Oms and mates on a roll
Kuba Oms plans to turn up the heat on his promotional campaign for the Peak Performance Project.
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Updated: November 02, 2009 5:43 PM
Web voting glitch just a bit of adversity to overcome, he says
Surf the Internet for references to Kuba Oms and you’ll find hundreds.
It’s clear to say this charismatic Victoria singer-songwriter is out there. It’s largely by design, but in many respects the abundance of links is due to the viral popularity of his solo music and the high-energy performances of Velvet, the band he has fronted for 14 years.
Based on that level of exposure, it came as no surprise to see him surge into the lead last week in online voting for the Peak Performance Project. The competition, a development initiative sponsored by Music B.C. and the Peak radio station in Vancouver, sees 20 B.C.-based acts judged on such things as musical ability, their live performance and marketing ability. The top three finishers earn $150,000, $75,000 and $50,000 for their efforts.
The online voting process took a hit last week, however, when it was determined that the software limiting voters to one per IP address had been compromised. And it became apparent that some of the acts – Oms included – may have benefitted from some overzealous and tech-savvy fans.
Oms was scratching his head at the situation Sunday night, as he awaited results of a manual recount – real-time results will no longer be posted, but totals will be posted online Mondays until the Nov. 30 voting cutoff.
“This is out of our control,” he said, adding that he’d far rather earn votes the honest way. “This is just a piece of adversity we’ll have to overcome. Anything in life that’s worth anything, it’s not going to come easily.”
A strongly worded release on the Project website (www.peakperformanceproject.com), outlined the seriousness of the situation to the finalists. It went on to say that online voting ultimately makes up just 20 per cent of the selection process.
While the voting gets sorted out and the process rolls along – contestants submit their final marketing plan in early December – Oms and his bandmates will be busy this week doing what they do best.
Today (Nov. 4) they’re headlining a 100 Days to the Olympics event at Whistler, one of four concerts they’ll play there before and during the Winter Games. On Thursday it’s the fourth of five adjudicated live performance sessions for the Peak project.
While polishing their live show is a given, Oms said, the contest judges and people who could play a role in Oms’ online success haven’t seen anything yet in terms of promotion, he said.
He’s offering his solo album How Much Time (Digniti/Warner Records) free online for the month of November and posting links to the Peak voting site on his personal website (www.kubaoms.com) plus his and Velvet’s Facebook and MySpace sites.
“If we play our cards right, by the following Monday we’ll be back in the lead,” Oms said of the voting.
If the band analyzes the competition criteria deeply, understands what the judges are looking for and doesn’t leave any promotional stone unturned, he said confidently, the competition is theirs to lose.
“We want to really pull out all the stops.”
Velvet, featuring a set of Oms’ solo material, performs at the Upstairs Cabaret with DJ Bellyfish on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Doors open at 9 p.m.
editor@oakbaynews.com
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