The days of playing music only after putting standard hours in on a "day job" are over for some musicians like John Newlands in Greater Sudbury.
He will be releasing his fifth CD, Invincible Summer, Saturday, Sept. 29 at the Fraser Auditorium, Laurentian University. Newlands performed just before Valdy and Blue Rodeo at the 2006 Northern Life Festival Boreal.
"I find there is enough going on in the city now that you can consider music as a full time job. You will not get rich but if you apply yourself and search out the opportunities here today you can do it," said Newland.
And he does not mean teaching music in a secondary school or
college or university.
"I find that I get enough work as a musician whether playing as
a session musician at various studios around town such as Music
Works and Atomic Studios or by playing gigs in bands that I can
make a living," he said.
As a studio musician he plays guitar and piano and sings. Out on the town on stage he has been playing guitar and piano with Matt Foy (drums), Brian Quebec (bass), Kevin Whyte (percussion), and Anita Ansamaa (back-up singer).
"John Newlands is a great to work with-a really nice guy, awesome, someone who you can't wait to play with," said musician Matt Foy.
"John does quality work. I am a big fan of his music," said Paul Loewenberg, musical director of the Townehouse Tavern and Northern Lights Festival Boreal. "I can see how he can make a living at it. Others do in this city but you do have to be diverse in what you do. John reminds me of Brian Wilson meeting Peter Gabriel," he said.
The band has work this weekend playing an invitation only party performance for Cinefest.
Newlands has a few tricks to keep his costs of music low.
"I perform all the instruments on my latest CD myself-Gibson
347 electric guitar, acoustic guitar, base guitar, piano,
synthesizer, drums and percussion. It saves me money and is
also a great feeling to know I did it all myself," he said.
Newlands also makes his CDs himself.
"I make my CD's at home and they look and sound like just
like any other commercially made product," he said.
Invincible Summer features 12 tracks with the title song being
last on the CD.
"I know many CD's have the title song first but I wanted to build up over the course of the CD to the song Invincible Summer," he said.
Newlands said the song was inspired by a quote from Albert Camus's existentialist book, The Outsider.
"The Camus quote was 'In the depth of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.' That is a wonderful metaphor for just trying to recognize that light of summer days in you at all times, not just the summer season," he said.
"Like a Ludwig van Beethovan composition, my CD has a pattern to, a build up that culminated in this song, which to me is such an inspiration. I wanted the CD to end with this message."
Tickets for the CD release are $20 at Records On Wheels, downtown on Elm St. or by calling 670-1982. The CD is $15 at the store or available at iTunes for $1 a song.
