Vanessa Kuzina

Dec 1.

The Label Gallery, 2:30 p.m. with Allison de Groot

Forbidden Flavours, 8 p.m. with Marcel Desilets and Allison de Groot

Manitoban: What’s your musical philosophy?

Vanessa Kuzina: Greg MacPherson once told me the best advice he was ever given about music was to just write better songs, keep writing better songs. To do that, I believe I need stay open as a writer and performer, keep learning and evolving. Most importantly, staying true to what I love and believe in.

M: What’s your musical style?

Kuzina: Alternative folk-roots.

M: Who or what are your influences?

Kuzina: Lately, any old-time traditional music I can get a hold of. Also, there will always be room in my heart for Dolly, Joni, Emmylou, and Gillian, and there are a few boys that are all right, too.

M: What inspires you?

Kuzina: According to my songs, I am inspired by seasonal change and the elements and, like many songwriters, heartache, love, sorrow, friends, and foes fit in there, too.

M: Who’s in the band?

Kuzina: It depends on the show booked. Usually Allison de Groot (banjo), as we are musically married. Lately, we have been performing as a trio with Marcel Desilets (guitar, dobro, mando, vocals).

M: What does musical success mean to you?

Kuzina: Musical success to me is often very different than how the industry promotes it to be. I feel successful when I’m singing a song and there are listeners; connecting with someone in the audience, you can feel that. That’s the whole point of music, right? For it to be heard.

Greg Lowe

Tuesday Nights at the Academy Osborne Village

Thursday Nights with the Ministers of Cool at the Academy Osborne Village

Manitoban: What’s your musical philosophy?

Greg Lowe: It is hard for me to define a musical philosophy using language and text. One would have to listen to my music and create [one’s] own ideas in this regard. The best I can come up with is that “I am what I am.”

M: What’s your musical style?

Lowe: Eclectic.

M: What or who are your influences?

Lowe: As a youth I was inspired by Led Zeppelin, Johnny Winter, The Guess Who, and gradually moved onto Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, BB King, and then onto Oscar Peterson, George Benson, Lenny Breau. Since my early adulthood, I have been inspired by many artists in many genres — too many to list here.

M: What inspires you?

Lowe: People inspire me. Friends and acquaintances who are committed to using their lives in a positive manner while maintaining an attitude of compassion, tolerance, and respect for others. I also find being alone out on the lake or in the wilderness to be a source of inspiration, especially on a starry night.

M: Who’s in the band?

Lowe: Greg Lowe — guitar.

Thursday nights at the Academy: Gilles Fournier on bass and Richard Moody on viola and violin.

Tuesday nights at the Academy: Don Benedictson bass, Leonard Shaw keys and sax, Gerry Atwell keys, Daniel Roy drums. We all sing harmonies.

M: What does musical success mean to you?

Lowe: Feeling good. When everyone on the bandstand knows what to do and are extremely good at doing it, life couldn’t be better. Whether performing or in the audience, we all know when everything feels right.