http://www.reverbnation.com/blakeberglund

http://www.myspace.com/blakeberglund 

BIOGRAPHY

Raised on the ‘Flying B’ Ranch outside of small town Kennedy, Saskatchewan, Blake Berglund is no stranger to music, nor the hard work entailed to whittle a good life out of it. At the age of 3 his parents ushered him into piano lessons. Fueled by his Mother's love of Meatloaf and Abba, he worked hard to become a technically proficient pianist, and through his Father's love of George Strait, John Cash and Alabama he connected with his first influences and started to hone his own style of writing. Driven by a hard work ethic, instilled through a lifetime of morning chores and everyday farm work, Berglund eventually became a multi instrumentalist playing everything from Saxophone and Guitar to Harmonica and the Trumpet, and found he had a real passion for singing his own brand of storytelling lyrics. Having played in droves of bands in his teens Berglund eventually put music on hold to obtain his dental degree through the University of Saskatchewan, but with trouble focusing and a need for ‘the road;’ schooling was soon to be put on pause.

After giving it some thought Berglund knew he was right, leaving Dental school and taking on music as a fulltime career, micromanaging each band he has been in over the last 7 years with much success. Berglund’s efforts have been rewarded in many ways, through the pride of having shared the stage with acts such as Theory of a Deadman, Trooper, Days of the New, Emerson Drive, Tupelo Honey, Faber Drive and Canadian folk legend Valdy; to having his song, ‘Jesus Christ & Johnny Cash’, recorded and released by Canadian Idol runner up Tyler Lewis (released on Tyler Lewis’ album ‘I’m Coming Home’ and produced by Bill Bell.)

Berglund's self titled acoustic debut was a cathartic release for the artist, ‘These are songs I’ve had on printed pages for years and this was a great opportunity for me to get them off of those pages and onto a hard copy.’ With clear influence being drawn from Willie Nelson and John Cash, the tone of the album is quite light at times (Same Ol’ Place, Jets, No Evil) to heart broken and lamenting (Kinda had a Feeling, 3 Hearts) A testament to his incredible songwriting, the album has sold over 4000 copies through die hard commitment and creative sales tactics, ‘I literally signed CD’s in the morning and sold them door to door in the afternoon.’ Whatever the case may be, the numbers tell the story of someone doing something right.

“I’ve never considered myself an ‘outlaw’ by any means, as easy as it is to sip on crown and pick a guitar for three days without sleep, I have a need for control and that’s obtained by walking the walk. There is an enormous sense of accomplishment knowing one can sell over 4000 albums in a year and saying that I shook the hand of every single buyer…I’d lean more towards accepting the title of ‘hustler’ than anything.”

Berglund's sophomore efforts show a real evolution in the artist’s songwriting. Teaming up with Calgary based engineer, John “Six Pack” Gasparic, the team whittled down a hundred plus possible songs from Berglund’s catalogue to what will be the ten-track second release; ‘Ends of the Earth.’

“Each song is produced to showcase feel. If it calls for an east-coast fiddle, a George Strait steel, or a Seattle-grunge guitar tone, we had no problem recording it for the truth of the song and regardless of what “genre” we want to be in, but it is that alt-country touch that keeps everything unified. It’s fun to approach a project with a fan base that accepts the writing opposed to the sound.”

The upcoming album includes the upbeat radio release “As Fast As We Can” where in the conversational verses Berglund admits: “I hate numbers but since you ask, on one hand I can count them and go from first to last, one and two out of love, the third I really tried, the fourth I can’t remember, the fifth is just a lie.” To an assuring chorus: “Take me quickly, don’t care about my heart, I promise to do whatever I can to keep you from keeping me into your plan.”

Accepting the apocalyptic theories of 2012, Berglund asks his love: “Don’t you worry about your family on the west coast? A tidal wave is coming in. 2012 where will we go? Our safest bet, Saskatchewan – you can meet my folks before the end.”

Whether it be the dancing groove of a Spanish guitar in “Dragging Angels,” the humility of alcohol abuse in “Raised On The Whiskey,” or the storytelling lyrics of a northern Saskatchewan town in “Hudson Bay Belle,” the upcoming release; “Ends of the Earth” is bound by honesty and backed by ambition.