In 2009, Bob Dorough, the legendary creator of Schoolhouse Rock, delighted audiences with live performances of his iconic songs “I’m Just a Bill” and “Nouns.” These timeless educational tunes, which have helped generations of children understand complex subjects through catchy music and clever lyrics, came to life once again as Dorough played them with the same enthusiasm and charm that made them famous.
My Next Read: “Fifty States in Forty-Five Days: How to Be in a Band, Go on Tour, and Completely Lose Your Mind” By Elizabeth Jancewicz and Eric Stevenson
From the indie band Pocket Vinyl and the creators behind the popular webcomic The Touring Test, this hilarious graphic memoir chronicles a couple’s road trip as they attempt to break a world record.
Together, Eric and Elizabeth perform as the band Pocket Vinyl, where Eric slams on the piano and sings while Elizabeth creates a large oil painting on stage. One day they decide to take on their biggest challenge yet: to tour the whole nation in just 45 days, breaking the fastest time a band has played in all 50 US states.
With a route mapped out and the car tuned and ready, they confidently set out with optimism. They’ve been on tour before, they know the drill; yet neither realizes until too late that the stresses would go beyond just missing their cats. From performance highs to travel pains, meeting supportive fans while battling self-doubt, Eric and Elizabeth are determined to finish their tour in time. The show must go on—but it may just come at the cost of total mental breakdowns.
Filled with humor, love of music and art, and the gift of human kindnesses, this breakneck trip through the local music scenes across America takes you on an unforgettable journey of what life is like on a record-breaking tour.
5 Ways Remixes Can Revive Old Tracks
Music has a remarkable way of evolving over time, and remixes are a powerful tool in this process. By reimagining old tracks, artists can breathe new life into classic songs, reaching new audiences and creating fresh listening experiences. Here are five ways remixes can revive old tracks and keep them relevant in today’s ever-changing music landscape.
Glittering Indie-Pop Rising Star Caylie G Releases Debut EP ‘the trials and tribulations of a twenty two year old teenager’
Through melodic pop compositions and a glittering artistic energy, queer-femme artist, singer, songwriter and producer Caylie G (they/she) serves as a charming and multi-talented indie-pop star. Currently residing in the Treaty Six Territory of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Caylie G has solid artistic and cultural roots in their musically inspired upbringing. Having established a musicality that shimmers with honest relatability and nostalgia-infused pop artistry, the music of Caylie G can best be described as personal, glimmering and cathartic.
On June 28, the rising indie-pop icon released their debut EP the trials and tribulations of a twenty two year old teenager. A vast array of emotions can be found within the six-track body of work, including the fear of not being wanted, heartbreak, and the rollercoaster of navigating your early twenties. Through her personable and down-to-earth delivery of such vulnerable feelings, Caylie G’s new EP can be enjoyed by music listeners – and teenagers – of all ages and all walks of life.
Highlight tracks include “ohio,” a pillow-soft acoustic number with emotions of heartbreak and nostalgia further heightened by Caylie G’s delicate yet powerful vocals. “Eat bugz,” the record’s closing number, takes on a more cheeky and bubbly tone with slightly humorous and romantic lyricism.
Praise is deserved for the album’s opening number, “nauseous from existential dread.” For chronic overthinkers, drama queens, perfectionists and those who tend to suffer from excruciating self-loathing, “nauseous from existential dread” is the quintessential track. Delivering an honest and accurate portrayal of anxiety and depression over ethereal and upbeat soft pop beats, the song shines a light on feelings that many people are all too familiar with.
Hands out, the window
Sad songs playing on the radio
I’ll cry the whole way home
Originally written as a flirtatious love song about a short-lived queer romance, a summer full of heartache caused Caylie G to rewrite the track completely. “Nauseous from existential dread” now serves as a cathartic, sparkling pop anthem for those who struggle with self-doubt. Recorded by JUNO Award-nominated producer Father Bobby Townsend and Mark Maclure and written by Edmonton locals, Caylie G, Mark Maclure and Haidee Manansala, “nauseous from existential dread” is a beautiful reflection of Caylie G and their artistry.
What if everyone hates me and I die alone
What if it turns out I’m no good on my own
I’m so sick of maybe
Why do I hate me
Somebody save me
Caylie G is currently enrolled at MacEwan University, working towards a Bachelor of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Popular Music, majoring in Recording and Production. Now a full-time musician, 22-year-old Caylie G is fiercely paving their way as a pivotal rising star within the Canadian pop world.
Edzi’u Releases Sensational, Cavity-Inducing Single “Sugar”
At times artists propel their art forward by sounding as if they have been around for decades through their approach, lyrics and execution. For Edzi’u, their latest single “Sugar” is out now and is a near-flawless track they’ve crafted from a variety of highbrow pop styles and synth-soaked influences. The result is a concise, uber cool creation that should only heighten Edzi’u’s status in both indigenous and electro-pop music circles both nationally and internationally.
Edzi’u shaped “Sugar” almost perfectly. It’s a timeless-sounding nugget bringing to mind icons such as Stevie Nicks and Kate Bush, critically acclaimed performers such as Lucius and Sharon Van Etten and Chicago-based dance duo DRAMA. It’s a musician whose work you can’t help but return to once hearing them for the first time.
“‘Sugar,’ true to its name, evokes nostalgia with its melody and is reminiscent of past lovers,” Edzi’u says of the follow up single to “This Love” also from the Tunnel Vision EP. Their voice is clear, ethereal, and still quite adept at riding a beautiful, sophisticated groove that begins “Sugar.” After a brief aside where Edzi’u’s enticing vocals are showcased, the single returns to the surefire, confident groove that both shines and soars.
In addition to writing and producing “Sugar,” both Edzi’u and Lin Gardiner added keyboards and programming to the song. “Sugar” offers concise but vivid imagery, while Clef Seeley also provides rich sonic textures on the OP1 (synthesizer) to have words and sound marvellously meld into one great track. Lyrically Edzi’u recalls all the ways a lover can make someone feel be it emotionally, spiritually or physically.
It’s the way
You pull me down babe
It’s the way
You bite my lips babe
The way
You rock me back and forth babe
The way
the way you move
And I’ll be
All you need
“Sugar,” which Edzi’u performed in July 2024 at the Jam In Jubilee in Abbotsford, British Columbia, is almost criminally infectious. It’s a credit to Edzi’u who uses this single to epitomize the whole “less is more” philosophy. In short, “Sugar” is an ear-candy jewel one could loop for hours. It’s also screaming to be a hypnotic, alluring remix in the not-too-distant future.
Edzi’u, a Tahltan and Tlingit artist, was born in Whitehorse but now calls Vancouver home. Tunnel Vision is the follow up to their 2023 full-length concept album entitled Potlatch in the Box. Edzi’u, whose music has been described as “inspired, innovative and immersive” by Tinnitist, made their international debut at the Document Film Festival in Glasgow, Scotland back in 2019. The artist, who studied music theory and composition at Vancouver Community College, was a sound technician for the CBC and currently works as a journalist for the outlet’s Indigenous Pathways program.
Now with a new EP to their credit and “Sugar” on the cusp of reaching ears the world over Edzi’u has a hit on their hands. In this rare instance, and contrary to medical and dietary experts, you can never get enough “Sugar.”
Rising Pop Star Daria Maxima Lives For The Moment On “Forever For Now”
The most you can ask of a summer is that it’ll last all summer long. And that’s enough for Canary Islands, Spain-based Daria Maxima on “Forever for Now,” her rousing breakout single that celebrates the fizzy impermanence of a warm-weather romance—while leaving the door open to something more lasting, just as this surefire dancefloor smash hints at a long and illustrious career for the wunderkind behind the mic.
All of that training and experience has allowed her to emerge as an artist who already sounds mature beyond her years—especially when it comes to her supple yet authoritative vocal delivery, which is firmly in the tradition of musical giants like Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera. Maxima’s innate talents are brought out even further by her collaboration with hitmaking superstar producer Adam H (Ray J, Ne-Yo, Elise Estrada, Sarah Geronimo, Loverboy, Def Leppard), who discovered her through the Vocal Star program and has since helped her craft a sound that blends the infectious energy of pop with the soulful depth of classics. He also co-wrote “Forever for Now” with her, with an extra assist from Don Wolf, Oksana Davidenko, and Orlando Calzada (Destiny’s Child, TLC, One Direction) as the mix engineer.
Calling us to immediate attention with its pounding beat and infectious melody, the song finds our heroine beguiled by a new crush while trying not to mislead him that it’s anything more. Or is that her own heart she’s trying to convince?
It’s not like I’m head over heels
But I dig that smile
Aint like I’m catchin’ the Feels
Cause that ain’t my style
Don’t get your head super twisted
Don’t believe these eyes
They might be spillin’ my secrets
Damn them butterflies
The playful ambivalence deepens as the chorus breaks like a wave of giddy possibility:
And I know you might think I’m fallin’ for you
But it aint love
It’s just somethin’ I’m goin’ through
But never say never, ever
Cause maybe I’m down
To love you forever and ever
“The song is not about forever,” Maxima clarifies. “It’s not about commitment, expectations, family planning … nothing heavy. It’s about living for the moment—carpe diem!— and enjoying this new nerve-tickling sensation. Because really, the future is unwritten and there’s always a chance this Forever for Now might turn into Forever.”
But wait a minute. Wasn’t she just saying …
“No matter how much you resist something and fight against it, at the end of the day it’s you heart that chooses what happens next,” she explains. “So you just need to be open and listen to it, in spite of what your head, common sense or logic might be telling you. Quoting Antoine de Saint-Exupery: ‘It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.’”
That’s a pretty weighty reference for such a young artist, but Maxima has had a head start on a lot of stuff. A singer since age 4, she started playing piano at 6 and writing her own songs at 10. In the process, she also mastered several instruments, including piano and guitar, and honed her knowledge of music theory at Adeje Music School, coordinated by the prestigious Tenerife Conservatory on her home turf of Spain’s Canary Islands.
Even though Maxima continues to work from the shores of Tenerife while Adam H hunkers down in his mega studio in Vancouver, the vast distance between them didn’t stop them from making what very well could be the single of the summer. And in two different versions!
Thanks to the miracle of conferencing technologies like Zoom and Sessionwire, they were able to produce not just “Forever for Now” but its Spanish-language counterpart, “Tú y Yo al Final,” both of which are being released simultaneously as a package drop. It helped immeasurably that Maxima is fluent in both Spanish, English, Russian and German.
Yes, add yet another asset to the skill set that’s about to endear her to the world. Because this fully formed triple threat of talent, vision and unbridled moxie is going to be with us for a while. Maybe even—dare we say it—forever.
Toronto’s Rock Phenom Dylan Bradley Unveils New Single “Not Worth Saving” from ‘No Turning Back’ Debut Album
Renowned singer-songwriter Dylan Bradley from Toronto, Ontario, has released his latest single, “Not Worth Saving,” from his debut album, No Turning Back – available now! The Toronto rock phenom’s first full-length album has already garnered over 120,000 streams on Spotify.
“Not Worth Saving” is a touching track that explores the raw emotions of heartbreak and the search for independence and emotional freedom. This moving narrative explores the depths of a love that has lost authenticity and needs to be let go.
With lyrics like “Burnt my bridge to the ground / Trying to escape this town” and “It’s not worth saving this love we’ve been faking,” Bradley captures the essence of a relationship that has reached its finality. The song’s haunting melody and reflective lyrics highlight his talent for transforming personal experiences into common and relatable truths.
The newly released track also features Bradley’s storytelling skills, portraying the emotional journey of coming to terms with a love that can no longer be saved. “Second chance felt like the first / We played the roles well-rehearsed” speaks to the ongoing cycle of unfulfilled promises and the understanding that it’s time to move on.
“When writing and singing Not Worth Saving, I felt that my openness and vulnerability about the pain of lost love, combined with my soulful sound, makes this track truly original and relatable to the everyday person,” says Bradley.
Dylan Bradley is putting his stamp on the rock music scene with his debut album No Turning Back and a series of new singles. Drawing heavy rock influences from the 90s and early 2000s, Bradley offers a unique and fresh sound for listeners around the globe, spanning genres including soft rock, hard rock, and alternative rock. His first single, “All Your Lies,” was released in September 2023, followed by the single “October” in October of the same year.
The Toronto native is set to perform his Album Release Show at the Supermarket Bar & Variety in Toronto on August 15th (7:00 – 11:00 pm).
Billy Idol Guitarist Billy Morrison Hosts VIP Event And Month-Long Exhibit at Toronto’s Liss Gallery
Toronto’s Liss Gallery are excited to give a first look into the collaboration between Toronto’s own Johnathan Ball and visual artist/musician Billy Morrison.
The collaboration between these two creative and talented artists, and this August 8th we are excited to share that we will have this new piece, other collaborations from Johnathan Ball and Billy Morrison, and a collection of Billy Morrison artworks, at Liss Gallery for Billy Morrison’s exhibit.
Having the #1 song at rock radio would make anybody else’s year, but it isn’t quite enough living for Billy Morrison. With the habit-forming “Crack Cocaine,” his wildly successful pairing with the legendary Ozzy Osbourne, still coursing through the listening world’s bloodstream, Morrison is about to show off another side of his talent via an exhibit of his visual art at Toronto’s Liss Gallery.
Proving himself a true rockin’ renaissance man, the UK-born Morrison will dazzle the eyes of art buffs with his striking, sharply outlined imagery. Taking inspiration from influences that range from pop culture to the insect world to the printed media, Morrison deals in colors and contrasts that are as bold as his way with a guitar, following in the footsteps of his heroes Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring.
The show is being guest-curated by Canadian painter John Ball, who’s teamed with Morrison to produce two joint works that will be available in a highly limited edition of nine each. The artists will co-sign the original and limited-edition pieces, which will represent an engaging fusion of Morrison’s style-forward aesthetic and Ball’s complementary commingling of abstraction and urban realism.
The show runs from August 3 to 31, and Liss Gallery is located at 112 Cumberland Street, Toronto. For more information, call (416) 787-9872.
His collaboration with Ball is just the latest evidence that Morrison plays well with others. In the past, he’s shared canvases with the likes of Lincoln Townley, Risk and Joey Feldman. And in the recording studio, he’s just about everybody’s favorite co-conspirator. One need look no farther than “Crack Cocaine,” the mutant blues workout that’s his second and most warmly welcomed team up with Ozzy. (It’s about love, not drugs, BTW.) Culled from Morrison’s third solo album, The Morrison Project, the song also features six-string god Steve Stevens, with whom Morrison has enjoyed a tight bond since they started playing together in Billy Idol’s band 14 years ago.
Cultivating enduring artistic relationships is almost second nature to Morrison. His year playing bass for The Cult on tour spawned the long-lived side projects Circus Diablo with guitarist Billy Duffy and Camp Freddy with drummer Matt Sorum (the latter of which eventually morphed into the supergroup Royal Machines). And in addition to his ample achievements in art and music, Morrison is a prolific actor who’s been seen in cult favorites like The Perfect Age of Rock ’n Roll and Reboot Camp.
While his art is on display at the Liss Gallery, Morrison will be on the road again with Billy Idol, playing rhythm guitar on a monthlong tour of Canada (and one market in the American Northwest). Dates are as follows:
July 27 – Project Pabst Festival, Portland, OR
July 30 – Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
Aug. 2 – Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB
Aug. 5 – Sasktel Centre, Saskatoon, SK
Aug. 6 – Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, AB
Aug. 9 – Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Aug. 10 – Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON
Aug. 13 – Kee to Bala, Bala, ON
Aug. 14 – Budweiser Gardens, London, ON
Aug. 16 – Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Aug. 19 – Videotron Centre, Quebec, QC
Aug. 21 – Avenir Centre, Moncton, NB
Aug. 23 – Scotiabank Centre, Halifax, NS
Aug. 25 – Mary Browns Centre, St. Johns, NFLD
By the time it’s over, he should have some great new ideas for images to immortalize—and an even bigger address book of potential creative partners to ring up.
A “Simple Is Better” Plan: Alt.Rock Sister Act CAARDIA Clean Out The Clutter On New Self-Titled Album
Part of growing up is learning to disentangle yourself from people and situations that no longer serve your best interests. Singing sisters Celia and Annie Siriopoulos—collectively known as Caardia—share the wisdom of that lesson on their new single, “Simple Is Better,” which finds them leaving behind the sounds and preoccupations of their child-pop past to enter a Renaissance of indie-alternative maturity.
Both musically and philosophically, the track proves that these Markham-born, Toronto-based tunesmiths are right where they should be for 19 and 21. If anything, they’re already wise beyond their years.
“‘Simple is Better’ is about letting go of toxic relationships, friendships and any other connections that are causing more harm than good,” the duo explains. They call it a song of “overcoming and achieving”—one that talks about perseverance and “following the toxic cycle of ‘forgive and forget’ until you cannot do that any longer.”
That characterization is more than borne out by even a cursory listen to the song’s ruminative lyrics, which have a whole lot to say about the transformative moment when you realize that you’ve not only developed adult boundaries, but that they’ve become a metaphorical moat:
I’ve given up on the past for the future that I know it won’t last
And it’s always the same Losing friends is a shame
But it never worked out anyways
But still I couldn’t bother, I couldn’t bother with you anymore
It’s just another, it’s just another day to ignore
If the sentiment is an adult one, the sound of the track is doubly so. Miles from kiddie fodder, it has an almost samba feel that benefits from the pivotal contributions of guitarist Alex Matthew and multi-platinum producer Roy Hamilton III (who co-wrote and -produced Joe’s #1 single “Stutter”). Most important, the Siriopoulos’ shared vocal moves from husky to soaring with a persuasiveness that’s anything but waif-like.
The song ably previews the thrust of Caardia’s forthcoming EP, which balances a host of emotionally weighty concerns. The acoustic “Take Me Back (To This Moment),” for example, has Celia questioning the wisdom of rekindling an old relationship, while “Is Till It Isn’t” bemoans unhealthy habits and associations that go unrecognized until it’s too late, a thought that weighed heavily on their minds at a time when they were listening to a lot of Nirvana.
“With this project, we wanted to put forward music that was truly us,” Celia says. “Not just our vocals, but our lyrics, our melodies and our sound. We had a lot of thoughts frozen in time, and if we couldn’t translate those into music, we couldn’t progress. We had to create this as the foundation for our future music and what we hope Caardia becomes.”
That kind of work takes time, which explains why it’s been a full six years since the pair’s debut EP, The Deep End, and five since their single “Walking Away.”
“It was truly a long process of trying to be the most raw, relatable and genuine we could be, while trying to communicate and find the authentic ‘Caardia sound’ in the process,” Celia admits.
In the interim, they certainly haven’t fallen off anyone’s radar. After becoming FACTOR Artist Development Grant Recipients in 2019, they were named one of CBC Searchlight’s Top 10 Teens to Watch in 2020. The following year, they were selected to showcase during Canadian Music Week, and they performed at the Wintersong Music Festival in 2022 and 2023. April of this year brought some of their biggest shows to date, accompanying world-renowned Greek-Canadian guitarist Pavlo as guest performers on part of the Canadian leg of his tour.
In their spare time, the sisters co-host their own radio program, The Caardia Show, on Agape Greek Radio. They’re also annual hosts and performers at the Greek International Film Festival Tour of Canada.
To circumvent the age restrictions venues place on performers, Annie and Celia co-founded Youth Jam, the annual festival of young people’s music that’s sponsored by the City of Toronto. That was in 2018, when they were mere babes themselves. It’s become an ongoing affair since then, even as the Siriopouloses have been following their own muse into a new era of adulthood. Embracing the growth process while maintaining a tradition that benefits those who’ve come after you? It’s the kind of growing up everybody should learn to do.
Alt. Power Poppers JUICEBOX Lauds The Joys Of Clocking Out In “I Don’t Wanna Be Like You”
Ever since popular music first recognized young people as its bread and butter, rejecting the siren song of “grown-up” servility has been part and parcel of its message. Now imagine the cathartic thrill of hearing an entire musical family of 9-to-5 refugees telling the workaday world where it can go.
The members of Nova Scotia alternative power-pop act Juicebox do just that on their nose-thumbing new single, “I Don’t Wanna Be Like You.” Brothers Zackery and Morgan Zwicker and their third cousin, Benny O’Toole, all ditched superficially promising “responsible” gigs to follow their creative muse—and to hopefully send a message to an entire generation of listeners that they can do the same.
“I think it’s important for young people to recognize who they want to be like, and who they don’t want to be like,” O’Toole says. “People need to be able to say ‘NO’ in order to carve out their own identity.”
The identity Juicebox has chosen is that of “a sassy Beatles with punk energy and brutally honest lyrics.” They’re speaking of the White Album specifically, a template that leaves them plenty of room to experiment stylistically within their three-man framework. But on an even more granular level, “I Don’t Wanna Be Like You” comes across like The Flaming Lips meeting the Five-Man Electrical Band to rewrite the diary of Johnny Paycheck. The groundwork is laid by the song’s sarcastically twangy verses, which spell out the flimsy arguments for cubicle-dwelling drone-dom:
They say I should retire who I am
Get a job as fast as I can
Give up and work for the man
Uh huh
They say that life is a drag for us all
That we all gotta silence our call
To wear a suit and work in a mall
That’s when the chorus comes in to tear down the temptations of lobotomized respectability, with trashcan drumming, pummeling chords and a defiant vocal chant of “I don’t wanna be like you” that’s delivered four times. (The second chorus makes it eight times, just in case anybody misunderstood.)
Juicebox have more than earned the right to their nonconformist stance. Singer/songwriter/guitarist O’Toole is a former advertising copywriter who left the world of paid persuasion to pursue music and teach high-school math. (“You kill your dreams for a desk, then the desk kills you,” he says. “When I realized the only thing I might be remembered for was a cheeky tagline on a chocolate bar, I knew I had to go.”) Bassist/vocalist Zack Zwicker worked in a factory, and for a time, drummer Morgan Zwicker abandoned his musical aspirations entirely to join the suit-and-tie set as well.
“All of us were in jobs that didn’t align with who we are,” the band says. “This song is about taking a stance against that outcome and not letting others decide your life for you.”
They make the point with typical wry humor in the accompanying music video, a parody of TV’s The Office that the group shot with scavenged props and a cast of friends playing characters from the show. The DIY aesthetic of the shoot perfectly matched the approach they had taken to the recording itself, which was done independently at the group’s home studio in rural Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Two less paydays for The Man!
The band’s individual pedigrees show that this music business isn’t just some escapist hobby. Outside of Juicebox, Morgan Zwicker is an accomplished jazz percussionist and composer who has performed at mainstream festivals like the East Coast Music Awards and the TD Halifax Jazz Fest. O’Toole was trained in classical guitar at Acadia University and has performed in several ensembles and as a solo artist. And Zackery Zwicker has been experimenting with contemporary sounds and harmonies since he was given his first sampler at the age of 15; he was an early adopter of the open-source digital audio editor Audacity.
The three learned to play music together, gradually moving on from their pop-punk roots to forge a more eclectic style that could blend jazz, classical and contemporary influences within a rock framework. The fruits of that evolution resulted in something more serious, harmonically complex and emotional—a hybrid sound first displayed to the world on the band’s 2019 debut, Wasted Youth. The next year, their single “Social Distance” saw some chart action thanks to an assist from radio host Alan Cross. Their 2022 EP, Blame it on the Bleach, landed on multiple indie playlists, setting the stage for 2023’s summer single “Ice Cream” to be added by long-running Canadian entertainment periodical Exclaim!
A new, as-yet-untitled album is coming in the spring of 2025. In the interim, Juicebox have some live shows booked to remind audiences how good they all look when they aren’t wearing company ID badges. Dates are as follows:
July 13 – Radstorm, Halifax, NS
July 19 – Gutterfest ‘24, Windsor, NS
July 25 – Xeroz Arcade, Moncton, NS
July 26 – Baba’s Lounge, Charlottetown, PEI
July 27 – Shoebox Catalina, New Glasgow, NS
Aug. 9 – The Seahorse, Halifax, NS
“As musicians in early adulthood, we feel like we have a duty to pass on knowledge through music,” the band says. “For the three of us, music was as much a teacher as parents or schooling. It’s always been our dream to do for young people what our forefathers did for us.”
And if that means helping them dodge the drudgery of an office job—well, there are far worse ways to make a living.
