Originally from the prairies of Saskatchewan, singer-songwriter Ron Kalmakoff has called BC’s coast home for more than a decade. He recorded his first album at 19, and was asked to perform live on the then-national CBC television program The Tommy Hunter Show. Kalmakoff’s musical styles include country, jazz, folk and gospel. Powell River’s Patricia Theatre is the backdrop for a video from Come to Me, his latest album.
Where are you currently based?
I make my home on the Sunshine Coast in the Sechelt area and have lived [here] for over 10 years.
What inspired you to film your latest video here?
I have been to Powell River many times and have done a lot of hiking and sightseeing in the area. I always felt it would be the perfect location to film a video. The pristine outdoor scenery, historic buildings, quaint areas and wide open spaces gives so many different options to work with. In my research for different locations for filming, I came across pictures of the inside of the Patricia Theatre. As soon as I saw the initial pictures, I knew that my next video for the song “Without Warning” had to be filmed [there]. I’m so appreciative to Ann Nelson from the theatre for allowing us the time inside the theatre and trusting us to represent the Patricia well.
Can you talk about the filming process?
Once the mood was created inside the theatre with the lighting and props, the space came alive and was the perfect magical setting for the song. It is such a unique building and the history behind it needs to be shared. My goal was to also work on the filming of the video with someone from the area. I was very fortunate to find Bryce Adams from One5 Films. Bryce came highly recommended from a few different sources and we worked extremely well together on this project. I have a great team of people who I’ve been working with through the process and promotion of my new album and I’d like to continue working with Bryce on future projects. There are more videos to come to promote songs and upcoming radio singles from my new album Come To Me. We are already looking at the next video and the possibility of my coming back to Powell River to work on the filming of it.
What has the reception to the video been so far?
In one month, the video has reached over 15,000 views with many wonderful comments and shares now reaching outside of North America. I am very excited to see where the journey of this video continues to go.
The song and video can be viewed on Kalmakoff’s Facebook page or his website ronkalmakoff.com.
