Band brings party to the kitchen
In Tyler Humber’s case, music is definitely a family affair.
Humber is a graduate of the Applied Music program at College of the North Atlantic (CNA). He, his sister, Terri Lynn Hickey, and her husband, Justin, currently make up the band Kitchinparti.
“We perform traditional Newfoundland music,” said Humber. “Our goal is to breathe new life into our section of the music industry by writing and performing our own songs, while also giving fresh takes on the songs of old.”
Currently some of his favourite songs to play are Tie Me Down – Dermot O’Rielly, 45 Years – Stan Rogers and Barney Hare – Ryan’s Fancy.
The three-piece band has been racking up views on social media.
“We’ve garnered a following of over 2,700 on social media while collecting over 180,000 streams across all platforms.”
Playing together as band for the past three years, Humber says the pandemic changed the way they brought their music to listeners.
“We decided to officially debut as a band on the St. Patrick’s Day before COVID-19 hit, played about one gig and then the whole world got shut down! This led to us doing a weekly livestream series on Facebook which ended up being a silver lining on an otherwise terrible situation. It helped us to hone our craft in the comfort of our parents’ living room while simultaneously gaining a fan base! Hundreds of people would tune in every week and eventually we performed shows with upwards of 32,000 views on them.”
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Humber says music is in his blood.
“My whole life has been filled with traditional music. Weddings, birthdays, and even funerals always end with us sat around telling stories and singing songs. My family formed a band called The Martin Family and released two albums before I even started playing music.”
His passion for music was reignited a few years ago.
“About four years ago at a Christmas party, I sang my first song in front of people (Folsom Prison Blues) while my dad played guitar for me and I was on a high for about a week,” he said. “That’s when I decided that I wanted to learn instruments and get in on all the fun.”
Originally from Pouch Cove, Humber says attending CNA was a great decision.
“I had a blast at CNA doing the music program. I made friendships that I feel will last a lifetime with my classmates and teachers, all while learning vital information about the music business. I look back on my time in CNA very fondly and I’m proud to be a graduate.”
For more information about Applied Music or other CNA programs, visit: www.cna.nl.ca.
