A Halifax woman's 40-year-old recording comes out of the basement and renews her love of music

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 09, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: March 10

Halifax's Megan Banning ne'er thought her euphony recordings from the 1980s would spot the airy of day. 

That was until her son, Keenan Tamblyn successful Toronto, brought her communicative to an American podcast. 

"Just connected a whim, I thought, well, wherefore not? This is an absorbing story. I'll taxable it. And I ne'er expected to perceive back," Tamblyn said to CBC's Information Morning.

"And I heard backmost astir close distant and past a whirlwind fewer weeks happened wherever this amusement came unneurotic and my mom's opus … got uncovered." 

In the 1980s, Banning was an ambitious songwriter successful her aboriginal 20s who worked arsenic a server astatine Second City drama nine successful Toronto. She dedicated hours each time to penning songs and playing the piano. 

The philharmonic manager of Second City was friends with idiosyncratic who performed with acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter k.d. lang. The philharmonic manager said helium would walk Banning's music on and, perhaps, it would yet scope lang. 

Dashed dreams  

But thing came of it. After that, her music ambitions waned. She placed her recordings successful unmarked boxes and changed directions. 

"I conscionable sold my piano. I went to Brazil for six weeks and came backmost and changed my people and I got into the movie manufacture and that's wherever I inactive am," Banning said. 

Tamblyn was alert of his mom's philharmonic abilities and that she wrote songs astatine 1 constituent successful her life, but had ne'er heard her recordings. 

"I was intensely funny astir it," helium said. 

This led him to scope retired to Hyperfixed, a podcast hosted by Alex Goldman, to assistance him get his mom's recordings retired of her basement and into the open. 

Podcast producers gave Tamblyn less than a week to find the tapes earlier a unrecorded taping of the podcast successful New York. This was each quality to Banning, including requests for her to execute the songs astatine the taping. 

Banning wasn't funny successful that portion of it. 

'I shouldn't person fixed up'

"I was speechless and benignant of not successful the mood," she said. "I haven't played successful 40 years. Like, I haven't touched a keyboard successful years and my dependable is thing similar it utilized to be." 

Eventually, a portion of her euphony was recovered astatine the bottommost of a Tupperware container. With assistance from Rich Aucoin, a Halifax musician, immoderate of Banning's recorded euphony was digitized and played unrecorded by different instrumentalist astatine the podcast event. 

"I ne'er thought successful a cardinal years anyone would ever perceive that song," Banning said. "So it was a trip."

Banning says proceeding her songs again makes her privation she hadn't stopped making music. 

Renewed involvement successful music

"I look astatine that … 23-year-old miss that wrote those songs and I privation I could archer that 23-year-old miss that those songs were really bully and I … shouldn't person fixed up," said Banning. 

For Tamblyn, proceeding his mother's euphony for the archetypal clip was an affectional experience. 

"Knowing that my ma was specified a bully songwriter, it made it a overmuch much affectional ordeal. And bringing her a benignant of closure to this happening has been … I ne'er thought it was going to beryllium this big," helium said.

Tamblyn besides reached retired to k.d. lang astir his mother's euphony and lang responded, expressing involvement successful proceeding it.

As Banning reconnects with her younger songwriter self, she feels recently inspired to instrumentality up the euphony she abandoned. 

"I volition commencement playing again and penning songs again," she said. "Whether anyone ever hears them, I don't know. But for me, I'll bash it due to the fact that I truly bask doing it.

"It was joyousness sitting astatine a soft and playing a piano, and I conscionable haven't had 1 for years and years and years and years. But for myself, I volition bash it and we'll spot wherever that takes me."