Fiancee, dog and courageous young woman inspire new music by Justin Fabus
Although every song on Justin Fabus’ new EP is deeply personal to his life’s journey, one in particular was drawn from two unlikely sources of inspiration.
Mr. Fabus, 34, of Scott, spent a good portion of the COVID-19 pandemic quarantining in Pittsburgh with his fiancee, Julie Grant, a Court TV host and anchor based in Atlanta. Ms. Grant suggested the couple adopt a dog, which is how they found Reyna, a French bulldog whose back legs were paralyzed and who had to wear a diaper due to incontinence. Something about the way Reyna carried herself sparked a songwriting fire in Mr. Fabus.
“She had the mentality that she was not handicapped,” he said. “You could tell she still thought she could do things because you could see her trying.”
That led him to write the chorus of “Run,” the first single on his five-song EP “The Aftermath,” which will be available Thursday. Mr. Fabus wrote it as wishful thinking for Reyna, who eventually started to heal and is getting around much better without her doggie wheelchair.
Reyna was only half of that inspiration equation, though.
Shortly after the dog entered Mr. Fabus’ and Ms. Grant’s lives, the two paid a visit to Pam Surano, a KDKA-TV general assignment reporter and former colleague of Ms. Grant. They saw Mary Maloney, Ms. Surano’s 14-year-old daughter, who has been wheelchair-bound since experiencing a freak spinal injury almost a year ago. Mr. Fabus recalled a big smile on Mary’s face, not the disposition he expected from someone in her position.
“When I hugged her, I felt this heat electricity, this energy off her,” he said. “I was inspired by it, sad from it, hopeful from it because I felt like if anyone can, she can walk again. So I went home that day and wrote the rest of the song based on her.”
Ms. Surano still can’t talk about “Run” without tearing up over Mr. Fabus using her daughter as a creative source for a song about resilience and staying motivated in the face of great obstacles.
“He knew she was going to run,” Ms. Surano said. “He felt it in his heart, mind and soul. It’s just amazing to be able to have good friends like that who you’re connected to and help you reach a higher level in yourself, especially when you’re going through so much suffering.”
The rest of “The Aftermath,” the follow-up to the seven-song“Shelter from the Storm” EP that Mr. Fabus released in September 2020, mostly covers what led him to Ms. Grant and his success as a singer-songwriter. “Young Wild & Free” is designed to take listeners back to their childhoods, “Reflection” finds Mr. Fabus warning his younger self not to “go chase the whiskey sunshine” (in other words, drink less), and “After You” is, as he put it, a “typical country breakup song.”
Then there’s “Kept Being You, Quit Being Me,” which is based on Mr. Fabus realizing he would have to change certain behaviors to keep Ms. Grant around. The two met during a time when Mr. Fabus “was not the best version of myself” due to addictions to cocaine and alcohol and the death of his mother three weeks earlier from pancreatic cancer. Ms. Grant helped him through the darkness and “kept being the person that she is” through it all.
He has always admired how the world is “sunshine and rainbows” to Ms. Grant. His is more “whiskey and cigarettes,” but the two have made it work through thick and thin. He has never had any reservations about expressing the worst of himself, in songs or otherwise.
“I want people to feel that because no matter what your demons are, we can all reflect and relate to the fact we all have them,” he said. “I feel like if I can capture that in a song, maybe it can help
someone get through it.”
“Run,” on the other hand, is meant to serve as inspiration for anyone else stuck in aseemingly insurmountable situation.
“Justin is an incredibly talented artist,” Ms. Grant said. “I always find it fascinating to know what inspires him. ‘Run’ is especially meaningful because it
was inspired by the resilience of our fur-baby Reyna and our remarkable friend Mary. ... It’s a beautiful reminder that with love, perseverance and faith in God, anything is possible.”
Ms. Surano was blown away by the Pittsburgh power couple: “They can’t stop giving to Mary and people in general because it’s just who they are. I think Justin has so many callings.”
As for Mr. Fabus, he knows how tough it can be to make it as a purveyor of original songs in the Pittsburgh music scene. He’ll be playing his first live show in almost two years at Rivers Casino on Sept. 11, and he’s anxious to see how “The Aftermath” is received in the meantime.
“I’m just excited for people to listen to this music and see if I’ve grown,” he said. “I appreciate that people take the time and spend their hard-earned money on my albums. It goes a long way.”