The hit song ‘Two Heads’ by Thunder Bay’s Coleman Hell always manages to catch my attention with it’s opening line, ‘There must be something in the water’. It could be a statement about our city’s ability to deliver more than our fair share of musical success stories, from Paul Shaffer to Bobby Curtola.
Now two of our own are poised to break into the North American music scene.
The Lockyer Boys, Will 17 and Charlie 18 years of age have been working for the last couple of years between Thunder Bay and Vancouver with a group of music industry professionals to help produce their upcoming debut album.
Their first single ‘Surfing in L.A.’ was a song the boys wrote as a metaphor to their postponed dreams, when their recording trip to Los Angeles was cancelled due to Covid just days prior to departure.
Their producers and managers thought the timing for this song couldn’t be better than right now, and as a result it was released a few weeks ago.
The Boys have been working on original music with several renowned songwriters including Shawn Hook, Scott Helman and Daniel Powter, whom you may recall had the top selling hit song ‘Bad Day’ a few years ago.
When asked what they’ve learned so far, Will responded, “We’re just kids, but early on we realized that everywhere we went, we had to be sponges for new knowledge. Meet as many people as possible and learn as much as we can from each person”.
Charlie credits family and music teachers for their influences. “Countless campfire singalongs and live shows were what got us interested in music. It didn’t take long for us to enroll in piano lessons with Lyn Walter and vocal lessons with Denise Krawczuk. Lyn taught us music by ear, and had us listening to the songs we wanted to play before we played them, and Denise taught us how to form our own harmonies and sing together. They gave us the confidence to perform on stage and entertain any crowd”.
The Lockyer Boys father is former championship ski jumper John Lockyer, and he says he couldn’t be more proud of Will and Charlie’s dedication and hard work.
That hard work has helped them gain the attention of some of Canada’s biggest talent agents David Meszaros, Jean Hannon and Sam Feldman who are now helping to push their career forward, not just in Canada but internationally as well. The Meszaro/Feldman Talent Agency notably guides the careers of many top music talents including James Taylor, Sarah McLaughlin, Colin James and Elvis Costello. If the Lockyer Boys new single proves to be a breakout hit, it could prove once again that in Thunder Bay there really must be something in the water.
The Lockyer Boys first single ‘Surfiing in L.A.’ is available wherever you buy or stream music. The official video is available on YouTube or at www.lockyerboys.com
