We Speak Music
Earl Gateshead Shares Reggae Music Through Innovative Podmixing in ‘The Huge Reggae Show’
Reggae DJ Earl Gateshead has launched a new monthly podmix ‘The Huge Reggae Show’ on SoundCloud. The series are being released monthly with the twelfth instalment having launched on Monday, 12th of September 2022. The podcast, which Gateshead refers to as a ‘Podmix’, was created with the idea to spread knowledge of Reggae as a way of giving people access to the music and to explain the details of the music in an entertaining and non-judgemental way.Already a well-established name in the UK Reggae Music scene, Earl Gateshead’s career began in the late 70s, when he built his own Sound System, one of the first built by a European. He installed it at the world famous Dive Bar, in Soho, London where he had a 23-year weekly residency. Alongside this, Earl was the co-founder and selector for Trojan Sound System, The Sound System of Trojan Records, the world’s leading and best loved Reggae label, and one he toured with for 14 years. Additionally, mysterious graffiti artist Banksy asked Earl to DJ the first three exhibitions of his work. To this day, Earl is the only DJ that Banksy has ever worked with.Following his residency at Dive Bar, Earl began to organise and perform at a series of events called “Reggae Nights” at seminal London club “Plastic People.” This series of concerts received worldwide attention with legendary performances from Alton Ellis, Dennis Alcapone, Sugar Minott to name a few. The success of his “Reggae Nights” series boosted Earl’s career, making him one of the must-see Reggae DJs in the world. Subsequently, he was invited to lecture on Reggae DJing at the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy.The ‘Podmix’ is created to bring out a listener’s own spirituality which Gateshead believes is lacking in more Western cultures and he aims to do this through Reggae music, as he believes it is rooted in human spirituality. Through ‘The Huge Reggae Show’ Gateshead states: “My intention is to share my own feelings about Reggae Music, in the hope that others may feel it too. The music here is entirely positive. It’s all about helping people who struggle in life. To provide comfort and support to those that find it difficult to live in our current society. That could be anybody of any colour, race or religion.”Earl Gateshead had a series of shows this Summer, with appearances at Boomtown Fair, Outlook and Lindisfarne. Follow his social media to keep up to date with the tour and podmix.
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/earlgateshead
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/EarlGateshead
- Twitter: twitter.com/EarlGateshead1
- SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/earlgateshead
No stranger to the music industry, Earl has spread his artistry in a variety of ways. A residency at the prestigious Dive Bar, co-founding Trojan Sound System, one of the biggest reggae labels in the world and various appearances at major music festivals in the world such as Boomtown Fair, Victorious Festival and Lindisfarne to name a few.
We Speak Music
SCARECROW’s John Blaze Delivers a Career Milestone With “Twisted” and Earns Josie Music Awards Song of the Year Nomination
John Blaze has spent nearly four decades fronting SCARECROW, the New York hard-rock outfit he founded in 1989, and in 2026 he delivered one of the most ambitious releases of his career with “Twisted.” Now, the song has reached another major milestone: “Twisted” has been nominated for Song of the Year in the Metal/Alternative category at the Josie Music Awards.
The nomination places Blaze and SCARECROW among this year’s recognized independent artists and songwriters at the Josie Music Awards, with the awards ceremony set to take place at Nashville’s legendary Grand Ole Opry. For an artist whose career has been built on persistence, independence and decades of hard-rock storytelling, the recognition gives “Twisted” an entirely new chapter.
Written by John Blaze and Chaffin, “Twisted” pulls together a lineup of guest players that reads like a rock family reunion, built around Blaze’s long-standing friendship with Dee Snider and the legacy of Twisted Sister, a band woven into SCARECROW’s story from its earliest days.
That connection goes all the way back to the beginning. SCARECROW’s original lineup featured guitarist Eddie Ojeda, best known for his work in Twisted Sister, and the two camps have remained connected ever since. “Twisted” makes that history explicit: Dee Snider appears on the record with guest vocals during the track’s climactic second verse and chorus, lending the song an instantly recognizable jolt of arena-rock power.
Snider isn’t the only marquee name in the credits. Mark Wood, founding violinist of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, contributes electrifying violin work that gives “Twisted” a cinematic sweep uncommon in modern hard rock. Rounding out the track are TJ Jordan on lead guitar and Bobby Marks on drums, creating a powerful, road-tested foundation behind Blaze’s signature gritty vocal delivery.
The Josie Music Awards nomination feels particularly fitting because “Twisted” isn’t simply another SCARECROW release. It brings together different eras of Blaze’s musical life while pushing the band’s sound forward. There’s history in the recording, but there’s also urgency. It doesn’t sound like a band looking backward. It sounds like one with unfinished business.
For Blaze, the nomination also represents recognition of a career that has largely been built outside the traditional machinery of the mainstream music business. Independent rock artists rarely survive for decades without a fierce commitment to what they do, and SCARECROW’s longevity speaks for itself. From the band’s early years and its 1991 debut, through the Blood, Sweat and 20 Years retrospective and the theatrical production I Am SCARECROW, Blaze has continued developing a world around the music rather than simply releasing songs.
That makes the Song of the Year nomination especially meaningful. After nearly four decades of building SCARECROW, Blaze now heads to the Josie Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry with one of his most ambitious songs recognized in the Metal/Alternative category.
And there’s something wonderfully appropriate about the song that got him there.
“Twisted” connects SCARECROW’s beginnings to its present, reunites Blaze musically with figures tied to the band’s history, and demonstrates just how much fire remains in the project. With Snider and Wood contributing to the record and Blaze still driving the band he created from the ground up, the track feels less like a nostalgic reunion than a statement of survival.
Now it’s also an award-nominated song.
For John Blaze and SCARECROW, nearly four decades into the journey, “Twisted” has become more than another entry in the catalog. It’s a career milestone — and this September, that milestone is taking SCARECROW all the way to the Grand Ole Opry.
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