A literal junkyard band: KW Junk Music is making instruments out of things we waste
'Part of my inspiration for KW Junk Music is this idea that we all want to feel a sense of belonging'
KW Junk Music was founded by Mary Neil, a Kitchener artist who found music as an adult. While Neil's love for music began in middle school with the alto saxophone and continued through high school, her university studies in biology meant she had to push her musical interests aside.
About nine years ago, Neil started getting the musical itch again and began singing in community choirs and participating in small musical theatre productions. In 2015, she was accepted into Wilfrid Laurier University's MA program in Community Music. While in the program, she read an article about a theatre group in the UK who used junk to create puppet costumes for their productions, and she wondered why they were using conventional instruments for the music. That was when she decided to create her own form of "junk music."
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In this video you'll meet Neil as she shows you how she puts together one of her instruments out of copper pipe and other found items. Since her interest began, Neil inquired with staff at the City of Kitchener to find out what permits she would need to host a junk music jam in a public space. She was told that the 2017 City of Kitchener Neighbours Day was coming up (a big community event in the city) and that she could submit for a matching grant to host this event.
So Neil set out to do just that. She contacted people in my community to ask if they had any junk or scraps that she could use to build instruments. The response was overwhelming! She got all kinds of materials: PVC, copper pipes, wood scraps, a set of wrenches, wire hangers, pots and pans - just to name a few. Neil spent three weeks creating instruments like a copper-pipe-and-pool-noodle xylophone, a tympani drum out of an old broken compost bin, dowels and two tennis balls, and many others. The event was two hours long and had over 60 attendees.
As Neil continues to grow as a community musician and her practice with junk music, she's realized that music has the ability to break down barriers and build bridges. So in 2017, she hosted an event at a local church who wanted to introduce the congregation to children from Syrian refugee families. She also hosted a junk music jam with global worship songs to make it inclusive and welcoming to those from other countries.
Neil has been named the 2019 City of Kitchener Artist in Residence, which will give her the opportunity to further engage the community with participatory music-making. She says, "I could not have made it where I am without community. As a community musician, my practice is all about engaging community through music-making. While that is important and key, I could not have built KW Junk Music without community. The support through gathering materials, assisting in instrument building, volunteers at events, introductions to potential clients, becoming clients, marketing me on social and through word of mouth, encouraging me as I pursued this social venture. I am literally a community musician who truly understands the value of community in everything I do."
Neil is eternally grateful to the community that she has built in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Her passion for music has gotten her to where she is now as she continues to strive to strengthen her support and continue to do what she loves.
Follow KW Junk Music here.
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