ATHABASCA - A staple of Athabasca’s music scene is hoping his newest album and it’s Feb. 10 release concert, will help a cause near and dear to many in the community — rescue animals.
Richard Nolan’s solo album Odyssey released Jan. 23, with all proceeds from CD sales, streams and a Feb. 10 concert at Neighbours Pub all going towards the Second Chance Animal Rescue Society (SCARS), who operate a small shelter in Athabasca County.
“I’m one of the few volunteers out there, I’ve got to know all the dogs out there, I love all the dogs out there. I’ve dedicated a lot of time to it, and I know they’re hurting,” said Nolan during a Jan. 17 interview. “They need support, and most of all awareness. Part of this is to get some information out there and let people know how they can help.”
Nolan, a born and raised Athabascan, has been involved in several cover bands over his 20-year-plus music career.
“I grew up religiously watching the Metallica Live videos, which made me want to pick up an instrument and start a band,” said Nolan. An early foray into bass guitar quickly grew boring, and Nolan settled into the guitar and later drums, and his love for metal music never left.
Odyssey pays homage to Nolan’s metal roots; the project, which was created solely in Athabasca, features Nolan on the guitar, bass guitar, and drums. Notably lacking from the album are vocals, which Nolan thinks can often turn people away from metal music.
“I would describe Odyssey as an epic instrumental roller-coaster,” said Nolan with a grin. “It’s in a metal theme, but there’s no singing. To me that’s where people get turned off, they picture this heavy screaming type of vocals. I didn’t want to ruin it with my mediocre at best vocals.”
Nolan and his wife Laine have always been an animal-loving family — Nolan said they had always had animals around, but when Lane started working at SCARS in early 2023, it kicked the enthusiasm into a different gear.
“I started helping out and realizing first-hand how desperate the situation was,” said Nolan. “They’re great animals, they’re so well behaved. They’re taken care of well out there, but they need to find homes. Some of them are there permanently, but we really need more people fostering and adopting.”
Nolan will be joined for the Feb. 10 release concert by Ben Tredger, a former bandmate and local musician from the Plamondon area — Tredger will be returning to his old role as a vocalist after winning a concert to sing with Nickelback in 2023.
“He used to be our frontman in Delirium before he started to focus on his own band, and he’s been itching to start singing again some more,” said Nolan. “People might not want to just hear an hour of instrumental music and vocals, so we’ll make it a little more of a show.”
Odyssey can be purchased at A Little Bit of Everything and Blue Lagoon Computers, both in Athabasca. The local element was an important one for Nolan, who kept the entire production process local.
“Everything was done locally, Justin Nicholson from Delirium mixed and produced the whole album, a local buddy did the artwork, Blue Lagoon printed the CDs and Fast Signs printed the labels,” said Nolan. “Everything about this is completely local, it’s keeping everything here in Athabasca instead of branching it out.”
Proceeds from CD sales until the end of March will also be donated to SCARS.
