BANFF – This year’s Rockie Awards Gala is hosted by our national treasure, Jann Arden.
A multi-platform, award-winning singer and actress in her own right (with her own namesake show, too!), she’s always had that special talent for combining serious messages with belly jiggling humour.
I caught up with Arden for a quiet one-on-one to get an artist’s perspective on the 2019 BWMF vibe.
Before I could get to anything approaching earnest talk about OTTs or Cancon, we had to cover off favourite sandwiches… I think she was famished and projecting onto the evening’s legendary BBQ Late Night Party. So for those interested, Arden’s “gotta have” nutrition fix – should she ever get stranded on a desert island – is “a toasted cheddar cheese on whole wheat with Spanish white onion and plenty of mayo.”
With that behind us, I dove right in and asked her what she thought about Cancon quotas and whether Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, et al, should be observing our domestic content and expenditure requirements. I don’t think American stars are often asked to think about such hard questions.
Yes, Cancon is vital “to protect our arts… Canadian artists get played because of Cancon, but we stay because of our talent and quality… we earn our way just as I’m doing now with the TV series Jann playing on CTV… currently the most popular Canadian comedy of 2019,” she said.
I then asked about the show and what was she trying to “say” or convey.
“Well it comes from my life… and some from my book (“Feeding My Mother”, published 2017)… it’s a fictionalized me… talking about Alzheimer’s that one million families in Canada are trying to deal with… and about what is relevance in your job, life, with a sick parent, even what is success?”
But what about those Cancon regulations for radio and music then?
“Look, for years you could see The Big Bang Theory just about anywhere and anytime thanks to CBS… Canadian shows need help to be prevalent… but I’m not worried about keeping a Canadian presence with all this social media… we’re a vast and diverse country and I’ve been privileged to see more of Canada than any Prime Minister… that happens to you when you’re a musician, you travel… We are ‘stamped’ Canadian and there’s nothing that a Facebook or Netflix can do about it.”
Okay, so the CBC has a new three year plan, which seems to be courting commercial revenues and international partners like ABC (Australia), what do you think about our public broadcaster?
“I think people are used to seeing ads on the CBC and GEM is great for content… and it’s free… although you can upgrade I think to avoid ads… but the CBC is a powerhouse for me, just look at comedy… at Schitt’s Creek or Kim’s Convenience or Workin' Moms… these shows dominate the Canadian Screen Awards… then dramas like Murdoch.”
“We need competition… I want to see four or five major TV networks, it’s good for the arts and it makes more funding available.” – Jann Arden
So do you think the CBC is getting too commercial or should be concerned about our private broadcasters?
“No,” she said. “we need competition… I want to see four or five major TV networks, it’s good for the arts and it makes more funding available.”
She’s been an important advocate for women and diversity, in particular in media, so I asked: How are we doing?
“Well, women still have a long way to go…even on our show… I have a writer of South Asian decent and she opened my eyes… we created a white male manager character in the show and she convinced me it should be a woman of colour… we got ‘schooled’… so part of that comes from having women writers, I have five women writing and one male… but Mike is wonderful, he created ‘flow-go-pants’ for the show which was hilarious for women and periods”.
What about basketball? Arden sang “O Canada” at the 2006 NBA Allstar Game in Houston, Texas. Does she follow the Raptors?
“Let me start by saying I’ll never do that again… anthems are tough… but that was crazy… Beyoncé was there to sing the U.S. anthem… with back up singers, all dressed up… and out I came on international television alone and in jeans… I hated it… but yes, I’m on with the Raptors.”
That same year, at the JUNO Awards, Arden took on Pamela Anderson live on CTV from Halifax. Anderson was taking multiple shots at our Newfoundland citizens for seal hunting/harvesting and Arden went on stage saying that her “bra was made entirely of seal eyelids”… and the crowd went wild with applause.
However, she is also an animal advocate, so I wanted to know what was happening there?
“Yes, I am an animal advocate… and sealing is complicated,” said Arden. “But she was constantly berating the province and it’s people, so I decided to do something funny to stop it… we were on national TV and what she was going on and on about had zero to do with music… personally I might not believe in that hunt at all, but I had to stand up for the people.”
Then that was it for my favourite, self-effacing Calgarian and self-described “prairie girl”.
She was off to a Rockie Awards rehearsal.
Jann Arden, it is sure nice to know you!
Photo borrowed from the BWMF Instagram feed.
