteran worship leader Brian Doerksen, who picked up six awards, including Artist, Song, Album and Male Vocalist of the Year. Starfield won Group of the Year as well as Rock Song of the Year, for 'The Hand that holds the World.'
Women won most of the individual catagories. Winnipeg's Amanda Falk, who won a Juno for her first album in 2004, received Female Vocalist of the Year for the third year in a row. Falk recently embarked on a ministry to help teenage girls with self-esteem issues. Her 'Beautiful Unique Girl Tour' targets smaller groups of teen girls with an intimate evening of sharing and music.
Carolyn Arends won Folk/Roots, Christine Magee Jazz/Blues, Stephanie Israelson Inspirational Song and Debbie Fortnum Instrumental Song of the Year.
"It is very encouraging, it's always nice to get the nod from the industry," said Fortnum from her home in Chilliwack, BC. "It boosts my credibility. I'm trying to be intentional about getting outside of the 'Christian bubble.' I have a new instrumental CD [coming out in March] named 'Healing Piano,' and am working on a distribution network outside of Christian circles."
November 1/2007
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