ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Never one to slow down, Central Newfoundland singer/songwriter and school music teacher Adam Baxter might be one of the most productive people you’ll meet on COVID-19 lockdown.
Over the past month, from the comfort of his Campbellton home, Baxter has kept up with his students online; developed a workbook for music theory and literacy, one page at a time; written a new album and celebrated the release of the one he dropped in February; started a rigid fitness routine; and attracted the attention of an iconic ’80s Canadian rock band.
Oh, yeah — he also put together a video for an original tune featuring 21 musicians, 15 singers, seven instruments and one foot stomp, recording at their individual homes across this province, Nova Scotia and Ontario. Called “All My Friends,” it was a labour of love that had Baxter counting down the sleeps to its release on Facebook.
“It was a song I wrote four or five years ago that never made it onto an album,” says Baxter, an established musician with more than a dozen MusicNL nominations and multiple awards to his credit.
His latest album, “Long (Love) Story Short,” is a collection of short and sweet 45-second songs.
Baxter recently came across “All My Friends” on an old hard drive, coincidentally around the same time it came up during a chat with fellow musician Jordan Young, who asked Baxter, “Remember that song we used to do?”
It’s the perfect time to release “All My Friends,” Baxter says. It was originally written as an ode to the friends he had left in St. John’s when he moved to the centre of the island, but it’s relevant in a time of physical distancing as well.
“We’ll paint the town red like we used to,” he sings on the track. “Someday down the road we’ll do it all again.”
For the video, Baxter recruited a group of musicians — some old collaborators and some he had never worked with before — and sent them a demo of the song, asking them to do their thing. They sent him back individual recordings, which he mixed together for the song and compiled into a video.
“I think I picked a really cool group of people,” he says, listing each of the musicians by name and extolling individual praise.
Carole Bestvater is a “monstrosity of greatness” on the fiddle. Jason Whelan is an “absolute powerhouse” on bouzouki. Rick Waterman is “one of the finest bass players,” Virginia Fudge is a “creative magician” on piano, while Young and Stuart Gallant “always kill it.” The 14 gang vocalists — including Elizabeth Haggie, daughter of provincial Health Minister Dr. John Haggie, who also performs in the video in sign language — are equally impressive, Baxter says.
Baxter’s not the first to release a performance collage as a music video this lockdown period, and it’s not the first in which he’s been involved, either. He, Young and Ritche Perez (who is also featured on the track) were part of the COVIDeo Collective musicians who released a cover of Glass Tiger’s “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone” last month, earning an online shout-out from the ’80s rockers.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes and I never thought that it would reach them,” says Perez, COVIDeo Collective founder.
Glass Tiger frontman Alan Frew had invited Perez on his Instagram Live podcast for a chat, but technical difficulties prevented it at the last minute.
Perez and Baxter met for the first time as socially distant collaborators.
“The cool thing about (these videos) we’re doing during COVID-19 is as much as we were social distancing, I was meeting new people,” Perez says. “(Baxter’s) a great guy. I’ve only gotten to know him during this pandemic, and we get along great. After all this is over I would love to drive out to Central and meet him, or if he ever comes out here, he has a place to stay.”
Visit Baxter’s Facebook page to see both “All My Friends” and “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone.”
