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Research project and music collide in new 'Huron Out' music video

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A graduate research project to find out what it’s like to grow up as a musician in Huron County, Ont. has morphed into a song, documentary and music video.

“I really learned about how the musicians in Huron County value each other, and the shared respect that all these guys coming together to collaborate have for each other,” says Josh Geddis, a Masters student in Community Music, as well as a music teacher at St. Anne’s Secondary School.

It was Geddis’ research project to study growing up “musical” in Huron County, that brought him together with three musicians who did just that, Ivan Rivers, Steve Dawe and Joshua Leblanc-Demers.

“All my friends growing up were into sports, especially hockey,” says Clinton-native Steve Dawe. “So if I’d go for a sleepover or whatever, I’d get dragged to a hockey rink, which I didn’t care about even a little. So once I found my musician friends, everything kind of opened up."

For Leblanc-Demers, who is studying to become a jazz drummer in Montreal, his choice of music style did present some obstacles.

“For me, it was a bit of a struggle, because of my choice of musical genre,” he says.

For Rivers, who grew up in Huron County but now writes and records music in Guelph, growing up in “the county” didn’t dissuade him from following his dream.

“I never found it limiting. Just because you are sort of geographically isolated, there were still artists out there, still a community looking to express themselves and create. I found that inspiring,” he says.

Geddis’ days of interviews, research and jamming ultimately turned into a documentary, music video and song, 'From Huron Out,' which has been viewed nearly 2,000 times since its release just three days ago.

“We reference passing on a gravel road, coffee houses and circling the square. Only people from Huron County will know what that means,” says Rivers.

“I’m happily surprised with the song and video," Geddis adds. "We got a really cool product that embodies a shared experience of coming up in music in Huron County."

And for Geddis, he also got a better sense of what he can teach his St. Anne’s Secondary music students this spring.

“We teach all the big names, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, which are important and you need to learn that, but this was great for me, because I can now teach my students about the local big names in music,” he says.

You can take a look and listen to 'From Huron Out' on YouTube.

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