The Parksville Qualicum Beach News Thursday, January 24, 2013
www.pqbnews.com
Second Section
B1
ARTS& LIFE
ART
Creating art a necessity Nanoose man awoke one morning and had to paint LISSA ALEXANDER
reporter@pqbnews.com
R SUBMITTED PHOTO/ TOM LANDA
Locarno, a seven-piece Latin band led by Juno-award winning musician Tom Landa, will play at the Errington Hall Jan. 26.
LIVE MUSIC
Landa brings Latin to the Hall The Paperboys frontman brings new project to Errington LISSA ALEXANDER
reporter@pqbnews.com
Moving from Mexico City to Thunder Bay Ontario at the age of 15 was a big change for musician Tom Landa, who founded The Paperboys 20 years ago and most recently the Latin group, Locarno. “I moved from a city of 26 million people to a town of 113,000,” he said, “and I moved at the beginning of February, so the beginning of their winter. It was a huge culture shock and a change for me for sure.” But Landa loved it, he immersed himself in the Canadian culture and spoke only English for a time, getting into Canadian music and taking up the guitar. Landa will perform with his 7-piece group Locarno at the Errington Hall Saturday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. Music has been top of Landa’s mind since he was young, taking in all the styles of music in Mexico, as well as heavy metal and hard rock. “I was a little rocker kid,” he said, revealing his love for AC/DC, Motley Crue and KISS. He started listening to lighter stuff when he got to Canada, he said, music by 54-40, Grapes of Wrath and Spirit of the West. In high school Landa was part of a band and ended up winning a local competition, earning some money to record
and some equipment. In his mid-twenties Landa became more interested in his Mexican roots and fell in love with a Mexican American band called Los Lobos. “There was a certain amount of nostalgia that came along with being reacquainted with (Mexican music). That’s what began my love of Mexican music,” he said, adding that other types of Latin music also began winning him over. Landa moved to Vancouver in 1991 and within a couple years founded The Paperboys, an acclaimed Juno-awardwinning-group which has released eight albums and played to sold out crowds around the globe.The Paperboys play Mexican Son Jarocho mixed with a variety of other genres like Irish, country, bluegrass, pop and funk. Landa said he started Locarno to dive deeper into Mexican and Latin music, singing entirely in Spanish with Mexican and Cuban Son, Folk Music, Pop and Funk. Locarno is a fusion band, Landa said, blending contemporary with traditional elements. “It’s danceable, it’s fun and it’s Latin music, without being a straight-up Salsa or Meringue band.” Get $20 tickets to the show at Cranky Dog Music in Parksville, Heaven on Earth in Qualicum Beach and the Errington Store. Children under 12 are $5 and under 5’s are free. For more on Locarno visit www.locarnomusic.com.
obert Anderson was in his thirties working as a management consultant and a teacher when he awoke one morning at three a.m. with an unrelenting urge to paint. “I don’t even know if the word “want” applied, I’m still not sure it does. No, it's an addiction. It’s a compulsion. It’s not: I woke up and wanted to paint, it’s: I woke up and I had to.” He painted until 8 a.m. that morning and ever since that moment he’s had to paint, he said. Anderson’s acrylic paintings are currently up for sale at The Gallery @ Qualicum Art Supply. Anderson remembers wanting to be an artist at age 11, but after his grade 5 teacher told him he was the worst art student she’s ever had for painting a less-than-desirable horse, he put that dream on hold. He was also interested in photography and joined the photography club in Grade 7. Years later, while working as a consultant, he ran into a friend from that club, and ended up buying half his photography studio in Edmonton. His friend helped bring his photography to the next level and after a couple years Anderson sold the studio back to him and moved to Victoria. Up until 2009 he was painting what is generally considered abstract, but he found himself at a loss for subject matter one day, he said. So Anderson decided it was time to paint the beautiful scenery surrounding his drive home to Metchosin from Victoria. In 2010 he travelled to his quiet home studio in northeastern Alberta, and worked in solitude for months at a time on his acrylic landscapes. “I had the chance to go back to Alberta, lock myself in and work with no interactions and no distractions. And I’m solitary person anyway.” Before becoming an artist Anderson said he felt like he was being choked to death. He used to give lectures to classrooms of 200 people, but amongst the crowd of people he felt lonely. When on his farm in Alberta “40 miles from nowhere” and alone all the time, he felt at ease, he said. See IMMERSED, page B3