Don Sawchuk’s Underdog - The Album - Song by Song 1. Underdog - Pop Rock An upbeat, triumphant and empowering title track that announces the theme of the record. 2. Love Is - Lite Rock A feel-good, hope-inspiring love song with upbeat keys and smooth melodies. 3. Mercy - Alternative Rock A relatable tale of overcoming bullying and adversity with a powerful chorus elevated by a moving string arrangement juxtaposed against edgy slide-guitar riffs. 4. Right On Time - Southern Rock A catchy guitar-centric rock song with an engaging melody and interesting female vocal harmonies. 5. No Place To Go - Back Porch Blues A portrait of abject poverty and desperation from a raw colour palate of red-hot slide guitar and cold-blue harmonica. 6. My Home - Alternative Rock Haunting and touching longings of a Canadian prisoner of war dreaming of returning home. 7. You Are The One - Ballad The ultimate love song with beautiful lyrics, interesting chord progression and fluid string quartet arrangement. 8. Drowning In Tears - Slow Blues A raw heartfelt tale of a love triangle gone terribly wrong with a harmonica performance second to none by Canadian Roly Platt. 9. Happy It Happened - Lite Rock An uplifting, light-hearted love song with mandolin and accordion parts which leave the listener feeling utterly elated. 10. Where Are You Now? - Alternative Rock A heart wrenching plea for protection with a breathtaking outro vocal performance by Canadian recording artist Mati Haskell. 11. You Love Me Too - Ballad A “come back to me” love song using clever musical imagery with touching melody, supportive harmony and sugar-sweet string arrangement. 12. Let Your Music Play - Rock A psychedelic trip rounding out the theme of the record with a crescendo of strings and gripping guitar solo by Canadian JK Gulley. ABOUT THE ARTIST Don Sawchuk was born and raised in Windsor, ON, picked up a guitar at the age of twelve, and played his first gig - a one-off rock show in a church basement - with his band mates from high school, playing cover tunes from Led Zeppelin, The Who and similar, now classic rock, artists. With guitar in hand, Sawchuk moved to Kitchener/Waterloo to obtain his first degree from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Science. During that time he took as many music electives as he could, and founded UW’s Musician’s Club. Sawchuk married and started a family at age 23, then attended Lakehead University’s Bachelor of Education program for his second degree, this time specializing in Mathematics. It was at this time Sawchuk discovered the power of public performance and took up busking to support his young family. Don took his first real job right out of university as a product development chemist and continues finding promise in a decades-long career in the pharmaceutical industry, all the while funding his passion for music. Don was asked to join his church’s choir, only to fall into the role of choir director a short time later, amounting to a weekly music commitment which would continue for many years to follow. When his church needed a new roof, some of the musicians from the Catholic congregation banded together to write and record an album as a fundraiser. Don suddenly found himself with a prolific outpouring of original music which became the essence of his debut 2010 album Let Go Of Me that he recorded primarily in the studio he set up at home. Don began to realize the power of his music to express emotion and to grow a community, two things that continue to resonate today. With his three boys leaving the nest and the dissolution of his marriage, Don took a leave from the pharmaceutical industry, moved to Guelph, ON, and poured himself into his songwriting and performing. Sawchuk elevated his craft of songwriting, participating in workshops across Southern Ontario, New York and Nashville. After attending the Tin Pan South Songwriters’ Music Festival, the Nashville Songwriter's Association International (NSAI) had named Don Sawchuk a “songwriter to watch.” The Guelph-based artist is now ready to release his second full length album Underdog - a thematic collection of songs that connect with every listener through their universality and emotional impact. ABOUT THE ALBUM Underdog is a hybrid of sounds influenced by 70’s classic rock, adult contemporary, blues, ballads and gospel music. Songs like “Underdog”, “Mercy”, and “My Home” signify a growth in the artist’s songwriting and narrative capabilities. Throughout the album Sawchuk digs deep into the emotions of the theme: underdog. “Look into your heart when you feel flawed,” the title track “Underdog” tells us, “Look for the passion/there in the passion/the passion of your heart.” Sonically, Underdog is an album that resists being contained into one genre; thematically it defies the world’s attempt to inform who or what the Underdog should be, as there is evidence of an underdog in us all. The pre-production of Underdog was completed at Blue-Gull Studios engineered by JK Gulley. Following the laying of the groundwork, Sawchuk proceeded to Toronto where he worked with legendary recording engineer Jeremy Darby (Lou Reid and Barenaked Ladies) at Canterbury Studios. Mati Haskell supplemented Sawchuk on background vocals, Douglas Romano played keys, Gary Craig on percussion, John Dymond on bass, Roly Platt on the harmonica, and JK Gulley on lead guitar. For about half of the tracks on the album, Sawchuk pursued the addition of a string section arranged by Lance Anderson, performed by members of the Kitchener/Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, and recorded at Cedartree Recording Studio in Kitchener with engineer by Rick Hutt. Underdog was mastered by Peter Letros of Wreckhouse Mastering.