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| David Clayton Thomas recorded many popular tunes in his lengthy career but none kicked harder than the Duff Roman-produced "Brainwashed" from 1966. |
https://youtu.be/
Friday, June 26, 2026
R.I.P. singer/songwriter David Clayton-Thomas, 1941-2026
Matt Berry continues jazz exploration with "Everything's Peachy"
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| Matt Berry's new jazz album "Everything's Peachy" – out today via Acid Jazz – was partly inspired by the unauthorized 2018 flight of Richard "Beebo" Russell. |
Here's the scoop...
The brilliant first album from the Matt Berry Trio is released Friday (June 26), the second instalment of the Jazz Sessions series. Alongside the standard black LP and CD, there is a strictly limited edition green colour vinyl edition, available only from Acid Jazz Records. Get it right here.
Matt takes a break from his songwriting-led productions to lead an instrumental trio (joined impressively by Graham Mann and Phil Scragg) on ‘Everything’s Peachy’.
The album explores jazz, instrumental and electronic influences, drawing from later Miles Davis and Erik Satie across a remarkable 12-track suite, inspired by the maiden (and only) flight of Richard ‘Beebo’ Russell back in 2018.
Some may recall reading about Russell was a 28-year-old ground service agent who made international headlines for swiping a Horizon Air twin-engine Dash 8 Q400 aircraft from Seattle-Tacoma Airport. Despite having no formal flight training, Russell took the 76-seater on a crazy joy ride which involved various death-defying aerial maneuvers, boastfully confiding to the air traffic controller "I've played a few video games, so ya know I know what I'm doin' a little bit."
After flying around the snow-capped peak of Mount Rainier, he quipped, "everything's peachy." You can read Tim Dickinson's story for Rolling Stone on Richard 'Beebo' Russell's unauthorized flight right here. Listen to Everything's Peachy Pt. 8 and Pt. 12 below. Get a black vinyl copy or a digital version of the album from Bandcamp right here.
Happy Birthday Eric Davidson of New Bomb Turks!
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| Raising a glass to Eric Davidson with a few vintage clips from his Toronto appearances with New Bomb Turks. |
Eli 'Paperboy' Reed's new album, "Getting There," produced by Swamp Dogg!
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| Eli 'Paperboy' Reed called upon the studio expertise of producer Swamp Dogg for his new album Getting There... he should've asked him to design the sleeve too! |
Here's the scoop from Yep Roc Records...
Reed says, "We recorded the album at Restoration Sound in Brooklyn, and making this record with Swamp was one of the great experiences of my musical life. It’s soul music, country music, gospel music, rhythm & blues — all the stuff I love — filtered through where I am now and guided by one of the true originals." Check out Eli's behind-the-scenes clip right here.
Listen to the title track “Getting There” following the tracklisting below.
On his latest collection, Getting There, Eli Paperboy Reed explores a more grown-up kind of love, contemplating what it takes for two people to go the distance through good times and bad. Produced by legendary R&B iconoclast Swamp Dogg, the album is a joyful dose of timeless soul and roots music, but it’s also a deeply mature work of lyrical craftsmanship, one that reckons with the vagaries of love in the long term as it illuminates the myriad throughlines connecting soul, gospel, and R&B music with folk, country, and rock and roll. Add it all up and you’ve got an infectious take on the work that follows the fireworks, an ode to the extraordinary endurance of the ordinary, everyday love that makes the world go around.
Eli 'Paperboy' Reed - Getting There
1. Every Once in a While
2. Asking for a Friend
3. Getting There
4. Like We Used To
5. I Can’t Even Walk (Without You Holding My Hand)
6. How Can I Forget
7. Eli Paperboy Reed, Zaniah - Love You More
8. Knock Knock Memories
9. Sore Loser
10. Eli Paperboy Reed, Swamp Dogg - One Man’s Trash (Is Another Man’s Treasure)
11. Everyone Else
12. Hardworking People
13. The Questions
One For The Weekend: Art Law
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| Check out Art Law's rockabilly rave-up "Kitty Kat Rock" cut for Hollywood, Florida's Gulfstream Records in 1962. |
Thursday, June 25, 2026
The Ex + not a band + Andy Moor & Yannis Kyriakides @ Cafeteria Upstairs, June 25
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| Unstoppable Dutch post-punk attack unit The Ex – who've out-lasted most of the class of '79 – hit Toronto tonight – don't miss it! |
The Ex + not a band + Andy Moor & Yannis Kyriakides
Presented by TONE
Cafeteria | Upstairs • 1650 Dupont St. • Toronto, ON
Doors Open: 8:00 PM | Show: 8:30 PM | All Ages / Licensed
Tickets: $35 plus fees. Get 'em here.
THE EX
The Ex is a band resolutely focused on the future. After more than 45 years of existence and constant reinvention, it rejects all nostalgia, preferring to explore new alliances and continually take on musical challenges far from any comfort zone.
Emerging from the punk and squat movements of the late 1970s, The Ex has become an independent and unclassifiable force, performing in over 45 countries and paving the way for significant intercultural collaborations, notably with Ethiopian artists. Returning to the international stage with new compositions and a new album, If Your Mirror Breaks, the band continues to embody a vibrant, collective, and inquisitive sound—forward in all directions.
NOT A BAND
not a band is Kalina Nedelcheva, Danny Alexander, Mitchel Lohmeier, Roya Biazar, Victor Ostrovsky & Marilyn Yogarajah. A carpe diem home-recording project quickly grew into a musical ensemble of friends from different disciplines & perspectives. not a band’s sound is playfully chaotic, energetic & experimental. It draws influence from new wave, post-punk, jazz, grunge, spoken word, free improvisation & avant-garde sounds.
The group is known for its lively theatrical performances, complex scores of unexpected tonal transitions & a laid-back, collective creative direction, which can be observed in the ‘not our job’ zine, the stop-motion music video for ‘Paprika’ (see below) the all-improv side-project ‘band’ & a forthcoming video project for their latest EP, ‘Modern Rot.’
ANDY MOOR & YANNIS KYRIAKIDES
Hailing from opposite ends of the experimental music spectrum Amsterdam based Andy Moor and Yannis Kyriakides have been making music together for over 20 years now, brought together by a mutual passion for 1920’s & 30’s underground Greek rebetika music. The combination of Yannis’ remarkable compositional skills and Andy’s improvisational work with guitar, results in a loose but well structured musical landscape that constantly shifts and surprises the musicians playing as much as the audience. Watch an interview with Andy and Yannis below.
The Jayhawks announce new, Canuck-centric album, Sanctuary Park and tour starting in Toronto!
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| The Jayhawks' new Sanctuary Park album is a Gary Louris love letter to Canada. Catch 'em at the Danforth Music Hall Oct. 16th! |
Here's the scoop from Jayhawks HQ...
Produced by Bob Ezrin, Sanctuary Park shows why The Jayhawks remain such an important band after more than four decades. They’ve created music that embodies the enduring spirit and soul of classic American songwriting. Song after song the needle-perfect pop melodies, lush three-part harmonies and thoughtful lyrics reflect their genre-defying, category-busting style that dates back to the band’s pioneering days in post-punk Minneapolis when they foretold today’s Americana movement. Defying the winds of fashion, the band has always stuck to what it does best: write and perform great songs, whether on stage or in the studio.
For Sanctuary Park, The Jayhawks reunited with the legendary Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed), who produced their 2000 album Smile, a “classic,” according to The New York Times. When he heard Gary Louris was seeking a producer Ezrin immediately signed on, and invited the band to his hometown of Toronto to record. “I love their music,” says Ezrin. “There is gentleness and a sweetness to their sound, and I found myself craving a little bit more of that.“
A conscious decision was made to highlight the strengths of the band – Louris’s songwriting, the band’s trademarked three-part harmonies, and the intuitive interplay between Louris, keyboard player Karen Grotberg, drummer Tim O’Reagan and bassist Marc Perlman – on display on “Keeping Our Heads Above Water” (listen below). This interplay only comes with years of playing together, creating their own musical vocabulary. “Get us in a room together and there’s no one better; we have a certain musical magic that happens without even a word or a discussion.” Playing live in the studio made this record what it is… a time, a place, music of the moment.
While the album title references an actual location in Dundas, Ontario, Sanctuary Park is also a fictional place where distant memories re-emerge, childhood friends from years prior start speaking again, and teenage lovers start lives that their older selves are determined to renew. In these songs the hands of time tick past regrets and move toward greater possibilities.
The album has a definite sense of place. Not only was it recorded in Canada with a Canadian producer and Canadian engineers in a Canadian studio, but lyrically there are numerous references specific to Canada. After marrying his wife Stephanie, a born and bred proud Canadian, Louris became a permanent resident, giving him a somewhat unique view and perspective that has contributed to the content of these songs. Ironically, although the band has always had the tag of a true “American” band, in truth there has always been something truly Canadian about their sound.
Sanctuary Park arrives at a momentous time for the band as they celebrate their 40th year – the Jayhawks self-titled first record (known to fans as The Bunkhouse Album) was released in 1986. The Jayhawks have played most every major music festival, from Farm Aid to Primavera Sound, Pinkpop to Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky. In the tradition of The Band and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Jayhawks have toured with and served as backup band for many of music’s most acclaimed visionaries, including Ray Davies, Roger McGuinn, and Johnny Cash. The band will be touring throughout the world in the fall of 2026 and spring of 2027 to promote the new album and build upon their already impressive legacy.
The Jayhawks – Sanctuary Park
1. Keeping Our Heads Above Water
2. Kingston Girl
3. Mr. Lincoln
4. Hands Upon The Wheel
5. Leap Of Faith
6. American Midnight
7. Always And A Day
8. Sanctuary Park
9. Familiar Strangers
10. It’ll Be All Right Tonight
11. Rowing The Boat
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| Tickets go on sale Friday, June 26th at 10 am local time. For more tour info, visit: https://bit.ly/3QytYP5. |
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