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FYI

Megative: No Fear

This New York City-based collective with a strong Canadian component releases an eponymous debut on July 27. This advance single features on-point toasting, a strong dub groove, and an infectious vibe.

Megative: No Fear

By Kerry Doole

Megative - "No Fear" (Last Gang): Megative is a New York City-based collective with a strong Canadian component in the form of vocalist Tim Fletcher (The Stills), and producer/bassist Gus Van Go (Arkells, Whitehorse, Terra Lightfoot). They are joined by production/writing team Likeminds and dancehall reggae veteran, Screechy Dan.


The Megative mandate is to revive the potent sound of UK post-punk and reggae, as pioneered by the likes of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite. In a label press release, Van Go explains that "there’s a lot of great music out there, but what we missed was the bass-heavy grooves and delay-soaked effects of ’70’s reggae and dub, along with the biting wit of the early UK punk scene. The mission is clear. We aim to inject American mainstream culture with the idea that these sounds can be dark, ominous, and also lyrically relevant and challenging.” 

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The group's keenly-awaited self-titled debut album comes out on July 27, and this new single is an appealing teaser. The toasting of guest Metric Man is on point, the groove is suitably deep, and there's an infectious summery vibe to the cut.

Megative recently played the Festival D'été de Quebec and Hillside fests, and begin club shows in the US and Canada on Sept. 25 in Chicago. They play Rum Runners in London, ON (Sept. 27), Longboat Hall in Toronto (Sept. 28), and Mills Hardware in Hamilton (Sept. 29)

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Publicity: Indoor Recess

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Johnny Neel during Johnny Neel in Concert at Wetlands - 1992 at Wetlands in New York City.
Steve Eichner/WireImage

Johnny Neel during Johnny Neel in Concert at Wetlands - 1992 at Wetlands in New York City.

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Johnny Neel, Songwriter & Allman Brothers Band Keys Player, Dies at 70

The musician joined the Allman Brothers Band in 1989.

Johnny Neel, songwriter and former member of the Allman Brothers Band and the Dickey Betts Band, has died. He was 70 years old.

His former bandmate Warren Haynes confirmed the news of Neel’s death in a heartfelt social media post. No cause of death has been given. “Aside from being an amazing musician and singer, Johnny was one of the funniest people on the planet — a true character. ‘Johnny Neel stories,’ as we refer to them in our little chunk of the music world, are legendary,” he wrote. “There was always music in his head. It was his savior. Whenever we were writing together, he was an endless fountain of ideas, and the same on stage or in the studio. His uncanny ability to draw from so many musical styles and genres was amazing and his gift for improvisation was unmatched. We wrote a lot of music together, we played a lot of music together, and we traveled the world together, and maybe most importantly, we had a lot of fun times and created a lot of beautiful memories. Hence the stories. Johnny’s music and his legend will live on forever. Miss you Neely.”

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