Local producer’s Elvis Costello tribute album will help tune up school music program

A Fountain Valley resident combined his love for a particular musician and his connections in the music industry to help young music students.

John Borack said he has been a fan of Elvis Costello since the 1970s, and after one of the rock star’s concerts in 2012, he decided it was time to share that passion with the world.

Borack, who has worked in music journalism and plays drums for local band the Popdudes, produced a tribute album to the band Shoes in 2001 and a tribute to 1960s and ‘70s pop music in 2002.

He and Olivia Frain, a television producer who lives in Florida, teamed to produce “Beyond Belief,” which boasts 50 Costello tracks covered by artists who donated their time.

“I told Olivia, ‘You know, someone should do a tribute album to Elvis Costello, because there hasn’t really been a good one,” Borack said. “We decided to do one because we are both involved in the music industry to varying degrees.”

All proceeds from the three-disc compilation will benefit the Studio City-based Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, which provides musical instruments to grade schools in needy areas. It is named after a 1995 film about a high school music teacher who aspires to compose a great piece of music.

“That was something we both felt strongly about,” Borack said. “We wanted the proceeds to go to a music nonprofit organization because you see so many school music programs going under these days. A lot of the arts are kind of going away from grade schools, and Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation is a great organization.”

Felice Mancini, the foundation’s president and chief executive, said the money raised from “Beyond Belief” will aid a school music program in Orange County that Borack and Frain will choose this year.

“It’s wonderful that people like John support our work to keep music alive in schools,” said Mancini, daughter of late composer Henry Mancini. “To know that John and his team created such a successful project on our behalf is gratifying. We expect that many kids will now have access to instruments that wouldn’t have without the proceeds from the CD.”

The album, which can be purchased on CDBaby.com, has raised more than $5,000 for the foundation since its release in January.

After earning the rights to Costello’s songs and receiving the singer’s blessing, Borack and Frain reached out to musicians they had met.

Artists on the compilation by SpyderPop Records include Butch Walker, Matthew Sweet and Mike Viola.

Borack said he and Frain haven’t gotten a response from Costello since “Beyond Belief” came out, but they have sent him several copies.

“I see there’s a great need for assistance in a lot of different areas, and this seemed like this could be a way that we could combine our love for music and Elvis Costello for good use to raise funds for a really worthy organization,” said Borack, who is on the boards of several area nonprofits, including the Fountain Valley Educational Foundation.

“It’s a great feeling knowing something you had a hand in producing is going to help people in a tangible way that you can see. We’ll get photos of these kids with the instruments and see how we’ve assisted them. That makes me smile.”

[For the record, Sept. 11, 12:50 p.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the tribute album “Beyond Belief” could be purchased on Amazon.com. It is available on CDBaby.com.]