Human interest Local Where are they now? Ian Newbery, rock musician
Where are they now? Ian Newbery, rock musician
| Human interest |
Editor's note: This is the second installment in our “Where are they now?' series. If you know someone that either lives in the 100 Mile area or used to live here and is doing or has done something really cool, please contact Bev Boyle at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 250 395-8870.
By Bev Boyle
Ian Newbery is the keyboardist/guitarist/songwriter in a Vancouver-based melodic rock group called Danny Echo. Ian was born and raised in 100 Mile House. He played minor hockey until he was in his mid-teens and graduated from Peter Skene Ogden in 1993. After high school, he worked at Ainsworth Sawmill for a few years, got married, and then he and his wife Melissa moved to Vancouver in order to go to university.
Ian says, “My mom, Esther Newbery, lives in 100 Mile, and my dad also lives in the area. Also, my grandfather and a bunch of my aunts/uncles/cousins live in 100 Mile too. Not only that, but my mother and father-in-law, Jim and Laura Matsuda, live at Lone Butte. I still have lots of friends and family living in 100 Mile, and visit often.”
Ian got into music very early on. His grandma gave him piano lessons and later on he started playing guitar as well. Ian started writing songs when he was about 13, with his cousin Mark, who plays lead guitar in Danny Echo. Even though Mark lived in Vancouver, they did a lot of home recordings together as teenagers. Then, Mark founded a group called the Ryecatchers with Danny (who is now the lead singer in Danny Echo). Ian co-wrote with Mark and Danny for the Ryecatchers until the band split up, and then he and Danny and Mark decided to carry on and work on a new project, named, Danny Echo.
(Pictured from left to right are Mark, Ian, and Danny at a recent live show. Mike McHolm Photo)
Ian says, “We've been playing shows in and around the Lower Mainland for about three years (100 Mile is on our radar too!), and have recently released our first full-length CD (cleverly titled 'Danny Echo'). Since it's release, we've been fortunate enough to accomplish some cool things. We've had some regular airplay in on the CBC, 100.5 The Peak (Vancouver), as well as in Bellingham, Nanaimo, etc. A few months ago, CBC Radio 3 selected our song Tomorrow Today as 'Track of The Day.' We've also had one of our songs placed in MTV's Real World Road Rules Challenge show, and had a bunch of great reviews in publications such as The Vancouver Province and The Georgia Straight. In July, the Vancouver Sun wrote a full page article on the band as well. The album is available on iTunes, and is selling well. Here's the link to our website: . "
Their music is reminiscent of the great British Pop sound and the band has just finished recording a new 'radio version' of Tomorrow Today with producer Jeff Dawson (Daniel Powter, Kelly Rowland, The Dudes), as well as legendary mixer Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Franz Ferdinand). They plan on releasing it as a single later this Fall, and will promote it heavily to radio at that time.
Want to help out a local boy? The band has another big thing on the go. It is the Peak Performance Project, a seven-year, $5.29 million contest open to all musicians in British Columbia. The project was created by 100.5 The PEAK and Music BC to develop BC-based emerging artists. Danny Echo has the honour of being selected as one of the Top 20 finalists. The winner receives $150,000 to go towards their music career, and 2nd and 3rd place win $75,000 and $50,000 respectively. Part of the criteria that determines the winner is an online vote. Ian explains, “We're trying to get as many of our friends, family, and fans to vote as possible. Here the link to the online vote:
Reviews have been great for the band and to give you an idea of how good this group is, read the following:
“Yet another local (Vancouver) band that seems to have appeared out of nowhere, Danny Echo has a sense of drama that heightens a well-sung and played record. It also defies labels and eras, owing a little something to the various influences from the 1970s onward, yet defiantly apart. Danny Echo might be an example of the band described by what it isn't. Not punk, post-wave, emo, Britpop etc., but with appealing vocals and instrumentation that develops.”
Tom Harrison (The Vancouver Province) “ CD of the Week”
“Danny Echo sounds experienced, appealing, and yet creative and fresh. I am not fibbing when I tell you that this band does not sound new or developing. Danny Echo is a rising star, and Canada will be very proud when they hit the big time. “
Lauren Eldridge (A ‘n E Vibe Magazine)
“The band kicks things off with some U2 referencing on album opener Out Of Style, with soft atmospherics that give way to unabashed gleeful riffing over subtle, soaring sweeping synthesizers. Killing Me is an inspired, thoroughly enjoyable track with its lifted choruses and supremely headbangable riffs, topped off with a wildly sexy snarl. It’s a combination of John Lennon and Pete Townsend updated for the 21st century, and it works.” “It’s a testimony to a band’s pop sensibilities when one’s first instinct upon finishing a record is to replay it. It’s an even bigger testimony to their talent when they manage to produce an album that pays off successfully both as a collection of songs and as a whole. In a day and age when most artists are paying more attention to the digital single instead, Danny Echo must be commended for producing a record as consistent and as wholly enjoyable as this one. Wonderfully addictive and thoroughly enjoyable, this is all that powerpop rock n’ roll is meant to be. Highly recommended.”
Samuel C. Wee (The Power of Pop)
“If there is any hope for someone to stand up and save rock and roll in its truest and purist form, Danny Echo is a strong contender to lead that campaign. If there is any justice in the musical world, 2009 will be the year that the music of Danny Echo bounces back for everyone to hear and enjoy.”
Rock and Roll Report
“…Every time I tried to define this record during the first listen, the next song defied my expectations and I had to immediately seek another way to describe it. Let’s try this – a kick ass band that, like liquid, takes the form of whatever position it finds itself in. The beauty of music, and I would argue - the nature of it, is that it can mean many different things to many different people. I dare you to listen to Danny Echo and not find something you love hiding between these 10 songs.”
Jason Petros (Chicago’s Independent Music Review)
“The mid-’90s nod to flower-power pop rock for which [Redd Kross] was most revered is echoed on tracks like the space-age sock-hop-ballad opener, “Out of Style”, as well as “Killing Me”, with its punctuated keyboard swells and Danny’s soaring falsetto. And then here’s “Close to Home”, which feels like an acid-laced tip of the hat to Redd Kross’s Third Eye LP.”
Bryce Dunn (The Georgia Straight)
“Marinated in British rock flavour, the kick-off track, ‘Out Of Style’ cooks with crashing guitars amidst swirling ambient noise making it an easy choice for a radio single. It’s smart guitar rock and it immediately sets the tone of the album. It swoops right into the poppy hook of ‘Killing Me’ which borrows its “Hoo! Hoo!” outro from The Rolling Stones’ ‘Sympathy For The Devil’. Things slow down just a notch with the mid-tempo anthem, ‘Tomorrow Today’ which…chimes brightly with a sugary- sweet electric 12-string guitar riff and an epic singalong chorus. The dark, moody, rhythmic bliss of ‘Given Up Giving Up’ may very well be the highlight of the album. It echoes The Stone Roses at their peak sounding vaguely reminiscent of ‘I Wanna Be Adored’.”
Patrick Jacobson (BC Musician Magazine)
“Danny Echo is a rocking act from Vancouver with a big sound and big hooks. They have some Oasis swagger and some Cheap Trick bravado that makes for a promising sound. Standout tracks include the Noel Gallagher-like ballad "Tomorrow Today", opener "Out of Style"…and the Brendan Bensonesque "Help Yourself.”
Absolute PowerPop
"Out Of Style" and "Killing Me" are strong and slick productions that would be well suited for a big arena. Danny delivers the rock and roll goods with loud guitars, keyboards and soaring falsetto. Even better is the anthemic chorus on "Tomorrow Today" which approaches Oasis for delivery and tone.”
Aaron Kupferberg (Powerpopaholic)
“If there was any justice, in a world safe for classic pop music (you know, with silly, inconsequential things like melody and harmony and actual instruments), Danny Echo would already be making a nice little footprint in the world as a pop band from Vancouver that “made good.”
- The Ripple Effect
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