Stepping into the limelight
TORONTO – Cree songwriter and musician Peter Sackaney recently launched his first all-original project which has been a lifetime in the making. The eight-song CD takes the listener into Sackaney’s world of love, hope, pain and struggle through a series of ballads that you can feel as well as hear.
The album titled, Hiding Behind The Sun, was recorded in Nashville at Grey House Studio and features back-up musicians from the Loretta Lynn band.
“I have been playing music and writing songs for more than 20 years and my dream was always to record them. My partner Catherine Burzynski and my children kept encouraging me to live my dream and after doing some research I decided on recording in Nashville,” said Sackaney.
For much of his life he lived and worked in Timmins and Kapuskasing before accepting a counselling position in Toronto. It took a few years before Sackaney could devote the time and put together the financing to head to Nashville. During that time Wendy Mazur of Grey House Studio kept in touch with him and encouraged him to move ahead with his project.
“Thanks to Catherine and Wendy, I finally decided to head down to Nashville to record the CD and I am already thinking about my next project. I was delighted with the professionalism of engineers Billy Herzig and Mike Verbic at Grey House. Mike Lusk on bass, Eric Karbele on drums, Bobby Vogel on acoustic guitar and Billy Herzig on electric guitar and keyboards made everything so easy for me,” said Sackaney.
The title track, “Hiding Behind The Sun”, comes from Sackaney’s experiences in dealing with his inner demons and finding the strength to move ahead with his dreams. Many of the songs have to do with his life on the road to sobriety and his years of counselling in drug and alcohol abuse.
“People have told me I sound a bit like Bob Dylan or Neil Young and I take that as such a compliment but I really hope to find my own niche as a singer-songwriter and to be appreciated and understood for who I am as an artist,” said Sackaney.
The first track on the CD, “Indian Love Song”, was written about a wonderful jingle dancer Sackaney was awestruck by at a pow wow. “After All This Time” is a song that slips into the realm of dealing with personal hardship and expressed in the form of alluring addiction. “Moments Dreams Will Steal” is a soft and sensitive love song that pays homage to the beauty and magic of a woman. “Lost In Why” is a song of the fear of love lost and the wonder of why. “Yonge And Bloor” deals with Sackaney’s walk in life in the big city as an anonymous wanderer. “I Would Find Every Reason” is a song of change and movement with that familiar Greyhound bus spiriting the searcher on his way. “Red Blues” is all about Sackaney’s roots and a legacy of carrying on the family love of music from one generation to the next.
As a true balladeer, Sackaney writes songs that tell a story, are full of feeling and offer a message of hope. In a time where music is being realized as a healing medicine it makes good sense that a traditional Aboriginal artist like Sackaney would come into his own.
Recently he hosted a CD launch at the University of Toronto and sales of his project are doing well. He is in the process of locating distribution for “Hiding Behind The Sun” and planning for airtime with radio stations.
“I have so many people that have helped me on my way and I am thankful to them all and they know very well who they are,” said Sackaney.
To purchase a CD or arrange for a performance you can contact Sackaney at afterallthistime@live.ca