Well, I'm happy to comment on that. Thank you for the congratulations and for the great question.
I believe that you have the decision whether or not to pick your spots. As an artist, I chose to pick my spot as this being the time to access government funding.
I was very fortunate, growing up in Alberta, that my parents were very supportive, as were my extended family, in helping with my career. It was when we got to this point, at which we wanted, I guess, to “make the NHL”, wanted to make the national level in the music career, that we didn't need the moral support of my parents. Well, we still need it, but we didn't need it the way we did before. I didn't need just 500 or 1,000 bucks from grandma and grandpa to help buy a new guitar; we needed to access thousands of dollars to make a competitive record that would stand true on Canadian radio, that could stand right beside a Lady Antebellum or a George Strait record and Brett Kissel would fit right in.
This is when we were able to access FACTOR funding and access a larger pool of money to take advantage of taking the next serious step on the ladder. We were here for many years. Many artists have the opportunity with hard work to go up the first few steps, but it is to get to the national level. I feel we can really benefit from tapping into Canadian funding to get to that gigantic place.