“Listen to me, I’ve a story to tell
Not sure if it leads into heaven or hell
All that I know is the story has to be told”
“Intro”
25 July 2005
From the start of these simple lyrics, a sweeping tale merged over time. The actual name of the project was still a couple of years in the future but these lyrics hit home with me in a very real way.
Over the next few years, the “tale” emerged and is expanding on a yearly basis. The characters are developing and the music has found its voice. Initially I had envisioned this band as a melodic Black Metal band but over time it became obvious that I had returned to my Hard Rock roots with this project.
LATHANZIA is still a solo project and will remain that way for a while yet. Currently I am reaching out to people to transition LATHANZIA to a performing project as well as a recording project. The development started in Jan 2020 but has been out on hold due to COVID-19.
Music has always been a major part of my life. I spent my teenage years in an area with a rich musical heritage, the Miramichi area in New Brunswick, Canada. The high school years in the 1970’s saw the writing and recording of many songs, two full length albums worth. While I have long ago lost the original cassettes they were recorded on, I still have the lyric sheets and notes.
I stopped playing at 23 as the Muse fell silent. Fast forward to age 37 and a couple of chance events led me back to my Music. In addition to playing guitar again, I studied music, took voice lessons, and started playing keys. Needless to say, as technology had changed a lot in 14 years, I also started recording some of the material being written.
The writing flowed naturally and has expanded out, leading to a large number of songs in the proverbial vault. A few years ago I started the project that became LATHANZIA to record them.
The first “Book” in this tale is entitled “Rock, Paper, Tree” and was released in June 2020. An EP was released early 2017. One of the songs on the EP will be the lead track from “Rock, Paper, Tree”, called “Gypsy Dream”.
Work has commenced on the second “Book” in the trilogy called “Lost and Found”. It is a deep dive into the main character from “Rock, Paper, Tree”, Jack and sets the stage for the eponymous third CD.
A bit of a teaser; Lathanzia is one of the central characters in the third “Book” in the series. The tale goes on.
“A story to tell ...”