Bob Charters

Musician charting a new path



There comes a point in every man’s journey when he arrives at a fork in the road. Take a right hand turn and life goes one way, a left and it goes another.

For Bob Charters, a local musician who cut his first CD last fall, that point in the road came this week. He resigned from a job he loved to pursue music full time.

“It’s very difficult to leave working with the youth, but it’s necessary. It’s a good time. I have a lot of momentum going my way “ said Charters, who spent the last two and a half years at Simcoe Community Services working with high school students with special needs.

It’s momentum the Barrie singer/songwriter has built performing on his off time, evenings and weekends at local venues, as well as the college/university circuit.

Music has been a part of his life since he was a child. He took piano lessons through the Royal Conservatory, but stopped because he didn’t like the music he was required to play at the time. Charters also took music at Innisdale Secondary School.

Then, at age 18, his father, who had played in a band as a youth, gave him his old guitar as a birthday present.

“I sat down with a chord book and listened to my favourite CD and learned how to play,” said Charters, 28, who cites the Brit pop group Oasis and David Gray, an adult contemporary artist, among his influences.

Songwriting followed at university, where he started play jam nights and local coffeehouses. Charters likes to write about daily life, good days, bad days, and relationships - not just the romantic kind, but friendships, too.

“I try to write to be positive. I’m so sick of bands that complain and whine,” he said with a laugh. “(My) background is sociology, (which he earned a degree in from the University of Waterloo), so I tend to write about relationships and the relationships between people. Not just romantic - the full aspect of it.”

Last winter, he recorded a demo, and released his first full-length CD in September called Bob Charters - Words I’ve Known, it has nine original songs. It’s easy to listen to with a number of catchy melodies, and has a laid-back adult contemporary style.

He needed a full-length record for touring, which up until now has been mostly in Ontario. His music is available at his performances, through his website, www.myspace.com/bobchartersmusic, as well as on iTunes. While music ranks up at the top of his fun list, Charters also loves to play and watch football and baseball.

Meanwhile, he plays a mix of cover tunes and original songs every Tuesday and Friday evening at the British Arms.

Susan Doolan - The Barrie Examiner