LISSA ALEXANDER
reporter@pqbnews.com
JP Maurice was left with a sour taste in his mouth after he and his band were signed to major label while in his early twenties.
But years later he’s thriving as a solo artist, stacking up some notable accomplishments and keeping his calendar crammed.
Hailing from Victoria, Maurice has been belting out tunes since he was a toddler.
“Since I can remember being able to speak, I would sing,” he said, “Beatles and Beach Boys records.”
He went to a fine-art-focused elementary school in Victoria and at Victoria High School he was in the school R&B band, which clocked over 50 gigs in his Grade 11 year.
After that he formed a band called Maurice and after graduation they were signed to Warner Bros. and headed down to Los Angeles to record. But it wasn’t the big break the band had anticipated.
“We basically made a record and it sat on the shelf,” said Maurice. “It was the classic label story where an unknown band makes a record and if it’s not exactly the record a label wants, they will just not release it.”
A couple years later, as the band was breaking up, Maurice snagged a spot in the Peak Performance Project, B.C.’s largest emerging artist competition. Although he didn’t place that year, he was accepted again in 2012 and took home fourth place, plus he left with a ton of knowledge and some hands-on-experience to help him shape his career.
“It was a really great experience,” he said. “It’s a wonderfully supportive program and very educational and just the camaraderie with all the other bands you’re there with, it’s sort of like a lasting fraternity.”
Around the same time as his Peak placement, Maurice was chosen winner of the Shore 104.3’s Best of B.C. contest for his first single Good Feeling.
In September last year, Maurice released his first solo album The Arborist, filled with punchy pop rock tunes and memorable melodies. He then he jetted off to Europe to tour with Americana folk band Broken Down Suitcase from Golden, B.C.
Just recently back from that trip, Maurice will play at the Quality Resort Bayside Feb. 7.
Following that performance, Maurice will finally take a bit of a break from performing to work on his next album, before heading down to Los Angeles in April to do some song writing and collaborations with connections he made on his European tour.
Get advance tickets to the Bayside show for $20 at Lockhart Collection located at 4-181 Craig St. in Parksville, at the Quality Resort Bayside, or online at www.arbutusevents.ca.
Cocktails will be served at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. For more on JP Maurice visit www.wearemaurice.com.
One-day Contest
E-mail reporter@pqbnews.com with I want to see JP Maurice in the subject line for your chance to win two tickets to the show. Draw will be done Wednesday Morning, Feb. 6.