award winning musician • documentary filmmaker • photographer • audio/video engineer • graphic design
Notable Creations
Here are some of the creative art projects I am particularly proud of.
“A Dollar A Lap to Stop The Gap” (Promotional Videos + Fundraiser -/- 2019)
In 2019 I organized fundraisers and directed promotional videos to raise money and awareness for the accessibility-focused StopGap Foundation.
With the support of Surgere, Fatboy Racing and Indycar’s the Road to Indy, the fundraisers generated over $10 000 for the
StopGap Foundation!
“Music Tour for the Canadian Women’s Foundation” (Music Tour -/- 2015)
I organized and headlined a solo music tour across the East Coast of Canada to raise money and awareness for the Canadian Women’s Foundation. The 10-show tour featured over 25 independent musicians, more than half of the performers being women, and in total raised over $3600 for the Canadian Women’s Foundation!
“The funds raised will help women and girls across Canada move out of violence, out of poverty, and into confidence.”
- Jessica Howard, Canadian Women’s Foundation
“The Dirt” (Music Video -/- 2015)
“The Dirt” is the Worl’s First Music Video for the Deaf .
This was my attempt at translating music into a visual form. My goal was to show the deaf community how recorded music is constructed. It was featured on the CBC and other news outlets!
Each instrument in this video was created from scratch by filming various light sources. The size, texture and position of each 'visual instrument' reflects how the instrument was mixed in the audio recording. The colour of the instrument is significant with regard to it's pitch.
“Boy Meets Girl” (Feature Film -/- 2015)
I was proud to write and record some my songs for the feature film Boy Meets Girl, directed by Eric Schaeffer. The film stars trans actor Michelle Hendley and includes Michel Welch (Twilight).
Schaeffer has also released a wide variety of releases including If Lucy Fell starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Scarlett Johansson.
Boy Meets Girl was a big success and won over 30 film festival awards including a GLAAD Media Award.
“War Music” (Documentary Film + Music Release -/- 2010)
Row after row of white marble headstones. Beaches that were stormed by Allied troops during World War II. A young Canadian with only his acoustic guitar and his camera.
War Music documents 22-year-old singer / song-writer David Porteous' solo journey across Europe as he writes and records music inspired by the people he meets and the places he visits.
David's powerful, emotive music provides a soundtrack that draws us deep into an often glamorized time in human history and gives us an incredibly honest look at how World War II continues to affect us.
War Music was featured on CBC, The Toronto Star, Inside Toronto, BBC
“Drum Kit Donation In Memory of Scott Johnson” (Fundraisers -/- 2013-2015)
As a longtime Radiohead fan, I felt compelled to do something positive after hearing the news that their drum tech, Scott Johnson, was killed hours before a performance due to a stage collapse. In turn I held a series of In Memoriam concerns and raised money to purchase an electronic drum kit which I donated to the Fort York Library in Toronto, in memory of Scott.
Philip Selway of Radiohead found out about the donation and met with me in Toronto to discuss doing something similar in the UK. A month later, live on BBC Radio, Philip donated a drum kit to Manchester Library alongside Guy Garvey (Elbow) and Stephen Morris (Joy Division). Now anyone with a library card can play these drum kits for free!
“Shoot The Image” (Band + Music Release -/- 2010-2014)
Simeon Ross, who I had been playing lead guitar with since 2004, asked me if I wanted to play guitar in a new band called Shoot The Image. I love Simeon’s songwriting so naturally I said yes.
Box Boorer, guitar player with Morrissey and Edwyn Collins, caught Simeon playing a solo show in the UK and they hit it off. Fast forward a few months and the band was invited to record our first album at Boz’s private studio in the secluded mountains of Portugal.
It was a great experience writing and recording songs in such a relaxed and picturesque atmosphere. We ended up doing a bunch of sold out shows and headlined a Brit night at the MOD Club in Toronto. Definitely one of the most fun bands I’ve played with!
“Memoriam” (Music Release -/- 2011)
This album was recorded as an acknowledgement to the suffering endured by the civilians caught in the middle of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars.
It is not my intention to place blame on any party involved in these conflicts. This album is not anti-American, this album is not pro-Taliban. This is not my effort to remove support for the troops.
If we support conflict, whether physically, politically or even financially through our tax dollars, then we must at the very least act as adults and acknowledge, confront and be honest about the realities that are a part of war. Perhaps in the future when discussing the possibilities of conflict, we might start to consider those whom will inevitably suffer the most.
“The Sicks” (Parody Comedy Web-Series -/- 2017)
The Sicks is a comedy-parody web-series* about life in the city of Toronto, complete with fictitious commercials, prank phone calls, made-up tourism videos, real artistic performances and even a radio station.
Created by Toronto resident David Porteous, The Sicks offers a highly imaginative melding of reality and fiction. Even BlogTO got fooled by The Sicks.
“…you’ll appreciate the pilot episode of The Sicks.”
- Alan Cross
“Twelve Months” (12- EP Music Release -/- 2010)
In 2010 I dared myself to write and record a new EP, every month for a year straight. I have always enjoyed pushing myself artistically-speaking and after a few months in, I realized how beneficial it was as a songwriter, even if just for practice-sake.
In turn, I found myself dedicating some time each day to pick up an instrument and write. After all, I wanted to stay on top of things and didn’t end up wanting to release 12 EPs full of shoddy music. By the end I had written over 300 songs and the final product was a 70 song 12-EP music release with over 4 hours of new material.
Here are some of favourite songs that came out of this project.
“North by Not Easy” (Music Festival -/- 2008)
“Poppy Scotland” (Charity Fundraiser -/- 2006)
I was proud to organize and perform at a fundraiser to raise money for Poppy Scotland, an organization that supports Scottish Veterans with various support options..
It was a packed house at the 13th Note in Glasgow and as far as I recall I think we raised around $400 for the charity!
“My Fallen Company” (Music Video Series -/- 2006)
The World’s First Video Music Album for portable Video players!
Filmed on the countryside in Ayrshire, Scotland, this video album featured live off the floor writing and recording from various locations including a castle, a cemetery and even on the edge of a cliff!
