Paul Stride is a singer/songwriter who lives in St. John’s, Canada. The album, ‘The Balladeer’, consists of 8 original songs, showcasing his multi-instrumental capabilities, deep scoring, and heartfelt lyrics. Everything on the album was performed by him with the exception of a sax solo in the song ‘She’s Not in Love with Me’. Paul Stride started playing the drums at the age of 8, and then later taught himself to play the keys and other instruments. While he had some formal musical training in his late teens, he remained a musician who preferred playing by ‘ear’, and writing his own songs rather than playing others. In 1989, he released an album titled ‘Lonely Heart’ featuring all original pop material. He continued to occasionally write music for placement in radio and TV, but mostly found himself ignoring his musicianship for a busy career outside the music industry. In April of 2009, his ‘inner musician’ awakened, and he began recording “The Balladeer”. “New technology in recording is a double edged sword”, said Paul, “you have a huge learning curve getting into digital recording software, but at the same time able to do things not possible 20 years ago. “ The album was recorded and produced at Paul’s home studio in St. John’s, with outsourcing help on the mixing and mastering stages. ‘The Balladeer’ reveals the stunning array of influences that have found their way into Paul’s music. Paul says “I’m always asked to compare my sound to that of more mainstream bands for promotional purposes”. “I always insist that their big budget records are much better than mine, but when forced to think about it, I’d have to say a huge mash up of Vertical Horizon meeting Christopher Cross, Phil Collins meeting Poco, or Roxy Music meeting Howie Day”.