BY MIKE VIELMA
Music is a big part of most people’s lives and sometimes it can help shape us. It helps us learn and opens our minds.
A post-secondary school is a perfect spot for music lovers to get their local music fix.
A lot of universities have pubs or lounges on campus where local musicians can showcase their talent.
Michael Hanson, a second-year police foundations student at Conestoga, said, “Local performances would be very entertaining, especially on breaks. You would get to sit down, unwind and relax with your classmates.”
Dylan Creed, a first-year music major at the University of Guelph, has a weekly unpaid gig at The Bullring on the Guelph campus.
He plays there every Monday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. in between his classes.
Creed said, “Every time I went in there (The Bullring) they typically had good music being played, so I wanted to be a part of that.
“When I walk into lectures of 600 people I have like two or three people each time say that they saw me at The Bullring and that I was terrific.”
Creed is a unique musician. He plays many different genres very well and incorporates a variety of instruments. He plays the bass, drums, harmonica, piano and ukulele and he sings. However, he spends most of his time practising the acoustic guitar, which he is able to play in a very rare way.
“Some songs I play I use both my hands, so I can’t hold the guitar,” Creed said.
This is a technique where the guitarist plays the chords with one hand and the melody with the other, so two parts are played at the same time.
When Creed creates music, it is usually folk. He appreciates folk for a lot of different reasons.
“I like playing folk because it’s technical and it sounds really good. It’s all about the emotion – it’s either really up or really low – it’s mellow, but it’s still happy,” said Creed, who uses that formula when he creates his own original music.
Hanson said he has a lot of interest in a variety of genres, as long as it keeps his foot tapping.
“I would want to hear something creative and fresh. Not the same old modern day mainstream crap,” Hanson said.
Creed, who has written and produced two Extended Plays, loves when he gets to perform in front of an audience.
“The feeling when you actually play a show is just so unreal. It’s just a different feeling,” he said.
Creed also plays guitar in common areas and lounges throughout his residence. He often plays popular song requests that passing students ask him to play.
He loves the comments he receives. “It’s really nice to get positive feedback and to actually know people like my music,” he said.
Hanson said if he heard good things about the performers, it would just make him want to go and see the performance even more.
Creed is enrolled in an online music history course, a musicianship course, psychology, anthropology and French, which is his minor.
“I pretty much am playing music all the time. Like when I’m not in class, I’m playing the guitar,” he said.
Creed is available to follow on twitter, @dylantcreed and he also has a Youtube page, www.youtube.com/dylantcreed.
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