Canadian Blog House was invited by Ottawa Tourism and Canadian Heritage to spend an evening with The Arkells on Parliament Hill for a meet-and-greet backstage, and behind-the-scenes access to their Canada Day rehearsals on Parliament Hill. All opinions are our own.

When I grow up I want to be a rock music photographer.

I’ve always idolized the late Linda McCartney (first wife of Paul McCartney), who became a well-known rock music photographer back in the 1970’s, photographing rock stars such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Pete Townsend, and of course, the Beatles. Linda got to photograph, and hang with, some of the best of the best in rock ‘n roll music.

Linda, already an accomplished photographer, became a rock music photographer quite by accident.

According to The Telegraph, “Linda’s break came in 1967, when she was the only photographer allowed on to a boat on the Hudson River in New York where the Rolling Stones were performing. The candid photographs of the band at work and at play paved the way for commissions from Rolling Stone and other leading glossy magazines.”

An Evening With The Arkells On Parliament Hill

Recently, an invite from Ottawa Tourism landed in our inbox inviting me to experience an evening with The Arkells on Parliament Hill. This included a meet-and-greet with the Canadian alt-rock band, including behind-the-scenes access to their media interviews, and rehearsal for their Canada Day performance on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

I grabbed my mobile phone and camera, and anxiously awaited my chance to become a rock music photographer for a day!

Linda McCartney eat your heart out! Ha!

The 16-year-old fangirl in me would have been “over the moon” to be able to have this sort of backstage experience when I was a teenager.

It all seemed somewhat surreal as I stood surrounded by Max Kerman, Mike DeAngelis, Tim Oxford, Nick Dika, and Anthony Carone.

I couldn’t help but think of all the young fans of The Arkells out there who would have loved to be in my shoes on this evening.

It’s no wonder. These good ‘ol Canadian boys from Hamilton, Ontario, are handsome, charming, likable, and play great music.

An all-around class act.

A chance to introduce ourselves, meet the guys, and cozy up for a photograph with them, got our evening with The Arkells on Parliament Hill off to a great start.

It was soon time to head out to the Canada Day stage area where media interviews were about to start.

The folks from Global TV and CTV Ottawa were there. It was fascinating to watch the behind-the-scenes interview process for live tv.

A spur-of-the-moment offer from The Arkells – a chance to ask them a couple of questions – churned up those butterflies in my stomach, but I knew I had to take the chance and come up with some questions – quick!

Some of you may remember my interviews with Jeremy Hotz and Peter Mansbridge. While both of those were nerve-wracking, at least I had time to plan out what I wanted to ask them.

Not here. I was about to get the chance to ask The Arkells a profound question or two, and I had to think fast.

My questions turned out to be less than profound, however.

Interviewing The Arkells

I decided to have some fun asking Max and Mike who was going to win this year’s Grey Cup, Ottawa or Hamilton. I’m sure you can guess how they answered that one!

I then asked them who puts on the better Canada Day show – Ottawa or Hamilton. The guys chose their words very wisely!

***You’ll notice I narrowly missed kissing the pavement in this clip!

Max and Mike graciously agreed to pose for a selfie…

Then over to the Canada Day stage they went, to rehearse for their Canada Day performance.

This is where the “rock music photographer” in me took over. I perched myself up on a little platform in front of the stage and started clicking away.

For those of you who are big Arkells fans…hope you enjoy all the photos!

For a taste of their performance of their hit song “Knocking At The Door”, scroll all the way to the end of this post.

As crew members rushed around the stage coordinating timing, lights, and graphics, Arkells lead singer, Max Kerman, casually picked up his mobile phone.

Of course, he was checking out the latest article on Canadian Blog House, right Max?

For more fun with The Arkells, check out Canadian Blog House Instagram Stories!

Many thanks again to Ottawa Tourism and Canada Heritage for another fantastic experience! A big thank you as well to Max, Mike, Nick, Tim, and Anthony for welcoming us backstage, and allowing us to be a part of this memorable evening!

Have you ever had the chance to spend time backstage with some of your favourite musicians? Tell us about your experience! We’d love to hear all about it!