There's been an uptick in shows to go dance at in Kimberley and that's thanks to the hard work and dedication of passionate local promoters, venue owners and musicians. One of those people is Nicolas Hesson, also known as DJ SoundShed, who's been regularly putting on electronic music shows in Kimberley for the past two years.
Born and raised in Calgary, Alta., Hesson first moved to Kimberley from Rossland around three years ago.
"My wife is from here and we've always loved visiting and said one day we would start a family out here," he said.
Hesson has a background in Digital Media Arts and spent a lot of time in Calgary working for local print studios, designing posters for events, and creating a wide portfolio of digital art. He also made films for film festivals, did audio production work for radio at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and did photography work for every sort of business under the sun, including bars and clubs.
He also has a lot of music in his background. He learned piano at a young age and then joined a punk band, which recorded several albums before the members eventually drifted apart. He also worked as a promoter and booker for bands in Calgary.
After the band parted ways, Hesson said he went nearly 20 years without music in his life, beyond just listening to it. Then, at 38, he discovered a passion for DJing, after he decided to learn how to spin tunes for a friend's bachelor party.
"From there it just grew on me, I got asked to DJ a friends wedding and I just fell into it like I was in a band again," he said. "Music and DJing became all I could think about. After about 6 months I got the courage to get out and play for an event and it just ignited me, I played a few more shows before deciding to throw shows monthly.
"This just propelled into an extension of myself and I couldn't stop, I wanted to book all my friends and friends of friends and just create a really good time, and most importantly more opportunities and friendships."
Hesson first moved to B.C. in his 20s, shortly after his band had ceased to be. He first moved to Trail to spend time with his grandmother and get into "those B.C. Vibes;" meaning learning to snowmobile, snowboard and delving back into photography and design for several local businesses.
"As time went on I had the desire to see the West Coast and ended up packing up to move to Squamish," he said. It is a magical place, or was before all the buildings popped up. I worked as a manager at a local Pub/Restaurant, as well as the iconic Chieftain. I spent some time bartending up at the Sea to Sky Gondola, before eventually falling into a position with the local newspaper, the Squamish Chief."
While working for a social media group on the West Coast, Hesson met his wife. They then spent the next year in Horseshoe Bay, living in a "tiny quite pink house on the main drag along the ocean."
Hesson said that at this time he had gotten into creating podcasts and streaming out of the garage, while also developing a hobby of concocting e-Liquid for vaping, which led him to working with a lab based out of Ontario to produce his own recipes and products. This then led to a desire to own his own retail business.
"The West Coast is expensive as heck for rent, so I decided to go back to my roots and head out to Trail to look for a reasonably priced rental. Sure enough I found one, so we ended up moving to Rossland and I began my Vape Shop Owner venture," he explained.
Now, Hesson owns four Kootenay Vape Shops (KVS) in Trail, Grand Forks, Creston and, most recently, here in Kimberley.
Utilizing his background in streaming and audio/visual expertise, Hesson got into DJing live on camera on the Twitch streaming platform. You can find him at twitch.tv/djSoundShed usually on in the evenings at around 9 p.m. MST.
"I thought it would not only be a great use of my gear, but a great way to practice, just like going to the gym," Hesson explained. "It turned out to not only be a great way to practice but I've now grown an amazing community of supporters that grows every day. There is so much love here it blows my mind. We get to know each other and share support and its a lot of fun."
The space he streams out of actually bears special significance, and is where he garnered his DJ alias from.
His good friend Alpha helped him empty out an old shed he had on his property, with the idea of turning it into a DJ room. They emptied it out, cleaned it and insulated it and then spent hours learning to spin tunes in what Alpha dubbed "the SoundShed." Hesson had dabbled with a few other monikers, including DJ Neon Starship, and Alpha had come up with DJ ADHD. The two would spin back-to-back sets under the humorous title Dub N Dbr.
"Alpha had a huge role in my motivation to continue throwing shows and improving each time," Hesson said. "Unfortunately, Alpha passed away last year and is no longer with us.
"In his memory, I adopted the DJ name SoundShed, it seemed to be the right thing to do, after all, he came up with the name and was a huge part of what the SoundShed was. Since that, all I have focused on is extending a piece of what we were, who I am, and what it feels like when your in the SoundShed and catching a live stream."
Hesson's first event he put on was Bass Odyssey two years ago at Bohemian Spirits. That space would be home to a myriad of other events, but as the nights grew, with more DJs getting added to the bills and more people coming out to dance, Bass Odyssey, as it became known, outgrew its home. Hesson has since started throwing shows at the Kimberley Curling Club.
"It was time, we had outgrown the space after a year of throwing events, we needed a bigger dance floor and more space to grow," he explained. "So far I am absolutely thrilled to be at our new location, the support has been amazing. I never started any of this to start throwing events, it just kinda started happening. And as I met more and more people, the friendships grew and grew and now its just become second nature to throw at least one event every month."
Hesson spends hours preparing the venue to transform it into a space tailored to the theme of each individual event, most recently Floral Frequencies. While many of his shows feature lineups highlighting Kimberley's depth of local talent, he also brings in touring artists, including Kytami and Phonik Ops on May 25 and West Coast bass music legend Abstrakt Sonance on June 27.
Hesson typically plays a set at each of his shows, and he said opening up for artists of all different styles and genres helps him to grow as a DJ.
"I absolutely love the change ups, and being able to be a part of each one truly speaks to my need for music of all kinds," he said. "I've never wanted to be a specific genre DJ, because there is just so much to like, and ultimately I believe at the end of the day, you can really find a happy medium of all of it that everyone can enjoy."
Hesson concluded by saying his shows would not be possible without a supportive crew of people around him.
"Bryan Halifax of From The Earth providing sound, Jon Chale of Free Rein for providing amazing visuals, my friend John Wilson who’s become somewhat of an official door man, security as well as helping me with my set decor, moving things, installing things etc. and a big shout out to everyone whose lent a hand at all with door, set props, sound.
"Shout out to legend Rob Palermo for supplying audio in a pinch when we had broken gear) shout out to ray at rays music for helping us haul around giant bass bins up stairs and down, and a big shout out to my wife who’s truly given me the ability to do these events at all. She’s been my rock and my supporter — even though she’s not into EDM."
Follow facebook.com/djsoundshed for info on where and when DJ SoundShed's next show will be.
