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#ArtistAtHome with Brandon Wolfe Scott

#ArtistAtHome is a series of portraits and profiles of local artists by Christopher Edmonstone. Read all about it and see the archive HERE .

#ArtistAtHome is a series of portraits and profiles of local artists by Christopher Edmonstone. Read all about it and see the archive HERE.

I first met today's #ArtistAtHome a few years ago, in the artists camping area of the Squamish Valley Music Festival. He and his bandmates in Yukon Blonde had their tents set up right beside where I was camped. Please meet Brandon Wolfe Scott.

Despite photographing Yukon Blonde a couple of times after our first meeting, I hadn't had the opportunity to chat with Brandon until recently, when I was brought in to photograph a SOCAN award presentation to Yukon Blonde for their No.1 ranking on the CBC Radio 2 Top 20 for their song "Saturday Night". The band has toured relentlessly for a good chunk of last year in support of their release 'On Blonde'. In fact, the day following our shoot they were kicking off another Canadian tour at the Commodore Ballroom.

One item in Brandon's home that caught my eye was his vintage Sansui stereo amplifier. A good looking piece of equipment; those old amps have stood the test time. We ended up throwing on the Grammy-nominated album Native North America and he mentioned some of his favourite tracks are from Willie Thrasher. Both of us confessed that we have a soft spot for folk music. It is certainly a beautiful album set and Brandon liked it so much he got his dad a copy for Christmas, as well.

ArtistAtHome Brandon Wolfe Scott

While chatting about his career, I was intrigued by how the name Yukon Blonde came about. Before moving the from the once-burgeoning music scene in Kelowna to Vancouver in 2009, three of the original band members were touring in a band called Alphababy. They were supporting Jon-Rae Fletcher, and upon arriving at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto to discover they were billed as "Alphaboy", Fletcher told them that night they really need to 'rethink' their name. As fate would have it, while their original bass player Adam Newton was working at a coffee shop in Kelowna, the manager was alerted to a blonde hair in a meal and declared "Well, that isn't mine - I am a Yukon Blonde". Newton was immediately inspired to pitch 'Yukon Blonde' to the guys, and the rest is history.

Brandon has also been working on some solo work and just released his debut solo album in January - a melancholic folk-flavoured album The Postcard Writer. It's been in my CD player for a week and I really like it. You can check it out here https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/the-postcard-writer-ep/id1067716067?app=itunes&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 and for Yukon Blonde info including Canadian Tour dates check here www.yukonblonde.com[caption id="attachment_216496" align="alignnone" width="700"] Brandon Wolfe Scott at home[/caption]