Fast paced performer learned tunes at Collingwood elementary university

New music courses via the veins of community musician Alex Barber.

For this week’s edition of Persons of Collingwood we spoke with Barber, 31, songwriter and musician.

Q: Did you expand up in Collingwood?

A: I did. I went to Admiral Collingwood and Collingwood Collegiate Institute.

(Admiral) had a seriously very good audio plan. I picked up the trumpet there, because it had the minimum quantity of notes. It had three notes, so I thought it would be simple.

In my 1st calendar year of substantial faculty, I stored the trumpet for an art credit rating. Immediately after that, I started getting songs and computers lessons. Afterwards, I took a co-op plan as very well and I aided teach the new music and computer systems system.

From there, I left and went to Fanshawe College or university for music field arts. It was a two-calendar year software. It went by truly rapidly and I learned a lot and fulfilled a lot of amazing people today. I started off some bands there in London.

I graduated in 2014. I stayed in London for virtually 10 many years, enjoying music. It is exactly where I discovered to sing, complete and record.

Q: When did you initially know you experienced a adore for tunes?

A: As a kid, I obtained my to start with electrical guitar in grade 6. For me, audio was just a way to escape and have my possess matter. There’s camaraderie when you are with a group of buddies in a band.

In elementary university, I was largely into outdated punk rock music. Later, I became a lot more fascinated in typical rock.

The heading-your-have-way facet of music was appealing to me as a kid. Guitar is the (instrument) I lean toward, but I also play drums and bass. I enjoy all of it.

Q: In which does your songs stand ideal now?

A: I do generate tunes, but I do not release them as typically as I must. I’m constantly functioning on items. My Achilles heel is I have great taste in music, so a good deal of the new music I pay attention to is far better than the tracks I write. I get to a stage where I find out from songwriting and the tracks are wonderful, but I never assume it is as great as the artists that encourage me.

We’re our own worst critics. It is anything I require to get improved at staying a lot less precious about my material. Composing is undoubtedly my enthusiasm. I really feel the most fulfilled when I’m composing a song.

(Accomplishing) handles is a way for me to make revenue and get my title out there. Individuals perk up when they hear tunes they know so I’ve just rolled with that.

This is my fifth 12 months of staying a entire-time musician and it’s been a active summer. Throughout COVID, I moved again property to Collingwood in 2020 and begun making a community from scratch.

Q: Do you have any hobbies exterior of tunes?

A: Audio is rather much my life at this stage. (laughs) I consider, if you want to do new music, it form of has to be. You cannot truly have a program B mainly because you are going to close up just giving up.

With songs, it can be truly demanding to split via. If you’re not performing it all the time, you are not truly heading to get any place.

My priority this calendar year was to enjoy as numerous nearby shows as I could. Very last 12 months I invested a ton of time driving and it was fantastic, but a tiny taxing. It’s gasoline income, it is your time.

Now, I’m at a point the place I’m so chaotic. This past week and above the prolonged weekend, I played 6 evenings in a row which is the most I have at any time performed again-to-back.

At the time a calendar year I go to Algonquin Park with my outdated pals from university on a portage journey, which is coming up in two weeks. I am the male who generally brings the guitar and a Bluetooth speaker.

Q: What are your future desires with music? Where do you hope it will take you?

A: I’ve constantly advised myself I would travel and see the globe, but do it even though I was performing on tour.

I do not want to do that with just protect tracks, so my target about the up coming five many years is to have sets of my individual substance songs that are potent plenty of and people today delight in them.

Releasing music and building demand on the internet is a target as nicely. I’d like to shift towards much more ticketed reveals.

I love tunes.

Q: Is there everything else you want people in Collingwood to know about you?

A: I love currently being back in Collingwood. Coming from a town which is generally a college student town like London, I’m liking the quieter, chill environment of Collingwood. The 1st yr I arrived again and there had been no in-particular person displays, I used a whole lot of time on my bike, biking close to Collingwood.

If I was not working so much, I’d most likely even now be carrying out individuals issues. Enterprise is booming suitable now.

For a listing of Barber’s future exhibits, visit his website in this article.

For our characteristic Individuals of Collingwood, we discuss with exciting folks who are possibly from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, allowing them convey to their possess tales in their own words and phrases. This feature runs on CollingwoodToday each individual weekend. If you’d like to nominate or propose another person to be highlighted in Folks of Collingwood, electronic mail [email protected].