Kat Harlton
Emerging Canadian country singer-songwriter Graham Trude, recently released his incredible new single “PTSD” that is out now on all streaming platforms.
As a former Afghanistan war veteran and police officer, Graham has been channelling decades of often highly traumatic life-altering experiences into truly life-affirming country music, weaving tales of love and loss into memorable melodies in songs such as “PTSD”.
Based in Tiny Township, ON, Graham Trude is a songwriter with a characteristically big voice and an even bigger heart. Taking early influences from the Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, CCR, Neil Young and George Strait, Graham’s parents were strong guides for him, his mother an entrepreneur and his father a Policeman.
In 2007, Graham signed up to be a soldier and completed his military training before being sent to Afghanistan for a challenging tour of duty. He later returned to Canada where he joined the military reserve and began using song writing as therapy to deal with his trauma. He later joined the Nishnawbe Aski Indigenous Police Service and toured from 2017 to 2019 with “The Singing Soldiers”, a band he formed, partnering with Wounded Warriors Canada, to spread awareness of PTSD in veterans and first responders.
In 2018, Graham’s own PTSD came back to haunt him, when he hit rock bottom battling his demons of war by self-medicating through alcohol. But with the support of his family, and lessons learned from previous treatment, he was able to recover, using music as medicine, and daily song writing as his personal therapy. Graham is now embarking on a full-time music career as he gets ready to release his debut EP in the coming months.
We had the opportunity to chat with Graham about his new single, his creative process, and what he’s learned along the way.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your new single “PTSD”?
Graham: This is fully inspired by an emotional time in my life where I had to decide if I wanted to live or die. Similar to the majority of my music, it is very personal to me in the sense that my full heart goes into the lyrics and structure. That’s why some of my music doesn’t make sense to some because I write for therapy.
Kat: What do you hope fans take from the track?
Graham: I hope the majority of my listeners, regardless of genre, take away whatever the song unfolds for them. Whether that be an understanding of how some deal with trauma or a basis to those struggling to know they are truly not alone.
Kat: What do you find is the most challenging part of your creative process?
Graham: Re-victimization is probably the hardest part of the creative process. It’s a freeing feeling when I am finished but at the same time it is a hard process to relive. For the greater good of the song and message I feel distribution is the right thing to do so others may find peace as I did writing it.
Kat: What has been a career highlight for you so far? What have you learned along the way?
Graham: The career highlight for me so far is getting to connect with new listeners who share their stories with me. I find it interesting and important to experience the emotions of others, especially with those who connect with my journey. I know how important music can be, it can truly be the decision of life and death.
Kat: What can we expect from you for the balance of 2022?
Graham: I have a new EP coming out entitled “PTSd” which will have some of my favourite written tracks inspired by my love for country rock. One of the tracks, “Home Crowd” was written with a childhood inspiration, Jason McCoy, and performed with the queen of dance music, Simone Denny, of Love Inc. It’s quite a team oriented song built on camaraderie and something unique that bends the rules of genre. Thank you for having me!
To connect with Graham visit: https://grahamtrude.com