Anne-Marie Jennings
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 18/98) - Tom Hudson wants to make sure he can stay active in the North's music industry. Judging by his new single, which is now hitting the airwaves, he may just get his wish.

"I've been at it for so long now," he says. "With me, longevity is the key.

"I've seen so many acts come and go. On the radio you hear so many one-hit wonders and stuff like that. I've always wanted to continue with the music scene for as long as I can hit a note.

"All of this stuff that is happening to me now is gravy," Hudson says.

Based in Yellowknife, Hudson has released a new CD, Dance Among the Stars. All 10 songs on the album were written by Hudson and Norm Glowach, owner of Spiritwalker Productions.

"I first applied for funding from the NWT Arts Council in January 1995, and was given enough to produce a demo," Hudson says. "Once we began the project, we realized there was enough material for a full-length album.

"Norm then agreed to cost-share the making of the album."

While Hudson played music as a pastime for many years as an employee with the GNWT, he is no stranger to the music business nor to making records.

"When I was part of a group called the Komatiks, we used to open for groups that would come to Yellowknife," Hudson says. "We once opened for Doug and the Slugs.

"We also went to Festival by the Sea and Expo 86 in Vancouver."

Hudson was also a member of Cat's Ass, which had the opportunity to open for Canadian country artists such as George Fox and Prairie Oyster.

But until four years ago, playing music was nothing more than an outlet.

"I saw the whole music thing as a balance, a release," he says. "I've always done it on a part-time basis."

Since the launch of Dance Among the Stars at the beginning of May, Hudson has received a large amount of radio play. His songs are now in rotation at Mix 100 in Yellowknife and Hay River and CKLB Radio in Yellowknife, as well as on CBC North Radio.

The making of the record has been a long process for Hudson, taking nearly three years to go from funding approval to the finished product.

"It was done on a part-time basis, working about two or three days a week," Hudson says. "People would come in and play their parts and then we would do the mixing afterwards.

"Three years is a long time to do something like that, but there comes a time when you just have to let go."

While Dance Among the Stars has been well-received by the listening public since its release, Hudson says he always knew the record would go over well.

"When Norm and I were producing the material that's on it, we kept saying to each other, 'That's going to get airplay,'" he says. "Like I said, it started off as a demo recording, and four or five songs into it we knew we had something."

Hudson also says that the CD does not have a central theme, which is a result of his personal preference for a wide range of musical styles.

"A lot of people may say the album lacks direction," he says. "But I think those days are gone now, where you really have to focus on a single style."

With the CD now complete, the next stage for Hudson is the promotion of Dance Among the Stars throughout the NWT. Scheduled stops for Hudson this summer include, the Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik, Folk on the Rocks in Yellowknife and the South Slave Friendship Festival in Fort Smith.

"They're having a concert in Inuvik on July 24, and we're flying up there that morning," he says. "I haven't performed there in a number of years," Hudson says.

Hudson is particularly looking forward to performing at the Friendship Festival -- he was born in Fort Smith.

While his latest release is still new on the shelves, Hudson says he is already looking towards his future plans and future recordings.

"I'd like to do some duets in the future. I think this album represents just the tip of the iceberg of what I'm capable of writing."

Dance Among the Stars by Tom Hudson is available at both Top Forty Music and Sam the Record Man in Yellowknife or through Norm Glowach at Spiritwalker Productions.