星空传媒

Russell Blaber leads a double life. Nine-to-five, he is a successful project manager for CM Parker Browne. Yet he also has another identity as the singer and guitarist in rock and blues outfit, Helium Soul. His band has secured a record deal, released an album and he once supported B.B. King at the Royal Albert Hall.

No one knows better than Blaber that the rock scene and project management are an unconventional mix. 鈥淭he two don鈥檛 really go together,鈥� he admits. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e a performer and an entertainer it can feel a bit odd putting on a suit on a Monday morning. Then you might be off to the BBC at the weekend.鈥�

Blaber鈥檚 musical aspirations date back to his teenage years in his hometown of Surrey. At 14, he formed his first band with his brother and spent his spare money on records by his idols Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.

After getting a degree in civil engineering from Kingston University, he enjoyed a six-month stint as a professional musician and looked set for a promising career.

Yet Blaber is a pragmatist, especially when it comes to the music business. 鈥淚 always knew how tough the business was. Lots of people grew up trying to make it in the music business and are absolutely skint. You have to choose what kind of lifestyle you want.鈥�

When you鈥檙e a performer and an entertainer it can feel a bit odd putting on a suit on a Monday morning. Then you might be off to the BBC at the weekend

Russell Blaber, Helium Soul

He decided to make use of his civil engineering degree and took a job with Faithful & Gould, where he worked as a PM for two years. He says he wanted a career that would allow him to be creative and earn a living. 鈥淭here are parallels between project management and the music industry. Both involve a product and both involve a lot of patience and determination,鈥� he says.

Now 30, Blaber feels he 鈥渉as his feet under the table in project management鈥�. He has been working at CM Parker Browne for four years where much of his work is for the health sector. Recently he has completed work on a new linear accelerator for the Royal Surrey County Hospital 鈥� a device used to administer radiation therapy to cancer patients by delivering a high dose of x-ray to a tumour.

Around the same time he joined CM Parker Browne, Blaber met Kenny Carroll (keyboards), Matt Dean (drums) and Aid Critchfield (bass), and Helium Soul was born. In 2004, the band was signed by independent label OT Records. In September of last year, they released their debut album Mass of Four.

Next year the band will be touring England, Holland and Denmark. After that, a second album is planned for 2007. Blaber does not expect to take any time off work to go on tour next year: 鈥淚f you slip away on a Friday night you鈥檇 be surprised how far you can get.鈥�