About The Network Man
The Network Man is a Canadian studio music group that formed in Ottawa, Canada in 1998. The original band members were Etienne Gibeault, Scott MacKenzie and Steve Cadenza. The band’s repertoire includes songs from several musical genres including pop, heavy metal, techno-pop, new age and blues. Their first release was entitled The Network Man in early 2000, under the band’s initial name, Authentica. The album followed the story-arc of The Network Man, a high-powered business man living in the years right before the peak of the tech bubble. This album was preceded by Gibeault’s 1997 instrumental solo work, States of Passionate Commitment.
After The Network Man was released, the band continued to develop music and in 2009, they released their second album, entitled Cool Down Now. This project explored new musical and lyrical themes. While the album did not follow a specific story-arc, it focused instead on solving some hard problems.
They released their third album in January 2015, entitled Northern Edge, developed between 2009 and 2014. The album has a strong Canadian emphasis in its lyrics and offers considerable musical variety, with topics ranging from Pierre Trudeau to the Avro Arrow. The songs on this album were designed to provoke a reaction (the album was originally known as “Provocateur”).
The band remains active and while Steve Cadenza limited his involvement after the first album, he did provide a guest appearance on Cool Down Now. The band’s key emphasis has been artistic expression. In recent years, there has been a strong focus on Canada and the major changes occurring in society. This points to the importance of maintaining different “Perspectives”.
The group released its fourth album, “Perspectives” in May 2022. The album is about history, technology, leadership and behaviors with songs covering topics such as Canada 150, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Group of Seven, worldwide political challenges, and retrospective views of life and music of the 1960’s. “Perspectives” is available for listening and viewing on this website as well as on Youtube.
Etienne Gibeault Bio
Etienne Gibeault was born in Ottawa into a musical family and has been playing keyboards since he was a child. He always dreamed one day of being able to orchestrate all the parts he had whirling in his head. Etienne studied electrical engineering and worked as a product manager at Nortel Networks before moving to the Government of Canada to manage information technology organizations. Despite the day-to-day pressures of the work world and the discipline needed to enjoy a balanced family life, he persevered and continued to actively work on his music.
He is currently Chief, Creative Enterprise (CCE) at Network Man Productions.
Etienne’s first independent release on audio Compact Disc was entitled States of Passionate Commitment, released in September of 1997. As a studio musician, he introduced all-instrumental selections on the album, representing a wide range of musical styles ranging from Atmospheric to Rock. This work was followed by an album entitled The Network Man released in 1999 under the band name Authentica, which represented a significant evolutionary step for Etienne as it introduced vocals in the majority of songs. From The Network Man Etienne continued to pursue musical styles which were ultimately captured in the Cool Down Now album released in 2009.
Part of Etienne’s transition to the Cool Down Now album was the development of his guitar playing skills under the tutelage of an excellent teacher, Bob Walden. These skills were taken to the next level in the Northern Edge album, released in 2015 and are represented in such songs as Wave Riders, Just Watch Me and Party Song.
Etienne continues to develop new songs and videos in partnership with Scott MacKenzie. These new songs tackle themes related to “Perspectives” which are aligned with the current tumultuous times and the new album.
Some of his influences include Mike Oldfield, Peter Gabriel, Gabriel Fauré, Cloudkicker, In Flames and Katatonia.
Scott MacKenzie Bio
Scott MacKenzie was born in Prince Edward Island. As a child, he was exposed to a broad range of music which included jazz, classical, rock&roll and country. The overall experience helped Scott develop an appreciation for music and lyrics. As a teenager, MacKenzie played in the high school band. Scott studied mechanical engineering and carried out graduate studies in aeronautical engineering. He then worked for 6 years as an engineer in the aerospace industry. In 1994, Scott returned to student life and pursued an MBA in Edinburgh, Scotland. Following that, he entered the high-tech world of telecommunications at Nortel. During this time he met Etienne Gibeault and Steve Candenza. They collectively released an album in 1999 called The Network Man. In 2002 Scott joined the Government of Canada working in the areas of information technology and advanced technologies. This career redirection proved to be an additional source of creative inspiration. Working with Etienne since the completion of the first album led to the release of Cool Down Now and Northern Edge under the band name The Network Man.
After working in management consulting for several years, Scott lived through more significant cutbacks, this time in the Government sector. The ups and downs of responding to these changes, as well as the very difficult economic times that accompanied them, provided source material for the Northern Edge album. Despite these challenges, this period fostered a deeper look at Canada and a poetic response to it.
Following this work, a keen interest in retroactive views arose, driven in part by the Canada 150 celebrations and the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. These works have helped lay a foundation for the new “Perspectives” album.
Scott continues to carry out his role as Chief Poetic Officer (CPO), Creative Enterprise Group, Network Man Productions.