BIG RAPIDS — West Michigan band “The One Divided” performs a rougher, heavier sound that’s usually expressive of uncooked feelings, hardships and the difficulties of life. However for one musician, the music has executed nothing however information him to a more healthy life.
Bass participant John Newcombe has been overcoming adversity for the previous 5 years and turning that inside ache into higher music for himself, his band and the remainder of the world to get pleasure from.
Newcombe began taking part in bass as a young person, holed up in his darkish bed room, taking part in bass riffs expressing the angst he felt concerning the world, unable to grasp why it really works the best way it does. Since then, Newcombe has stored his love for bass and music alive by taking part in with dozens of bands.
He estimates he has been in 40 to 50 bands, written a whole lot of songs, and is aware of nearly each musician within the Massive Rapids and Reed Metropolis areas.
Nonetheless, he’s not too long ago fallen upon onerous instances, health-wise.
“The final 5 to seven years have been form of tough, I’ve had very excessive diabetes and stuff that I have been battling. And because it seems, I had hypertension on high of that,” Newcombe stated. “So, I had coronary heart failure in 2017. At a present, I used to be carrying my gear by way of a foot of snow and began feeling weak and rundown. After which the following day, I had issues respiratory and went to the ER, it turned out I had coronary heart failure.”
He was additionally identified with grownup kidney failure and has misplaced 70 % of the imaginative and prescient in a single eye and 50 % within the different attributable to diabetes.
Newcombe’s taking part in has improved regardless of these difficulties, and the five-year break he took from taking part in bass gave him a contemporary perspective. Because of the kind of music Newcombe performs, the heavier, darker rock that thrives on detrimental emotion, he has discovered himself in a renaissance in his music profession due to the hardships he’s confronted.
“You recognize, you’ll suppose my music profession most likely wouldn’t have been wanting up as it’s, and for some purpose, I ended taking part in bass for some time, bought again into it, and I feel I am higher than ever now. Would not appear to have an effect on my taking part in in any respect or something,” Newcombe stated.
Newcombe’s pal, singer Matt Jankowski who he described as like a brother to him, is the one who requested him to step in to play bass within the band he was making an attempt to get collectively, which might ultimately grow to be “The One Divided.”
“I used to be like, alright, effectively, I am going to strive. I’ll most likely be rusty for some time. And you already know, after a few weeks, I used to be effective. I can do every kind of issues that I could not do earlier than. I constructed my stamina again up, and I can do much more stuff now,” he stated.
Ever since Newcombe was a young person, taking part in bass and writing lyrics has been a significant outlet for him to precise tougher emotions.
“Music is a getaway and in addition a method to categorical your self and get quite a lot of tough feelings out, like anger and disappointment and stuff, particularly the louder music that The One Divided performs,” he stated.
Newcombe credit the world of Massive Rapids for being very inclusive in the case of music, mentioning he has most likely been in a band with nearly everybody within the punk/metallic scene through the years.
“Nearly each musician round right here, I’ve been in bands with or been associates with for a very long time,” he stated.
The scene has modified fairly a bit since Newcombe started his musical journey.
“It was once that there have been many faculty home events with reside bands. I do not see that a lot anymore,” he stated.
He means that different individuals going by way of darkish instances lean on the issues that deliver them pleasure, whether or not it’s music or one other outlet, and that it’s by no means actually too late to pursue, as somebody who has discovered the excessive level of his music profession with “The One Divided” afterward in his life.
“If music is a part of your life and also you’re struggling by way of different stuff you’re making an attempt to get by way of, generally that is all you want, one thing that may be there for you in your darkish instances,” he stated.
Newcombe commented on the sheer energy of music to assist individuals by way of onerous instances, how sure songs and lyrics have the facility to save lots of lives, in addition to the way it means that you can go away your mark on the world, with music that may doubtlessly final for hundreds of years together with your title on it.
“Music could be very rewarding. And likewise to have the ability to document albums and every part and put music out and if it catches on, it may very well be round for a whole lot of years,” he stated.
