Orillia singer and songwriter Ian North has, in a manner of speaking, came back from the dead to release his new album, Everything is Incomplete.
North, an Ottawa native, began playing the guitar when he was 14 and began performing at 17. Now at 70, the folk-rocker has released two CDs and toured around Canada and the U.K.
"I like thinking of myself more as a writer than a musician in some ways. It's the lyrics that I focus on," he said. "I've always loved music too, and been playing guitar all those years. It's just a pleasure to play."
North has performed on stages such as the Red Rock Festival, Toronto City Roots Festival, and Junction Arts Festival.
While being a musician hasn't always been North's main source of income, it's been his biggest passion. In 2022, North almost lost his passion — and his life.
While living near Bracebridge, North collapsed in his backyard. Luckily, he was able to make it back to the house where his wife Jen called an ambulance. After trying to sleep it off, Ian collapsed again the next morning.
"The last thing I remember is going in the ambulance," he said. " Apparently, I was worked on for quite a while."
North was transported from his Muskoka home to Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital (OSMH) by helicopter. He was in a coma for a week, battling blood clots in his lungs.
"I was technically dead and was on life support for 15 minutes in Bracebridge," he said. "I don't remember the helicopter ride."
The experience gave North a new lease on life; it also changed his perception of dying.
"It wasn’t that hard, it just kind of happened," he said. "In a way, it made me less fearful of that."
North says he has talked with several people around his age who are "dreading" the moment life comes to an end.
"It's kind of not so scary to me now," he said. "I've kind of been there and done that."
Jen credits the staff at OSMH for saving her husband's life.
"We really do want to also acknowledge and appreciate the emergency staff," she said. "They went above and beyond for Ian and they saved his life."
While Ian was unconscious, Jen says she was dealing with her emotions and the trauma of the experience.
"The staff there were phenomenal, and they took care of me as much as they took care of him," she explained. "That's a stellar hospital. I cannot rave enough about the nurses and doctors."
Once Ian returned home, he made it a priority to document the songs he had written that went unrecorded for a decade.
"I kind of rewrote everything a little bit," he said. "Some of these songs are more sketches than actual songs, and I kind of revised them and rewrote them."
Everything is Incomplete will first be available on vinyl at AlleyCats Music & Art in downtown Orillia on Aug. 4. The album will also be available digitally here.
"I feel like he came back to write this album," Jen said. "This experience informed the decisions around everything on this album."
On Aug. 4, Ian will also be performing at Couchiching Brewery from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Once the dust has settled from the new album, he will turn his focus to the next one as he has more stories and songs to share.
