When I was 13, I started my first job as a dishwasher at the Sandspit Inn. I can remember mopping the floors after late Saturday chicken wing nights, Sunday morning shifts where I was barely awake, and the meagre paycheques I started to receive. I loved the camaraderie of being connected with people who were not from my school, something that was more mature, and at 16, I bought myself a 1977 Ford F-100 pickup truck.
What I remember almost as vividly was the music. My time at the Sandspit Inn spanned the period of 1993–1996, and this was a great period in the history of music. On my walk to work, I would put on my Discman and listen to whatever CD I had recently purchased at Music Plus in what was then known as Queen Charlotte City. I would love to tell you that it was Nirvana, but it wasn’t. It was Green Day, Oasis, Dave Matthews Band, and Rage Against the Machine. There was a fair bit of Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre thrown in for good measure, but not a lot of Tupac. At home, my mom had a selection of country music, and Alan Jackson, Diamond Rio, and Garth Brooks were also part of my musical environment.
I continued to love a wide range of music into my adulthood, but I didn’t start playing music until I was in my late 20s, and I didn’t realize I was a singer until even later. I credit a summer open mic at the Sandspit Inn in the late 2000s with allowing me to value myself as a singer and a musician. And now, even after three Edge of the World performances and many other open mics and bar gigs, I am still humbled when I watch Wayne Harris strum a few tunes with Noel Wotten crooning on the harmonica in Sitka Studio during my Christmas shopping adventures.
I am lucky to have played with many of Haida Gwaii’s great musicians. My friend Greg (Gig) Williams gave me the chance to play with the late Ron Souza, and through many gigs with “The Spitfires” and “Badfish,” I have shared the stage with a plethora of amazing musicians. Being a musician is one of my proudest accomplishments, and most recently, I have been able to share the stage with this week’s amazing Sandspit resident, Jessica Mai.
Jessica Mai has a lifelong connection with our community, and she made the move to Sandspit in October 2022. She performs around B.C. as children’s character Penny Pom Pom, and I always appreciate her amazing connection with the kids in our community. She contributes to the ALM StrongStart classroom, sharing her songs with an adoring group of young fans. She was recently the ALM School Artist in Residence, and she helped our students put on a winter concert for the ages. She and I have recently been playing acoustic duo gigs in Port Clements, Daajing Giids, and Sandspit, and we hope to see everyone out enjoying music and the arts in the new year. Please enjoy my interview with Jessica Mai.
What’s your origin story?
I was born on August 23, 1990, to my mother, who was born and raised here on Haida Gwaii. She was actually born in Moresby Camp in 1964. I grew up with two younger sisters in Langley, B.C., and was a very creative, sensitive child with a vivid imagination and very little interest in reality. I’m really not much different as an adult.
What can you tell us about your career or your life path?
I never had to think too much about what I wanted to be; I always knew I would make my living as an artist somehow. My work has centred around music, performing, visual arts, and teaching art since my early 20s, and by the time I was 27, I was fully self-employed. Spread way too thin, perhaps, but self-employed nonetheless!
I always have a million goals and dreams that I am working towards. I am happy to say there are a lot that I have achieved so far, such as making a children’s show, writing and producing my own music, writing and illustrating children’s books, funding my own music tour, and selling my original artwork. Sometimes I need to look back and remind myself how far I have come because, unlike perhaps a more conventional career path, there is no instruction manual on how to live as a full-time creative. There aren’t any degrees or promotions involved, and I don’t have any sort of boss or mentor. It’s really just about making as much art as I can and being able to take care of myself while I’m doing it. It can get overwhelming at times, but I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
How long have you lived in Sandspit, and what do you love about living here?
I am so grateful to get to call Sandspit my home! I love living here. My partner, Tyler, and I moved here in October 2022, and though I had been coming here on vacation my whole life, I had never tried to be here full-time. I love the grey skies, the ocean, the way the beach looks different every day, the ravens, eating lunch at the airport, saying hello to everyone, the kids, the community events…it’s unlike any place I have ever lived.
What do you wish was different about Sandspit?
We need a venue for movies, theatre, and music nights. The one thing I do not like about living here is the fact that I have to fly to Vancouver whenever I need to see a movie on a big screen! I think it would be incredible to have a place to host movie nights with some comfy chairs and popcorn. Oh! And I wish we did something big for Halloween. Oh, oh! And also, we should have a Renaissance fair.
Who are some of your favourite Sandspitians? (Sand-spee-shuns)
The kids, the kids, the kids! They always make my day better.
What’s your favourite Sandspit event?
I love any time the community gets together to celebrate something, but if I had to choose one…I suppose it would be Logger Sports Day and the dance afterwards! I very much enjoy dancing, and it’s nice to do it with other people rather than by myself on the beach all the time.