Patrick Ballantyne

Patrick Ballantyne
BornWindsor, Ontario, Canada
GenresSinger-Songwriter, Rock, pop, folk, alt-country, jazz, soul, hard rock
Occupation(s)songwriter, guitarist, singer
Instrument(s)vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo
Years active1980–present
LabelsNorthwood Music
Websitepatrickballantyne.com

Patrick Ballantyne is a Canadian songwriter, singer and guitarist, best known for co-writing hit songs for Big Sugar, notably "If I Had My Way". He has also released five successful solo albums.

Life

[edit]

Ballantyne was born in Windsor, ON, where he taught himself to play guitar and began writing songs at age 14. He also grew up with Gordie Johnson. While Johnson went on to found Big Sugar, Ballantyne became a lawyer, beginning as a prosecutor, then moving to senior positions with KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Toronto Stock Exchange. He is now the CEO of the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario. Throughout his corporate career, however, he simultaneously stayed very active in music.[1]

Ballantyne and Johnson started writing music in the 1980s, when they were still in high school. In 1985, he released his own EP, A Gentleman Lost in the Wild.[2] But he and Johnson continued to write together, and their collaborations appear on all of Big Sugar's albums.[3] Ballantyne also performed on the albums as a vocalist and guitarist.

He has also worked with Colin MacDonald of The Trews, co-writing that band's hit "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me",[4] and with Meredith Shaw,[5][6] Tim Chaisson,[7][8][9] and Shaun Verreault of Wide Mouth Mason.

Patrick has performed at the Toronto Centre for the Arts (Meridian Arts Centre)[10] as part of the Bare Bones and Up Front Series.[11]

Patrick Ballantyne, 2008

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In 2008, Ballantyne independently released his debut album, Patrick Ballantyne,[12] which was meant to be a demo tape which he could use to match his songs with artists. Instead, it was cited by music industry executive Ron Harwood as one of the top five independent releases of the year.[13] The Song "No One Came" became the title track of a 2012 album by Country music artist Shane Chisholm.[14]

In 2012, Ballantyne and Tim Chaisson co-wrote two songs, "Beat This Heart" and "Blast Your Way Out", for Chaisson's album The Other Side.[15][16] At the 2013 East Coast Music Awards, the video for "Beat This Heart" was nominated as the Fan Choice Video of the Year, "Beat This Heart" was nominated as Song of the Year, and the album won Roots/Traditional Solo Recording of the Year.

Days of Rain, 2014

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In June 2014, Ballantyne released his second album, Days of Rain,[17] with a show at the Toronto music store Musideum.[18] The album differs from the first album in that it has more instrumentation (piano and string).[19] The title track, "King of the Road" was co-written with Meredith Shaw and Gordie Johnson. The song originally appeared in a different incarnation on Meredith Shaw's EP "Place Called Happy".[20] The lyric video for "Wrestling with the Devil" was featured by Snob's Music as a 'Friday Find',[21] and 'Music Moment of the Day' by Mute Magazine.[22] In 2014, Ballantyne signed with Northwood Records, which re-released Days of Rain in January 2015. Also in 2014, the readership of NOW Magazine voted Ballantyne Songwriter of the Year.[23]

Calendar, 2017

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In 2015, Ballantyne started the sardonically titled "hitamonth.com" project, aiming to release a single every month for the year.[24] The 12 songs produced were included on his 2017 Album Calendar.[25] J Williamson of No Depression (magazine) wrote of Calendar: "With sounds encompassing everything from pop to Americana to psychedelia, Calendar presents the most well rounded picture of Ballantyne’s skills to date, all tied together by his honest, and often heartbreaking, storytelling ability."[26]

Sky, 2019

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In May 2019, Ballantyne released the album Sky, which premiered on Tinnitist.[27][28]

Love / Shadow / Dust, 2021

[edit]

In April 2021, Ballantyne released the 20-track album Love / Shadow / Dust.[29]

Discography

[edit]
  • A Gentleman Lost in the Wild (1985, EP), Independent
  • Patrick Ballantyne (2008), Independent
  • Days of Rain (2014), Independent, Northwood Music
  • Calendar (2015), Independent, Northwood Music
  • Sky (2019), Independent, Northwood Music
  • Love / Shadow / Dust (2021), Northwood Music

Songwriting Credits

[edit]
  • Co-writer "Gone For Good", "Empty Head", and "If I Had My Way" - Big Sugar, Hemi-Vision (1996)
  • Co-writer "Cop a Plea," "Girl Watcher," "Kickin' Stones" and "Heart Refuse to Pound" - Big Sugar, Heated (1998)[30]
  • Co-writer "All Hell for a Basement" - Big Sugar, Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready? (2001)[31]
  • Co-writer "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me" - The Trews, Den of Thieves (2005)[32]
  • Writer "Rolling Thunder", Co-writer "Ugly Way To Lose", "Religion Of My Own", "Hope Out On That Stage" and "Riding With Delilah" - Mr. Chill, Cold Testament (2005)[33]
  • Co-writer "One of These Days" and "Three Legged Race" - Grady, A Cup of Cold Poison (2007)
  • Co-writer "If I Was King" and "I'm A Sinner Too" - Grady, Good as Dead (2009)
  • Co-writer "So Good", "King of the Road", "There's No Tellin'", "Breakin'", "Happy", Little Fishy", "Acted Badly" and "Girls Who Believe" - Meredith Shaw, Place Called Happy (2011)
  • Co-writer "Sweet Little Thing" - Wide Mouth Mason, No Bad Days (2011)
  • Writer "No One Came", Co-writer "Love Song for You" and "Living in the Dream/Dreamin' Away" - Shane Chisholm, No One Came (2012)
  • Co-writer "Call it a Night" - Meredith Shaw, Trouble (2013)[34]
  • Co-writer "Beat This Heart" and "Blast Your Way Out" - Tim Chaisson, The Other Side (2013)
  • Co-writer "Slide" - Meredith Shaw, Hardest Goodbye EP (2014)[35]
  • Writer "Last Blank Page" - The East Pointers, Secret Victory (2015)

As producer

[edit]
  • Co-producer, Mr. Chill, Cold Testament (2005) [36]

As Performer

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  • 1992 - Big Sugar, Big Sugar (acoustic guitar, vocals)
  • 1993 - Big Sugar, Five Hundred Pounds (acoustic guitar, vocals)
  • 1995 - Big Sugar, Dear M.F. (acoustic guitar)
  • 1998 - Big Sugar, Heated (vocals)
  • 2001 - Big Sugar, Brothers & Sisters, Are You Ready? (vocals)
  • 2005 - Mr. Chill – Cold Testament (banjo, acoustic guitar, harmony vocals)

Film/TV placements

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  • Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 10E26 (Don't Let Me Get Me), “Girls Who Believe”, performed by Meredith Shaw (2010)[37]
  • Arctic Air, Episode 109 (New North), "Sweet Little Thing”, performed by Wide Mouth Mason (2012)[38]
  • Heartland, Episode 614 (Lost and Gone Forever), "Til The Sun Comes Up", Co-written and performed by Tim Chaisson (2013)[39]

Awards and nominations

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Patrick Ballantyne". hamiltonindiemusic.com. Hamilton Indie Music. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Patrick Ballantyne – A Gentlemen Lost In The Wild". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  3. ^ "A Man of Many Parts". SOCAN. 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-07-30. Retrieved 2014-01-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "The Trews – Den Of Thieves". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Shaw is Living Her Musical Dreams". Kingston This Week. 2012-04-25. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  6. ^ "Meredith Shaw Member Profile". Songwriter Association of Canada. Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  7. ^ "Tim Chaisson's The Other Side Review and Interview". Feels Good. 2012-09-26. Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
  8. ^ "Tim Chaisson Album Release & National Tour (Bumstead)". Audio Blood. Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
  9. ^ "A Chat with Tim Chaisson". Quip Magazine. 2012-12-16. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
  10. ^ "Ten Under the Radar Folk Blues Roots Venues in Toronto". Blog TO. 2014-05-24. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
  11. ^ "Bare Bones & Up Front". facebook.com. Facebook. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Patrick Ballantyne – Patrick Ballantyne". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  13. ^ Baker-Thornley, Roseanne. "Patrick Ballantyne". thecollabor8tors.ca. The Collabor8tors. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Shane Chisholm - No One Came". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Tim Chaisson – The Other Side". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  16. ^ Donnelly, Alessandra. "Tim Chaisson: The Other Side, Jan 2013". theaquarian.com. The Aquarian. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Patrick Ballantyne – Days Of Rain". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  18. ^ "Patrick Ballantyne at Musideum". Musideum. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  19. ^ Kat Bagshawe (2014-06-20). "Patrick Ballantyne Days of Rain Album Review". Music Muso. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  20. ^ Ashton, Alyssa (11 November 2011). "Meredith Shaw brings her debut album to Kingston, Nov 2011". queensjournal.ca. The Queen's Journal. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Friday Find:Patrick Ballantyne". Snob's Music. 2014-06-06. Archived from the original on 2014-11-08. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  22. ^ "Mute Music Moment of the Day Wrestling with the Devil Patrick Ballantyne". Mutemag. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  23. ^ Staff, N. O. W. (2015-07-30). "Patrick Ballantyne pens hit a month". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  24. ^ Staff, N. O. W. (2015-07-30). "Patrick Ballantyne pens hit a month". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  25. ^ "Patrick Ballantyne – Calendar". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  26. ^ "Canada Calling: Renowned singer/Songwriter Patrick Ballantyne releases new album Calendar". www.nodepression.com. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  27. ^ Sterdan, Darryl (23 May 2019). "...Sky: Exclusive Album Premiere". tinnitist.com. Tinnitist. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  28. ^ Barber, Jim (4 July 2019). "Patrick Ballantyne Continues to Stretch His Songwriting Prowess on New Solo album – Sky". Music Life Magazine. musiclifemagazine.net. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  29. ^ Melanson, Jenna (26 April 2021). "Patrick Ballantyne releases new album". canadianbeats.ca. Canadian Beats. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  30. ^ "Big Sugar – Heated". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  31. ^ "Big Sugar – Brothers & Sisters, Are You Ready?". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  32. ^ "The Trews – Den Of Thieves". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  33. ^ "Mr. Chill – Cold Testament". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  34. ^ "Meredith Shaw Trouble Review". Maritime Vinyl. 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  35. ^ Melanson, Jenna (4 March 2014). "Review – Meredith Shaw, March 2014". canadianbeats.ca. Canadian Beats Media. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  36. ^ "Ted Shaw's Artbeat: Impressive CDs". Windsor Star. 2014-05-30. Archived from the original on 2014-06-04. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  37. ^ "Degrassi: The Next Generation Soundtrack". tunefind.com. Tunefind. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  38. ^ "Music Season 1". 21 February 2013.
  39. ^ "The Music of Heartland" (PDF). cbc.ca. CBC Television. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  40. ^ "Bring Sunshine to Your Day with Days of Rain". Ottawa Life. 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  41. ^ Staff, N. O. W. (2015-07-30). "Patrick Ballantyne pens hit a month". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
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