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5 Surprising Facts About Elvis Costello’s ‘My Aim Is True’

Eric Alper
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5 Surprising Facts About Elvis Costello’s ‘My Aim Is True’

It’s late 1976. A data entry clerk at Elizabeth Arden cosmetics in London is calling in sick, taking the train to a country house in Hampshire to rehearse songs with an American country rock band, then heading back the next day to record them at a tiny eight-track studio in Islington. He’s doing this on a budget of roughly £2,000. He hasn’t told his employer what he’s actually up to. He won’t quit that day job until July the following year.

The clerk is Declan MacManus. The album is My Aim Is True. And the band he’s rehearsing with — Clover, a California country rock act who happened to be living in Britain at the time — won’t even be credited on the finished record, because of contractual complications. Their names won’t appear on the sleeve. Neither will the name of the album’s designer. It is, in almost every respect, a record that came into the world sideways.

What followed was one of the most celebrated debut albums in the history of rock. Pitchfork gave it 9.8 out of 10. Rolling Stone ranked it among the 500 greatest albums of all time. Paste called it the best new wave album ever made. Here are five things about it that might surprise you.

The Backing Band on the Album Is Completely Uncredited — and Includes a Future Rock Star

The musicians who played on My Aim Is True were Clover, an American country rock act who had relocated to Britain and signed to Phonogram. Due to contractual difficulties, none of them are named on the original sleeve — the album simply refers to them vaguely in early marketing as “The Shamrocks.” Among those absent from the credits: Sean Hopper on keyboards and John McFee on guitar — and also present at the time, though he sat these sessions out entirely, was Clover’s harmonica player and occasional vocalist, a man who would later find enormous fame with his own band. His name was Huey Lewis. He later explained simply: “I took a vacation.”

Costello Changed His Name to Elvis — and Elvis Presley Died During the Album’s First Tour

The name change from Declan to Elvis was a marketing suggestion from Stiff Records co-founder Jake Riviera, meant to sharpen Costello’s image for the punk moment. Costello accepted it, acknowledging it would make people “pause just that little bit longer.” When the album came out in July 1977, Costello was already on the road promoting it — and on August 16, Elvis Presley died. British newspapers that had been planning features on Costello pulled them. Stiff ran a new slogan: “The King Is Dead, Long Live the King.” Four days after Presley’s death, My Aim Is True reached number 14 on the UK Albums Chart.

“Less Than Zero” Was Written About a British Fascist — and American Audiences Had No Idea

The opening single was inspired by Costello watching former British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley on television, apparently unrepentant about his actions in the 1930s. The song never mentions Mosley by name, referring only to “Mr. Oswald” — which American audiences assumed was a reference to Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK’s assassin. Costello eventually rewrote the lyrics entirely for US performances, creating what became known as the “Dallas version,” with the song reframed around the assassination. Both versions exist on reissues.

Costello Sabotaged His Own Saturday Night Live Performance — and Got Banned for Over a Decade

Columbia Records pressured Costello to play “Less Than Zero” on his SNL appearance in December 1977, believing it would connect with American audiences. Costello thought the song was too obscure for the moment and had a better idea. He started playing the song, stopped after a few bars, told the audience there was “no reason to do this song here,” and launched into “Radio Radio” — a song he had specifically promised not to play. Inspired by Jimi Hendrix scrapping “Hey Joe” live on the BBC in 1969, it was a deliberate act of defiance. NBC banned him from the show until 1989.

“Alison” Was Written About a Checkout Girl — and Costello Donated the Cover Version Royalties to the ANC

Costello has said the song was inspired by a woman he saw working a supermarket cash register, her expression suggesting that “all the hopes and dreams of her youth were draining away.” He has always been deliberately vague about the deeper meaning, writing only that it concerns “disappointing somebody.” When Linda Ronstadt covered it in 1979 and turned it into a moderate hit, Costello privately admitted he didn’t mind spending the money it earned him. He then donated his royalties from Ronstadt’s version to the African National Congress, after she performed at Sun City in apartheid South Africa.

5 Surprising Facts About ELO’s ‘Out of the Blue’

Eric Alper
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5 Surprising Facts About ELO’s ‘Out of the Blue’

Let’s talk about productivity. In the summer of 1977, Jeff Lynne rented a chalet in the Swiss Alps, locked himself away, and wrote one of the best-selling double albums in rock history. Not over months of careful drafting and revision. Not through a long collaborative process with his bandmates. He did it alone, in three and a half weeks, reportedly staring at fog and mountains and whatever else the Alps throw at you in July. Then he took the songs to Munich, spent two months recording them, and Out of the Blue was done.

The album hit number 4 on both sides of the Atlantic, spawned five hit singles across different countries, and became the first double album in British chart history to generate four separate top-twenty hits. It has sold around ten million copies worldwide. Axl Rose, by his own admission a devoted ELO fanatic, called it simply “an awesome record.”

What’s remarkable is how much is packed into those seventy minutes — and how many of the details behind it have been quietly sitting there, waiting to be noticed. Here are five of them.

The Entire Album Was Written in Three and a Half Weeks — and It Almost Didn’t Happen at All

Lynne arrived in Switzerland to write the follow-up to A New World Record and, by his own account, sat in the chalet for the first two weeks producing nothing. The weather was relentless — dark, misty, no view of the Alps whatsoever. Then one morning the clouds cleared, the mountains appeared, and he wrote “Mr. Blue Sky” and thirteen other songs in the two weeks that followed. The whole album, start to finish, emerged from that single break in the weather.

“Mr. Blue Sky” Contains a Secret Instruction — and a Legal Dispute

At the very end of the song, a vocoder sings the phrase “please turn me over” — a literal instruction to the listener to flip the vinyl record to Side Four. It’s a charming piece of album design, but the song also carries a less charming backstory: bassist Kelly Groucutt filed a lawsuit against Lynne in 1983, claiming he had written the song’s middle section without receiving credit. The suit didn’t change the official songwriting credit, but it did add a layer of complexity to what most people assume is just the world’s most cheerful pop song.

“Sweet Talkin’ Woman” Almost Had a Completely Different Name

The track was originally titled “Dead End Street” during recording, and some of that original identity survived into the final version — the opening of the third verse contains the line “I’ve been livin’ on a dead end street,” a leftover from the song’s earlier incarnation. What became one of ELO’s most disco-adjacent moments started life as something considerably darker in tone, which makes that glittering string arrangement feel even more like a reinvention.

The Spaceship on the Cover Is Hiding the Album’s Catalogue Number

The elaborate spacecraft artwork — designed by Kosh and illustrated by Shusei Nagaoka, modelled on the space station from 2001: A Space Odyssey — contains a small shuttle docking at the station. The number printed on that shuttle, JTLA 823 L2, is not a fictional spacecraft identifier. It’s the album’s original catalogue number. The cover also came with a cardboard cutout of the space station as an insert, and the spaceship concept carried directly onto the live tour, where ELO performed inside a massive glowing flying saucer on stage.

“The Whale” Was ELO’s Environmental Statement — and Part of the Proceeds Went to Greenpeace

The instrumental track on Side Four was written after Lynne watched a television episode about whale hunting. It opens with aquatic sound effects and uses the stereo field to evoke the scale of the ocean, and it wasn’t purely artistic — a portion of the proceeds from Out of the Blue was donated to Greenpeace. For an album otherwise preoccupied with sunshine, disco strings, and Swiss mountain vistas, it’s a quietly serious moment tucked near the end of a very long record.

5 Surprising Facts About Dennis Wilson’s ‘Pacific Ocean Blue’

Eric Alper
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5 Surprising Facts About Dennis Wilson’s ‘Pacific Ocean Blue’

The best album a Beach Boy ever made might not be a Beach Boys album at all. Dennis Wilson — the one they called the “real” Beach Boy, the surfer, the hellraiser, the guy who accidentally introduced the band to Charles Manson — walked into Brother Studios in Santa Monica in the fall of 1976 and started building something that none of his bandmates saw coming. Al Jardine would later listen back to it and say, simply, “That’s better than anything we’ve ever done.”

Dennis had always been the one who got overlooked. Brian was the genius. Carl was the golden voice. Dennis was the one on the drum riser — the one with the motorcycles and the chaos. What nobody had fully clocked was that somewhere in the years of late nights at Brother Studios, between the turbulent marriage to Karen Lamm and the long hours alone at the piano, he had quietly become a serious musician. Not a technically trained one, but something perhaps more interesting: an intuitive one, a fearless one, a man who would work until he found what he called “the truth.”

Pacific Ocean Blue was the result. Here are five things about it that might surprise you.

The Other Beach Boys Weren’t Supposed to Be on It — But They Showed Up Anyway

Dennis was signed to Caribou Records as a solo act, and the terms of his existing deal technically prohibited his bandmates from appearing on the record — which is why Carl Wilson goes uncredited on the inner sleeve despite clearly being there. Carl came in one night unannounced, in serious pain from a back injury, and arrived in a wheelchair. Someone helped him up onto a step stool, handed him a microphone, and he sang anyway. Co-producer Gregg Jakobson later conceded that if you listen carefully, “you might hear some of them in the background.”

Dennis Played Almost Everything Himself — Including Instruments He Had No Business Playing

Across the album’s twelve tracks, Dennis is credited on piano, Hammond organ, Moog bass, Minimoog, ARP synthesizer, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, drums, bass harmonica, tuba, violin, lap steel guitar, viola, cello, zither, marimba, and more. One of his signature moves was recording the ARP String Ensemble at double speed, then slowing playback down to produce what engineer Earle Mankey described as a slow, somber string texture that perfectly matched Dennis’s voice. Executive producer James Guercio compared what Dennis was getting out of a piano to Beethoven and Chopin. Dennis’s own response: “I’m really not a piano player.”

“Farewell My Friend” Was Written the Night a Man Died in Dennis’s Arms

Otto Hinsche — father of Beach Boys sideman Billy Hinsche and Carl Wilson’s father-in-law — died in May 1976 after a long illness, with Dennis by his side. That same night, Dennis drove directly to the studio and wrote the song from scratch. He played virtually every instrument on the track himself, and Billy Hinsche later said it was something Dennis kept close, recorded quietly and privately in the dark. The song was eventually played at Dennis Wilson’s own funeral in 1983.

The Album Outsold the Beach Boys — and Almost Got Dennis Kicked Out of the Band

Despite a modest chart peak of number 96 on the Billboard 200, Pacific Ocean Blue outperformed the Beach Boys’ own concurrent releases, which rattled some of his bandmates. Dennis had planned a proper solo tour to support the record, rehearsing a full band for weeks with confirmed dates across the US. But he received an ultimatum from the group’s management: tour solo and you’re out of the band. Faced with financial pressure and loyalty to his brothers, Dennis cancelled the tour entirely, and the album’s momentum died with it.

The Cover Photo Was Chosen by Karen — and Dennis Went Along With It to Keep the Peace

The album’s striking cover image — Dennis looking brooding and slightly glum against a hillside in the Hollywood Hills — was taken by Karen Lamm, his wife at the time. According to Jan and Dean’s Dean Torrence, who handled much of the album’s artwork, Dennis didn’t love the shot but went along with it anyway. “Dennis wanted to keep her happy,” Torrence recalled. The photo captures something true about the record itself: a man in the middle of a turbulent love affair, trying to hold it together long enough to make something lasting.

5 Surprising Facts About David Bowie’s “Heroes”

Eric Alper
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5 Surprising Facts About David Bowie’s “Heroes”

There’s a moment in the making of “Heroes” that tells you everything you need to know about how the record was put together. Producer Tony Visconti is sitting at his desk in Hansa Studio 2 in West Berlin. Through the window, three Soviet Red Guards are staring back at him through binoculars, Sten guns over their shoulders. Behind them: barbed wire, and a wall with mines buried in it. Visconti later said the band played with a kind of energy that the atmosphere simply demanded of them. He called it “one of my last great adventures in making albums.”

That studio — a former concert hall that Gestapo officers had once used as a ballroom — sat roughly 500 yards from the Berlin Wall. You can hear that geography in the music. The tension. The longing. The peculiar mixture of darkness and defiance that runs through every track.

Released in October 1977, “Heroes” was the second chapter in what became known as Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy, following Low from earlier that same year. It was made quickly, intuitively, with lyrics improvised on the spot, guitars recorded by a man who hadn’t played in three years, and a title track born from a kiss Bowie witnessed through a studio window. Here are five things about it that might surprise you.

The Guitarist Had Never Heard the Songs Before He Played Them

Robert Fripp, then on hiatus from King Crimson, received a phone call from Brian Eno in July 1977. Eno passed the phone to Bowie, who asked if Fripp would be interested in playing “some hairy rock ‘n’ roll guitar.” Fripp said he hadn’t really played in three years, but if they were prepared to take a risk, so was he. A first-class Lufthansa ticket arrived shortly after.

When Fripp got to the studio, he sat down and recorded lead guitar parts for tracks he had never heard before. Bowie gave him almost no guidance — he hadn’t even written his vocals or melodies yet. Fripp cut all of his guitar parts across just three days. For the title track specifically, he marked different spots on the studio floor with tape and played a different note at each position — A at four feet from his amp, G at three feet — all while his guitar was routed through Eno’s synthesizer. Visconti merged the three takes into one, creating what he described as a “dreamy, wailing quality.” Both Visconti and Eno were stunned by Fripp’s ability to perform with such precision for songs he had never heard.

Bowie Wrote the Lyrics to “Heroes” by Spying on His Own Producer

The backing track for the title track sat untouched for weeks. There was even a rumour it might remain an instrumental. Then one day Bowie asked Visconti to leave him alone in the studio so he could focus on writing. As he stood at the window staring out, he watched Visconti and backing singer Antonia Maass share a kiss close to the Berlin Wall — and used it as the basis for the lyric.

Bowie initially claimed the song was about an anonymous young couple. He kept the secret for over two decades, because Visconti was married to singer Mary Hopkin at the time. It wasn’t until 2003, long after Visconti and Hopkin had divorced, that Bowie confirmed the story: “Tony was married at the time, and I could never say who it was. I think possibly the marriage was in the last few months, and it was very touching because I could see that Tony was very much in love with this girl, and it was that relationship which sort of motivated the song.”

The Vocal Was Recorded With Three Microphones at Three Different Distances — and the Farther Ones Only Switched On When Bowie Screamed

To capture the escalating emotional intensity of the vocal — that famous build from a near-whisper to an all-out howl — Visconti devised what he called a “multi-latch” system. Three Neumann microphones were placed at different distances from Bowie: one nine inches away, one 20 feet back, and one about 50 feet away. The two farther microphones were routed through a noise gate, a device that would only open them when Bowie’s voice grew loud enough to reach them.

As Visconti explained: when Bowie sang a little louder, the second microphone would open with a big splash of reverb; when he really let loose, the third would open up and create an enormous sound. The result is that the song physically expands as it progresses — the room itself seems to grow. Bowie recorded three takes in about two hours. Immediately after, he and Visconti recorded the backing vocals, harmonising in thirds and fifths below the lead.

The Title Track Was Initially a Commercial Failure

For a song now considered one of the greatest ever recorded — ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time — “Heroes” had a remarkably underwhelming debut. Released as the lead single in September 1977, it peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart and failed to chart at all on the US Billboard Hot 100. Despite Bowie promoting it extensively — performing on Top of the Pops, appearing on Marc Bolan’s television series, and filming it with Bing Crosby just weeks before Crosby died — the song simply didn’t connect with the singles-buying public at the time.

According to biographers Nicholas Pegg and Chris O’Leary, it wasn’t until Bowie performed it at Live Aid in 1985 — eight years after its release — that the song finally became recognised as the classic it is. Bowie himself acknowledged the strange phenomenon: “Many of the crowd favourites were never radio or chart hits, and ‘Heroes’ tops them all.”

The Cover Was Shot in Tokyo, and the Pose Was Inspired by a German Expressionist Painting Bowie Saw in Berlin

The striking black-and-white photograph on the cover — Bowie with his hands raised, eyes wild, frozen in what biographer Nicholas Pegg called a “pose of serio-comic agitation” — was taken by Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita at Harajuku Studios in Tokyo in April 1977, months before the album was even recorded.

The pose itself was a deliberate nod to Erich Heckel’s 1917 expressionist painting Roquairol, which Bowie had encountered during a visit to the Brücke Museum in Berlin. The same painting had inspired the cover of Iggy Pop’s The Idiot, which Bowie had also produced. When asked about the quotation marks around the word Heroes in the album title, Bowie was direct: they were there to indicate “a dimension of irony about the word ‘heroes’ or about the whole concept of heroism.” Visconti offered a different take — that the album was heroic because it was one of the most positive periods of Bowie’s life, and during the making of it, everyone in that room by the Wall felt like heroes.

5 Surprising Facts About Rush’s ‘2112’

Eric Alper
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5 Surprising Facts About Rush’s ‘2112’

Here’s something worth sitting with for a moment. It’s 1976. Three guys from Toronto — a bassist who sounds like he’s singing from another planet, a guitarist who grew up on Cream and Led Zeppelin, and a drummer who reads Ayn Rand on tour buses — are about to get dropped by their record label. Their manager has just flown to Chicago to personally beg Mercury Records for one more shot. The label says yes, but with a condition: give us something commercial. Something that fits on radio. Something a normal person might actually buy.

What Rush did next was either the most audacious act of creative defiance in Canadian rock history, or the most gloriously reckless — depending on how you look at it. They went into Toronto Sound Studios in January 1976 and recorded a 20-minute science-fiction concept suite that takes up the entire first side of a vinyl record. The label hadn’t heard a single note of it until it was finished.

The album was called 2112. It went on to sell more than three million copies in the United States alone. It became the defining document of a band that had, against all odds and all advice, bet everything on being exactly who they were. But behind that story — one of rock’s great survival tales — are some details that even longtime Rush fans might not know. Let’s get into them.

The Album Was Written in Dressing Rooms, Hotel Rooms, and a Tour Van

There was no fancy pre-production studio time. Rush were still out on the road supporting Caress of Steel through the second half of 1975 — the same tour they’d later nickname the “Down the Tubes Tour” — when they started building what would become 2112. Neil Peart was already drafting lyrics while Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson developed song ideas on acoustic guitars backstage and in hotel rooms, working out arrangements that complemented whatever mood Peart was writing toward.

Lifeson specifically recalled working out “The Temples of Syrinx” backstage at a show in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario — in front of their opening act, Mendelson Joe. And here’s the kicker: the grand “Overture” that opens the entire epic suite? It was the very last piece written for the album.

Peart Added the Ayn Rand Credit Specifically to Avoid a Lawsuit

The storyline of “2112” — a future totalitarian society where a lone individual discovers a suppressed art form and brings it before an indifferent authority — bears a striking resemblance to Ayn Rand’s 1938 novella Anthem. The band had read it. As the song came together, Peart recognized the parallels were becoming hard to ignore, and he made a deliberate decision: he credited Rand’s work in the liner notes specifically to head off any potential legal action.

That credit stirred up its own trouble. A writer at Britain’s NME accused the band of being fascists based on the connection. This cut particularly deep for Geddy Lee, whose parents were Holocaust survivors. Lee pushed back firmly, describing the story as explicitly anti-totalitarian and anti-fascist — the exact opposite of what the critic had suggested.

The Closing Words of the Album Accidentally Spell Out “2112” — And Lifeson Says It Wasn’t Intentional

At the very end of “Grand Finale,” a voice speaks two lines: “Attention, all planets of the Solar Federation” — seven words, spoken three times (21 words total) — followed by “We have assumed control” — four words, spoken three times (12 words total). Put them together: 21 and 12. The album title, hidden in its own closing statement.

It sounds like a masterstroke of conceptual design. Alex Lifeson has said it was completely unintentional. Whether you believe him is entirely up to you.

“The Twilight Zone” Was Written and Recorded in a Single Day

Rush needed one more track to fill out Side Two. The band were big fans of the television series and its creator Rod Serling, and decided to write something in tribute. According to Peart, the whole thing — lyrics, music, and recording — was done in one day. The finished song draws on two specific episodes: “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” for the first verse, and “Stopover in a Quiet Town” for the second.

It also became the first single released from the album, in June 1976, and Rush dedicated it to Serling’s memory. Forty years later, Steven Wilson recorded a cover for the anniversary reissue — not a bad legacy for a track born in a single session.

The Iconic “Starman” Logo Made Its First Appearance on This Album — and Later Ended Up on a Canadian Postage Stamp

The naked figure reaching toward a red star, now one of the most recognizable logos in rock, was created by artist Hugh Syme for the 2112 gatefold sleeve. Syme explained the nudity in classical terms — a tradition representing purity, the human form without material trappings. To Neil Peart, the Red Star symbolized any collectivist ideology, while the man represented “the abstract man against the masses.” Peart used the Starman on his bass drum heads from 1977 to 1983, then brought it back in 2004 and again in 2015.

In July 2013, Canada Post featured the Starman on a commemorative stamp honouring Rush — a fittingly official recognition for a logo born out of an album the band’s own label didn’t want them to make.

Don Ross Revisits a Timeless Collaboration With “Did I Fool You” From New Album ‘Songs That Found Me’

Eric Alper
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Don Ross Revisits a Timeless Collaboration With “Did I Fool You” From New Album ‘Songs That Found Me’

Acclaimed Canadian guitarist, composer, and songwriter Don Ross releases his new single “Did I Fool You” today, offering a rare glimpse into a creative partnership that stretches back to his teenage years. Written with longtime collaborator Norman Wolfson, the song is the first single from Ross’s album Songs That Found Me, out now via Goby Fish Music. The track bridges decades of musical craftsmanship, combining elements of a 1981 Toronto recording session with newly recorded performances that reflect Ross’s evolving artistry and production vision.

“I wrote this song with my old friend Norman Wolfson back when we were both teenagers,” Ross says. “We wrote a lot of songs together for various projects. We always thought this song was maybe our strongest tune.” The original version was recorded at Captain Audio in downtown Toronto in the early 1980s, when Ross and Wolfson entered the studio with hopes of presenting the song to established vocalists. What emerged instead was a recording that captured the spirit of two young writers finding their voice. More than four decades later, that session has become the foundation for a strikingly contemporary release.

The song’s lyrics carry the emotional clarity and introspection that have long marked Ross’s writing. In the chorus, he sings, “But I’m all right, I’m fine / Everything happens my way / I could fool anyone, but did I fool you?” — a line that anchors the song’s reflective tone and melodic sweep. Elsewhere, Ross sets the stage with poetic imagery: “Dreams and songs remain to haunt my worried mind / How often have I stayed inside myself, beside myself?”

“Back in about 1981 we went into Captain Audio recording studio in downtown Toronto and did the best job we could recording this song,” Ross recalls. “Mostly what we ended up with was a really nice recording.” Years later, while exploring recording engineering in greater depth, Ross discovered a box of tape reels from those early sessions and carefully transferred them into the digital realm. That archival moment became the starting point for the single’s innovative production approach.

Using the A.I.-powered software Spectralayers, Ross separated the original stereo recording into its component parts, allowing him to remix and expand the track. The result is a recording that blends eras seamlessly: electric guitar, keyboards, bass, and backing vocals preserved from the 1981 session, alongside Ross’s newly recorded lead vocal, acoustic guitar, orchestration, and a fresh drum performance by longtime collaborator Marito Marques. “Definitely the most 21st century approach I’ve ever taken to a mix,” Ross says of the process.

Ross’s career spans decades of innovation across acoustic music, songwriting, and composition. Born in Montréal and now based in Windsor, Nova Scotia, he first emerged on the international stage after winning the U.S. National Fingerpick Guitar Championship in 1988, becoming the competition’s first two-time champion when he won again in 1996. Over the years he has released more than two dozen albums, toured extensively across Europe, Asia, and North America, and built a reputation for genre-blending work that connects virtuoso guitar playing with expansive musical storytelling. His upcoming album Songs That Found Me marks his 19th solo release and continues a creative path that has led to honours including the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Following the release of “Did I Fool You,” Ross will bring his music to audiences across Europe and North America throughout 2026, including performances in Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, and across Canada, with notable stops at the Luminato Festival in Toronto and the Stewart Park Festival in Perth, Ontario. Additional dates span from Aurora, Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia, continuing a touring tradition that has connected Ross with global audiences for decades.

Don Ross Confirmed 2026 Tour Dates

All shows double bill with Julie Malía unless noted

24/04/2026: Neuötting, Germany

25/042026: Neunkirchen, Germany

26/04/2026: Hemsbach, Germany

30/04 – 03/05/2026: Klasdorf, Germany (Groove Guitar Camp)

08/05/2026: Nienhagen, Germany

09/05/2026: Wernigerode, Germany

14/05/2026: Einbeck, Germany

15/05/2026: Marmagen, Germany

16/05/2026: Gelnhausen, Germany (solo)

23/05/2026: Aurora, ON, Canada (solo)

06/06/2026: Luminato Festival, Toronto, ON, Canada (solo)

17-18/07/2026: Stewart Park Festival, Perth, ON, Canada

14-16/08/2026: Don Ross Guitar Weekend, Windsor, NS, Canada

18-20/09/2026: Warsaw Fingerstyle Guitar Festival, Warsaw, Poland (TBC)

01/10/2026: Salty Towers, St Andrew’s, NB, Canada

02/10/2026: Harbourfront Theatre, Summerside, PE, Canada

04/10/2026: Le Richelieu, Meteghan, NS, Canada

07/10/2026: Strathspey Performing Arts Centre, Mabou, NS, Canada

10/10/2026: Chester Playhouse, Chester, NS, Canada

15/10/2026: Sofia, Bulgaria (Venue TBA) (solo)

22/10/2026: Paderborn, Germany

23-25/10/2026: Bad Wildungen, Germany

31/10-01/11/2026: Beuggen, Germany

06-07/11/2026: Hamburg Guitar Festival, Hamburg, Germany

14/11/2026: Heidenheim, Germany

19/11/2026: Saskatoon, SK, Canada

20/11/2026: Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada

21/11/2026: Valemount, BC, Canada

22/11/2026: Canmore, AB, Canada

23/11/2026: High River, AB, Canada

24/11/2026: Cranbrook, BC, Canada

26/11/2026: Duncan, BC, Canada

27/11/2026: Courtenay, BC, Canada

28/11/2026: Victoria, BC, Canada

29/11/2026: Vancouver, BC Canada

04/12/2026: Bath, ME, USA

Don Denaburg & Friends Share Moving New Single “Beyond Blue”: A Song About Finding Light in the Darkest Moments

Eric Alper
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Don Denaburg & Friends Share Moving New Single “Beyond Blue”: A Song About Finding Light in the Darkest Moments

Toronto singer-songwriter Don Denaburg and his celebrated collective of collaborators release “Beyond Blue”— out now—a quietly powerful new single that speaks directly to anyone who has ever felt alone in their struggle. Produced by Denaburg with legendary Canadian composer Jack Lenz as executive producer, the song arrives as one of the most emotionally essential recordings of Don’s career. It is carried by Sheila Carabine’s luminous vocal performance and a sparse, melancholic arrangement built around David Matheson’s piano and Amber Walton-Amar’s cello.

“Beyond Blue” was born from an unexpected moment of self-expression. After hearing Damien Rice’s “The Blower’s Daughter” in a film he was watching, Denaburg found himself overwhelmed by a flood of long-held emotions. He picked up his guitar and let one painful feeling after another come pouring out. Twelve verses arrived fully formed in a single sitting. “‘Beyond Blue’ is the only song I’ve ever written whose lyrics didn’t require rewriting,” Denaburg reflects. “What you hear is exactly how the words came out—unfiltered and immediate.” By morning, something had shifted. Feeling lighter, Don finished the song, adding a bridge and final verse that carry a sense of hope.

“Beyond Blue” speaks with uncommon directness to the experience of depression and the isolation that often accompanies it. Lines like “Maybe you’re all by yourself / Maybe you wonder how or why anyone else / Would want to be with you” are delivered as an act of recognition—an outstretched hand from someone who has been there. The bridge anchors the song in a more reassuring message: “Hold on, don’t go / This hell may be all you know now / But down there you’ll find this too / I love and believe in you.”

A Berklee College of Music award-winning songwriter, Denaburg brings decades of craft, collaborations and lived experience to his music. He has led cross-Canada tours as the frontman of The River Street Band. His writing draws on folk, pop, jazz, and Americana traditions to explore the fragile, deeply human moments when everything falls apart—and the uneven path that leads toward something better. “Beyond Blue” represents Denaburg’s most personal and direct statement to date.

The recording itself is a testament to what a close-knit collective of world-class musicians can achieve together. Carabine, known for her work with Dala, brings an extraordinary warmth and emotional precision to the lead vocal. Matheson, whose credits include Moxy Früvous and Ron Sexsmith, shapes the piano arrangement with restraint and sensitivity. Walton-Amar’s cello adds a resonant, aching depth that gives the track its distinctive emotional weight. The song was mixed and mastered by Ryan McNabb, who, along with Harrison Lenz, served as recording engineers on the project.

Just as a poignant song affected him deeply, Denaburg imagines that “Beyond Blue” could have a similar impact on listeners. “I hope that, through the quiet power of music, ‘Beyond Blue’ reaches others who are struggling—reminding them that they are not alone, and that telling their story can begin to lift the weight they carry.” That intention is woven into every note of the recording.

“Beyond Blue” stands as one of the most affecting and necessary songs to emerge from Toronto’s singer-songwriter community in recent memory—honest, intimate, and genuinely moving in the way that only music born from lived experience can be.

Victoria’s JR and the Bad Ox Band Cruise Into “Highway Life” with All-Star Nashville Team

Eric Alper
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Victoria’s JR and the Bad Ox Band Cruise Into “Highway Life” with All-Star Nashville Team

JR and the Bad OX Band, the heartfelt country project of Canadian singer-songwriter John Rewers, today releases “Highway Life,” a sun-drenched, rolling ode to the open road and the love that pulls a man home. Available now on all major streaming platforms, the track is the second single from Rewers’ “Nashville Sessions” — a suite of recordings made at the legendary Hen House Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, produced by JUNO Award-winning artist and producer Steve Dawson.

“Highway Life” arrives with the easy, sun-warm confidence of a country song that has been lived rather than written. Built on the playful push-pull of the road and home, the track crackles with warmth from the opening bars. Rewers’ acoustic rhythm anchors a band firing on all cylinders: Steve Dawson weaves steel and electric guitar into the groove while bassist David Jacques, keyboardist Jen Gunderman, and drummer Justin Amaral lock into a pocket that feels both classic and alive. The production honours the golden lineage of traditional country while leaving plenty of open sky for Rewers’ voice to breathe.

The song’s central tension is irresistible: a trucker in love with every mile of asphalt beneath him, equally in love with the woman waiting at the end of the drive. “Driving down the highway, rollin’ down the byway / Gonna see my baby tonite,” Rewers sings, his voice carrying the kind of easy certainty that only real feeling can produce. The hook circles back with jubilant momentum — “Cause the highway life is the only life for me / But at home is the place I should be” — landing the song’s emotional core with a smile rather than a sigh. It is the sort of lyric that sticks immediately, the kind country radio was built to carry.

The Nashville Sessions represent a milestone that Rewers has been building toward for decades. A lifelong lover of classic country and traditional songwriting, he made his way to Tennessee with a collection of songs drawn from real moments, close observations, and a philosophy that every well-lived life deserves its own soundtrack. Working at Hen House Studios with Steve Dawson — celebrated for his acclaimed productions with Jim Byrnes, Kelly Joe Phelps, Old Man Luedecke, The Sojourners, and The Deep Dark Woods — Rewers found a creative collaborator who understood exactly how to frame those stories. The result is a body of work that sounds rooted, warm, and entirely itself.

Raised in Kitimat, BC and now based in Victoria, Rewers spent his professional life as a public accountant before allowing himself to fully embrace the calling that had been with him since his teenage years. “Music is a source of wellness, beauty and life,” he says. “Once I picked up my guitar and started on this journey, I found the music to be full of positive energy that filled up my cup of life. Why would I not want this?” That philosophy infuses every note of “Highway Life” — a song that carries the joy of a man doing exactly what he was meant to do. His first single, “My Love,” released in February 2025, introduced the Bad OX Band to audiences hungry for country music rooted in sincerity and craft, and the response has been warmly enthusiastic.

The momentum behind JR and the Bad OX Band continues to build. Rewers has earned a nomination for the prestigious Gaylord Wood Traditional Country Artist Award, recognition from the country music community that underscores the authenticity at the heart of his songwriting. “Dreams are never too old to be achieved,” says Rewers, who is three-quarters of a century old and adding to his bucket list at a steady pace. His sights are set on the Grand Ole Opry stage — and with records like “Highway Life” in his catalogue, the journey there is compelling listening.

The full “Nashville Sessions” album, “Changing Lanes,” is forthcoming. JR and the Bad OX Band continue to write, record, and perform — proof that the most resonant music is often the kind that has had a lifetime to find its voice.

Rising Pop Star Supertrendt Soundtracks America’s Most Dreaded Day With “Tax Day” Out April 10

Eric Alper
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Rising Pop Star Supertrendt Soundtracks America’s Most Dreaded Day With “Tax Day” Out April 10

Every year on April 15, millions of Americans file their taxes. Some dread it. Some dodge it. Nobody has ever celebrated it. Until now.

Tax Day just got a soundtrack. “Tax Day,” out April 10, is a chic, danceable retro-swing pop track by Dutch independent artist Supertrendt that turns April 15 into something worth putting on the calendar. Think Caro Emerald meets Dua Lipa: sophisticated, ironic, and impossible not to move to. It acknowledges the dread, celebrates what taxes pay for — “Streetlights still shining / Bridges that hold / Classrooms and clinics / Heat in the cold” — and makes the whole thing feel like a party rather than a punishment.

“Every country has its version of Tax Day,” says Richard van den Boogaard, the Dutch artist and composer behind Supertrendt. “But America made it a cultural moment. It deserved a soundtrack. Nobody had written one yet, so I did.”

The song arrives at a moment when the conversation about who pays taxes and who doesn’t have never been louder. “Tax Day” doesn’t take sides. It takes the floor. The chorus — “Call it a celebration / Circle it and pay / Do the math, sign your name / Yay, it’s Tax Day” — carries the whole irony of the song in a single word. “The ‘yay’ was deliberate,” says van den Boogaard. “That one word carries the whole irony.”

Supertrendt is a Netherlands-based studio project crafting narrative pop without a fixed identity. Each release reshapes genre to serve the story, moving fluidly between deep house, alternative electronic textures, reggae warmth, noir minimalism, and introspective pop. The catalogue unfolds across four evolving series — Transformations, Observations, Reimaginations, and Celebrations — exploring reinvention, perception, and cultural reflection through emotionally precise writing. “Tax Day” lands in the Celebrations series. Van den Boogaard produces all music independently, treating the studio as a instrument in the tradition of Quincy Jones, Jean-Michel Jarre, and the producers who built entire sonic worlds.

Hamilton’s Legendary Grant Avenue Studio Kicks Off 50th Anniversary with Concert Series and Museum Show

Eric Alper
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Hamilton’s Legendary Grant Avenue Studio Kicks Off 50th Anniversary with Concert Series and Museum Show

Grant Avenue Studio, one of Canada’s most storied recording facilities, is entering its 50th year with a season that reflects everything the studio has always stood for: exceptional music, deep community roots, and an unwavering belief in the power of live performance and authentic artistry. From a landmark anniversary celebration to a national awards partnership, 2026 marks a milestone year for the Hamilton institution and the musicians and fans who have made it legendary.

50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Grant Avenue Studio turns 50 this year, and the studio is honouring the occasion in a way that is as open-armed and community-minded as the institution itself. A year-long celebration is underway, culminating in an outdoor ticketed summer event — a gathering of live music, speeches, familiar faces, giveaways, and a music market showcasing local talent. Proceeds will benefit a charitable cause. A date will be announced in the coming weeks. A new commemorative 50th anniversary logo has been unveiled and is available for media use.

SECOND ANNUAL ROAD TO SUPERCRAWL

Back by popular demand, the second annual Road to Supercrawl returns this spring at Mills Hardware, Hamilton. Presented in partnership with Supercrawl, 25 bands will compete across five nights of live music, vying for a recording package at Grant Avenue Studio, a coveted spot on the Supercrawl main stage, and a suite of video, photo, and promotional prizes. The series finale will take place at Bridgeworks in August where the winner will be announced, and every competing band will perform on the Grant Avenue Stage at Supercrawl in September.  Band announcements are coming in the weeks ahead.

JUNO AWARDS 2026: FORGED IN MUSIC POP-UP CONCERTS

Grant Avenue Studio was proud to be a supporting partner of the 2026 JUNO Awards Hamilton Host Committee, contributing to the Forged in Music Pop-Up Concert Series — a programme of live music experiences brought to unique and unexpected spaces across the region in the lead-up to JUNO Week. The partnership reflects the studio’s longstanding commitment to amplifying Hamilton’s music community on every stage available to it.

GRANT AVENUE STUDIO PRESENTS (GASP)

Grant Avenue Studio Presents (GASP) is the studio’s ongoing concert series, capturing world-class artists (with an emphasis on local talent), performing their songs live off the floor at Grant Avenue. Equal parts intimate session and cinematic document, GASP is a front-row seat to Hamilton’s remarkable depth of homegrown talent. New episodes are releasing regularly on the studio’s YouTube channel — subscribe to stay current with every new session.

HAMILTON CIVIC MUSEUMS: PUNCHING IN EXHIBITION

Grant Avenue Studio is honoured to be featured in Punching In: The Work of Hamilton Music, a new exhibition at Hamilton Civic Museums celebrating the city’s thriving music scene and the craft behind the songs. The inclusion is a fitting recognition of the studio’s half-century as a creative home for Hamilton musicians and a quiet engine behind some of the most enduring recordings to come out of this city.

ABOUT GRANT AVENUE STUDIO

Founded 50 years ago in Hamilton, Ontario by Daniel Lanois, Grant Avenue Studio is one of Canada’s premier recording facilities. At the heart of Studio A is a vintage MCI JH500C console outfitted with API preamps — a customised version of the same board used on landmark albums including Back in Black, Hotel California, and Cowboys From Hell. The studio is owned and operated by Mike Bruce (entertainment & real estate entrepreneur and musician), Marco Mondano (owner of DC Music), with Head Producer and Engineer Andrew Lauzon — a Grammy-nominated, internationally touring multi-instrumentalist — and Debbie Bruce (Operations Manager) leading the creative team. Grant Avenue is a recording studio, a community hub, and a living piece of Canadian music history.

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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