Blu Bones share video for “Summertime In Europe”
Rock five-piece Blu Bones are digging up nostalgia on their latest emotive single, “Summertime In Europe,” on the traditional platforms and on the SING! Market.
The song is equal parts rock anthem, scored with pounding percussion, electric riffs, and soaring vocals as it is a longing journal entry to yesterday’s memories – turning the key, and unlocking them from the past.
The track “was inspired by an experience lead singer Gord Prior had with his girlfriend Lana while on vacation a couple of years ago,” the band explains: “They shared an unforgettable psychedelic experience one evening that is subtly referenced in the song.”
Blu Bones – comprised of Gord Prior (lead singer); Boris Novosel (guitars); Barry Donaghy (bass guitar); Steve Thomas (drums), and Ray Coburn (keyboards) – reunited after 25 years apart, dropping their comeback single “She’s Got A Way With Love” in February 2021. Wasting no time as performers and songwriting comrades, “Summertime In Europe” falls neatly in line with the group’s charismatic, hard rock sound. It chisels away at familiarity while taking exciting chances through the lyrics and Prior’s exceptional vocals. The song was written by masters of their craft.
“It’s a bit of real life, a bit of fantasy, and some psychedelia all rolled into one!” says Novosel, with Prior explaining: “It’s a song of hope and about moving forward, out of pain and into bliss. Falling in love. Starting a new journey. Something all of us can relate to.”
Recorded and engineered by Siegfried Meier, with the mix by Matty Green at Studio 55, Los Angeles (Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Weezer). The track was produced by Gord Prior, Boris Novosel, Siegfried Meier, and Matty Green, and its subsequent video was shot by legendary director Frank Gryner (Alice Cooper, Def Leppard).
The music video plans to land ahead of the Canadian Thanksgiving (October 9th, 2022), with Gryner’s artistic vision at the helm.
“It’s a brilliant song. Gord’s vocal performance is so dynamic and uninhibited. You don’t often hear that sort of thing in indie music, unfortunately,” Gryner says, adding that having 100% reign over the video was a “dream come true, artistically”.
“I think Gord is at a place in his career and life where he values relationships and artistry over ego,” Gryner explains. “It’s a hard thing to not micro-manage a project to death when you care so much about it, but ironically, when you choose the right people to help you and let those people do their thing freely, then the end outcome ends up being so much better.”
Watch the video for “Summertime In Europe” below, and learn more about Blu Bones via our mini-interview.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi, my name is Gord Prior. I’m the lead singer for the band Blu Bones, which has been around for almost 30 years. I also produce and write songs with other artists and have other music projects. I love collaborating with other musicians and creative people. I love writing songs, and music has been my life since I was a kid, at 17, on the road singing every night somewhere! I’ve seen a lot in my travels, from the worst dives in Northern Ontario to CBGB’s to the Mandela Bay in Vegas, The Fillmore West in San Fran to singing at the Much Music Video awards during their glory days.
You’ve been featured before. Tell us what’s been going on since the spring.
Well, I’ve been writing some new songs with this brand new music project in Toronto that I can’t wait to talk about someday very soon ( it’s a surprise super group I was asked to join), and I’ve been finishing up some new killer Blu Bones tracks that should be coming out in a few months.
I’ve also been working with this awesome digital music delivery company, SING Market, helping bring artists on board and having incredible regular conversations with the team at this awesome company. Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace (one of the co-founders of SING Market), myself, Lemmon Entertainment, and SING are trying very hard to help musicians make money. Especially indy artists. They need it now more than ever. We have some exciting tech and creative ideas to support artists right now, and the sky’s the limit at SING.
Tell us about the Sing! Market, how you came to be on the site, and what’s the positive stuff for other bands on there?
I was originally told about SING Market by Harry Hess (the lead singer of Harem Scarem.)
He told me Raine Maida was putting out the new Our Lady Peace album a couple of months before its worldwide release exclusively to diehard fans as an NFT (something I’m very interested in.) When Blu Bones recorded their last song, “Summertime In Europe,” I sent it to Raine Maida and asked if I could join his platform. Within a few minutes, I received an email from him saying, “we’d love to have you!”
From there, I grew to know the rest of the SING team, and my passion for music and my growing understanding of this company lead me to join them in the quest to help other artists make money using Web 3. Seeing as these days, all music is streamed. Artists really aren’t making any money worth talking about on these platforms, and considering sold-out shows are being canceled by indie artists because they can’t even break even, I know firsthand that finding new ways to monetize money off of your music is something that’s going to have to happen, to hopefully save these bands and the music industry itself.
We know we can’t do this alone, but SING Inc. has the tools, tech, and right attitude, where the musician will always come first. On SING Market, artists make at least 85% of all their sales, sometimes even more, and they can deliver all kinds of high-quality personalized, limited content and collectibles to the fans; something that you can’t do anywhere else quite like this.
SING helps indy artists pay their rent, pay for studio time and make money to tour. SING offers the fan one-of-a-kind true collectible content that fans actually own on the blockchain. I won’t go into blockchain explanations because we are a music store first…the tech runs in the background, and the fans and the bands do not need to really get too caught up in that part. It’s about the music and the artist-fan relationship. Providing high-level content to fans and supporting artists in a big way financially while they build a core audience. That’s SING Market!
Who is a not-miss Canadian artist to catch on tour?
Ron Sexsmith!
You’ve been in the band for a while now. What’s one piece of advice you can offer to those starting out?
Be careful about whose advice you follow. Follow your heart and your gut. I always try to work on being a better songwriter, a better performer, and a better artist. You can never stop practicing and improving your skills. Never give up. Have a plan. Don’t let setbacks or disappointment stop you from being creative. Do what you love and do it your way.
Collaborating with other artists, getting out there, and meeting other musicians and producers are great ways to learn from others. Go to other shows of bands you look up to and learn from them. Pay attention to what they’re doing before they go on stage and what they do after the show. Learn the business side of things and the performance side of things. Go to music festivals and seminars and listen to the speakers they bring in. Network as much as you can. Learn how to use social media properly so you come across as a professional artist.
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