Brady releases CD with running-inspired songs

Shawn Brady, a Toronto physiotherapist and musician who performs as Bono in a U2 tribute band, is getting ready to launch a new CD, complete with a few songs inspired by his love of running.

Brady, who works during the day as a director at a major hospital in Toronto, is launching his first original album, Electric Blood, on Nov. 12. It features 10 high-energy rock songs with themes ranging from loss and human frailty to hope and ambition — and a little bit of running as well. One song in particular — “All for the Run” — features a number of Once a Runner quotes, like “miles of trials.”

But even with his busy schedule, working 50 hours a week at the hospital and performing at least five nights per week, Brady still has time to run. He estimates he runs approximately 80-100 kilometres per week, often commuting 14K to work as part of his daily training.

He’s also an accomplished runner, with a marathon PB of 2:27:03, which he ran in Chicago in 2002 (where he was the third Canadian overall). In 2000, he was ranked third in the Canadian running series as well.

In 2006, he placed 10th out of 25,000+ runners in the Honolulu Marathon with a 2:31:07 in 26 degree Celsius heat and when he, admittedly, wasn’t even at his best.

“I went to see the U2 concert the night before,” he told Canadian Running in an email. “Got back to the hotel at 1 a.m. Slept until 3 a.m., and the race started at 5 a.m.”

Brady is probably most well known for his work in ‘Elevation,’ a U2 tribute band that has played more than 1,000 shows in 14 countries, including Japan, Italy, Spain, and England and across North America.

The CD release party for Electric Blood, featuring the entire album performed live, is on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 at 8 p.m. at Tattoo Rock Parlour, located at 567 Queen Street West in Toronto.