Keith Mullins

Keith Mullins has played music all of his life. His roots are in Cape Breton Island, where a family and culture of music fostered his passion and ability. At the age of 14, Keith started entertaining bar crowds with fellow band-mate, Steven MacDougall (now from Slow-coaster).  Having since completed a music degree and self-directed studies in Cuba and Africa, Keith has turned his passion into his   profession. He has toured the world performing with numerous bands of fame, such as: Lennie Gallant, Bruce Guthro, Jimmy Rankin, Gordie Sampson, Dave Carroll (from the Youtube viral video "United Breaks Guitars"), Matt Andersen, Jill Barber, Jennifer Roland, Havanafax,  John Campbelljohn, Caledonia, Jimmy Swift, Garrett/Dutch Mason,  Melissa McLelland, Sarah Slean, Paula Cole, Divine Brown, and many more.

Keith has also developed and facilitated some highly successful workshops. Starting with his drumming workshops 8 years ago, this venture has blossomed into a salsa workshop with an 8 piece latin band  partly from Cuba with salsa dancing, and a songwriting workshop with  Keith and Steve Bowers.  He has delivered these workshop to groups of all ages; across Canadian schools, at special events, and at festivals.

In April 2010, while performing at Dollywood TN with a Peruvian Cajon troupe and a Trinidad Steel Drum group, Keith made a trip to Nashville to record a record of his written songs with the assistance of Grammy-award winner Gordie Sampson.  Keith's record entitled "Localmotive  Farm" is a collection of writings created through his life on a back   road farm near Stewiacke NS.  Localmotive Farm is a community upported agriculture (CSA) project run by Keith and his wife Jody.

Described as folk soul, the record is as varied as the different styles of music in which Keith plays and the album is flavoured by the incredible range of talented musicians that contributed to the recordings.  Back up vocals are performed by Amy Sampson and Dutch Robinson (Ohio players). The track "Si es Loco" is Cuban-style, with the gifted guitar playing of Jorge Chicoy (Dizzie Gillespie, Buena  Vista Social Club). Jorge is known as "The Jewel of Cuba,"  as coined by Fidel Castro himself.The record also includes hang drummer David Charrier (France), beat-boxer Jay Andrews, fiddler Anna Ludlow, Gordie Sampson, and Bruce Dixon. The main backing band is Caledonia from Halifax. Keith sings and has written all of the songs along with a  couple of co-writes, one with songwriter Steven Bowers (Trouble) and one with Halifax artist DJ DeCoste (Is the City). He dabbles with bass and guitar on the record as well as playing all of the drums and percussion.

For Keith's second record, March 2011, Keith Mullins and Thom Swift visited ten schools in ten days in Northern Alberta. Each morning they worked with a small group of students to create a song from scratch.  The songs explore themes of love, family, strength, community and heritage. The student’s voices were recorded, followed by the 
songwriters' voices and instruments. Every song was written,  performed, and recorded in one day.  This is the Wood Buffalo Youth Song Project. The purchase of this recording will assist school  programs and youth support initiatives.

"The Wood Buffalo Youth Song Project put children in a creative/collaborative environment that produced extraordinary results. The 10  songs from 10 schools in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo capture the spirit, questions, concerns and dreams of a generation. In short, it is remarkable and completely compelling." Russell Thomas, 
City Councillor in Wood Buffalo.

Keith creates music from the soul; the instruments he uses to express  it - drums, vocal, guitar - are all secondary.  

-Andrew Fedora,  Crowdis Bridge.

For more information visit http://www.keithmullins.net