In Balance by Corey Heuvel

After getting his first guitar at 7, Corey found his father’s rock library under the turntable and studied it carefully. Artists such as Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, and Stevie Ray Vaughan were his early favorites. Guitar quickly became an obvious interest for Corey and he was able to play the music of his heroes with ease. With a few years of practice and guitar lessons from his teacher Gary Gontier, Corey was on to playing live shows. He was playing everywhere he possibly could whether it was at school concerts, summer festivals, jam nights at local bars or even in his friends backyards; Corey was always playing his guitar.

“The guitar was like every toy in the world all wrapped up in one and I never put it down. It became a part of me.”

Songwriting became an instant infatuation and Corey began writing music more than he was learning the music of his idols. In early 2005, he began recording his music for the first time in what would turn out to be a self-titled demo CD. Also at that time, Corey auditioned for a Toronto based reality T.V. show called “Kids Wanna Rock” and out of 60 guitarists, Corey was chosen for the spot. Unfortunately, the show was not picked up by any networks but turned out to be a positive experience for him. That summer, Corey joined the rock band Mercury and played a busy schedule of shows in the Barrie area and got the opportunity to open for Trooper and Lighthouse. After a few months, Corey left Mercury but kept playing shows. He added a new dimension to his music when he decided that he needed to start singing, something that was a fear to him in the past.

“I couldn’t even sing in front of my family I was so terrified of it. I used to tell my mom to stand in another room if she wanted to hear me sing.”

At the start of the New Year, Corey decided to do another demo but this time with vocals. The 3-song blues demo entitled “Let Me In” garnered a great deal of positive feedback and Flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook was quite impressed. Corey was called up on stage by Cook shortly after and it was 9 minutes Corey will never forget. A decision was made to put a band together that summer and Corey played with his trio all over southern Ontario. Corey made a trip to Boston to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music for a weeklong guitar program. He was awarded a full scholarship to attend the 5-week program the following year.

Last fall, Corey began preparing to record his first full-length album with Producer Tom Treumuth. The musicians on the album would include Honeymoon Suite bassist Stan Mizcek, Canadian Idol drummer Craig Lapsley and keyboardist Jesse O’Brien. The album was recorded over the winter and was finally finished in early 2007, entitled “In Balance”. On the record will be 10 songs, 7 of which were written by Corey and in a wide variety of musical tastes. The album will be available this summer and Corey hopes to get it through as many ears as possible.

“It has been a great experience, but I’m glad it’s finally finished. I really hope people dig this record and can find a place for it in their collections.”

Corey will be spending this summer in Boston studying at Berklee College of Music and hopes to expand his musicianship even further. He is taking everything as it comes and is letting his music evolve into something new all the time. Corey’s musical endeavors will undoubtedly take him in many directions, but one thing is for sure, a new artist is working hard to make his mark in the world of music.

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