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5 Surprising Facts About Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’

Eric Alper
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5 Surprising Facts About Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’

Every once in a while, an album transcends its time, speaking to the present and future in a way that feels almost prophetic. For many, Radiohead’s OK Computer is one of those albums. Released on May 21, 1997, the record captured the angst of a world hurtling toward the digital age with abstract lyrics, unconventional production, and themes of alienation, globalization, and technological overload. It’s been dissected, celebrated, and even inducted into the US Library of Congress for preservation. But even with its legendary status, there are still secrets lurking within its tracks and artwork.

1. The Numbers on the Back Represent a Key Moment in the Album’s Creation

The sequence of numbers on the back of OK Computer—18576397—marks a precise moment in the album’s history. It represents the time and date the album was officially completed: 6:57 PM, March 6, 1997. This small detail immortalizes the conclusion of months of intense, groundbreaking work and symbolizes the meticulous care Radiohead poured into the project.

2. It Was Nearly Recorded in a Haunted Mansion

Most of OK Computer was recorded at St. Catherine’s Court, a historic rural mansion near Bath. The sprawling estate allowed the band to experiment with natural reverberation (like recording vocals on a stone staircase for “Exit Music (For a Film)”). But did you know the mansion is rumored to be haunted? While Radiohead never confirmed any ghostly encounters, the eerie atmosphere may have seeped into the album’s layered, haunting soundscapes.

3. “Paranoid Android” Was Inspired by a Los Angeles Bar Fight

The sprawling six-minute epic, often hailed as the band’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” was born out of Thom Yorke’s experience at a bar in LA. After witnessing a woman lose her temper when someone spilled a drink on her, Yorke envisioned a dystopian world where petty human outbursts are magnified into existential crises. The song’s title, of course, is a nod to Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

4. The Album Almost Had a Different Title

Before settling on OK Computer, Radiohead toyed with other names, including Ones and Zeroes (a reference to binary code) and Your Home May Be at Risk If You Do Not Keep Up Payments (a satirical nod to mortgage warnings). Ultimately, OK Computer stuck, inspired by a phrase from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Yorke described it as both “terrified of the future” and “resigned to it.”

5. “Fitter Happier” Was Written in Ten Minutes

Working at the speed of light (or sound), Yorke dashed off the lyrics to “Fitter Happier” in just ten minutes. Feeling creatively blocked, he typed a list of slogans and buzzwords he’d absorbed from media and advertisements. Rather than singing the words himself, Yorke handed them over to Fred, the text-to-speech voice from an old Macintosh computer. The result is one of the album’s most unsettling tracks, a sterile critique of consumerist self-improvement culture.

Almost 30 years after its release, OK Computer remains a towering achievement in music, one that predicted the alienation and anxieties of the digital age with uncanny precision. From the cryptic numbers on its back cover to its ghostly recording sessions, every detail adds to its mystique.

Hard Rockers DEAD ROMANTIC Release Raw, Relentless New Single “Caught In The Moment”

Eric Alper
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Hard Rockers DEAD ROMANTIC Release Raw, Relentless New Single “Caught In The Moment”

Toronto’s hardest rockers, Dead Romantic, are back with a vengeance. Their latest single, “Caught In The Moment,” doesn’t just hit—it slams. This explosive track is a visceral punch to the gut, capturing the suffocating weight of feeling unseen, unheard, and trapped in your own emotions. The song’s ferocity and emotional honesty hit like a freight train, making it clear that Dead Romantic have just cracked the code to turning pain into power.

“This song is about that suffocating feeling of being invisible—of putting yourself out there and still being ignored,” says guitarist Mike K (Mike Krompass), who also produced the track. “It’s about the heartbreak of being sidelined, of watching someone you care about slip away because they’re too caught up in their own world to notice the damage they’re causing. “Caught In The Moment” is a raw, unapologetic release of that frustration—pure honesty with no filter.”

With powerhouse vocals from frontman Eko and a bone-crushing rhythm section from bassist Paulo De Bartolo and drummer Nick Chiarore, “Caught In The Moment” delivers in spades. The song builds from hauntingly sparse moments into an all-out, full-throttle assault—capturing the kind of energy that could have come straight out of a Deftones or Linkin Park track. Eko’s vocals, intense yet controlled, channel the same emotional urgency of icons like Chino Moreno and the late Chester Bennington, making this track impossible to ignore. Fans of A War Within, Acacia Ridge, and TIDALWAVE will feel right at home here.

Featured in the second season of Netflix’s hit show Perfect Match, the single has already garnered over 90,000 YouTube views in just two weeks. It’s the latest in a string of explosive singles that have helped solidify Dead Romantic’s presence in the rock scene. Previous tracks like “Fight Me” (over a million streams) and “Kissed With A Lie” (more than two million) have only increased the band’s momentum, while “Yesterday” has racked up a combined 2.5 million streams across YouTube and Spotify. The band’s music has been praised by international outlets like Metal Hammer, Rock Sound, and Canadian Beats, and they’ve become a regular fixture on Kerrang TV’s Top 10 and Kerrang Radio’s Top 20.

Dead Romantic’s live shows are just as intense, and their recent recording session at BCMG Recordings proves they can capture that same energy in the studio. Expect them to bring it all to the stage when they perform “Caught In The Moment” live at Toronto’s The Rockpile in December.

With “Caught In The Moment”, Dead Romantic are proving they’re not just a band—they’re a force. It’s loud, it’s unapologetic, and it’s a song you won’t be able to shake. This is a moment you don’t want to miss.

Folk Pop Artist Kele Fleming Explores AI’s Reality with Profound New Single “Turing Test”

Eric Alper
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Folk Pop Artist Kele Fleming Explores AI’s Reality with Profound New Single “Turing Test”

It’s rare that a song is named after a test which is “used to assess a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior indistinguishable from that of a human.” But for Vancouver-born, Victoria-based indie folk pop artist Kele Fleming, there’s proof of a beating heart in the stellar new single “Turing Test.” Simply put, no amount of artificial intelligence or machinery could craft such a pristine piece of work that is as ethereal as it is soulful.

Kele Fleming’s “Turing Test” is a haunting, introspective track that fuses Bruce Springsteen’s heartland rock with the ethereal vibes of Cocteau Twins. It explores AI’s quest for self-awareness and identity, reflecting humanity’s untapped potential and cosmic connection. Through lush, layered sounds and evocative lyrics, the song invites listeners to ponder technology’s allure, identity, and the ecstasy—and risks—of existence.

“The song touches on a number of themes — identity, longing for something you don’t have, and the lure of technology and creation and the potential dangers of such,” Fleming says of “Turing Test.” “In the song, the AI character wants so much to be free and have its own identity. It’s celebrating its uniqueness and the power of its existence without thinking about the impact it may have. At the same time, it’s eating a bowl of stars – a metaphor for devouring the universe and its potential to do damage to the universe as we know it.

“‘Turing Test’ is a reminder and an invitation to embrace that being alive and being human is a miracle. Part of being human is having access to the cosmos. There’s the opportunity for transcendence available to use in relationship to the cosmos and we don’t take it.”

The song is also named after the late British mathematician Alan Turing, who was crucial during the Second World War in deciphering the German Enigma Code which helped the Allies defeat Nazi Germany. Post-war, Turing laid the groundwork for what became computer science, including the idea of a “universal machine” which later was known as the Turing Machine, an abstract model for computers. Fleming says Turing’s life was also inspiration for the song.

“Alan Turing also wanted to be free,” Fleming says. “He was a gay man living in a time when being homosexual was illegal in the UK. He was punished and persecuted by the state for being who he was. So, the song also touches on the imagined pain and longing of Alan Turing to live out his life in peace and embrace his identity as a queer man.” Turing, who died in 1954, was pardoned posthumously in 2013.

“Turing Test,” written and recorded in June 2024 at Vancouver’s The Warehouse Studio, originated from a challenge keyboardist/pianist Matthew Presidente posed to Fleming: “write a new song on the Saturday night between sessions.” After writing the first verse and chorus after taking in a friend’s band’s gig, Fleming finished the song 12 hours later and recorded it with her band. “Everyone got into a magical groove,” she says. “It was pure joy!”

Fleming, who also plays acoustic and electric guitar on “Turing Test,” is accompanied by drummer/percussionist Tony Lee, Scott Fletcher on bass and mandolin, Jonathan Blokmanis on electric guitar and Presidente on piano and keyboards. The single was engineered by Sheldon Zaharko at Zed Productions (with assistant engineer Annie Kennedy) and mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering.

“Turing Test” is the latest single for Fleming whose style has been compared to Lucida Williams, Kate Bush, and Neko Case. After fronting ’90s indie group Hazel Motes, Fleming released her debut solo album Songs from the Tinforest in 2006. Additional albums include 2010’s World In Reverse, 2016’s No Static and 2020’s The Song I Will Write For My Whole Life. The artist has played at various Vancouver venues such as The Railway Club and Wise Hall. In 2023, she released a handful of singles including “In My Dream (Mercury Teardrop Remix),” “Vanishing Of Bees,” “Set Me Free” and a remastered version of “Carrier Hotel.”

Now with a deliciously strong single in the “Turing Test,” Kele Fleming is once again proving that nothing can match the creative spark and drive of the human spirit. It’s a track that is incredibly smart while being anything but artificial.

Carbonstone Unleashes ‘Echoes,’ a Dark Anthemic Metal Anthem

Eric Alper
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Carbonstone Unleashes ‘Echoes,’ a Dark Anthemic Metal Anthem

As the eyes of an anxious world turn toward the flipping of another calendar, everybody is wondering what 2025 is going to be like. Baltimore, MD angst-rockers Carbonstone have a ready if troubling answer: like a masochistic relationship.

On their delightfully disturbing new single, “Echoes,” the Charm City grind-’n-grandeur outfit lay out a textbook study in tender loving abuse. Lead vocalist/songwriter Corey James starts off by verbally confronting a partner who, he charges, likes to watch him bleed. “It’s like you love my suffering,” he challenges.

Hell of an accusation there, but by the chorus, he’s admitting that he can’t get enough of it: “Bury me underground, I’ll lie with you/ ‘Cause alone, I’m nothing.” Whew! “I’m so self-destructive,” he clarifies, in what could be the understatement of the century. (Or the cemetery, but more on that later.)

The schizoid despair of the words is matched perfectly by the music, which has all the essential elements in the band’s acclaimed brand of industrial alternative metal. James’ cleanly enunciated vocals emote dramatically above guitars that are overdriven into the red zone, hurtling together toward the cliff of musical passages that end up dangling a taunting half-step above resolution. The effect is profoundly unsettling … yet completely habit-forming.

The reviews have been predictably ecstatic. East Coast Music Review calls the record “a sonic masterpiece on the rise,” while Indie Rage Radio praises the “anthemic sound and relatable lyrics” that make it “not just a song, but an experience.” And Mostly Music OWP says the track is “well-crafted, relatable, and holds its listeners in thrall from start to finish.”

Viewers will likewise be entranced by the accompanying music video, the latest in a long line of slickly produced Carbonstone clips awash in Gothic and/or brutalist imagery. The band shot this one in an actual cemetery during business hours, where they got to play their hearts out in front of a mausoleum while being mock-menaced by a bunch of costumed phantoms portrayed by various friends of the group—including Chrystal James, who sings lead for Baltimore post-industrial hard rockers Anoxia and also happens to be Corey James’ wife. The family that slays together …

The single and video point to another banner year in the career renaissance Carbonstone have been enjoying since 2019, when they returned from an extended hiatus to prep and drop their first full-length studio album, 2021’s Dark Matter. Its singles, “AM Trauma” and “Hush,” nabbed #1 placements on radio for over a month straight while garnering hundreds of thousands of spins on Spotify. In the wake of that success, standalone singles like “Scream,” “Pins & Needles” (a duet with Chrystal James) and “Damaged Like You” cemented the creative fertility of the band’s latter-day configuration. (In addition to James on vocals and guitar, the lineup now includes Steve Junkins on lead guitar, Josh Provencio on guitar, Eric Dee on bass, Ted Hile on drums and programming and Tony Correlli as synths and production —with added excitement and embellishment from “Frankie” the Nightmare Hype Bear). Most recently, the group’s “White Noise” landed in the #1 spot multiple times on several reporting stations and enjoyed multiple weeks as the most requested track on Indie Rage Radio.

The new year will see the release of Carbonstone’s second full-length album, the ominously titled The Absence of Self. In the interim, they have a big show coming up Saturday, January 25, at Cult Classic Brewery in Stevensville, Maryland, where they’ll be sharing the stage with The Oddeven and Silvertung. It’ll be an unforgettable addition to Carbonstone’s résumé of past gigs with the likes of Orgy, Cold, Drowning Pool, Saliva and Nita Strauss, and also ample evidence of why they so deserved their nomination as Best Metal Band in the 2024 Maryland Music Awards. Forget what we said about unhealthy relationships: Wanna bet that in 2025, the “Best” is yet to come?

Country Artist Anita Hamilton Shines with Infectious New Single “Love In A Small Town”

Eric Alper
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Country Artist Anita Hamilton Shines with Infectious New Single “Love In A Small Town”

When young and in love, nothing is impossible. There are no hurdles or obstacles that can’t be overcome. But sometimes life throws a huge wrench into relationships, resulting in that dreamy, youthful optimism running headlong into reality. For Kamloops, BC-based country singer Anita Hamilton, that narrative is fabulously captured in the sharp, summer-driving single “Love In A Small Town.” The singer says the song’s inspiration came from her own story.

“Writing this song was in response to a traumatic event that happened during my first serious relationship,” Hamilton says. “I was head over heels in love with a college football player who experienced a severe sports injury, ending his football career. Taking months to recover, we worked hard to pay for his medical bills and adjust to the new future that lay in front of us. ‘Love In A Small Town’ is the story I told myself about how happily ever after can exist, even when it isn’t the future the young lovers envisioned for themselves. Sometimes homecoming queens trade up to a wedding gown, happily living out the rest of their lives, proud to remain in their hometown.”

“Love In A Small Town,” co-written by Hamilton and Jeff Johnson – who produced the song – speaks to lesser-known locales that teenagers or high school seniors often want to leave for bigger areas the first chance they get. But Hamilton says the single speaks to the “bumpy, imperfect, and beautiful” roadmap a girl has dreaming of her future. And instead of leaving for somewhere bigger, they end up staying in the town they were born and raised in.

Hamilton, who was born in Vancouver, has a heartfelt delivery throughout the vivid narrative, which describes small towns where everyone knows everyone and some people who thrive on gossip and rumors. “Love In A Small Town” has strong verses and a great chorus, which should instantly be a staple in concert, bringing to mind the likes of Meghan Patrick, Gretchen Wilson, and Alana Springsteen, among others. The single, which has all the traits of a great country single, without sounding formulaic or cliched, features Hamilton’s vocals, Ryan Stead on electric guitar and bass, Jeff Johnson on guitar, and mixing by Billy Decker.

Hamilton says she wrote the draft for the song in 2020 and recorded “Love In A Small Town” in 2023 in Coldstream, British Columbia. The song was also the first song she performed solo at shows as Hamilton was learning guitar when she was writing the track. “Knowing only a few chords at the time, we wrote with three chords and the truth, creating a song that practically anyone can play and relate to,” she says, adding the song is a “personal favorite.”

The singer also hopes “Love In A Small Town” celebrates those who, to quote John Mellencamp, were born, currently live, and will probably die in a small town. “There is a shortage of people planning to stay in small towns and work in blue collar careers,” she says. “Social media and pop culture glorify artificial realities and material things. Life is about more than designer brands and fancy cars; our society is built on the backs of hard-working Canadians.”

“Love In A Small Town,” the follow-up to “Before I Fall,” is the latest offering from Hamilton who has performed the national anthem at the West Coast League’s Kamloops NorthPaws baseball club and the BC Special Olympics. Hamilton, who has had millions of views on social media platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram, has performed in various venues in Vancouver and recently performed at Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Cafe.

Hamilton is also multi-talented having started an acting career when she was just 16. This is in addition to being a model, appearing in the British version of Vogue, an acclaimed figure skater, and owning a world championship cheer leading title. In short, Hamilton might live in a small town, but her talents go far beyond its town limits.

Now with the hot single “Love In A Small Town” and shows planned for 2025, Anita Hamilton should be known in small towns, big towns, big cities, and anywhere where great country music is adored and cherished.

Jay Douglas Documentary ‘Play It Loud! – How Toronto Got Soul’ Gets Official Premiere Dec. 4 and 7 at Hot Docs Cinema

Eric Alper
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Jay Douglas Documentary ‘Play It Loud! – How Toronto Got Soul’ Gets Official Premiere Dec. 4 and 7 at Hot Docs Cinema

For much of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Caribbean, Jamaican and reggae music scene in Toronto was almost unrivaled in North America in terms of quality and performers. Jay Douglas, lead singer of The Cougars and one of the biggest and brightest talents of that time, is the subject of a fantastic new TVO Original documentary entitled Play It Loud! — How Toronto Got Soul. The documentary, directed by Graeme Mathieson, produced by Andrew Munger (Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band), and Executive Produced by Clement Virgo (Brother, The Wire) will have its official premiere on December 4 and December 7 at the Hot Doc Cinema, 506 Bloor St W, Toronto. Tickets are now available to the public here.

The Wednesday, December 4 screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Graeme Mathieson, musician Jay Douglas and producer Andrew Munger. The Saturday, December 7 screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Graeme Mathieson. Both sessions will be moderated by Heather Haynes, Hot Docs’ Director of Programming.

Play It Loud! — How Toronto Got Soul traces Douglas’ life from a young boy in Jamaica to immigrating to Canada in his teenage years and residing in Toronto with a host of other Jamaica-born artists such as Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles and Wayne McGhie among others. With Toronto becoming a hotbed of Jamaican music, Douglas established himself as the lead singer of The Cougars, a fabulous group who performed a collage of genres (reggae/Caribbean/soul/ska/funk) wherever and whenever they could.

Whether it was the vibrant clubs on Toronto’s Yonge Street during that era or performing in smaller towns in Northern Ontario or Quebec, the group dazzled fans despite little to no airplay or label support aside from appearing on one album entitled Caribana ’67.

Douglas (born Clive Pinnock), described by legendary reggae producer Sly Dunbar as “the Lou Rawls of Jamaican music,” maintained a music career performing on cruise ships, banquets, and clubs long after The Cougars’ heyday. In 2006, after influential hip-hop artists discovered a drum break from McGhie’s song “Dirty Funk,” that time and place in Canadian musical history was resurrected thanks to Jamaica To Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-1974, a now legendary compilation issued by Seattle label Light In The Attic which shone the spotlight on the blazing Jamaican music scene, Douglas (a three-time Juno Award nominee), and this magical era. Play It Loud — How Toronto Got Soul takes the journey with Douglas through the highs and lows, in a way akin to the 2012 critically acclaimed documentary Searching For Sugar Man about the rather obscure musician Rodriguez and one man’s search for the artist.

Featuring interviews with Dunbar, vocalist Jackie Richardson, Cadence Weapon (Rollie Pemberton), former MuchMusic host Michael Williams and many others, and the music of Bob Marley, Bo Diddley, James Brown, The Cougars, Wayne McGhie.

Play It Loud — How Toronto Got Soul will also have a Toronto screening Feb. 6, 2025 at the Nia Centre for The Arts (524 Oakwood Avenue) and makes its broadcast and digital premiere later that month on TVO and British Columbia’s Knowledge Network. The film was funded by TVO, Canada Media Fund, Telefilm, Ontario Creates, Rogers Documentary Fund, Knowledge Network BC and the Hot Docs–Slaight Family Fund.

So for an intriguing, intimate look at an incredibly underrated and then underappreciated era in Canadian music, Play It Loud — How Toronto Got Soul will stir your soul to seek out these artists and this incredible sound while shedding light on one of Canada’s most revered musicians.

Martha and the Muffins and John Orpheus Cook Up Funky Magic on ‘Buttermilk’

Eric Alper
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Martha and the Muffins and John Orpheus Cook Up Funky Magic on ‘Buttermilk’

On paper, there are few team-ups less obvious than the pairing of new wave legends Martha and the Muffins with kitsch-funk revivalist John Orpheus. But they’ve hit pay dirt together before, and now they’re about to do it again. On “Buttermilk,” their second joint single in as many years, the unlikely coconspirators throw down a groove that just won’t quit—and prove the success of their ongoing part-time partnership is no fluke.

“You hungry, baby?” Orpheus calls out at the outset of the track. “You know we cooking.” What follows is an uninterrupted three minutes’ worth of witty, mouth-watering metaphors that could be meant to represent the joy master musicians can’t help but feel when they’re concocting something special in the proverbial creative kitchen. Or, you know, they could be talking about that other thing. But it’s best not to over-intellectualize the lyrical intent anyway, when the song’s real raison d’etre is its delicious recipe of wah guitar, heavenly bells and rubber-band bass—a mixture that gets brought to a boil at just the right moments by the thematically disconnected yet irresistible vocal refrain “I’m walking a fine line.”

Its proud creators describe the overall effect of the track as “a sound clash between Remain in Light-era Talking Heads and Funkadelic.” Hey, whatever gets the flour in the pan. What counts is that the record is a slam dunk of a follow-up to “Look to the Moon,” their “pan-cultural summer driving song” of two years ago. Like that boundary-breaking number, “Buttermilk” is being released under the moniker Chemical Dreams—an umbrella that Martha and the Muffins stalwarts Martha Johnson and Mark Gane have created to facilitate no-holds-barred collaborations with their artistic peers both new and old. Meant to keep the door open to everything from David Bowie tributes to Grace Jones-esque club stompers, Chemical Dreams is engineered to be “as unpredictable as your dreams will be tonight.”

It says a lot when Johnson and Gane have to set up a side project to give free rein to their full range of inspiration, given that their recorded output over the years has run the wide gamut from Canadian rock classics like “Echo Beach” and “Swimming” to their highly ominous 2023 reimagining of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” Orpheus, for his part, has been making waves of late with tongue-in-cheek paeans to the yesteryear of soul like “90’s Fool” and “Get Right,” which harken back to a time when the Jheri curls may have been dubious, but the musical talent was genuine (and Ginuwine). No wonder he works so well with the Muffin heads, whose vision for Chemical Dreams prizes off-the-cuff authenticity almost above all else.

In what’s become standard operating procedure for Johnson and Gane, they recorded “Buttermilk” in their small home studio, The Web. “It’s not particularly elaborate, but we get great results and I think people feel comfortable working in that environment,” Gane says. Mixing was done with Tim Abraham (Grand Analog/Odario) at Secret Door Recording, with an overall emphasis on maintaining the organic and natural feel that had been part of the track since the first notes were laid down. “We were playing real instruments for the most part,” Gane explains, “so it has that feeling of spontaneity.”

“Buttermilk” and “Look to the Moon” are both featured prominently on The International Sound System Party Vol. II, a compilation of singles, remixes and unreleased tracks by artists on The Confidence Emperors record label (the same imprint Orpheus records for as a solo act). The album also includes a third Chemical Dreams track, “The Living End,” this one teaming Johnson and Gane with Grand Analog saxophonist Aubrey McGhee (who also blows accompaniment for that band’s frontman, Odario, when he performs solo).

The album’s release will be celebrated with a live show set for Friday, November 29, at Toronto’s Rivoli. Orpheus will be the headliner, performing a typically invigorating set that will include guest appearances by Odario and Ghost Caravan (who has a bonus duet with Go International on the digital version of the album). Neither Johnson nor Gane will be taking part in the celebrations, unfortunately. But listen—somebody’s got to keep an eye on the kitchen.

Shane Murphy’s “Regular John” Turns Rejection into a Rock Anthem

Eric Alper
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Shane Murphy’s “Regular John” Turns Rejection into a Rock Anthem

Music history wouldn’t be half of what it is without all of the great songs about the one that got away. You know the kind: Boy meets girl, boy makes a play for girl, boy gets shot down. Shane Murphy’s “Regular John” comes on like another one of those classic rejection numbers—but it has even more torque once you realize the resentful lonely heart in question might not have found the cojones to bust a move in the first place.

As funked-up Montreal rocker Murphy explains, the song’s narrator is “a man of low degree, filled with self-pity, pining for a woman who sees herself as ‘higher status.’ He realizes he has no chance with this imaginary beauty but is still full of delusion.”

Hence street-poetically bleak passages like “West End girls gonna twist your neck/ They gonna make you holler/ Shoot you down remote control/ Bet your bottom dollar,” which let’s just say would never be mistaken for excerpts from The Power of Positive Thinking. They provide a perfect layup, though, for the tune’s lamenting refrain of “I’m just a Regular John/ And I’m barely holdin’ on.” And while the song is busy depicting the power imbalance at its core, it even manages to work in namechecks to both Iceberg Slim and Connie Francis—a pairing we’re pretty confident has never happened before, anywhere and in any context.

Feeling denied when you haven’t even tried your best is a dichotomy that’s perfectly in keeping with the theme of irony that runs through Murphy’s latest album, Easy Street. The very title of the record is a winking acknowledgment that real life is anything but easy; elsewhere, the idea that there’s always more going on than meets the eye suffuses tracks like “Going Back to Brownsburg” (a revisionist blues that posits sex and drugs as the cure for the main character’s ills) and “Lucky in Love” (a one-sided boast on the part of a self-styled Romeo who’s conspicuously glossing over all the times he didn’t score).

His seventh release since bursting on the scene with 2002’s The Green EP, Easy Street was recorded primarily at Toronto’s Lincoln County Social Club, in a first-ever collaboration between Murphy and producer Graham Playford. The record represents a new high-water mark in the artist’s ongoing campaign to weld gritty rock and blues to soul, funk and even reggae: His earthy vocals and percussive guitar on “Regular John” in particular harken back to the glory days of Sly Stone et al, when the line between “white” and “Black” music wasn’t so finely drawn and all that mattered was how hard you got down.

Skipping ahead just a few years, there’s a clear nod to Roger Troutman and Zapp in the voccoded backing vocals of keyboardist Kierscey Rand. And that’s not even mentioning the incredibly propulsive groove laid down by the one-man rhythm section of Anthony Lombardi on bass and drums.

Radio sure seems to be on board. Like the two previous singles from the album—“Painted Toes” and “Pay No Mind”—“Regular John” has hit the top 40 on Canada’s Active Rock chart, receiving regular play on CHOM FM in Montreal ever since its release on October 7. In the wake of that ongoing success, and to remind us all that he’s no mere studio phenomenon, Murphy has a couple of shows booked that promise to be unforgettable entries in his CV as a performer. His past appearances have included gigs with the highly diverse likes of Adele, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blue Rodeo, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Buddy Guy, and Steel Pulse.

Unlike a certain John we could mention, expecting a “regular” time wouldn’t even begin to cover it.

Jazz Soul Singer Kellylee Evans Brings Christmas Cheer With Festive ‘Winter Song’ Album + New Tour Dates

Eric Alper
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Jazz Soul Singer Kellylee Evans Brings Christmas Cheer With Festive ‘Winter Song’ Album + New Tour Dates

Christmas is a time of warmth, friendship, good tidings, and love, hopefully for most people. It’s also a time of hearing Christmas standards that are etched in people’s memories and passed down through generations. Putting one’s signature on such classics is an extremely tall order but for Scarborough, Ontario-born and now Ottawa-based jazz soul singer Kellylee Evans, she’s done just that with a soothing new single “Winter Song” from her excellent new album also entitled Winter Song (Enliven Media).

Evans, the Juno Award-winning vocalist, says the inspiration for “Winter Song” came from “reflecting on the sights and sounds” she associates with Canadian winters. From the crunching of snow or the cracking of ice during winter walks to the pangs of being apart from family and loved ones during the festive season.

“I think as an only child, growing up watching holiday movies and consuming so much media of warm, cozy homes filled with happy families gathered around, I had a sense of longing for that and wanting to create that when I grew up,” she says. “But as an adult, I now know how complicated those manufactured images of an ideal family life can be. Family is what we make all around us. I’ve learned that it’s okay to be alone as well.”

“Winter Song,” written by Evans and the lone original found on Winter Song, is a lovely track led by her velvety vocals and a supporting cast that makes the single sound ridiculously smooth and soothing. Singing about wanting to “love a little longer today,” Evans’ softer delivery is incredibly alluring and compelling. Meanwhile, the closing moments feature a slow-building but brilliantly executed, inventive, and refreshing outro. In short, it’s an instant yuletide signature while recalling vocalists like Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Billie Holiday, and Shirley Horn.

Evans and Steve Foley (J-Cole, Chad Kroeger, Carly Rae Jepsen) co-produced “Winter Song,” which was arranged by Evans along with keyboardist Steve Boudreau, bassist Chris Pond, drummer/percussionist Stephen Adubofuor, guitarist Ben Di Millo, and Clayton Connell. The song was recorded and mixed by Foley (with assistant engineer Gabriel Merino) at Audio Valley Recording Studio and mastered by Jason Fee at Conduction Mastering.

The single “Winter Song” is the title cut from Evans’ album Winter Song, a gorgeous 11-track affair co-produced by Evans and Foley and featuring one original and an eclectic array of standards and covers ranging from Joni Mitchell’s “River” and a toe-tapping cover of Irving Berlin’s “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm,” to a rather stripped down approach for Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Other highlights include a reworked and effective rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” while “Rocking Around The Christmas Tree,” made famous by Brenda Lee, is another top-notch effort. Aside from the dynamic Evans and the aforementioned musicians who arranged “Winter Song,” flugelhorn player Ed Lister appears on the album. And In addition to production and engineering duties, Steve Foley and Gabriel Merino provided additional percussion and backing vocals, respectively.

Evans says Winter Song’s inspiration came from growing up in Scarborough while her mother, a single mom, worked various shifts as a nurse. The result was sometimes being at work during Christmas Day or possibly New Year’s Eve, the two big occasions before the turning over of a new year. “Some of my earliest memories are of opening presents with her on the phone while she worked,” Evans recalls. “I didn’t complain. That’s just the way it was.”

Listening to various Christmas albums by Nat King Cole, Elvis and her personal favorite Christmas With Boney M., Evans and her mom made the most of the occasion. “My mom always found a way to make it feel magical,” Evans says. “And music was part of that magic. I knew from that moment on that I wanted to make a holiday album of my own one day, and this is it!”

Winter Song is the latest album from Evans in a career that has been rich and rewarding. Evans released her debut effort Fight Or Flight? in 2006, which put her on the musical map. Subsequent studio albums include 2010’s The Good Girl and Nina, 2013’s I Remember When, and 2015’s Come On. She’s also released EPs including 2021’s Greenlight and 2024’s Show Love. Having opened for the likes of Willie Nelson, John Legend, and George Benson among others, Evans survived a lightning strike in 2013 which she’s survived and persevered through, giving speeches about coping with her pain and pain management. And she also can be found performing national anthems at Toronto Raptors and Ottawa Senators games.

Now with a single “Winter Song,” and an album Winter Song, Kellylee Evans will be touring Quebec and Ontario in late November and December before more dates commence next February. Fans of timeless holiday music would be well advised to add “Winter Song” and Winter Song to their selections of timeless Christmas standards. It’s a single and album Santa already has on his own list! And you should too!

Kellylee Evans Tour Dates
November 26, 2024 — Carleton Dominion Chalmers — Ottawa, ON (Ottawa Jazz Festival Holiday Fundraiser)
November 29, 2024 — Massey Hall — Toronto, ON (Women’s Blues Revue)
December 6, 2024 — Empire Theatre — Belleville, ON (Sean Jones Holiday Soul)
December 7, 2024 — National Arts Centre — Ottawa, ON
December 12, 2024 — Salle Bourgie — Montreal, QC
December 13, 2024 — Hugh’s Room Live — Toronto, ON
February 13, 2025 — Hermann’s Jazz Club — Victoria, BC
February 15, 2025 — Anvil Theatre — New Westminister, BC
February 22, 2025 — Aurora Cultural Centre — Aurora, ON
April 25, 2025 — Koerner Hall — Toronto, ON (Guest of The Breithaupt Brothers)

The 20th Annual Andy Kim Christmas Announces Complete Lineup for December 4 at Massey Hall

Eric Alper
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The 20th Annual Andy Kim Christmas Announces Complete Lineup for December 4 at Massey Hall

The Andy Kim Christmas returns to Toronto’s legendary Massey Hall Wednesday, December 4 for another unforgettable evening celebrating the magic of the season with performances from iconic Canadian artists. This year marks the 20th year that luminary musician and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee, Andy Kim will bring together some of the nation’s most applauded talent featuring Barenaked Ladies, Alex Lifeson, Broken Social Scene, Billy Talent, Dan Hill, Wiliam Prince, Men Without Hats, Roch Voisine, Emm Gryner, and Molly Johnson celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Kumbaya and more with all event proceeds donated to CAMH’s Gifts of Light.

Tickets to The Andy Kim Christmas are available at TicketMaster.ca, with prices ranging from $35.50- $85.50 plus fees.

“There is something fascinating about a 20th Anniversary Celebration. With all the excitement of putting this year’s 20th AK Christmas, I’m reminded of the first one,” said Andy Kim. “Filled with the honest belief that our musical community will help me ease into the Christmas Holiday Spirit. We are back again Wed. Dec 4th at Massey Hall in support of CAMH Gifts of Light. Humbled & Honoured.”

Guests can look forward to a classic variety showcase with special holiday performances from the country’s top acts. Andy Kim’s previous guests include Colin James, Cowboy Junkies, Dan Hill, Feist, Georgia Harmer, High Flyer, Jacksoul, Jake Clemons, Jully Black, Kim Mitchell, Lights, Maestro, Men Without Hats, Metric, Michel Pagliaro, Molly Johnson, Nelly Furtado, Ron Sexsmith, Russell Peters, Sam Roberts, Sarah McLachlan, Scott Helman, Serena Ryder, Sloan, The Sadies, The Sheepdogs, Alex Lifeson, Arkells, Barenaked Ladies, Billy Talent, Bobby Bazini, Broken Social Scene, BUCK65, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Choir! Choir! Choir!, City and Colour, The Strumbellas, The Trews, Tom Cochrane, Tom Wilson, Tyler Shaw, William Prince among many others.

For decades, Kim has entertained and united people through his music. Kim started his music career at age 16 and has received top industry honours including two JUNO Awards, as well as membership in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Canada’s Walk of Fame, the Key to the City of Toronto, and has been appointed to the Order of Canada in 2024. To this day, Kim’s musical artistry is acclaimed by many who take joy in his numerous hit songs, including nine Billboard Top 40 hits such as the number one hit “Rock Me Gently” and the iconic ”Sugar, Sugar.”

 

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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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