LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - A Fort Simpson musician is now a recorded artist.

Last month, Lindsay Waugh released his first CD No Straight Line by Kiwi North and Friends. Waugh wrote all 12 tracks on the CD and plays harmonica in most of them.

Lindsay Waugh performs one of the songs from his new CD No Straight Line at the Open Sky Festival in Fort Simpson on June 28. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photos

Waugh, who has been writing songs since the mid-1980s, said it's surreal to have the project finished.

"It's taken a lifetime so (it's) pretty exciting," he said.

Some of the songs on the CD like Dehcho Boogie will be familiar to the people who have heard Waugh perform at events in Fort Simpson over the years. Other tracks including Straight Line were written specifically for the CD.

"The project is about sharing the idea of who we are from my perspective," said Waugh.

"To be given that opportunity, I'm really humbled by that."

Waugh said each of the songs talks about who we are at any given time and in any given situation. I hope it shows we're all basically the same with ups and downs, he said.

The music is also about staying light hearted and to set the mood of the CD a caricature that Waugh drew of himself is featured on the disc's cover.

"It's to say yeah, get out there and have a little fun despite the everyday responsibility we all have to have," he said.

Waugh uses blues as a vehicle to share his ideas.

"The emotion in blues really tugged on me," he said.

Waugh describes his music as an "easy-listening format with a bit of bounce and boogie."

The title of the CD, No Straight Line, illustrates the reality that every plan in life is bound to have some deviations but you just need to accept them and not worry about it, said Waugh.

Similar to the title, Waugh hasn't followed a straight line to get to this point.

Originally from New Zealand, Waugh said he's been interested in expressing himself vocally since he was a child. He learned how to play the guitar as a teenager.

In 1973, Waugh moved to the Yukon where he refined his blues and boogie sound. After he moved to Fort Simpson in 1977 Waugh, who owns and operates Kiwi Electric Ltd., got more serious about his music and started playing the harmonica.

"I sort of created my own one-man band," he said.

Along the way Waugh met and became friends with a lot of other musicians, some of whom are featured on his CD. Rob Prosper, who plays lead guitar on some of the tracks, was the Parks Canada superintendent in Fort Simpson in the 1990s.

"A very important part of my musical travel was with him," Waugh said.

Another familiar guitarist on the CD is Rob Manuel, a shop teacher at Thomas Simpson School. The name on the CD, Kiwi North and Friends, makes the project inclusive, he said.

The inspiration for the project came from another friend, Ian Martin who owns Twilight Living Room Studios in Edmonton. After listening to a demo tape Martin suggested Waugh should get his songs recorded properly. The new CD is the end result.

"It's hard to accept the reality that you've completed this, you've painted your picture," said Waugh.

The CD is now taking on a life of its own. Waugh said he doesn't expect the CD to become a bestseller but he hopes that over time it will gather an audience.