Spencer Lafrentz, a.k.a. Spencer Vaughn, is hoping his latest original tune "Right Where I Belong" makes it to the final in the CBC's Song of Summer contest.
It's his third song in a series of tightly arranged musical offerings that so far he's been reluctant to share beyond his immediate circle of family and friends.
"I haven't got the message out really, until this one," he said in a recent interview leading up to the beginning of the voting on CBC on Aug. 12. The song made its first public appearance Aug. 11.
A win in the contest gets Lafrentz (Vaughn) some serious air time on the CBC Radio 3 network nationwide.
"Right Where I Belong", is a song about a relationship that isn't working, but as he makes his way through the lyrics, the song takes an optimistic turn.
"You might say negative to hopeful," he said with a smile. "Something that's happened before, but this time it could be different and worth it."
Voting is done online by visiting m.music.cbc.ca/play/artist/spencer-vaughn
Lafrentz said he has chosen the Vaughn moniker because he feels it will resonate more easily with the public and make it easier to roll with in the future.
"It would be huge if this got ranked as an Indie summer song," he said.
Sister Avery is responsible for the music and lyrics and some backup vocals on the song, and her brother laughs and said she was making it a sorrowful tune throughout while he insisted on the positive spin in the lyrics.
"She knows what makes popular music work it seems, so she changed the structure. So we collaborated on the lyrics," he added.
Lafrentz, a member of the local A Cappella group said he hasn't had much public exposure but feels this contest is worth the effort since the song was out there, recorded and ready to release.
"I'd love to be a performer, but I also have producing interests, seeing what other artists are singing and doing," he said.
Lafrentz said he feels his tenor voice qualities are strong enough, but not over the top and he prefers baritone baselines. That means he's not afraid to experiment. He is also serious about his guitar playing, so he and his Fender are off to the Grant McEwen School in Edmonton this fall to pursue a bachelor of music degree. It will be an interesting transition for the oilpatch worker, a 2005 graduate of ECS.
"Right Where I Belong" also features Rob Bryanton on piano, Cal Harle on drums and Curtis Chobot on bass with Willem Schonken handling the sound in the Talking Dog Studios in Regina where the recording took place.
"I want to be serious with the guitar music, make it richer and be able to find the melody for the voice," he said, noting that he feels too much of today's music picks up a basic sound and nobody dares or cares to deviate from it. He said he enjoys the stylings of musicians like Ray Lamontage, John Meyer and Colin James, one of Saskatchewan's own big band voices and leaders.
Lafrentiz said he'd love to get some additional exposure in whatever venues are available, getting to know the process and what it takes to keep momentum going.
He has already taken one big step forward in the process with an upcoming album featuring 14 original songs that he's wrapping up in the studio after 10 long months of working with family and friends, searching for the right sound and the right mix. He thinks he has found it, but now the trick of marketing the work and the sound comes into play.
"I'm afraid I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to music. I know it's tough to get any kind of crowd for a regular release or concert opportunity. I know it's a game of lobbying radio stations to get play and the Internet. It just takes time, so I'm discovering that this step is a hard step. Having some talent is one thing, getting it out there is another," he said with a smile.
It might be a scary step, but it's a necessary one, and he's hoping a summer song contest on a national broadcasting station could be one key to unlock a musical future.
