Matt Graham and his band Graham Show encourage listeners to Follow Your Dreams with their new sophomore EP and title-track single — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
“The song Follow Your Dreams is an anthem meant to be motivation for anyone who wants or needs it,” Canadian alt-rocker Graham offers. “The opening line is ‘every morning you wake up and see nothing but future hope and destiny.’ The chorus is to ‘live the life you never lived, dream the dreams you never dreamt, and never spend the energy on time not well spent.’ What I wanted to offer was the message that you can go after anything you want in life. If you never give up, success will one day come.”
It’s a mindset Graham understands well. Born in Edmonton and raised in Peterborough, Ont., he counted music and the guitar as his passions alongside mountain biking and snowboarding. In fact, a paper route at age 12 helped the young artist save to buy his first Fender Stratocaster. “It was very similar to my idol’s at the time,” says the Jimi Hendrix fan.
After gigging with various bands and heading to college to learn about business and the music industry, he set his sights on Canada’s West Coast. “At that stage, I decided the mountains and the snowboard scene was more appealing,” he says of the eight years spent in the Whistler area. “But I did meet a friend and fellow musician, Darren Chambo, and we formed a band — The Chambo Graham Show. We’d play in weather ranging from -30 to +40 at the base of Whistler mountain, facing the gondola, and just doing it for the love of it. In that location, millions of people walked by every season, and it was great exposure.”
Ultimately, Graham moved back to Ontario, purchasing a home studio and continuing to work diligently and hone his craft. His debut single Life premiered in 2018, ultimately appearing alongside follow-up singles Between Moments and Nothing Can Be Undone on his breakout five-track EP, Between Moments.
This year’s three-track EP Follow Your Dreams live up to its mantra, with tracks designed to uplift listeners with inspiring messages. “You starts out with the lyrics, ‘it doesn’t matter what you believe in, I believe in you,’ ” Graham explains. “It is meant to be like a parent telling a young child words of wisdom. Go after it. If you believe it, you can create it.”
Check out Follow Your Dreams below, and find out more about Matt Graham at his website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
