BARRHEAD – A Barrhead-area musician hopes to use his experiences and mental health struggle to brighten the lives of those who listen.
Justin Wiesinger said the last two years dealing with the pandemic have been difficult on everyone, and he hopes that in some small way, it will ease the mind of those who listen to the songs of his latest album, Wonderlove.
Wiesinger will debut the album for the first time in its entirety at a June 28 concert hosted at Barrhead's Roxy Theatre. The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $16 and can be purchased in advance at www.zez.am/justinwiesinger.
"I think (the album) is really timely for people to be able to listen to these songs," he said. "They are all cheesy, fun, romantic. It is a soundtrack for people who have had a couple of tough years and need a break and a breath of fresh air."
Wiesinger, who grew up in St. Albert, said music has always been a part of his life, noting that his mother enrolled him in music lessons starting with piano starting when he was two years old.
“I played in church bands throughout junior high and high school. After high school, I started a pop/punk band (Farewell Apollo)," he said.
And although Wiesinger said the band did have some success, playing 30 to 40 shows in about a year-and-a-half, the band disbanded with members left to pursue other careers.
Wiesinger did the same himself, taking time off to pursue his education, receiving his design studies certification in graphic design from MacEwan University and a diploma from NAIT in digital cinema, cinematography and video production.
While he was pursuing his education, Wiesinger did not forgo his music aspirations, and still worked on his solo music efforts.
However, he said he put his solo music career aside when he met Paul Woida.
"I thought I should pause what I was doing and help (Woida) do some video stuff," Wiesinger said.
Woida is a contemporary Christian performer and songwriter but at the time, Wiesinger noted he was doing a lot of covers and posting them on Youtube.
"I figured if I could help him along with his journey, it would come back to me and help move me along," he said.
Which it did, but not in the way Wiesinger first expected. He noted that other Alberta-based musicians saw the work he was doing for Woida and started approaching him to help them with their video work. In short order, because of the volume of requests he was receiving, Wiesinger decided to start his own video production company.
A few years later, Wiesinger also became the media director for New Hope Church in Edmonton.
Wiesinger also credits music for helping him through a particularly tough period in his life.
In his early 20s, for about three or four years, Wiesinger had some mental health struggles to the point where it was a major contributing factor to a motor vehicle accident where he was seriously injured. He added that over about three or four years, he was hospitalized on multiple occasions due to his mental health struggles.
"Music, through songwriting, was a way I was able to journal out my thoughts and feelings," Wiesinger said.
He also used his time away from his musical aspirations to write a novel, The Childlike Heist, in which he chronicles his younger journey navigating life in a "crazy messed up adult world".
But Wiesinger decided to give his solo musical career another go about two years ago.
"COVID caused me to re-evaluate what I was doing,” he said. “I was succeeding at things that did not matter to me.”
Wiesinger added that to mentally recharge from his video work, which during the pandemic was increasingly in demand, he started jamming with his friend Josh Sahunta, another Edmonton-based musician and music producer.
"My writing started coming back, and I was getting a lot of inspiration," he said. "I knew I just had to get back into the studio and start recording them."
Wiesinger said that although he is mainly a solo artist, during the making of Wonderlove, he collaborated with other artists, including Jessa Sky and Bethany Anne, as well as his wife Chelsey who will also be performing with him at the Barrhead concert.
As for what people can expect to hear at the June 28 concert, Wiesinger described his music as pop/rock.
"It has that throw-back 80s kind of feel to it but has that modern pop kind of sound," he said. "It is a wholesome pop show that parents don't have to worry about taking their kids to."
It is also the first time people will get an opportunity to hear Wonderlove, in its entirety. Wiesinger noted that he has released some of the music on online streaming services, such as Spotify.
Interwoven among the songs from the album will be songs from Wiesinger's previous work, including some songs we penned while he was the music director at Camp Nakamun along with some stories about his mental health journey.
He noted that he is also working on a mental health-themed album called Stuck in Your Head.
Currently, he has about four singles ready for the future album.
"I want the songs to get stuck in their head, but I want people who have issues with harmful thoughts and bad self-talk, some hope and peace."
