Being nominated for Juno awards is great and all, but sometimes you just want to slap the skates on and play some hockey.
Grammy and Juno award multi-nominee Kevin Churko is as excited about playing in the Juno Cup as he is about being nominated in production and engineering categories at this year’s Juno Awards to be held in Regina.
“We’re coming to kick some ass at the new rink!” Churko told the Times-Herald. “This is the first time in awhile the whole family will be there and I can’t wait to see them.”
Churko, a Moose Jaw native who now calls Las Vegas home, is up for a Juno award in the production category for the band In This Moment and engineering category for the band Five Finger Death Punch.
“It’s a thrill to be nominated for a Juno any time, any year is wonderful, but in your hometown province it’s a dream come true,” Churko said.
Churko and his son Kane, who has his own band "Modern Science" and has followed in his father's footsteps with production and engineering, will be accepting with his father if they win.
“He gets credit on engineering, so it’s extra wonderful to get to come home and share the experience with him,” Churko said of the family team work. “He’s pretty much my studio partner, we work on a lot of projects together and he keeps getting bigger and better.”
He said working with family is a different experience, but it works for their creative efforts. “He truly has my best interests and will be there to support me,” Churko said. “Personal life does come into the work place, but for us it works well ... I’m the bitter old man and he’s the positive young blood.”
Churko said the partnership keeps him relevant and current, and is helpful for keeping up with new artists and technology. “He didn’t get the job because he’s family, he got it because he’s the best person I could get.”
He said one of the biggest advantages Kane has is knowing how to interact with musicians in the studio. “He knows the psychological dynamics of artists ... I find new people don’t know when to keep their mouth shut. He grew up in the studio since working in Regina.”
One of the projects Churko is working on at the moment is mixing Rob Zombie’s new album. When asked if he’ll keep working with hard rock artists such as Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne and Five Finger Death Punch, he said he’s too much of an all around music fan to stay with one genre.
“Success breeds success,” Churko said on having heavy rock musicians seek him out to produce and engineer their albums. “I’m starting to get pigeon-holed a bit, so I’ll probably just do more pop and country ... all music gets me excited and I think all people get bored doing something over and over again.”
Churko said he just finished mixing five tracks for Kenny Shields and Streetheart, and has done production for Juno nominated band Emerson Drive.
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