News Article

It’s a brand new day for the Terri Lynn Eddy Band


7/11/2008 11:53:51 AM


“Well I packed my bags and left to do my thing
If I don't do that now I may never sing
Living a life that's good to me
I was blind but now I see”
~Terri Lynn Eddy, Brand New Day


Singer/songwriter Terri Lynn Eddy is no stranger to the music business – she has been honing her craft on the Canadian music scene for 10 years – but now, like a phoenix from the flames, she is burning brighter than ever with a hot new band.

This group of staggeringly talented people didn’t know each other before enrolling in the Music Industry & Performance (MIP) program at College of the North Atlantic (CNA) in Stephenville. It was while immersed in courses like Songwriting, Performance, Music & Culture, Broadcast Audio, Electro-acoustical Devices and Design, Public Relations, Special Events Management, Entrepreneurial Studies and more, that they found a voice together. That voice is known today as The Terri Lynn Eddy Band.

“Terri Lynn Eddy, Bryan Oram, Renée Batten, Chris Donnelly, and Michelle Robertson are among some of the most successful graduates in the 10-year history of the program,” says Wade Pinhorn, coordinating instructor for the MIP program at CNA.

“They forged personal and musical relationships while attending the college then took everything they learned and put it to use. These efforts elevated them in terms of a career strategy to a point where they became noticed by some key industry stakeholders in the eastern Canadian music scene.”

Indeed, the band wasted no time putting their studies to practice as soon as they graduated in 2006. They had been building a fan base in Stephenville while attending school but it was after moving to St. John’s that they made some real headway in the industry. They were rocking the city’s vibrant music circuit, promoting and booking the band, writing original music and making plans to record a CD, when their polished efforts made some waves and captured the attention of manager Bruce Morel (manager of East Coast acts like the Glamour Puss Blues Band, The Fables, Scott Parsons, and Brett Ryan; also 2008 ECMA Manager of The Year nominee and Industry Professional of The Year nominee). Under Morel’s management, this year has been a stellar one – the band showcased in February at the East Coast Music Association’s (ECMA) conference, festival and awards in Fredericton, in March released a powerful Rock/Blues CD entitled Tonight, and this spring began touring throughout the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and beyond to promote the album.

The band really is something to hear and see – they have a synergy that doesn’t automatically happen with a musical group, even with a combination of stellar musicians. And they have some serious fun on stage. Bryan Oram’s lead guitar styling has been described as slick and soulful – he makes that thing sing! Multi-instrumentalist Renée Batten fattens up the mix with morsels of rhythm guitar and backing vocals, while bassist Paddy Byrne’s bass lines guide the groove and Chris Donnelly’s drums fiercely frame the works. Along with Terri Lynn’s voice – which is “a mixture of velvet and steel,” says Mark Vaughan Jackson of The Telegram, this band whips up an electrifying alchemy that drives their audiences wild.

Terri Lynn, a native of Trinity Bay, was a mere 16 years old when she began performing in St. John’s. She garnered enough recognition to be included in a January 1998 episode of the nationally televised CPAC – the Cable Public Affairs Channel, which is a “window on Parliament, politics and public affairs in Canada.” Later that year, due to the positive response to the broadcast, she was the subject of a CBC Television documentary called How Do You Like Me So Far – Terry Lynn Eddy; she followed this up by placing second in Star Search ’98. Later that year, she was chosen to showcase at the annual provincial MusicNL conference and awards. In 1999, she performed at the East Coast Music Association awards, was invited to perform on the St. John’s Arts & Culture Stage for the MusicNL awards show and later that year released her first album entitled Dreams. It really was a dream-come-true for Terri Lynn, as the following year continued to yield high profile appearances, including opening for the internationally renowned Canadian band Chilliwack and featured artist billing at the 2000 George Street Festival.

Not content to rest on her laurels, Terri Lynn headed to Toronto in 2001 to try her talents in the big city. She studied voice, wrote music and did some demo work while shopping her CD. It was that year in her career that led her in the direction of school.

“I realized that back home I was a well-known but in Ontario, I was a small fish in a big pond and really didn’t have a clue what I was doing,” laughs Terri Lynn. “I was 22 or 23 and had never done any post-secondary education after high school; I decided I wanted – and really needed – some education.”

She returned to Newfoundland and looked into possibilities for post-secondary funding. It was in a session with HRDC that she found out about the MIP program.

“I didn’t expect to find something so perfect for me! And my God, it was worth the time,” says Terri Lynn. “I learned so much while I was there… and I met my band!”

She learned much and left quite an impression on the college – in addition to winning two scholarships, she received the President’s Medal of Excellence. Terri Lynn then decided to stay for a third year to complete a diploma in Recording Arts (RA). The RA program is steeped in sound engineering – recording, editing, sound reinforcement and digital processing, and is invaluable not only to those choosing to build a career as a sound engineer, but also to artists who play live and record in the studio, says the band’s rhythm guitarist, Renée.

“Sometimes when you gig, you don’t have a sound engineer there and have to do it yourself,” she reveals. “Either way, it really helps to know what is needed to get the right sound for your instruments – to have the knowledge and terminology.”

She would know about the importance of getting a good sound – at only 24, Renée has been playing music for 20 years, conquering the accordion at age four. She has since added to her repertoire: guitar, bass, fiddle, bodhran, mandolin, and banjo, among others. Renée comes from a musical family and though was no stranger to playing live when she enrolled in the MIP program, there were many aspects of the industry in which she wasn’t well versed.

“When myself and my cousin Clarence started performing as kids, our parents took care of the financial part of it… we didn’t realize how important it is to know all aspects of the industry. The MIP program helps you with that, it really gives you the confidence to get out there and helps you know what you’re getting into,” says Renée.

“I recommend it, especially to a musician, but also anyone wondering what the music industry’s about… maybe someone wanting to get into management. It was a great place to learn to play an instrument, mingle with a lot of musicians and like-minded people and learn about the business. But ultimately, you get out of it what you put into it.”

Like the others in the band, lead guitarist Bryan Oram put his all into it. Though born into a family he calls “an army of musicians,” Bryan didn’t pick up a guitar until his 16th year. By the time he finished high school, he knew a career in music was his calling. And the MIP program was going to be the stepping stone to getting there.

“This program rocks! At first I was quite intimidated with the level of musicianship around me, but I soon realized there was an amazing support system from fellow students – and even more so from the instructors!” says Bryan.

“My two years spent at the Bay St. George campus was anything but boring. The townsfolk, student body and staff were amazing. During my time there, I jammed and performed with many acts, students and instructors alike. But it’s not a program where you go to hang out and not work – you just won’t get results. I went there and worked my butt off!”

The trio left Stephenville with big plans and added drummer and classmate Chris Donnelly and bassist Paddy Byrne once they settled into the music scene in St. John’s. They also hired a publicist: fellow classmate Michelle Robertson, an accomplished musician in her own right. She also co-writes some of the group’s songs (you will find two of them on the new album). She, like Terri Lynn and Renée, is a graduate of both the MIP and RA programs at CNA. She particularly enjoyed the business aspect of the programs, which made her a perfect fit for the band’s needs, and vice versa.

“Not only is this publicity gig an excellent stepping-stone opportunity for me in this industry, but I feel as though it's my contribution to the success of The Terri Lynn Eddy Band. I was fortunate to be privy to the recording process and now we’re working on concepts for a video,” says Michelle.

“This is a great experience – there's nothing I wouldn't do for them and they continue to show me their unconditional support in everything I do,” shares Michelle

Currently, the band is booking more cross-province appearances, including at Kelly’s Pub in Grand Falls-Windsor in July (during the Salmon Festival), at the St. John’s Jazz and Blues Festival on July 20, and during the George Street Festival in late July. The band has also been invited back to Iqaluit, Nanavut, where they headlined the major spring festival – Toonik Tyme Festival – in April to a sold out arena.

“They are really making their mark on the industry,” says Pinhorn, their former instructor and mentor. “If there is an example of why the MIP and RA programs need to exist, then this group is it! I feel that their new CD Tonight is one of the best rock albums to ever come out of this province.”

Terri Lynn says the programs at CNA made all the difference for the band.

“I know that without the knowledge we gained through the programs we would have found it much more difficult to do what we have done,” she says, “and taken much longer to do it.”

“We want to send a big thank you to our instructors who helped us along the way and pointed us in the right direction, especially our MIP instructor Wade Pinhorn, who mentored and guided us to become what we are today.”

Be sure to visit their website: www.terrilynneddy.com where you can listen to their music and read more about the band.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Stephen Lee
Manager of Marketing and Communications
College of the North Atlantic
709. 643.7721
stephen.lee@cna.nl.ca