A North Vancouver man is among those lending a hand to help create a level playing field when it comes to musical expression.

Odds front man Craig Northey was called on for his skills, both at the mike and in the recording studio, for Music Saves II, a video intended to inspire by showcasing disabled and able-bodied musicians, illustrating the power of music and its potential positive impact on people's lives. In addition, it's intended to raise funds and awareness for the Vancouver Adapted Music Society (VAMS), which supports and promotes musicians with physical disabilities, and the Canadian Music Therapy Trust Fund.

"VAMS and music therapy, they are all things that give people a leg up," says Northey.

"You need music like you need food or water or anything to keep yourself alive. Those with physical challenges, this just makes it accessible," he adds.

This is the second edition of the project, presented by Vancouver's Shore 104.3 FM, and saw a number of artists, including Jim Byrnes, Dan Mangan, John Mann, Dan Moxon, Kuba Oms, Adaline, Dustin and Barney Bentall, Wendy Bird, Kristina Shelden and Rolf Kempf, perform Dave Mason's "Feelin' Alright" in a variety of picturesque Vancouver locations. North Shore involvement in the project was strong, with a number of the performers, for example Byrnes, Bird and the Bentalls, and behind-the-scenes help, including Dave Meszaros and Paul Forgues, either currently or formerly calling it home.

Northey got involved in Music Saves through his involvement in the local music scene and his familiarity with some of the creative people at the Shore, including program director Patrick Zulinov.

"When they decided on this initiative, to work with VAMS and let people know about it, they asked me to get involved on the music end of things," says Northey.

He jumped at the opportunity and last year volunteered to record the basic track for the video, a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released," and helped with editing and mixing. The initiative received a number of awards and accolades, including a Community Service Award by the B.C. Association of Broadcasters and the Best Charity or Cause Related Event Award by the B.C. Events Award group.

This year, Northey took on a bigger role as Odds was among the featured performers. He also served as musical director and helped co-ordinate what song was chosen, as well as the musicians and their role, the arrangement, and helped with recording, mixing and producing the work.

"It's a very complicated and strange undertaking what we did," he says, of the overall process.

The concept was inspired by Playing for Change, an American non-profit dedicated to making a difference through music education. Among their initiatives is the production of videos of street musicians and buskers, recording them playing the same track, and subsequently combining the footage into one video.

"It was a popular viral phenomenon when they did the first couple of songs," says Northey.

That approach was applied to Music Saves I and II.

"People didn't know who they were playing with," says Northey. "They didn't know how the collaboration was going to work."

Instead, performers were filmed and recorded live in various locations around Vancouver and then edited together. They worked off a bare bones track -- drum, bass and guitar -- that was recorded at North Vancouver's Bakerstreet Studios.

While Northey was guided by a vision of how the artists would relate in the end, it was also about what he calls "happy accidents."

"Which is how music kind of works when people are collaborating," he says. "Nobody really knows how it's going to turn out, you just have to have faith that everybody is good and that a combination of all those good things will lead to more good things."

Editing was also done at Bakerstreet, owned by Paul Baker, who succumbed to cancer in September.

"He basically donated the place," says Northey, of the generosity of his late friend and his support of the cause.

It's hoped the video heightens the profile of VAMS' positive impact on the lives of those involved as well as the community as a whole. VAMS was founded in 1988 by former Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan and Dave Symington. In the wake of sporting injuries, as quadriplegics, they experienced firsthand the challenges facing people with disabilities interested in making music. Through its many programs, VAMS works to remove those barriers faced by musicians, ensuring equal access for all.

"It doesn't matter what hand you've been dealt, you make the same kind of music," says Northey.

The new Music Saves video was premiered Nov. 3 at an event at Venue.

"When you combine those who everybody kind of knows, people who are ubiquitous with Vancouver music, and people who should be, you just see all in one glance at the screen and in one hearing of the song how the playing field is levelled," says Northey.

The event also featured live performances by some of the artists involved as well as VAMS musicians.

"It really felt like, 'Well, that's what you're working for. We just got the payoff right there,'" says Northey.

Based on the success, there are plans for a third edition of Music Saves next year.

While Northey is busy these days with his career -- including an Odds gig at the Commodore Ballroom Nov. 25 with Bachman and Turner for Classic Rock 101's Big 4-Oh Party!, finishing new albums by Odds and Stripper's Union (the band's side project with The Tragically Hip's Rob Baker), as well as work for television, he does the music for Hiccups, the CTV show starring Brent Butt and Nancy Robertson -- this month he's also embarking on yet another charitable project. Odds are among the featured performers in the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train (www8.cpr.ca).

This is the 12th year of the program, which raises food, funds and awareness for food banks in both Canada and the United States. The holiday train makes various stops, with concerts, and collects donations along the way.

Odds will be riding the train from Quebec to B.C. this year, departing Nov. 27 and reaching their final station, Port Moody, Dec. 17, at 9:15 p.m.

To watch the new Music Saves video as well as to view behind the scenes footage of the recording process, visit www.shore104.com.

For more information or to make a donation to VAMS, visit www.vams.org.