Feburary, 2002
By Ken MacLeod
Sydney, NS
He may be past 50, but Cape Breton's foremost blues artist has no thoughts of
an early retirement just yet
Though he didn't come home from Charlottetown with any hardware, Minglewood was
nominated for ECMA's this year in the prestigious Entertainer of the Year and
Male Artist of the Year categories.
Music has always been a central part of Minglewood's life. Growing up in North
Sydney as one of eight Batherson kids, the fiddle was the seven-year olds first
instrument, taught by well-known educator, Professor Jimmy MacDonald.
"He said I was pretty good at it, but I didn't practice that much. After that,
I took a few piano lessons and then it was the guitar - I picked that up on my
own."
Though he has some regrets about not sticking with the fiddle, Minglewood's
virtuoisity helped launch a lifelong career in music. Playing keyboards with a
high school band got him noticed by the legendary Rockin' Saints, which led to
a stint with the equally legendary Sam Moon, Matt Minglewood and the Universal
Power and eventually, playing guitar for nearly two decades with his own
Minglewood Band.
And if he hadn't been a musician, maybe he would have been a hockey player. On
the Northside, the Batherson family id known in hockey circles. Minglewood
played midget, high school and junior hockey with the old Northside Vics before
music began to take up most of his spare time.
Hockey's loss is muic's gain..............