Westmount teacher makes the grade on Canadian Idol

Unfortunately, he was not selected to advance any further, but was rewarded with an experience he will never forget.

A native of Vaudreuil-Dorion and now a resident of NDG, Griffin has been, by his own account, “working with kids and playing rock'n'roll for the past 13 years.” He has worked at various summer day camps in Westmount, the Westmount YMCA, and he taught at Roslyn School as part of an internship requirement for a degree he holds in Early Childhood Education from Concordia University. He currently works at Centre Greene.

A teacher by day and a musician by night, Griffin performs at Irish pubs all over Montreal most nights of the week. “I’ve been playing and writing music since I was 16 – I’m really passionate about it,” he says.

The Canadian Idol television show is a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada. Auditions are held in eight Canadian cities where the top talent is invited to Toronto to compete. While there can only be one winner, normally the top 10 contestants are rewarded with offers to record albums.

“I hadn’t watched the show very much before I auditioned, and I wasn’t planning on participating” says Griffin. Finally giving in to his family and friends, who thought he would be a shoo-in, he showed up with his guitar for an audition at the Pepsi Forum (along with 1,500 other hopefuls) in mid-March.

“I was really nervous, I had never done anything like that before,” he says. His rendition of the Rolling Stones’ 'Beast of Burden' earned him a spot among the top 22 selected that day — and a ticket to Toronto.

Griffin arrived in Toronto in early May, and found himself surrounded by like-minded young musicians. “I met so many people with the same interests and ambitions as I have,” he says. “It was a lot of fun – we got together and jammed in the hotel rooms in our free time. I made a lot of friends from around the country.”

Griffin impressed the judges and made it through several rounds of eliminations. One judge even asserted that he was one of the best singers that had ever competed on Canadian Idol. Griffin also gained a following on Internet message boards, where fans cheered him on and expressed disappointment when he was eliminated.

“I really got the impression that I had a chance to win,” he admits.

Although he was eliminated, Griffin says he appreciated the opportunity to perform for a national audience.

“I know I made a big impact,” he says. The experience has only reinforced his ambition to become a recording artist. Until then, you can find Griffin on guitar and lead vocals with his band Good Time Charlie at Ye Old Orchard Pub in NDG four nights a week.