New song from Peter Newland an anthem to healthcare workers

May 5, 2021 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

SPRINGFIELD – Peter J. Newland wants to say thanks.

The veteran musician and songwriter’s newest song “Lean On Me/Stand By You” is designed to thank and support frontline healthcare workers and will be performed publicly for the first time in a live streamed event from Total Eclipse Studios on National Nurses Day May 6 at 7 p.m.

Following the performance will be a 45-minute live performance by Newland and his band RadioX followed by the first screening of the “Lean On Me\Stand By You” video.

If people miss the live event, it will be available on his YouTube channel, (“Peter J. Newland”) or on his Facebook page.

He told Reminder Publishing the reaction from healthcare workers who have already seen the video “has been phenomenal.”

The new song came about through Newland’s reactions to what was happening in the pandemic, but also due to the advances in technology that allowed him to work with Nashville session guitar player Jeff King and his team and Grammy-winning producer/engineer Matt McClure.

He explained, “I shared [the song] with Taylor Dunn, a writer friend of mine from Nashville, and he told me that he thought my scope was too narrow. He felt that the song had an anthemic quality and the possibility of a much broader appeal. I took his advice and re-wrote. The song told me what it wanted to be: A song for and about everyone with an emphasis on the frontline healthcare workers.”

Besides the song, he has created a social media hashtag of # thxcrgvr to allow people to post a message of support on Facebook and Instagram.

Newland said, “When the pandemic was declared in March of 2020, foremost in my thoughts was the cohort of healthcare professionals and support staff upon whom the burden of care was going to fall.  Because of social media, we have had a remarkable window into what they are going through and how they are feeling. All of this has played out in a media climate that is dominated by a daily cycle of hyper events that have the effect of obscuring their remarkable work and sacrifice.”

He believes the song’s message will have a longer life than just the end of the pandemic. He noted there are an estimated 61 percent of healthcare workers who have psychological or emotional issues because of what they witnessed during the pandemic.

“We want to continue to reach out to that base,” he said.

As more restrictions decrease, Newland envisions performed the song live at appreciation events.

The video was shot locally in downtown Springfield and Wilbraham.

“We had to be pretty creative,” Newland said. He added the accessibility to healthcare facilities was limited.  He collaborated with West Springfield photographer/videographer Walt Steinmetz, Andrea Newland and David Newland.

He explained the video was inspired by videos of healthcare workers and news footage of crowds in New York and Paris standing on balconies and clapping, cheering, and singing to the frontline healthcare workers as their shifts ended. It stars Erin Greene Wallace from Greene Room Productions in Monson.

Newland explained the single was created remotely. He had been working on a legacy project tracing his musical career from his time as the frontman for the rock group Fat to now. He noted that 80 percent of it was being done virtually and after speaking with King they figured out how to do the new song virtually.

Newland recorded his lead vocals in West Springfield at Rotary Record to a “click track,” which enabled the musicians to stay in time with the vocals.  

“It was some of the highest quality recording done in my life,” he said, adding he was thankful for the technology and ingenuity that came out of the pandemic.

He added that healthcare workers “need to hear from us. A simple gesture is really what they needs in a huge way.”

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