JukeBox County’s debut album was released May 26, 2021 through Wolfe Island Records and produced by Hugh Christopher Brown. Rich Tyo, the creative mind behind the songs and vision of Jukebox County, gets his inspiration from his experiences out on the streets working as a mental health crisis worker, developing music-based mental health programs for youth and adults, and being witness to life’s hardships and the will to overcome through hope, compassion, firm grounding, and connecting to one’s passions above all else. Drawing from influences such as Neil Young, Nick Drake, The Grateful Dead, Velvet Underground, and The Beatles, JukeBox County’s album (Inner Space/ Outer Space) contains deep dialogues about what makes us human and how we cope with the questions that come with our existence. The music inspires hope, connection, introspection, and joy. He teamed up with some amazing musicians from Wolfe Island and Kingston to create sounds that will inspire your body to move, your heart to leap, and your mind to explore the deeper realms of your being.
JukeBox County is the musical project of Rich Tyo- a psychotherapist, psychonaut, poet, DJ, and Psychedelic harm reduction/ mental health advocate. Rich has a breadth of experience- running music groups in psych wards, writing songs with young adults recovering from their first episode of psychosis, publishing poetry in various anthologies, and he even interviewed men in prisons across South Eastern Ontario for research through York University. He has spoken at conference in Pakistan, Prague, Berlin, and Canada and continues to dream big as he seeks adventure in the inner and outer landscapes of his existence.
Rich has also built grass-roots communities and scenes and curated art and music shows like Rock and Roll Revival (Ottawa, Ontario) and Midnight Magic Rodeo Show Kingston, Ontario). These events combined his passions of social justice, community building, reciprocal inspiration, art-making, live performances of poetry and music, live video projections, and 'diy' stations with typewriters, magnet making, and other collage making.