Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 07/05) - The first episode of Yellowknife's own live talk show premieres at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre next week.

Polar Rock Talk brings together more than a dozen musicians for a night of live music and lively conversation, hosted by radio personality Paul McMullen.

Organizer Rick Poltaruk developed the concept as a fun way to package and promote Yellowknife's music scene.

"We have a stage full of extremely talented musicians, playing about 80 per cent original material," Poltaruk said.

A few of the musicians will also appear as guests on McMullen's couch.

"They'll talk about their life in the North and about their music," he said. "Nothing is scripted."

Eventually, Poltaruk sees the talk show format as a potential vehicle for communicating with southern markets. The musicians will invite tourism and other industries to plug into the idea as a creative way to reach southern audiences through a live or taped presentation.

"This is the first step in piecing the project together," he said.

Polar Rock Talk plays at 8 p.m. on Oct. 14 and 15.