Blake Reid of the Blake Reid Band is using his extra time these days to write music. 

We play several of Blake Reid's songs here at 91.5 CochraneNow including Rust, Sounds Like a Song and Stay Home seems so fitting to air right now during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Reid says "I know it's crazy, that song was from like 2015, 2016. The song is actually about as kids we move away and then we seem to find our way back home but now it's just stay home and appreciate home."

Reid says right now he is working on outfitting his barn into a recording studio and is hoping to have that done later this spring. 

"A recording studio and a performance place, it'll hold about 80 people. We're wiring it in for cameras so we can capture performances and it's a place where artists can come together where they can come record and also video their content and people can come watch and it's not going to be the same price as typical studios it's just more of a collaborative place for artists."

He says they have a new single called Penny that they're hoping to release in the next couple of months. 

Reid says pennies "are not even currency anymore, if you equate pennies to nickels to dollars, it's still money but it's not that important. What's more important is to focus yourself with your friends and family."

Reid says the hook line of the song is "Leave that penny out on the floor" He says the idea of it is to not focus on money, or the speed of life but we should instead focus on each other and having a good time with our friends and family. 

He says the new album is more of an organic sound than his two solo albums. 

He is now part of the Blake Reid Band and says when they shot a documentary for CBC called No Roads In it just made sense to showcase the personalities and the talents of everyone else in the band.

He says they're "Incredibly talented musicians and artists and entertaining people so it's great to showcase them a bit more."

Reid, who is from the Cremona/Dogpound area has spent a lot of time in Cochrane over the years.

"Cochrane's kind of been part of our home growing up forever. I usually take in some of the Ag Society functions like Bullarama and the Lion's Rodeo. When the kids were small we used to burn down and visit MacKays for some ice cream. I coached ball down in Cochrane for a number of years when my daughter played ball. It's a great community."