We’re #1.

In early 2015 I thought I’d try submitting a song to CJAM’s Singles Club just to see what happened.

The way the Singles Club works, in brief: artists from Windsor and Detroit are invited to submit new songs every month. These songs go on a compilation CD everyone at CJAM has access to. DJs play the songs they like best, and at the end of the month the results are tabulated and the single with the most airplay gets bragging rights and a mention on the CJAM website.

The song I turned in almost five years ago was “The Devil Wants His Car Back” from STEW. The album wasn’t finished yet, but I was happy enough with the mix of the song I had (not a final mix, as it turned out) to let it go out into the world as a little sneak peak at what was coming.

In hindsight it was probably an odd thing to choose to represent the album. I don’t think anyone played it. I know for a fact it didn’t chart. Above is a picture I borrowed from someone’s Twitter archives, offering proof of an accidental GWD reunion of sorts (Tyson played drums with The Apex, making this a compilation that featured all three key members of my weird little teenage band, even if we weren’t all playing together).

All this time later, I thought it would be fun to submit the song Tara sang on and see if there was a different outcome. I knew it was getting some airplay, but I wasn’t expecting it to top the chart. Thanks to everyone at the station who’s been spinning it.

Speaking of CJAM, they’re in the middle of an emergency fundraising drive designed to offset some of the funding they stand to lose thanks to Doug Ford’s Student Choice Initiative. I’m going to be stopping by the station to hang out with Brady this afternoon at 2:30. You can listen live over here if you’re interested. You might hear the on-air debut of another unheard song from YEAR OF THE SLEEPWALK. If you miss it, you can always check out the MP3 archives later on.