- Story by David Wylie Photography by Darren Hull

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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Search the web for Calvin Lechner and you鈥檒l find two distinct results: one is playing the drums on stage with jet-black shaggy hair, sunglasses and a leather jacket; the other smiles professionally at the camera, clean cut and looking spiffy in a suit and tie. You could be forgiven for thinking they are two different people.

鈥淲hen I was applying for jobs, the question always came up in interviews 鈥� 鈥榃as this you?鈥欌�� says Calvin in his 琉璃神社 home studio. 鈥淲ell, it was at one point.鈥�

Calvin is currently the sales and marketing director for 琉璃神社鈥檚 . But before that, he was the drummer for Juno-nominated band .

鈥淲hen I look back on it, it was a very strange time in my life,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not that I would ever want to get rid of that side of my life. It鈥檚 just funny when they run into each other.鈥�

Calvin, who grew up in Kitimat, started playing music when he was five years old. He took guitar lessons until he was 12 鈥� that was the year his older brother got a drum kit for Christmas.

鈥淚 was obsessed with drums,鈥� he says.

Calvin played in his first band, Anything August, while at Mount Elizabeth secondary school in Kitimat, and the group soon met music video producer Stephano Barberis, who has received at least 35 Director of the Year awards over his career so far. Though they met in 琉璃神社, they were excited about their 鈥淜itimat connection,鈥� and Barberis landed a $25,000 grant in 2005 to produce a video for Anything August that received airtime on MuchMusic.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what gave us our first push as kids,鈥� says Calvin. 鈥淲e were only about 16 or 17 when we started touring and didn鈥檛 focus on much else for the next six or seven years. We just really focussed on making a go of it. It was a crazy experience. We had no idea what we were doing. We were just rolling with the punches.鈥�

The band moved to 琉璃神社 where the music scene was blowing up, and a few of the bigger bands at the time had come from the Okanagan.

Calvin was drawn to the marketing aspects of growing a band, and Anything August soon became 鈥淜ings of MySpace鈥� and networked with everyone they could.

鈥淲e were trying to get clever with how to get bigger shows, how to get on bigger bills,鈥� he says.

Calvin started to promote concerts and paid bands to come to town so that Anything August could open for them.

When he met Dave Faber, the lead singer of Faber Drive, everything changed. Faber eventually called him, needing a new drummer.

鈥淭hat call imploded our band Anything August. It was an opportunity for me to go exactly where I saw my own career going. As much as I loved the guys I was playing with, it was something that I felt I had to do.鈥�

The move changed Calvin鈥檚 life. He toured with Faber Drive, playing songs from the debut album, Seven Second Surgery, in front of big crowds. He also helped write Faber鈥檚 second album, Can鈥檛 Keep A Secret, which was nominated as Pop Album of the Year at the 2011 Juno Awards.

鈥淚t was a totally different game. We had management, we had booking agents, we had tour managers and stage managers. I wasn鈥檛 setting up my own drums anymore. We were signing autographs,鈥� he says.

Despite the taste of music fame, being a part of Faber Drive wasn鈥檛 bringing Calvin joy in his life. He missed the business side of music. And looking back, he says, the band became too calculated, too formulaic.

鈥淚t took the magic out of it,鈥� he says.

He left Faber Drive and moved back to Kitimat with his parents to recalibrate, deciding to pursue a future in marketing. Calvin says he made music to create a connection with others, and saw similarities between the two careers.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I do today through marketing. Although it鈥檚 a completely different job, my approach is the same. There are a lot of parallels,鈥� he says.

After leaving Faber Drive, he stopped playing music, and his drums gathered dust in a closet. Calvin was asked to join other bands, including well-known Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepson, but he told them he just couldn鈥檛 do it.

After a break, he started to dabble again, working alongside local 琉璃神社 artists including award-winning winemaker Jason Parkes in the band Proper Man.

鈥淢y favourite thing to do as a musician is the session work.

I don鈥檛 like to be the centre of attention, so I really like being able to add that little something that can really help elevate an already-great artist,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he goal is to make your music and have as many people hear it as possible. If you can accomplish that, I think that鈥檚 the dream 鈥� doing what you love to do and finding a way to be able to make that a bigger part of your life.鈥�

Calvin is currently in a cover band called The Feels, playing an atypical selection, including songs by the Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, Beatles and Hall & Oates.

Their website is

To see more of Darren Hull鈥檚 photography check out his .