Had it not been for a spell of bad weather, Hope and Rolly’s Restaurant would have made an appearance in a music video by 15-year-old Sunshine Valley singer-songwriter Ashley Pater.
Performing her own songs since age nine across B.C., in Toronto, in Phoenix and at the Calgary Stampede, Pater is now releasing a five-song debut EP. A self-described “folk pop” artist, Pater sings and plays guitar on her EP, backed up by bass and guitar of her band Destination Unknown.
“They’re all original songs I’ve written and they’re all little stories. So each song has a different meaning,” she said.
“The title track, Wild Roses, is basically about two young lovers just hitting the road and getting away and looking for a new life. And that new life is represented by wild roses.”
Hope didn’t end up being the backdrop for the music video for the title track – a farm in Ladner got the honours – but Pater will be returning to the community this summer to perform at Concerts in the Park.
Pater spends a lot of time in the Sunshine Valley; she has performed there and in Hope. Her father John Pater is also a firefighter with the Sunshine Valley Volunteer Fire Department. She says the time she spends there inspires her musically.
“I have actually written multiple songs up in Sunshine Valley. I’m pretty sure one of my songs Traveler, which is on the EP, was written there,” she said.
“The whole vibe and feeling of the place, it brings out a lot of cool tones and experimentation in my music.”
Pater, who comes from a musical family, says she has been singing her whole life starting with singing competitions and transitioning into having a voice coach and learning the guitar.
“My mother and I would sing in the car together to Shania Twain and Mariah Carey. My grandparents and I would sing together all the time. My grandfather plays multiple instruments that he taught himself how to play and so music has always been a part of my life.”
Pater said she doesn’t normally show her excitement, but the release of her music has brought this out in her. “Everyone gets to take a little piece of me home,” she laughed.
A release party for “Wild Roses” will be held March 22, 6:30 p.m., at Surrey City Hall.