When you see a musician perform year after year it can sometimes seem like they’ve always been that good. Always. Never mind the thousands of hours of practice needed to get to that level of proficiency, some musicians seem to possess these innate otherworldly talents. Apparently that’s been the case for Nova Scotia Music Award winning Ian Janes. His archive of VHS footage shows that he could breeze through a Stevie Ray Vaughan cover at the age of fourteen.
Filmed at the final concert of the Canadian Conservatory’s Summer Rock in Halifax in 1991, Janes would have just turned 14 that summer, but had been playing guitar since the age of 8 when he tackled a cover of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
“[I] had 6 years under my belt of playing and practicing night and day,” says Janes. “I grew up in Hantsport and travelled back and forth each day in one of those van pool type arrangements. That camp was the highlight of my year for the two years I did it. It was just so great to be with other kids as nuts about music as I was!”
“It was a two week long camp where students were evaluated then put into groups with other young musicians. Band instructors were local musicians and educators. The mornings would be spent in individual instrument classes and the afternoons spent with our ensembles. The majority of the groups played cover tunes with some doing originals. I believe our other tune was an one written by the other guitar player, Colin Bernie.”
“I went again the next year and had another great time… this time fronting a soul band with five or six horns. That was a pivotal moment for introducing me to singing soul music and I haven’t stopped since!”
Ian Janes has had plenty of time to show off ever since. He has been nominated for five ECMA awards and won a Music Nova Scotia Award for ‘Record of the Year”. Recently his song “Can’t Remember Never Loving You” was featured on the hit U.S Series Nashville, and he’s currently up for “Pop Recording of the Year” for his album Yes Man at the upcoming 2018 East Coast Music Awards where he will also be performing in May.