Music News

ASD Kicks Out the Jams for Canadian Autism Awareness Month

Looking for a little musical joy in your life? Meet ASD, a very cool Canadian band of really talented musicians who share something very different in common. 

Each member of ASD is on the Autism spectrum — the name itself stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder — and in commemoration of Canadian Autism Awareness Month, the band is releasing  a series of covers to help raise money for Jake’s House, a charity that supports people on the spectrum. 

The core of the band includes five musicians: Spenser Murray on drums, Roberto Tanco on vocals, Rawan Tuffaha on vocals, Ron Adea on keyboards and Jackson D. Begley on acoustic guitar. 

Spenser says the best thing about the band is being able to record with the other musicians and being on a big stage. Robert enjoyed being at the studio and “watching all our work come together in our video,” as shown below. Rawan agrees, adding that together they’ve created a sense of camaraderie and can share their music with a bigger audience. Ron enjoys the thought of performing live (oh, we can hope, Ron!) and Jackson said “it’s always a great opportunity to play with other musicians and record in a professional studio, especially when it’s for a good cause.” 

“People on the spectrum often have issues with communication, but Jake’s House has found through their work with autistic individuals that music can be a very powerful tool that brings people together,” a spokesperson for the group says. 

Their first single, a cover of Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe,” was released on October 6, with more songs released throughout the month. 

What’s really impressive is that the group has been working on this project a long time — they rehearsed and started working on the videos in the pre-COVID times. 

Their goal for all this is pretty simple: To have the music video shared, to create more awareness about Jake’s House and the work the organization does to support children and families living with autism across Canada. 

Jake’s House, based in Toronto, also provides a yearly holiday party, a mentoring program for young people to give them the opportunity to learn skills and socialize, an employment mentoring program as teenagers and young adults prepare to enter the job force, and inclusive housing solutions to help those adults with autism who want to live independently. 

Amber Healy

I write about music policy and lawsuits because they're endlessly fascinating.

Amber Healy has 517 posts and counting. See all posts by Amber Healy

Let us know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.