This week on Finding Your Bliss, we have a show devoted to music. Celebrity Interviewer and Bliss Coach Judy Librach is joined by Gregory Childs & Heart Lung who are an alt-country band, converging on the corner where roots meets grunge. The band is led by songwriter Gregory Childs and consists of his wife Velvet Jean as well as a crew of long-time friends (Brent Kervin, Jonathan Billings, Luke Sutherland), who make up the gritty mix of musical accompaniment that includes harmonica, guitars, drums and screams. 

In October 2020, the band dropped their debut first release, the “Baby Blue” EP, which was distributed both digitally as well as physically, in a limited release of 7” Vinyl. The EP contained two tracks, “Baby Blue” and “Blood Ties,” both of which garnered play on local radio stations, including CIUT 89.5 FM, as well as internationally, on Galaxy FM in Kawerau, New Zealand where it was picked up by local music enthusiasts and broadcast regularly.

In 2022, the band released two new singles, “Lonesome” and “From the Chest.” Both were broadcast on numerous radio stations, including multiple shows on CIUT 89.5 FM and NZ's Galaxy 107FM. “From the Chest” reached number six on the Canadian Independent Country Countdown, run by Coyote 103 FM in Sarnia, Ontario.

In early 2023, Gregory Childs & Heart Lung were discovered by Alan Cross, who featured the band as an “undiscovered gem,” as part of The Edge 102.1 FM’s show, History of New Music. The band was described as “unplugged Nirvana… maybe a little dark Fleetwood Mac”.

In 2024, the band was featured by Canadian radio legend Jeff Woods on his Records and Rockstars podcast, the episode aired on April 5th.

Throughout the band’s existence, they have been regulars in the Toronto music scene, consistently gigging at places like The Dakota Tavern, Cameron House and Kensington Market. They have finished recording a full-length album and have been mixing in preparation for a release in the fall of 2024. The first single from the album, titled “Useless & Young,” was released on January 30th, 2024. 

To hear Gregory Childs and Heart Lung’s songs from our interview, click on the link below: 

“Useless and Young” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVFIgv1sHeM

“Lonesome” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7b5J19E3Qw

Also on the program, we have the super-talented Matt Bobkin.

Matt Bobkin is a Toronto-based arts journalist and music critic. Most of his work uses music as a lens to explore global issues such as identity, gender, disability, and gentrification. Matt was the Features Editor at Canadian music magazine Exclaim! from 2016 to 2022, and his work has also appeared in the National Post, VICE, and Brooklyn Magazine. His first book, In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World, co-written by fellow Toronto-based music critic Adam Feibel, will be released in June 2025 via House of Anansi Press.

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