Nick and Sue. This edition has brought you an
association with Distill Union for men's gifts,
presents and problem -solving men's accessories.
More from them in a bit. Welcome back to the
Chatterbox Redux podcast with Sue and Nick and
today our special guest is John R. Coburn. This
is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox giving you all
you need to know about musical entertainment.
Oh, yeah! Chatterbox! And now on Chatterbox,
we're just lucky enough to welcome John R. Coburn.
John, welcome to Chatterbox. How are you, sir?
Hello, John. Very good. Thank you. Great to meet
you. I'm glad to be here. I'm really glad to
be with you guys. It's been a long time coming.
Well, we've only technically known each other
a few weeks, isn't it? A few months. We thank
Chris Spearer introducing us. But yeah, some
songs maybe more. two to three months ago sent
some songs uh sent a song broken i thought oh
i like the guitar and this guy's pretty good
so and i didn't know what you looked like didn't
know who you were i saw some pretty sexy solo
guitar some of the best i've heard that yeah
and that that's how you started getting played
so thank you so much i appreciate that immensely
like uh yeah look i uh I'm a musician, so I don't
classify myself as a guitarist per se. I mean,
I play guitar for sure. I play a lot of instruments,
but I just use the instruments to get to the
end game, which is my main passion is writing
music. It's writing songs. and the other components
to producing music are there as tools for me.
That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy playing
guitar, I certainly do, and I've been doing it
for a while. It's all part of being a musician
though, isn't it? It certainly is. It's just
another musical instrument really. Absolutely.
You play it like it is your instrument, to be
honest with you, you play it that good. I appreciate
that. Thank you so much. When I first started
in this business, or playing professionally,
I would say, making money at it, if you will,
I started out as a young boy. I played drums
for a number of years until I think I was about
17 years old. In those days, I... I played with
one of my teachers, actually, one of the guys
that taught me to play. He was an all -around
kind of guy, a musician. What was his wife's
name? His name was Peter Aiken, but I'm trying
to think. We went with his wife's maiden name.
It's not coming to me right now. Anyway, she
had a quartet and I was playing jazz music. that
young age at 14 years old 13 14 years old. I
was playing in clubs, you know, like RSL's I
don't know if you know what an RSL is return
services league So I was playing these kind of
clubs at that age a young age. So I guess it
was a bit of a You know a strange thing for a
13 or 14 year old boy to be doing but I Just
enjoyed it so much. I love I love jazz to this
day. I love it So yeah, that's that's where I
started and then I guess as I got older and I
actually started singing behind the drum kit
but in those days In those days it was like I
think the Dave Clark five and I think and who
else I mean, there's no Eagles in those days
So because I'm an old cat not many not many Mickey
de Lentz and the Monkeys being another. Oh yeah
yeah Mickey de Lentz. He did most of the lead
vocals. Oh I've got one for you. Oh what's her
name? Oh from the Honeycombs, the girl from the
Honeycombs, female drummer. Only female drummers
still in the UK to have had a number one. she
passed away a couple years ago but yes the honeycombs
because she did a lot of vocals for the honeycombs
have I the right and stuff like that yes he did
stuff on the beat sides and that not many not
many at all yeah and then we probably found it
found nearly all of them already just there yeah
yeah so here I was you know young kids playing
drums and singing and then I got to the point
I thought, this is no good being behind the kit
here. I'm not getting any action back here. I
got to get up front, right? So that's when I
took the guitar. I guess around about 15, I guess.
One of the guys in the band that I played with
at the time had a band in the early stages. It
was called The Beginning. Yeah, it was a great
name. So yeah, in that band, the guitarist's
name was Kevin, Kev Hines. And I said, hey Kev,
you know that guitar, he had a spare guitar.
He said, do you think I could borrow that? He
says, yeah John, you can take that and play around
with it. I think it was an old, like, it was
an acoustic, it had like nylon strings on it,
right? So I'd come to practice and I'd say, hey
Kev. F, show me a chord. He said, this one's
G, this one's C. And he'd show me a chord every
time. So I'd practice away in the bedroom on
these chords, right? And then I got to the point
where I was getting not too bad at it. And I
thought, I'm going to get myself an electric
guitar. So this is what happened. So at the tender
age of 17, right? So remember, I'm playing drums
now, and I'm doing OK at it too. I made a decision
that I'm going to now become a guitar player.
So the drum kit that I had was a really good
one. It was a really good kit and was my dad
that actually put up the funds for it. So at
that time, I remember saying to my dad, hey dad,
I'm going to pick the guitar up and play the
guitar. He looked at me and he said, what's wrong
with the drums? They're perfectly good and you
can play them. Like, you know, I said, no, no,
I want to play the guitar. So he just threw his
hands up and said, okay, whatever. I hope you
gave him one of the Back to the Future moments.
Did you do that? You understand what I mean?
Did you do that for him? I think I should have.
No, it didn't work out that way. At that time,
I think, first off, I went to the music store
and I picked up a, it was an SG copy. I think
in those days it was made in Japan. I think it
was a made in Japan guitar, a Meyer or something
like that. I can't remember the name of the thing,
but it was an SG copy. I gave that out for a
long time. Then it came to the point, probably
about maybe just before 18 years old, I sold
the drum kit. That was it. I said, that's it.
I'm not playing drums anymore. No more drums.
Sold the kit and I got myself a Gibson, right?
So I started playing as Jesus with what I was
playing in those days And then I guess back in
I'll sort of move forward now right so back in
1974 My family were Trent my dad was transferred
from Sydney, Australia to Vancouver, Canada So
I came to Vancouver in 74 and basically, you
know, I was like, didn't know anyone, but I could
play music. And so I met a bunch of guys in the
town I was living. I was living in a place called
Porcoquitlam, which is just a little bit south
of Vancouver, in a Vancouver area, in the region.
So I met these guys and I put together a band.
And the first gig we did, was at a high school,
a local high school, Port Coquitlam High School.
We called it Poco. So Poco High. And I said to
these guys, I said, I'm going to call up an agency
and have them come out and see us. And they said,
oh, we can't call the agents up. You know, those
guys, they're looking for big time acts and this
kind of stuff. I said, look, we'll rehearse and
we'll get our stuff tight. And we'll get the
agent out. So sure enough, I got to go with my
note here because I've got to remember what all
transpired. So there's a guy called Barry Samuel.
He's an English guy, actually. He's an Englishman
out of London. And he was living in Vancouver
at the time. And there was two like, we'll call
them big agencies. So there's Bruce Allen. Bruce
Allen had guys like Brian Adams. Michael Buble
today has Jan Arden and Murray Loverboy prison
whole bunch of big acts, right? Barry on the
other hand had have you heard of Sweeney Todd
before? Yes. Yeah. Okay, Nick Gilder. He's an
Englishman also, right? So they had Nick Gilder
Sweeney Todd And then they had heart you've heard
of heart before right? Yeah, and Nancy Wilson
and the toys and there's a whole bunch of bands
in him my band and my band was called Rory Mack.
So that was the name of the man. But we got in
as soon as he came and seen us. And in those
days, we were doing the glam rock thing. So I've
come a long way since then. But we were doing
glam rock. We had a good show, and we put it
on for Barry Samuels, and he basically picked
us up and hired us. And I went on the road for
roughly three years, solid. So we had all the
gear, equipment. We were totally funded. And
we just traveled all over, up and down the West
Coast, all the way through Canada. And it was
a great experience. Really cut my teeth there.
And it was fun. We had a big, we had a big pantech,
like a big truck, like a big bread van, and all
the gear was in the back there. We had big, you
know, speaker cabins, and those days were huge,
big speaker cabins, mattresses on top of those.
We'd keep out there and we'd all take turns driving
to the next gig. And it was just a matter of
we'd call up the agent, say, hey, Barry, where
are we? Oh, you're in... Prince George and then
you were in Puskope and then you're wherever
it would just tell us where we went for you know
a week or two or whatever so we just were a traveling
band and we did this for like i say three years
i was on the road so it was full time it was
full time full time full time yeah and and you
know i mean we've come we come back into town
we come back into Vancouver but we've been for
like two or three days at a time i used to you
know go into the music shop buy my strings and
bulk and I have spare tubes of valves, as you
say in England, all this kind of stuff. We have
all kinds of gear with us because we had to.
We'd be in the middle of nowhere, you know what
I mean? Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. It is, yeah.
We had some fun times, let me tell you. But yeah,
so I did that for a number of years. And then
I got... I got sick. I got really, really sick.
I had a really bad strep throat and started getting
nodes on the back of my throat. Right? So the
doctor said, well, you know, you keep it up,
you're going to lose your voice completely. And
I'm like, oh, no, I can't do that. So I just
basically. backed off. It would have gone one
of two ways, wouldn't it? You would either have
lost your voice or you would have ended up sounding
like Rod Stewart. That too. One way or the other.
No, it's between him and Bonnie Tyler. I'm big
serious as well. Or Bonnie Tyler. Yeah. Absolutely.
That is actually why she's got that voice. See?
Looking at me, it's true. He could have gone
the other way, yeah. No, no. And that's what
they told me, said you should have seen him.
I suggest you don't do it anymore. So I just
thought, yeah, better that. So I came off the
road. And during that time, I've been doing some
recording and stuff like we're doing our own
demos, of course, at that time. But I would do
some recording mushroom records in Vancouver
and Hart were there. And I would have a couple
of times where I go in there and do some session
work. So I was getting to do some sessions, getting
to feel it out. meet other people in the industry,
and so on and so forth. But that, again, wasn't
enough. It really wasn't enough to sustain me.
You know what I mean? I wasn't making that much
money. Maybe it wasn't a hell of a lot of money
in those days. So I just basically thought, oh,
I better do something. I better get some kind
of income coming in, right? So what I did is
I took up graphic arts. I became sort of a graphic
artist and got into the print end of it and then
into the tech end of it. And I've spent, I worked
for a publisher, like I've worked both sides
of this pond from here to Australia. So I spent
how many years here? About 20, 21 years in Canada,
working in with publishing, like I'm talking
about, not music publishing. I'm talking print
publishing, magazines, that kind of thing. And
then I work for, you know them as Russ Craft.
Have you heard of Russ Craft before? Or Carlton
Carts? The greeting card company? Oh, the card
thing's about, actually. Yeah, yeah, the greeting
card company, right? So I worked there for a
long time. And we went through some changes back
in those days. we were going from analog to digital.
So I was on that whole wave of the digital stuff
and all that kind of stuff. So I worked there
with Carlton Cards for a number of years, made
my way up the ladder, so to speak. And then I
used to do a lot of tours into the States. We
had a lot of different plants there. So I would
go to different plants in the Southern States,
places like that. So I got a... to get a really
good look at what was going on down there. And
I took up a really interest in the blues, first
off. So I'm a huge fan of the blues. I love blues
guitar. And I know more about blues than I know
about country music. Wow. Yeah, that's a fact.
So anyway, during the time I was working for
Carlton, cards here in Canada. I also had a band
called COD, the Children of Divorce. So this
is during the New Wave time, punk rock and all
that kind of stuff. So this is good. My manager
is still around today, Jerry Young, his name,
Barry Wazil. Jerry was my new manager. So we
had a We had a band here and we were doing all
the circuit here in Toronto. So we didn't go.
We'd go outside a little a little bit outside
of Toronto, but not too far. So we're doing all
the main clubs like the Bamboo, El Macombo, The
Edge, Horseshoe, Larry's Hideaway. These were
all like popular clubs in and around Toronto,
right? So we were doing the circuit and we're
getting pretty well known. We got a pretty good
following. So we got to open up for get this
the police I got to open up for the police at
the edge Wow, yeah, it was on their first tour
of North America and it was at Edgerton's the
edge we call it and the other thing that was
Notable, I guess you've heard of the sex pistols,
of course. I love the sex pistols. I love say
well, I had an opportunity to open up, not for
the Sex Pistols, but public image. Yeah, yeah,
yeah. Two guys that left. John Light and Big
Time. And my mother, who was so prim and proper,
not with us anymore, she was so prim and proper.
She adored him. She adored him and she's so prim
and proper, even in the Sex Pistols days. He
is a very intelligent man, really clueless. Yeah,
yeah, for sure. No doubt about it. I would love
to interview him, and I'll tell you what, if
he insulted me on air, that's great radio, leave
it in. Carry on, John. What a great guy. No,
no, for sure. Those guys were fun to play with.
We played at, I think the bar was called the
Three Bears, and it was a university gig. There's
a lot of university kids coming to this place,
and it happened to be a Halloween gig, as I recall.
And of course, everybody's dressed in a Halloween
garb and stuff like this. And I stood in this
picture in my head. I just remember we had the
crowd roaring. They were like, going crazy. Such
energy, though. Such energy. Oh, so much energy.
And in those days, we played that kind of music.
I shall send you some of the stuff so you can
hear it. Yeah. And it was incredible. I think
we tore the place apart. Not us personally, but
the punters in the bar. you know there was some
dressed up they're like cavemen they had big
clubs and they were beating the hell tables and
all kinds of stuff but they wouldn't like me
saying this and they were quite polished they
could play guitar they were actually quite talented
yeah no no you know they were good no they were
they were terrific we got on really well with
these guys they were good excellent but um yeah
so that was kind of like I like right for us
um COD We did a couple of demos for Warner Brothers
Records. We had one that was a real hit called
Talkin' Freedom. But unfortunately, my bass player
at the time, David, he got into a car accident
and he passed. So once that happened, gutted
everyone. So we were just like... That was the
end of that trip. We had songs like... doggy
style, stuff like that. She was laughing, but
you know, dog, dog, doggy style, you better crack
a smile, dog. That kind of thing, you know what
I mean? So like, you'll love it, yeah. So I'll
have to dig that stuff up. It'll be somewhere,
because it's probably on a cassette or something.
And then I did a stimp. by myself where I was
doing some writing on my own with another band
called Suits and Handshakes. So I had another...
Sorry, what was that name? Suits and Handshakes.
Suits and Handshakes. Suits and Handshakes, yeah.
So I have a partner, another guy, he was actually
an Irish guy and he lives in Toronto and him
and I were like writing stuff, a lot of stuff,
but not just for us, for other artists. So that's
what we were doing at that time. And I do that,
I still do that. I'll write anything for anyone.
Tell me what you want and I'll put it together
for you. Just a minute John, thank you so much
for those, it is John that sent us those, that
singing on the jingle. Oh yeah. Yeah, that is
amazing, thank you so much, yes. No you're welcome.
Nick starts yapping, Sue joins in. Nobody knows
where they'll begin. Tall tales, belly laughs,
and country style. They'll have you grinning
mile after mile. His chatterbox on your radio,
where the indie music's always stealing the show.
Nick and Sue are the chattering pair. Fun and
laughter fill the air. So tune on in. Don't be
late. Cause on Shatterbox, everyone's got We're
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CBUKRDUX. because there's another guy that sends
us jingles and his name's John you see it's just
yeah so thank you for that young one doesn't
sing in country style no but that's a brilliant
we're going to be using them yeah yeah yeah absolutely
and we're going to turn one that we think we
can use on the sunday is it just just the first
one we can edit yeah yeah yeah so there we go
yeah it will be getting used yes that's good
to hear yeah yeah John the jingler We've got
the stuff you're bringing out now. What was the
big step from what we're talking about to jumping
up to what you're doing now to this recent stuff?
We'll get into that. There's more to it. I went
to work in Australia. I work in Australia primarily
in publishing. I was with a publishing firm,
one of the larger ones in Sydney, Australia.
But I spent a lot of time there. But whilst I
was doing that, I was playing in a blues band.
And my daughter and I, her name's Lindsay, she's
still in Australia, she's in Sydney. But her
and I started a band together and she's got a
great voice. This kid can sing. So I have her
up front. Dad takes the backseat, I just play
the guitar. And she did the... the front part,
but that was that was a lot of fun. I really
enjoyed that. Anyhow, moving on. So a few eight,
nine, ten years ago, nine years ago, I beg your
pardon, nine years ago, my wife's father took
sick, lost sight in one of his eyes, and then
he was diagnosed with dementia. And it was pretty
tough. So we decided we're going to come back
and, you know, be here for her mom and support
for her dad as well. Anyway, he's since passed,
he's since passed Barry. Again, here you go,
the connection. My wife was born in England,
Derbyshire. OK? Well done, you say it spot on.
Yeah, and I was, guess what? The Americans can't
say it, you can. But you know where I was born?
I was born in Scotland. I was born in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh, wow. Yeah, and my folks moved from
Edinburgh, oh gosh, I would have been 10 years
old, I guess, something like that, and they moved
to Australia. I guess for a better life, my dad
was in the RAF, Royal Air Force, and during those...
times they were looking for guys to go out to
Australia. I don't know if you know this, but
the strains were in Vietnam with the Americans.
So looking for guys to train these guys. So my
dad was that's what he was planning on doing
there. But as it turns out, good thing he my
mom put her foot down and said, no, if we're
going there with the kids, I don't need you get
slaughtered. And then I knew by myself with kids
like It's not a good look. Anyway, so that never
happened. That's the story there of Australia.
I spent most of my childhood growing up there
until we came to Canada. Now, moving on from
Australia back to Canada again. So since I've
been back in Canada, when I came back, my daughter
came with me initially, and my son's here. Lachlan
is his name. He's with us. My daughter since
She was in a relationship with a guy here and
they bought a house For about seven years and
then she found out that he was cheating on her
So yeah, so that was a real upset. So she was
home here for a while and I gotta be honest with
you. That was a catalyst for me writing again
It was crazy Myself, I've got to tell you that
I'm on my second marriage this time. I was married
once before for about nine years, and that broke
up. There was children in that relationship as
well, and it was very difficult. I have a lot
of baggage, if you want to call it that. But
there's a lot of stuff there that I had to work
through. Once my daughter Lindsey went through
this thing. It just dredged a lot of stuff up
for me and I just brought it all back and then
the creative I'm actually retired now what I
call retired like from a day job if you will
so I am once that happened the creative juices
flowed like never before and I I Just write it's
just like it's coming in I don't know where it
comes from. I've got a chair back here. I sit
in that chair. I'll get up really early in the
morning, and stuff starts flowing, and I'll write.
And just on that point, last night, about 4 .30
in the morning, I got this line in my head, right?
And I got out of bed. My wife's name's Sue as
well, Sue. So my wife says, where are you going?
I said, I've got this. a couple of lines in my
head. I've got to get up and write them down.
Because if I don't, I'll forget them, right?
This is how it goes. So I got up this morning.
I sat down here. And by the time she got out
of bed, she slept in. By the time she got out
of bed, I had the whole thing. So this is what
happens. Same with high horse. High horse, I
wrote that in about an hour and a half. John,
does that come? There's a phrase going around,
get off your high horse. Is there any? It was
brilliant. It was exactly what I thought it was.
It is. And how that happened, Sue, how that happened
was I was I was talking to my I was talking to
my daughter. And, you know, she's a bit obstructive
sometimes. And she said she was getting on her
high horse. And I said. For Pete's sake, get
off your high horse, right? You said that to
her just like that, you know. Oh, dad, you know,
get off your high horse. So there you go, 1 .30
in the morning, John boy is out of bed and he's
up here and sitting in the chair and he's writing
the song. That song reminds me so much of my
childhood. Yes, it came out, you know. Car goes
on a high horse, you know, far too long. It's
time to put your boots on the ground. Yeah, that's
exactly where it comes from. And that's a saying,
right? Get off your high horse, right? And we've
also recently, this is one we got to know you
almost broken. Oh, broken, broken. Oh, look,
that song, that song comes from your man. Yeah,
that was a tough one. I have others too that
I've written that are near and dear, let's say.
And that one, yeah, that one, that one is, it
comes from deep, deep inside that one. Yeah,
it comes from, you know, the soul, that one.
There's lots, I write, that's the kind of stuff
that I've been writing of late. I don't think
that I could have written this stuff when I was
a younger man. It's not that I didn't have the
vocabulary for the job. Is it down -to -life
experiences, you think? It's experience, absolutely.
Because it's OK to put a bunch of words together
on a page, but you've got to convey that. You're
telling a story, and if you're telling it truthfully,
it comes across that way. And I think all good
songs, or any good song that's been written,
it doesn't matter what the genre is. If it's
coming from the heart and you can touch somebody
else with that, you've done your job. That's
what it's about. And for me, that's what songwriting
is about. You hear that in Broken and High Horse.
Thank you. I appreciate that, because that means
a heck of a lot to me. Because, you know, I don't
know, when you write a song, sometimes you struggle
and you think, oh, I can't tell people, you know.
my past or let them have a preview into my life
or whatever. Initially, that was the way that
I thought about it. But then I realized that,
you know what? I'm not Robinson Crusoe. There's
other people who've had the same experiences
as me. Maybe slightly different. They'd be thinking
of themselves. Yeah. And I say this so many times
that a song, when somebody writes a song, it's
the art gallery moment, you're in that art gallery,
you're looking at that painting, a hundred people
look at a painting, they'll have a hundred different
depictions of that painting. Listening to your
song, you know what the song means to you, but
a hundred people listening to it will depict
it in a hundred different ways. It's how they
feel, what they've been through. Yes. Simple
as that. Spot on. And technically you're watching
it for them as well, but it's how they interpret
it, of course. That's right. Absolutely. You're
spot on, Nick, exactly how it goes. So, you know,
and I've been writing a lot of different things,
a lot of subjects, but I write a lot about, you
know, I guess for me it's a cleansing of the
soul. I get it out and then that's my way of
dealing with it, right? Whatever the subject
matter is, I need to look at it and get inside
it. Yes, the lovely picture of your hand gesture
as a young lady on the horse. Helping her off,
helping her up, I don't know. Helping her off,
yeah. Yeah, yeah, bring her down off the horse
to put her boots on solid ground. Yep. No, that
young lady probably exists somewhere. Yeah. She
does now. She does. She does exist. This is the
thing with being from the background that I'm
from. magazines I have done I have done I had
32 titles underneath under me I should do covers
for 32 different titles all different kinds sporting
magazines you name it Sports Illustrator top
that kind of thing he was talking about your
daughter just now and I actually thought oh that's
his daughter so you can imagine why I Yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, that's fine. That's fine. No, my
daughter would... I don't know. She could have
done it. We're taking a quick break to talk about
the things we carry with us every single day.
And we've all been there fumbling with a bulky
wallet or dealing with jumbled mess of keys that
sounds like a tambourine in your pocket. Well,
this show is proud to be brought to you in association
with the Distill Union. Since 2011, the Distill
Union have been on a mission to simplify your
life through a less is more philosophy, creating
sleek essentials to solve everyday problems with
serious style. Distill Union doesn't just make
accessories, they engineer intuitive tools that
declutter your routine. The Wallet Wallet is
a real game changer for anyone tired of pocket
bulk. It's a minimalist slim profile wallet that
uses innovative magnetic closures to keep your
cards in cache incredibly secure while remaining
effortlessly accessible. With the Ferris Key
Organizer you can say goodbye to the clutter.
The Ferris uses a modular magnetic system to
snap your keys and essentials together into one
streamlined silent setup. It's customizable tactile
and honestly a joy to use. All products are premium
quality and crafted from premium full grain leather.
It's durable, sophisticated and actually ages
beautifully over time developing a unique character
plus they stand behind their work in a three
-year guarantee. When you choose the Distill
Union, you're choosing quality over quantity.
And by using our code CBUKRDUX, you aren't just
getting a better way to carry your gear, you're
supporting the show and the planet. As part of
the Chatterbox community's commitment to the
environment, 1 % of all commissions from your
purchases are donated to the Stripe Climate Program
to help remove CO2 from the atmosphere. It's
a small way to make a big difference while upgrading
your daily carry. We've worked with Distill Union
to arrange the highest exclusive discounts specifically
for you, 20%. Head over to distillunion .com
or simply scroll down to the link below in the
show notes and just add cbukrdux. So we got those
two songs. What other songs do we have in this
period of your life that you've actually brought
out? Look, I've written a number of songs for
other artists, for other people. So I'm currently,
this, what you're seeing of me now, is me coming
out of the shadows, basically. Because I've worked
in the background for many years, working for
other people. And now it's kind of like, oh,
geez, John, you're getting to that point now.
I just felt that, you know what? I've always
been the bridesmaid, never the bride. Oh, I love
that phrase. You know what I mean? So I thought,
what the heck? pointing into the stick at your
age, it's time for you to get out there and put
your stuff out and let people hear it. And that's
what I've been doing. And my wife has played
a huge part in that because she's said, look,
what are you doing? You've got the talent, just
do it. Just get it done. So I just, why not?
Right? So here it is. But the songs that I've
got now, I've got Well, you've heard them, you've
probably heard them all. The Reckoning, Broken,
and now High Horse. I had one before that, which
is called The Righteous Cowboy. I don't know
if you've heard that one. It's a Americana, and
it's basically a ballad guitar. There's nothing
fancy about it. You'll find it, it's up there.
But I'm, you know, I'm not real proud of that
one. I mean, I like, when I wrote the song, it's
about a righteous cowboy, right? It's about doing
the right thing. It's about, you know, taking
care of something. Yeah, you should be proud
of it. If it's the step to where you are doing
these songs now that we're listening to now,
you should be proud of that. It might not be
the step. I'm not going to say it because I haven't
heard it yet. I can't say it's not the standard
that you're used to. It's not the standard that
perhaps you want to bring out or not what you
want to bring out. Maybe, maybe it is the standard,
but it's not quite what you're doing now. But
you should have an actual stepping stone between
coming out the shadows and what we're doing now.
Absolutely. You should be proud of it. It's an
important moment. It's like the lyrics are great
the Luke's right. I look at it now from a Production
standpoint, I guess I'm a stickler. Oh, I waste
a lot of time making sure that I get it right
You know that it sounds right the one I put it
out that it's gonna be Good good enough, you
know and Yeah, it's um It's laborious sometimes,
but even when I write, I can write a song and
I'll look at it, put it away for a day or two
and I come back to it and I'm constantly sifting
through it, manipulating it, get it where I want
it to be, to say the kind of words, using the
words I want to use. So yeah, it's a process.
Some of them are quick, some of them take a lot
longer. to get through the process. And that
brings me to a song I think you and I have spoke
about it before. Ah, yes. Yeah, that I've written
is called Dagger and Cloak. Mm, very clever.
It's very poignant. It's a song that's, let's
say it's a political song. Not that I was aiming
for that, but it's just what came out. from what
I've seen and what I've experienced. And I just
thought, this is a song that I need to write.
I wrote it. And again, it didn't take me a long
time to write it. I had all the words there.
They were right there, and I just went, boom,
this is it. And I wrote it out. And after I'd
written the song, I looked at it, and I started
looking at it, and I went, oh my gosh, I better
be careful there, you know? A bit careful. But
it's a descriptive song. But I will, I will tell
you. I will release it. It will be released.
It has to be. Just to explain to Sue, it's so
cleverly - Sorry, I'm sorry. You may remember
we interviewed Dean Friedman when he brought
his first album out and he did a song called
Stupid Town on it. It's not a million miles from
that where he's going with it. Very cleverly
done. Just as Dean Friedman was a little bit
more blatant with the title but it's clever.
Very cleverly done in the way it's presented
and the words it's got in it. It's there. It'll
be a good one and it's it's a good track to you
like it's it moves along nicely. That's a good
What else have I got on the only? In the works,
I've got lots in the works. I would be honest
with you. I've got books like Like that. I don't
know how many volumes I have of just lyrics now
for many years even when I wasn't actively playing
in a band or any of that kind of paper I would
still write so I write lyrics and I'd write them
in like either poems or prose and then I would
uh like this I'd write them out and then I just
put them away file them right and then I might
be playing guitar or get a melody in my head
sometimes it just happens where I get a melody
line and then I would go oh that would fit with
part of regret or whatever the song is I'm working
on. So then I get the guitar, start playing with
it, and then I just build it from there. It goes
like that. So for the majority of my songs, I
got to say, in the early days, it was a music.
So I would basically come up with hooks and chord
progressions, et cetera. And I'd have melody
lines and those kinds of things would come first.
and then I'd write the lyrics to the song. But
in latter years, it's been more that I'm writing
the lyrics. The lyrics are coming, and then the
music comes after it. It's backwards. I don't
understand. I don't know myself. I don't know
why that's happening, but that's what's happening.
Is there a correct way of doing it though, really?
No, no, absolutely not. No, no, no, no, no. I
think it's just it's however you approach it
yourself. I think for for me, I've been and I'd
say the last, I'm going to say decade, 10 years.
It's for me, it's been more about. Running stories,
you know, a com story about balance, that's why
I'm seeing country music is because it lends
itself. To that you know this music. Oh, sorry
these songs lend themselves to the genre Okay,
it could be blues also, and I've written some
really good blue songs above me over here, but
like and then say the thing I'll tell you Disclaimer
I have a band so I have a I have a blues band
So yeah, so I got guys here to help me out to
you. I've got an excellent musicians that I've
worked with so These guys they know that you
know I play in a blues band I play blues music,
and they know what I'm doing with this stuff,
this country stuff. They think it's funny. They
really think this is really funny, John. You're
a blues guy, but I'm doing this stuff. Nobody
knows where they'll begin. Tall tales, belly
laughs, and country style. They'll have you grinning
mile after mile. Is Chatterbox on your radio?
Where the indie music's always stealing the show.
Nick and Sue are the chattering pair. Fun and
laughter fill the air, so tune on in. Don't be
late, cause on Chatterbox. Everyone's got something
to say Well, this show is proud to be brought
to you in association with the Distill Union.
Since 2011, the Distill Union have been on a
mission to simplify your life through a less
is more philosophy, creating sleek essentials
to solve everyday problems with serious style.
Distill Union doesn't just make accessories,
they engineer intuitive tools that declutter
your routine. The Wally Wallet is a real game
changer for anyone tired of pocket bulk. It's
a minimalist slim profile wallet that uses innovative
magnetic closures to keep your cards in cache
incredibly secure while remaining effortlessly
accessible. With the Ferris Key Organizer you
can say goodbye to the clutter. The Ferris uses
a modular magnetic system to snap your keys and
essentials together into one streamlined silent
setup. It's customizable, tactile and honestly
a joy to use. All products are premium quality
and crafted from premium full grain leather.
It's durable, sophisticated and actually ages
beautifully over time developing a unique character
plus they stand behind their work in a three
year guarantee. When you choose the Distill Union
you're choosing quality over quantity and by
using our code CBUKRDUX, you aren't just getting
a better way to carry your gear, you're supporting
the show and the planet. As part of the Chatterbox
community's commitment to the environment, 1
% of all commissions from your purchases are
donated to the Stripe Climate Program to help
remove CO2 from the atmosphere. It's a small
way to make a big difference while upgrading
your daily carry. We've worked with Distill Union
to arrange the highest exclusive discount specifically
for you 20 % head over to distillunion .com or
simply scroll down to the link below in the show
notes and just add cbukrdux This is Nick and
Sue with Chatterbox giving you all you need to
know about musical entertainment Chatterbox Chatterbox
Chatterbox Chatterbox Chatterbox What's your
opinion of, I mean, you've obviously been warned
about the British audience and country music.
What's your view of what you've seen? Because
it was, what's happened in the last two years,
the country songs and hit and miss and the way
songs are played and requested, they've gone
from being rock bottom to getting a semi -final
place. They're getting seconds and thirds and
fourths and fifths, and they're getting 200 votes
and they're getting this and that. Certain types
of music is lively, really good, you know, but...
In the UK, the Brits don't think it's country
music, you see. That's the secret. They don't
think it is. It's incredible, isn't it? They
don't think it is. No, but it's true, right?
I've got lots of cousins over there. I've got
cousins in, I think, where have I got them? Yorkshire,
Blackpool, London. All my cousins, they're listening.
They listen to the music and the music I'm doing.
Oh, it's great, because we love your stuff. You
know, blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, yeah, it's
good. But my cousin, Glenda, she's in the boot
-scooting, believe it or not. So she's in the
boot -scooting. So she loves, like, high horse
heads right up her alley. So this is what I'm
saying, like, yeah, even in the UK, I think there
is... It's catching on, if it ever... It's not
resurrecting, because it is not really... Apart
from Dolly Parton and Tammy Winnett and that
style crowd from the 70s and that... Yeah, yeah,
yeah. Not really... Not really been here en masse.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But now you're seeing it, now
you're seeing the real people listening to a
radio. Now most people on R &I, you don't ever
see. But there's real people now, those songs
go out to, or clips of them, go out to 200 people
every week. yeah yeah yeah um and it's uh now
these people are just genuinely normal people
that listen to a radio that don't really go in
the chat room i think about five of them over
the period of a week or a month um but in general
they're the real radio people that you don't
see yeah yeah that 200 when it's probably 2000
listening in london at any one time on fm uh
something like that then there's the rest of
the country and then there's chat box everywhere
which is going on um that's a lot of people going
to be tapping their feet to it so that's gone
from three three people voting hit and 20 going
miss to a hundred voting hit yeah that's unreal
that's incredible yeah yeah something's happening
because i know that you were thinking you were
wondering weren't you about what uh the whole
country you know i think it's better comment
in the chat room or maybe to me about the uk
and country music no it's not that bad no we
don't let us like it that much we don't want
too much of it yeah yeah We've got to break them
in gently. But they're getting some good stuff.
And half these people don't think it's country
music. They just think it's rock. It could be
country rock, of course. Let's just call it rock,
if that's what... Because things can have different
names in the UK to Canada and America. If they
want to call it some sort of rock, let them say
it. That's right. Absolutely. If it works itself,
it's fine. 100%. Like, you know, the thing is,
like, if you look at... Broken. Broken's got
like a rock riff in it, right? It's a rock song,
right? It's a rock song with a country flavor.
That's what I'm going to say. It's rock. And
at my heart, my base, I'm a rock guy, just like,
you know, I grew up with it. the same bands as
everybody else, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, you
know, all that kind of stuff. Those guys were
my idols when I was a kid growing up. So I come
from the same place. And then, you know, looking
at, like I said, with the blues stuff, I mean,
I just looked at what Led Zeppelin was doing.
Okay, so this is great music, but the roots of
that music is coming out of the blues, as was
a lot of it in those days. So that's where I
went back, right to the roots of it, you know,
and listened to T -Bone Walker and all the old
blues guys. Yeah. And, you know, and Eric Clapton
as well, B .B. King and all the Kingies, you
know, Albert King, Albert Collins, all these
guys. Like, that's that's where my guitar style
comes from, sexy blues guitar style. and one
to find this group full -time of longevity as
well. Rolling stones all go back to blues roots.
That's what they grow. 100%. 100%. You watch
the cat all night afterwards. Let's have a look,
John, at what Gemini Google AI has to say. And
I am a Gemini too. Thank God I'm not dating you
then, yeah. I tried one and it didn't work. OK,
please, can we move on? So I asked at work, I
went to Gemini AI and I said, what can you tell
me about the Canadian singer John R. Coburn,
please? It comes back and says, it looks like
there might be a slight mix up in the name. You
are likely thinking of John Aaron or Aaron Coburn
or Bruce Coburn. So I then say, right, OK, so.
It tells me about them. I go and say, nope, he's
a country singer from Canada, song called Broken.
Ah, then the coin drops. Ah, I stand corrected.
Thanks for putting me on the right track. John
R. Coburn is an independent Canadian country
artist. Here is what is out on his music radar.
Broken releases a single in May 2026 featuring
a modern country sound. Other tracks. He has
released country singles including The Reckoning
and The Righteous Cowboy. Style. His work blends
classic story -driven country themes, faith,
hardship and resilience with modern country production.
His tracks are available on platforms like Apple
Music, Spotify and iHeartRadio. How are we doing
so far with it? Perfect. You're an emerging independent
artist and as of 2026 you've released four songs
on streaming platforms which you've mentioned,
Broken May 2026, The Wrecking in April 2026,
Righteous Cowboy November 2025, she's doing all
right with the dates as well, and High Horse
with no dates at the moment in these updates.
This is a newer act on the country scene. His
current catalogue consists of these standalone
singles, rather than the full -length studio
album. That's right. When's the album coming
then? When's the anthology coming? Okay, well,
I have a strategy, so I'll tell you the strategy.
In the old days, we would go in the studio and
we'd do a full album, right? So whatever that
consisted of, let's say 10 songs. And then we
released that album, and then out of that would
be selected a single or two. depending on what
was selected by the label at the time. Today,
I think the way we tackle it is this, or the
way I am gonna tackle it, is I'm gonna put out
singles, single, single, and I'm gonna pace it,
I'm gonna pace myself, I'm gonna watch how they
go up the chart, and when I start falling down
the chart, I'll bring another one out. And once
I've got maybe eight songs and I think it's an
album already, then I'll put them out as an album.
And that's what I do. That's how I'm going to
do it. I don't know if it's right, wrong, or
I'm on the wrong track or what, but that's what's,
that's just my thought process. What do you think?
I'll leave it to you. You've been in the industry
a long time, so you'll know. Do what you feel
is right. But I like that thing, yeah, I do like
that. I like that. don't when you're ready what
feels right and of course different territories
are different okay that's that brings i'll tell
you another bit of inside information i've also
written a song it's called the man from wenderlee
it's an australian song and it's for an australian
specifically an australian audience now there's
a bit of a story attached to this my father Who
is now 95 still alive and my mom my mom both
of them alive they live in South of Sydney in
the hills they live What's called the Southern
Highlands in Sydney? That's absolutely good I'll
be Gemini AI now. I'd like to throw in a red
herring just to see what you are Okay, okay now
mister So I ask sort of probably punish me for
this I ask Is it true that John used to be a
Colonel Harlem D. Salmond impersonator and was
employed by KFC when the Colonel himself died
in 1918 and was employed to open new branches
and refurbish branches and appear on television
commercials in Canada? And they could. You could?
It says no, that claim is not true. It names
the guy that got the job when the Colonel died.
There's something you should do. I will say,
you do look like him. I met the Royal Colonel,
he came to Hastings in 1976. Our KFC in our town,
we've got four here, and the one in Old Village
is the third oldest in Europe. and he visited
and we were all the streets were lined they got
all the school kids off for the day anybody thought
the Queen was coming right and we were all there
with our little flags and he turns up and actually
met him yeah so he would have been about 86 then
so we've actually met yeah and he's got a nicer
smile he was old but you know so Rob Wills is
the actor so when he dies We're going to get
you in and I'll be, can I be your agent for that
and negotiate for you? You can do that. Brilliant,
sorted. So Rob, and his Canadian actor, Rob Wills.
And did you know Colonel Sanders actually lived
in Canada when he died? That's right. He lived
up here in Toronto. So just say no, that claim's
not true, but I'd like to throw in a red herring
and see what it says. Well, you know, you never
know. There you go. You know, I tell you, I tell
you, a gig once, right? And this is when my daughter
was playing with me. And she told me that she
said, hey, Dad, see that girl over there at that
seat? And she pointed out this table. I said,
oh, yeah? She goes, I didn't know Colonel Sanders
playing guitar. Oh! That's the true story. And
I said, oh, well, I'm gonna go over and see her
after I'm finished here. Do you know what? I
mean you have a lovely face, a nice smile, a
kind face, but do you know what? If you're going
to be associated with anybody that's famous,
it's not really a bad one to be associated with,
unless it's the vegan society after you, you're
pretty good at it. You're pretty good. So it
isn't a bad one. I mean, I'm never putting anything
bad, but I do put in a red herring, so I wonder
how it's going to come back here. It describes
how you looked, so despite not knowing you in
the first thing, it actually describes, you know,
okay? because this is when I put it in about
modern impersonators and then what it says about
you is while John R Coburn sports the classic
white bearded western aesthetic in his modern
country music career his background is strictly
music rather than the fast -feed brand representation
so it says no it's purely a rumor which we started
the other night Bart, listen, John, if this keeps
coming out, like if we leave it in the interview,
if you're right with that, it's a talking point.
It's a harmless talking point that you can do
the story about the altering. Listen, my nickname,
like, my buddies all call me this, Rooster, I'm
Rooster, that's what they call me. Yeah, yeah,
yeah, so that's what they call me. All my friends,
all my guy friends call me Rooster. Hey, Rooster.
So I've had that tag for many, many moons. I've
had it for a long time. I don't know who came
up with it, but somebody hung out with one of
the guys in the band. That's what they came up
with. But yeah, but that's funny. Rooster Chickens.
Yeah, you're right. Yeah, I think it's right.
I like the way he says it in Colonel Saunders'
room. I say, yeah, if you're happy with it, it
can stay. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, 100%. It's harmless.
It's a talking point. And then you'll probably
have other interviews saying about it, about
the story with your daughter and the friend saying
about Colonel Saunders playing the guitar. Oh,
yeah. It's harmless. But listen, as I said earlier,
if you're going to be associated with somebody
famous, it's not a bad one. It isn't. No, no,
no, no. Not at all. Trust me, there's worse than
that. Okay, so album -wise, I mean is it just
going to be a whole load of singles or are we
going to see them collectively putting people
down over the lot in one go or what is the plan
going to be that way? I think, like I say, I
think I'm just going to, I'm taking it one single
at a time so to speak. Yeah, I'm going to just
release a single at a time and see where it takes
me and that's the size of it. in terms of like
I've never since I'll call it coming out of the
shadows I don't have any aspirations to be truthful
with you um of going on the road or or doing
the licking stuff I you knew what's coming next
didn't you yeah because I'm like the thing the
thing is I'm an older guy and I uh like I am
an older guy so I have health issues like that
would not allow me to to do that. I'm well and
truly good at. Talking and singing and playing
guitar and stuff, but to go on long extended.
Trails and being buses and stuff that kind of
stuff now. I've done it. I've done that being
there done that sold the T shirts and it's not.
easy in Canada? It is not. Your days apart from
the next gig sometimes, aren't you? A hundred
percent. Every three days, yeah. I'll tell you,
I have done it to death. And, you know, after
like, as a young man, it's different when you're
young and you're single and you don't have any
ties. You can live that lifestyle, you know,
you can you can be that that guy. But when you've
got family and commitments. Yeah, yeah, it's
not it's not easy and I've been I've always been
sort of a clean living guy So I've never got
involved in drugs and all that caper and never
and it's not that wasn't around in my day It
was trust me Yeah, so but but I've never been
involved in any of that I've always keep myself
kept myself clean and I know you know, I've got
a good head on my shoulders Let me put it that
way, right? So I just know I would rather be
the guy, I'd rather float back into the shadows
again and write for other people, do what I was
doing before. But maybe this time I'll put my
tag on it, written by this guy. That'd be the
only difference this time. That'd be the only
difference. So just say we get you back. Just
say we get you back on a six -month time, but
when have you come back next? What would you
like to be telling us that you've achieved? In
six months from now? Yeah, yeah. I would imagine
that there would be another, at least two, maybe
three, I'm going to say two at least, 100%. There'd
be two more singles released in that time period.
I'm not in a huge rush to do it. John, we're
nearly out of time again, so let's do social
media. Have you got websites? I know you're a
Facebook player. Chuck it up on what you've got
on websites where people can find you. Whatever
you've got, yeah. I don't really have a presence
up there. I've never been a big, like, you know,
out there trying to schmook myself, if you will.
I'm on Spotify, I'm on YouTube, iTunes, all that
kind of stuff. Yeah, of course. I'm selling my
wares, if you will, on all those platforms, right?
So when I release a single, it goes out to 150
different platforms across the world, Deezer
and all over the planet. So the stuff is out
there. Yeah, there's stuff on YouTube. I'm trying
to do a couple of videos and get those up on
YouTube as well. It would be amazing. Yes. Yeah,
yeah. So these are things that I'm working on.
Those are not my forte, but I will. Definitely,
venture into that area. Yes, the outfits as well.
It will work. Looking at the high horse cover.
posters i can make posters up and that kind of
stuff yeah i'm good at that very good very good
yeah yeah okay well it's been fascinating uh
john has been great mixing it of course well
it's great to meet you guys in the flesh too
uh anyway thanks so much john okay guys thank
you thank you You've been listening to the Chatterbox
Redux podcast with Sue and Nick and today our
special guest was John R Coburn. If you're interested
in becoming a future guest on the Chatterbox
Redux podcast, or the radio show Chatterbox UK,
you're welcome to submit songs, books, or whatever
it is you do, and send us a CV, synopsis, or
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the tuxedo cat, thank you very much for your
company and we look forward to welcoming you
again next time for another Chatterbox Redux
podcast. In the meantime, take care, we thank
you for your company and we catch you then. Bye
bye. This is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox giving
you all you need to know about musical entertainment
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