About this Yin and Yang

Hello friends,

Yes, it’s been a while since my last blog. There has been a lot going on with the personal side of my life which hasn’t helped in blogging or performing. As much fun as I had over the years doing the bars and dances, playing a mix of my own songs and choice cover tunes, I have decided not to play any more of those kinds of gigs. This decision was partially based on the labour involved with packing gear. Setting up the PA, lights et all, giving it everything you’ve got for four hours only to be faced with tearing it all down, packing up, hauling it back home, unpacking, and loading everything into its safe, secure place. That exhausting part of the experience has lost its novelty after more than 50 years. A beat-up back, knees, and so on have also got me putting the brakes on supplying PA and lights on audio engineering gigs. Consequently, all my musical and creative efforts have been focused on the new album.

So you ask, “Okay, what’s been taking you so long?” Well, the story goes like this. I started recording demos of the songs I was gathering for this album in November of 2019. Locked the doors and hunkered down for four months expecting to hit the pavement running in March 2020. Yeah, sure! Look out, here comes the pandemic. That put a cramp on everything. Paranoia ruled the roost. Folks were nervous about gathering. Adding salt to the wounds with all the gigs drying up. Deaths in the family and friends passing on hasn’t helped. The plan had always been to record my songs at home and then take them to my close friend Rick Salt to evaluate and decide on which tunes would be included. Near the end of 2022, a conversation with Rick led to the recording of the song, “The Alpha and Omega”. This song speaks of how every beginning has an end; it’s a law of the universe. Hence the cycle of beginnings and endings, the Alpha and Omega is the theme of this album.

It was further discussed that we should complete a trilogy with the same cast of characters as the previous two albums. We all have worked together before and share a musical comradery, and an understanding of direction. As we began the process I was willing to bow out and let those with time constraints leapfrog to getting their projects done. Beyond that, a couple of the boys were off and either exploring the world or gigging their butts off out on tours. Gathering the troops has been a challenge. Bill Hicks covered the drums on the first two albums of the trilogy, but after 7 out of 9 songs for this album, we had to bring in another drummer. Fortunately for me, Phil Whipper agreed to come in and help us complete the bed tracks on the final two songs. Phil is another gifted drummer with tons of ability and articulation. A 2024 release should be a reality (fingers crossed).

This album is about the ups and downs of life. The way things change and how as the saying goes, “When one door closes, another one opens.” The importance of family is another focal point with restlessness, hard decisions, and hurdles to overcome. Songs explore self-confidence and self-questioning, things to think about, and things to watch out for.

Life is an interesting journey to be sure. Something we all should be aware of is to recognize the need to be flexible and view life with the blinders off. I hope friends, fans of my songwriting and people who hear this album enjoy it and the incredible musicianship of my musical brothers. Remember to always be kind to one another.

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Old Mill Road

Hello friends, I thought I should probably get another blog out there and let folks know how things are going. A little while back we completed my song called “Old Mill Road” and though it hasn’t been released I decided to create a video for the song and post it on YouTube after some discussion with my longtime friend Rick Salt. He is helping me to complete the tunes for one more “album” collection. “Old Mill Road” springs from my experiences as a British Columbia guy who has seen so many changes in the forest industry. As a young man it was an industry that held out a lot of security for folks trying to make their way through this maze of life. Good paying jobs with a promising future. As a Canadian musician I’ve had to do a lot of things beyond strictly music. Two kids, a wife, mortgages, payments and just trying to stay alive kept me motivated. I developed certain skill sets and wasn’t afraid to work hard for a paycheck. I eventually settled on a largely clerical path in supply and procurement, inventory control and working hand in hand with the accounting department for large forestry firms. That position allowed me to escape and play a lot of shows in the various watering holes, dance halls and nightclubs up and down the island and lower mainland. A livelihood that didn’t hurt my hands which was important. I added occupational first aid to my job seeking repertoire and made many helicopter flights in that capacity over the inner island. The magnitude of the clear cuts was staggering. When I first started in the forests I was climbing hills and planting trees and thought that this resource was never going to end. I was wrong. Corporate greed and a focus on immediate profits changed the industry. From what appeared to be a sustainable approach to being lucky if you still have a job. In the mid 70’s I took a job with a large forest company in a logging operation that employed over 350 people as a buyer and warehouseman. It was a good position for me as it provided a decent living and being seasonal I was able to book gigs for each summer and winter. Spring and fall meant taking shows closer to home with a ton of venues, events, festivals and dance hall work. As time went by the work force in that operation was reduced from 350 plus to about 60 to 80 people. Advances in logging equipment had increased productivity so that greater amounts of allowable cuts could be achieved with fewer people. Talk of sustainable forestry became less of a focus and profits became the pinnacle of importance. Eventually the large forestry companies saw an opportunity to change the mode of operations to smaller contracted companies which alleviated liabilities leaving the responsibility on shoulders of independent entrepreneurs. Unfortunately safety also took a diminished role in operations. Governments at the time cowarded to the large companies that pay enormous taxes and restricted the roles of the unionised workforce giving the large companies a nearly free reign over how they conducted their objectives. Logging companies began to export raw resources having the logs shipped to foreign mills to be turned into usable lumber. The reciprocal result was fewer jobs and lower paid workers. This trend has not changed. Currently forestry appears to be a ship without a captain at the helm. Decisions are made by politicians who know very little about day to day operations of forest companies. Some companies are trying to stay on track although profiteering rules the roost. Most of the public are unaware and the deep deforestation of this resource oblivious of the degree to which recent practices have devastated vast stretches of forested areas. The impact on the planet and the consequences for the creatures that once inhabited these forests is trumped by the need for profits. There seems to be little regard for seeking a balanced approach to the lumber industry, which is a possibility if some changes are made.

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Why use a producer?

First I would like to wish everyone a fantastic 2023. The last three years have been pure hell on everyone. During the pandemic the rules were constantly changing, first was the complete shutdown & as things slowly began to change some of the rules were hard to abide by. Singing through a mask is a ridiculous request. You can’t get enough air & of course you sound muffled. Performing to a plexiglass shield was nearly as bad. Venues collapsed in the absences of revenues & festivals went under for much the same reasons. Regardless, this blog is not a lamentation of the past three years. As was said in Bob Dylan’s song, “the times they are a changin”. During the shutdown I was busy recording my next collection of songs for an album release. Recording with the help of a few friends, arranging & building the structure for songs that I have been performing at my shows & concerts for quite some time. During the pandemic it was difficult to get together with my colleagues but thanks to modern recording methods tracks can be emailed in & inserted into the song. That’s great, but nothing beats recording in the same room where takes can be discussed & alternate approaches can be tried. I have a decent recording system using Logic Pro X & an array of good quality microphones, as well as good monitors, interface & supporting equipment. My first thought was to record everything here & then get my long time friend Rick Salt to mix & master the recordings. I have recorded & produced in my own facility and in the studios of others for several musical acts such as Andy Ruszel, Sacred Harmony, Daniel Johnstone & the Springer Creek Gang, Donny Boyd & Fine Company, Peter Surridge & a few others. So off to Rick’s place I go with my song demos in my hand. We chatted about the songs & recordings we’ve done together in the past. Now you got to understand that Rick Salt Recording has produced world class productions with the likes of artists as diverse as the Irish Rovers & David Gogo amongst many clients who regularly turn to Rick for his skills and facility. He is an incredible musician in his own right, as well as possessing a brilliant musical mind. After conversions, Rick opened the door to once again assemble “the crew”, Bill Hicks & Joel Spillette who were on the previous two albums I recorded with Rick making this a trilogy of albums. So back to Rick’s studio I went, this time with guitar in hand to play & discuss a bunch of my songs. Some that had demo recordings & some that didn’t. The first result was the pre-album release of “The Alpha and Omega”, which is available on my Bandcamp site for download or streaming & YouTube, Apple music, Spotify & so on. Thrilled with the end result, we moved on to more of the songs chosen for this project. Why use an alternate recording studio & a producer when I’ve done successful productions myself? It’s because of the collaborative atmosphere & the sheer joy of working with an informed, tried, tested & true amazing engineer / producer. For example a couple of days ago we were adding harmonica to a song I wrote called “Fear” utilizing a minor key harmonica. Despite my rehearsed melodic lines & rhythmic approaches, Rick challenged me to try alternate approaches resulting in some very exciting sonic captures. A musical mind that you trust can enhance your efforts and end results if you are willing to have an open approach to your audio endeavors . Drummer Bill Hicks & keyboardist Joel Spillette are also amazing & sought after musicians whose contributions to my songs always leave me in awe & incredibly thankful to have them on board. This album will be themed as were the previous releases & I am truly thrilled with the results so far. Remember to visit my website www.theomassopmusic.com where you will find links to my YouTube videos, Bandcamp & other sites, as well as upcoming shows

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The Alpha and Omega

I realize my blogging has been sporadic at best, but here I am again. Life is so busy for all of us and it’s hard to find the time to just sit and collect your thoughts. What I have decided to do is to write a blog about each of the songs that are due to be released on the next album. Let’s start with the first single pre-release “The Alpha and Omega”.

This is the first single from the new collection which is still in production. The song is called "The Alpha and Omega" and was recorded at Rick Salt Recording. Rick was the producer and also played guitar and bass, Billy Hicks was on drums with Joel Spillette on keyboards with myself as the vocalist.

The song refers to how life and the universe is a series of cycles and how we are all basically the same with family being at the centre. Also how through the ages, wise ones, the sages and spiritual leaders have tried to point the way but humanity continues to ignore the lessons waging wars and causing hardships to others.

The song actually took root from my pondering the Greek alphabet. Okay, so I have a weird mind that thinks about weird things. I’ve always been a bit of a semantic psycho but it does lead to some interesting avenues of songwriting. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last. Or you could say the beginning and the ending.

Through a convoluted spiritual journey and my studies of such matters I understand that there is a cycle to all things in this universe. Every beginning will have an ending. Life is in a constant state of flux. As Albert Einstein said “the only thing constant in the universe is change”. So with such pondering and musical musing a song began to take shape which became the vehicle for me to express some of my observations and understandings that I feel I have acquired along the way. I could be right and I could be wrong, but trying to act with and promote the approach of kindness, love, peace and understanding seems the right thing to do.

Be kind to each other. As the old saying goes “what comes around goes around”. I think that’s what they call “Karma”.

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Bandcamp here we go....

As always, things have been busy behind the scenes so I thought I would share some of what's been going on.

Of course I’m still working toward a new album which although this is taking much longer than expected will be completed. Exactly when I can’t really say. How many songs are to be included has yet to be decided as well. What I can say for certain is that a new single is ready for release and that will happen soon. The song is slated to be the title track for the forthcoming album and it has been completely mixed, mastered and a video prepared as well. The song is called “The Alpha and Omega” and will likely mean different things to different folks. It began with pondering the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet and how it relates to life, the universe and everything. (Yes, I know. The answer is 42 according to the “Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy”. A fun Douglas Adams book and series.)

As is with most songs it started with just me and my guitar with some interesting chord changes. I thought about how every beginning has to have an end and how the cycles of life and the universe repeat by starting again. The tides come and go, children are born, people pass on, Seasons come and go in a constant rotation.

I got a phone call from my dear friend Rick Salt who is a brilliant producer, an outstanding audio engineer and stellar musician. We talked about my project and how it was progressing. My plans have always been to complete this album with Rick at his studio allowing him to have complete control of the audio scape, mixing and mastering. During a visit with him at his “Rick Salt Recording” studio I sang “The Alpha and Omega” for Rick which he captured. Rick arranged for my all time favourite studio crew to be gathered and hence the contributions to the recording began. Rick on guitar and bass, Joel Spillette on keyboards and the amazing Billy Hicks on drums. The end result was outstanding and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.

The exact date of the release is dependent on completing a few things on my new “Bandcamp” site. The song will be offered for streaming and downloads exclusively on that site, at least for now and the near future. CD’s when available and downloads for my previous albums will also be available on my Bandcamp site.

So yes, lot’s going on! I’m only booking selective shows for now and the first will be “Arts on the Avenue” in Ladysmith August 28th from 3 until 4. I believe admission is free and this is always a fun family event with lots to see and other musical entertainment as well. A concert as a trio is scheduled for October 7th with the details to be announced soon.

Remember to be kind and that “Love is the answer”. Until later, Theo

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New video, older song

Well folks, I haven't been sitting on my backside waiting for the dust to settle, I've been busy. Beside a bunch of family stuff going on I have been making some progress on the upcoming album and manged to create a video for a song I wrote years back. "In my dream" is from the "Choices" album. With all that is happening and has happened over the last number of years, it became clear that this song needed to resurface. It is available on Spotify for streaming and Apple music for download. Links are at www.theomassopmusic.com Please check out the video regardless as the message is important.

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Where have you been? Progress report.

They say that time flies, boy does it ever!! I thought that the pandemic would leave me in a position where I could easily complete the upcoming album. It’s ok to still call it an album isn’t it? I like to think of it being like an album of photos, but in this case it’s filled with audio snapshots of an artist’s perspective of the world at different times of their lives. Take a listen to any artist's musical development from their early to their current works. Most of the time you can hear the development changes. From Leonard Cohen to Steve Earle to whomever you choose, things change. This next offering of songs from me will be a fair bit of catching up with tunes I have written of the past several years. Working on other projects, helping with other peoples recordings as a musician, producer and engineer has been rewarding, but time is not slowing down for me. It’s time to put out a collection of songs that followed me to the stage. Not all of the tunes are going to make it to release, so there may be another album to follow yet, but sticking to one project at a time. The summer after the pandemic hit my father in law became ill and to cut a long story short, he passed away on November 21, 2020. I had been helping him as his P.O.A. (power of attorney, acting on his behalf) and consequently became the executor for his estate. Both of which became involving,exacting and time consuming endeavours. Although I did my best to also carry on musically, my father in law’s estate affairs and the ever changing rules of dealing with the pandemic greatly hindered my musical progress. I did manage to do two outdoor shows during the summer, but the ever changing restrictions have had me become somewhat reclusive. So many elements come into play beyond many restrictions. Social distancing, vaccination passports, no dancing, no singing along, attendance restrictions, they all make me want to wait until the dust settles. I most likely and hopefully can get back to public performances in 2022. I did set up one indoor show at a local venue, but after getting blasted by the promoter for reasons I’d rather not discuss, I decided to cancel the show. Cancelling is something I hate to do, but I felt it was necessary. I’ve been at this too long to accept ungracious behavior. I have four songs left to be “framed in” before moving on to additional musicians' input. Terry Stark will be adding some acoustic guitar to one of the tunes and I will certainly have him listen to other tunes to see what he wants to add. A few different folks have volunteered to add vocal harmonies and one lady has offered to help with her excellent violin abilities. I have thought about a bunch of others, but we’ll have to wait and see who is willing and able to lend a hand. Once the majority of the arrangements and musical performances have been done here at my own studio, the plan is to bring the tracks to a dear friend of mine who is a master of mastering, mixing and perhaps adding some additional tracks that formulate in his brilliant mind. In the interim I forge ahead as best as I can. I keep writing, recording and practicing to keep my abilities well honed or at least in an attempt to be the best me I can be. May you all have a wonderful end of year festivities and let’s keep our hopes up for a better year in 2022. Please be kind, loving and forgiving with each other.

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Theo tunes in the park.

Hello friends. I'm not planning to do a lot of shows right now, but I hope you can attend this outdoor early evening “music in the park concert”. August 24th from 6 to 7 PM. I was asked by the City of Nanaimo Parks Recreation and Culture if I was interested in doing a low volume solo show and after checking out the location was thrilled to accept. From 6 until 7 I will be performing songs from my previous albums alongside tunes from the forthcoming album. The progress of the new album had been hindered by restrictions, but as things have begun to settle down we are back on track. There will be a couple of cover tunes as well from respected writers. Bring your chairs and enjoy the setting for this free all ages concert brought to you by the City of Nanaimo. A chance to share some music and the stories beyond the songs in this gorgeous spot.

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Upcoming Show

Hey folks, It's been a while now but finally things are opening up. Got my shots in and I'm not talking whiskey at the bar. A late summer outdoor concert is tentatively booked. More details will be posted as soon as the contract is signed. Check back and stay tuned. Thrilled to be sharing music again.

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Live video "In My Mind"

Since I don't like performing without an audience, I don't sing to a camera, a computer, or plexiglass for that matter. I decided to post a video from the archives from 2018 of a gig at the Ground Zero Acoustic Lounge. Unfortunately the venue closed it's doors, another victim of C19 lock downs. Please enjoy this memory of a great concert venue.

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