Lachlan Neville: ‘I really do feel privileged’
October 30, 2023, 2:28 pm
Kevin Weedmark
Most 18 year olds graduate high school and immediately head off to college, university or trade school, or get a 9-5 job.
Rocanville’s Lachlan Neville, one of the performers who will entertain at the Shrine Fundraiser November 10, is taking a different route. He has been touring around Western Canada performing in front of crowds and sharing his talent.
“I was up in Saskatoon this weekend and I played Amigos—I did a little songwriters circle there at Amigos Cantina,” he said Wednesday.
“Then last night I played the Artesian in Regina and I have three more shows with Blake Berglund coming up. It’s going to be some smaller towns in southwest Saskatchewan.”
What’s it like, hitting the road as a young singer-songwriter?
“There’s not a lot of money but you have to just keep going and don’t get stressed or bogged down in whatever comes up. Am I making a living at it? If by making a living, you mean not being miserable and doing what I want to do, then yeah, I guess that’s pretty much what I’m doing.”
He said it feels great to be doing what he loves.
“It’s kind of unreal. It’s honestly kind of like a dream, I’m not even kidding. It’s this, ‘Is this even happening?’ kind of energy right now, a little bit. Also you kind of just learn as you go and it’s a job and you have to treat it as a craft. It’s not just monkeying around, it’s a learning experience and I’m sure that it always will be that.
“The most rewarding aspect of it, for me anyway, is just growing, learning and just doing new stuff.”
Writing new music
He said he still finds time to write new music while on the road.
“I find that I go through spurts where I’m writing consistently and then go a couple of weeks without writing, but I’m writing pretty consistently, trying to figure out clever ways to turn a phrase.”
“I write because it’s like I have to, basically,” he said. “Like if I don’t, then I’m going to go insane. That’s what it feels like.
“I started writing when I discovered that I had to. My dream is to make movies and I always wanted to go to film school. Music is something that, obviously, is strong in our area. In Moosomin and Rocanville we have an amazing musical community and it was always something that I took for granted. But the more that I had to face the actual challenges of life, it was like this is something that I can feasibly do and that I’m passionate about.
“In our area there’s a pre-established scene and just a general acceptance towards art and music. There’s a general interest in it.”
Neville said he was surrounded by music growing up.
“Absolutely. Oh yeah, I grew up listening to my dad play the guitar and my mom singing along to Joni Mitchell records and stuff. It wasn’t long before I was like, ‘I want to try that.’ I could have gone and played hockey but my parents weren’t too keen on that so they gave me a guitar instead.”
Neville said he enjoys both writing and performing.
“I like both of those things but it’s just a personally fulfilling and rewarding process. I just want to keep on writing more stuff basically, that’s all it comes down to.”
Inspired by many
He said he has a lot of songwriters and musicians he looks up to.
“Dylan is kind of the reason I’m doing this,” he said. “When I first heard Bob Dylan, everything that music is, kind of clicked with me. I also take inspiration from Jason Isbell, The Turnpike Troubadours and even Kendrik Lamar. There’s a lot of music that inspires me. I’m always trying to challenge myself and right now I’m trying to fool myself into thinking that if I get jazz music I’ll have to listen to Charles Mingus and stuff like that and start getting into that. It’s so foreign to what I know, but the more you just keep with it, the more you kind of get into it. It opens up a third eye. I’m constantly engaging with music and getting to know new music through different genres and different artists and all of that is very important to me.”
Neville considers himself a singer-songwriter.
“I am a singer-songwriter. There’s roots in country, there’s roots in blues. It’s what you’d call Americana but I don’t really like that term because it’s a little too broad for my taste, but I just write songs and I sing them. Some of them go like that and some of them go like this.”
Neville says he didn’t always know he would be on the path he is on now, but he knew he would be creating art in some way.
“I always knew that I wanted to make art and that I wanted to say something, I just always knew that the reason I’m walking around is just to create things, basically. It sounds kind of cheesy when you say it like that but that’s genuinely how I feel.”
Shriner Fundraiser on November 10
He says he is looking forward to the Shriners’ fundraiser in Moosomin November 10.
“It’s another great opportunity and I’m really excited,” he said.
“It’s going to be a pretty big crowd I’m suspecting and I’m super excited to share my songs. I’ve got a lot of songs that pertain to Saskatchewan and the experiences of living and growing up in rural Saskatchewan and I think people will get something out of them. I’m super excited. It’s always great to play alongside JJ and Anthony, who’s been a great mentor for me. It will be a pleasure.”
Neville says he feels privileged to be doing what he loves.
“I’m very lucky,” he says. My mom and dad are just crazy about me pursuing my art and doing music and they are here to support me. A lot of people really don’t have that—I’m gloating right now but I really do feel privileged.”
