Writing Love Songs Doesn't Pay

OAKVILLE, CA. (Patrick Ballantyne Official Website) - Writing Love Songs Doesn't Pay. But that doesn't stop Oakville-based songwriter Patrick Ballantyne from writing them. Just a year since the release of his critically acclaimed self-titled debut recording, Patrick Ballantyne is 'taking a new batch of songs for a test drive' this month in Toronto. Patrick's first CD attracted a large following of fans for its tuneful, guitar driven songs and their soulful lyrics. Already a successful songwriter for bands The Trews, Grady, and Big Sugar, Patrick enjoys performing his own material and believes it is effective in attracting other artists who may want to record some of his songs themselves.
Making it with a Top 10 list
Ron Harwood, a mainstay in the Canadian recording world, listed Patrick Ballantyne one of his top 5 independent releases of 2008. Ron wrote on his blog, Moments that Matter, in early 2009: '[Patrick Ballantyne] has written several tunes with Gordie Johnson for Big Sugar and Grady, including one of my all time favourite songs about Canada, 'All Hell For A Basement'. Patrick finally released a CD of his own and it was one of my favourite indy releases of last year.'
Who doesn't love a good heartbreak song?
Patrick's MySpace and Facebook pages attract comments from fans ranging in age from teenager to geezer. Love and loss always resonate and Patrick is particularly gifted at capturing the fury, despair, perplexity, passion, and sometimes humour of relationships. His songs, while refreshingly original, are reminiscent of Harry Nilsson, the Beatles, and Tom Petty. In the style of other great lyricists Patrick invokes religious and literary references imbuing his songs with meaning and a timeless quality.
When Song Writing does Pay
Recently, the Trews garnered a lot of attention with Poor Old Broken Hearted Me, a song co-written by Patrick. Grady continues to record Patrick's songs including Rollin' Thunder and Here I Am (Come and Take Me). And Patrick penned some of Big Sugar's most well known songs including If I Had My Way, Gone For Good and Girlwatcher. Patrick is very proud of his writing and production contributions to Mr. Chill's Cold Testament, a superb CD released independently in 2007 by Kelly Hoppe.
Where can you see him bleed?
Saturday June 27th Patrick Ballantyne will be appearing solo at The Local Pub & Restaurant, 396 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto. A small neighbourhood club, it is the perfect venue to get up close and personal with a song writer who is guaranteed to give you chills. He will also be at Phog Lounge in his hometown of Windsor, Ontario on July 5th and the Moonshine Cafe' in Oakville on July 9th.