Teach, write, record in the region

Teach, write, record in the region
Scott Daniels

Aaron Troyer utilized local musicians and facilities in producing his new album of music.

                        

Aaron Troyer has been immersed in music for much of his life and has now recorded an album of his own music, which is available via streaming services. In the process of creating the recording, Troyer has utilized talent and facilities exclusively found in Tuscarawas County. The album is available under the artist name, “The Blue Winter.”

“I pretty much grew up around music,” Troyer said at the recording studio he created at Off the Wall Music in downtown New Philadelphia. “My father owns Hummingbird Music in Sugarcreek, and I took lessons there and eventually worked there, teaching music myself.”

Troyer took the well-trod path of forming a rock band during high school and college. “About the time my wife and I found out we were going to have a child, it was time to stop doing tours. It’s just too taxing, and we didn’t want to be separated that much as a family.”

Two years ago, after the birth of a son, Troyer began working with other musicians to put together some music they could record.

“The genre is indie, folk rock I would say,” Troyer said. “Over the past five years, I have been getting more into music production and recording. People were coming to our house and doing recording, but it was cramped and there were safety concerns about having semi-strangers in the house.”

About that time, Off the Wall Music was getting started, offering instruments and music lessons.

“Many of the people from Hummingbird Music were also here, and I lived in New Philadelphia only a few blocks away. It was an easy transition to come to work at OTW as a music teacher, which is what I’m doing now,” Troyer said.

Troyer plays guitar, drums, piano and bass. “But my primary instrument is guitar,” he said.

Space at the back of Off the Wall Music stood unused, and Troyer ended up renting it, moving all his recording equipment there.

“And I got it out of the basement of my house,” Troyer said. “Probably the most fun in putting the album together was recording two tracks with my dad. Everything you hear in the songs we did is real. If you hear a drum, there was a drummer recording it. We didn’t use anything already produced or digital. It’s written here, recorded using people from here, using a recording facility here, and it’s mixed here. I’m very excited about it. I’m not the greatest musician in the world by any means, but I think what we did sounds very professional.”

While Troyer hopes the album will see plenty of downloads and people will enjoy the music, he is realistic about returns on his investment in time and equipment. “When digitally downloaded music began, it was Apple’s iTunes. You would buy a recording, and the musicians would get paid that amount right away. Now they’re all subscription services, and musicians get very, very little of that money.”

The chance may possibly come for area music lovers to hear the music of “The Blue Winter” live.

“We would love to do a performance for local people,” Troyer said. “But it’s very difficult. The musicians I worked with have young kids and difficult schedules. There’s just not enough time to get together to practice enough to bring it to the level I would want it to be. But we may be able to do that. If I do something, I want it to be pristine and as perfect as we can make it.”

The album is available now via any of the streaming music services including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and YouTube. Follow The Blue Winter on Facebook.


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