While we love to showcase what’s great about Ottawa, we also like to write about Ottawans that have made it big outside of our Nation’s Capital. After all, it’s not everyday we get to speak to a man who brought the likes of Black Lips, Action Bronson and The Raveonettes to VICE Records. Christopher Roberts’ journey is pretty inspiring. We spoke to him about his new(ish) gig as Festival Director of NXNE, his crazy tale at VICE and of course, his Ottawa roots.
Born in Arizona to a military family, Roberts bounced around from continent to continent before landing in Ottawa when he was 12 years old. He spent his formative teenage years at Canterbury High School where he was enrolled in the theatre program. He speaks fondly of his time at Canterbury, and says the school played a big part in what he’s become. “It really helped me shape my ambition and teach me through hard work and dedication that anything is possible.”
After graduating Roberts took English Lit at Carleton. Around the same time he started working with a nascent company called Kapacity Entertainment, fronted by Mike Mikkelsen and Graham Bradley. Back in the day (and still now to some extent), Kapacity was the only real promotion company bringing big hip hop acts to Ottawa. A chance encounter with a Sony Label executive persuaded him that if he wanted to work in ‘the industry’, he should write a letter to all the labels he loved. Serendipitously, Adam Shore, GM of VICE Records emailed him back and invited him to interview for an internship. He flew down to Brooklyn and was hired.
Roberts earned his dues the hard way, working for free for several months until he couldn’t afford the cost of living in New York anymore. During that time he spent every waking hour in the office absorbing everything and made himself irreplaceable to VICE, who eventually hired him on a full-time gig. Two years later he was promoted to Head of Artist Relations for VICE Records. It’s in this capacity that he brought bands such as Black Lips, Justice, Action Bronson and Snoop Lion to VICE, solidifying the label as a force to be reckoned with in a very fickle environment.
Key to his success (and VICE’s) is the sheer time and energy he put into his work and also into understanding the brand and how it fits into the cultural landscape. VICE allowed him to work not only with artists, but on a few pretty cool projects as well, notably The Creators Project – a partnership between Intel and Vice celebrating technology and art. It’s made him a pretty seasoned curator and event organizer.
This element of “knowing who you are” is something that Roberts is trying to bring to NXNE this year. “The curation of the festival needed to be relevant and current and have a sense of urgency to it.” Roberts was excited to share some of the highlights of this year’s North By – from rockers like Spoon, who are playing their first show in Toronto in five years, to crazy hip hop acts like Danny Brown and Juicy J – all artists that are relevant today, according to Roberts. He was quick to point out that Ottawa is also represented at this year’s festival with the likes of Amos the Transparent, Atherton, Boyhood, Fevers, The Good Luck Assembly, Grime Kings, Her Harbour, Kalle Mattson, Laurent Bourque, Silvergun and Spleen, The Split, Suns of Stone and The Yips.
Perhaps even more exciting to Roberts is the conference side of the festival. He sees Paul Rosenberg’s keynote as a highlight. Rosenberg manages Eminem, among others, and has helped him become an internationally recognized hip hop star. He’s also excited by Oliver El-Khatib, Drake’s brand manager, who will speak about what it means to Toronto youth to have an icon of success. Another talk to keep your eye out for is Mark Maron – a comedian and founder of arguably the most popular podcast on the planet, Cindy Gallop – who will talk about Millenial’s weird relationship with sex.
NXNE takes place June 13-22 in Toronto. You can grab a wristband or badges for the festival here.
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