 As a teenager Grashey first dabbled as a songwriter, teaming up with singer Jim Amadeo (aka Buddy DeVal).Together they struggled for more than a decade trying to get a foothold in a music industry that was still in its infancy, especially in Canada, so most of their efforts were directed to record companies and publishing houses in the U.S.In the late 1950s, Grashey met Chuck Williams in Thunder Bay, and the pair moved to Vancouver where with the financial help of Norm Burley, a retired lumber industry executive, and Art Phillips (who would later become Mayor of Vancouver), they formed Zero Records.