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Blinker the Star

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Blinker the Star
OriginPembroke, Ontario, Canada
GenresIndie rock, Blues, Pop music
Years active1992 (1992)-present
LabelsTreat & Release
A&M
DreamWorks, Vibra Cobra Records
MembersJordon Zadorozny

Blinker the Star is the recording and performance name of Jordon Zadorozny, a Canadian solo artist who has worked with various musicians to create eleven albums. Notable musicians who have appeared on Blinker the Star albums include Leland Sklar, Ken Andrews, and one of Jordon's childhood heroes, Lindsey Buckingham.[1][2]

History

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Zadorozny launched his musical career with a solo album created in his Pembroke basement. Aside from two songs featuring Reg Wick (a pseudonym for Doug Hempstead, who became a journalist and head of his own music project, Area Resident) on drums and Phil (last name unlisted) on bass (or "bace," as the credits spell it), and a guitar intro by Randy Pederson on one of those songs, he played all of the instruments and used elementary and improvised production techniques to create the self-titled album, which was released in 1993.[3]

Zadorozny moved to Montreal and on the strength of favourable reviews from the debut album,[4] which featured complex, hard guitar-pounding riffs mixed with softer, melancholy tracks, was signed to A&M Records. In 1996, with drummer Colin Wylie,[5] bass player Peder Jakobsen, and Guns N' Roses keyboardist Chris Pitman, Blinker the Star recorded the album A Bourgeois Kitten.[6]

In 1997, Zadorozny moved to Los Angeles, where he was tapped by Courtney Love, and her band Hole, to help with their 1998 album Celebrity Skin. Zadorozny contributed to the song Reasons to Be Beautiful.[7]

In Los Angeles, Blinker signed with DreamWorks Records and released the album August Everywhere in 1999.[8][9][10] Singles from the album, particularly "Below the Sliding Doors", enjoyed considerable airplay on Canadian radio stations such as 102.1 The Edge; the album was number 89 on The Edge's top 102 albums of 1999.[11]

After being dropped from DreamWorks, Blinker re-emerged in 2003 with the album Still in Rome,[12][13] then, in the spring of 2012, We Draw Lines.[14][15][16] Blinker drew in several musicians for 2013's Songs From Laniakea Beach, then went solo again with 11235 (2015)[17] and 8 of Hearts (2017).[18] That was followed by Careful With Your Magic (2019),[19] Juvenile Universe (2020)[20] and another solo album, Arista (2021).[21][22]

Zadorozny has put together live bands to open for Sam Roberts[23] and Sloan.[24] His band played Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern with Wide Mouth Mason, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Killjoys and Local Rabbits during Canadian Music Week,[25] and has played Edenfest[26] and the North by Northeast festival.[27] He last appeared at the Horseshoe Tavern in 2019.[28]

In November 2021, Buckingham gave Zadorozny and Brad Laner retroactive song-writing credit after it was found that he accidentally plagiarized their song "Swan Song".[29]

Discography

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  • Blinker the Star (Treat & Release 1993, Vibra Cobra Records 1995), with Reg Wick.[30]
  • Still in Rome (Maple Nationwide Records 2003), with Kellii Scott.
  • We Draw Lines (Nile River Records 2012), with Brad Laner, Sofia Silva[33] and Gilden Tunador.[34]
  • 11235 (Independent, 2015), solo
  • 8 of Hearts (Independent, 2017), solo
  • Careful With Your Magic (Nile River Records 2019), with Bob Wilcox[36] and Stella Panacci
  • Arista (2021), solo
  • Love Oblast (2022)
  • Animal Math (2023)
  • Occult Classic (2024)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Blinker The Star – Songs From Laniakea Beach, Credits". discogs.com. Discogs. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Blinker the Star - Flex Your Little Claws (in studio with Lindsey Buckingham)". youtube.com. YouTube. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Blinker The Star – Blinker The Star". discogs.com. Discogs. 1994. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  4. ^ Jeffries, Vincent. "Blinker the Star Review". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  5. ^ Johnson, Emma (10 December 2020). "Six Months In A Leaky Boat...Dec 2020". lightning100.com. Lightning 100. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  6. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Blinker the Star, A Bourgeois Kitten". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  7. ^ Helms, William Ruben (6 September 2019). "New Audio: Blinker the Star". joyofviolentmovement.com. The Joy of Violent Movement. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  8. ^ Lee, Catherine. "Video Vision Exclusive Interview: Blinker the Star". videovision.org. Video Vision. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  9. ^ "BLINKER THE STAR: NOT RICH AND FAMOUS YET"[usurped]. Chart Attack, interview by Daniel T. Smallegange, 1999
  10. ^ Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (17 December 2020). "Jordon Zadorozny Interview". popmatters.com. Pop Matters. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  11. ^ Edge.ca. "Top 102 Albums of 1999". CFNY. Archived from the original on 2009-05-29. Retrieved Dec 16, 2008.
  12. ^ "Blinker the Star - Still in Rome". silentuproar.com. Silent Uproar. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  13. ^ "Open Your Eyes to Blinker the Star". therevue.ca. The Revue. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  14. ^ Sylvester, Daniel. "Blinker the Star - We Draw Lines". exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  15. ^ Gahan, Sebastian. "Blinker the Star - We Draw Lines". verbicidemagazine.com. Verbicide Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  16. ^ Harrison, Tom. "Blinker the Star: We Draw Lines". theprovince.com. The Province. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  17. ^ "Blinker The Star – 11235". discogs.com. Discogs. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  18. ^ MacIntyre, David. "Blinker the Star - 8 of Hearts". taisawards.com. Tais Awards. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  19. ^ "Blinker the Star shares...Oct 2019". medium.com. GIGsoup. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  20. ^ Doole, Kerry (2 December 2020). "Blinker The Star: Terror Of The Heart, Dec 2020". fyimusicnews.ca. FYI Music News. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  21. ^ Lepage, Mark. "Blinker the Star brightens the summer". montrealgazette.com. Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  22. ^ "Spill Album Premiere: Blinker the Star - Arista". spillmagazine.com. The Spill Magazine. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  23. ^ "Blinker the Star - Below the Sliding Doors (live)". youtube.com. YouTube. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  24. ^ "Sloan / Blinker The Star, Apr 2004". concertarchives.org. Concert Archives. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Canadian Music Week, March 1997". concertarchives.org. Concert Archives. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  26. ^ "Eden Festival 1996". concertarchives.org. Concert Archives. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  27. ^ "BLINKER THE STAR - SEPTEMBER ALREADY - DUNDAS SQUARE - NXNE 2013". youtube.com. YouTube. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  28. ^ "Blinker The Star - September Already (live)". youtube.com. YouTube. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  29. ^ Helman, Peter (23 November 2021). "Lindsey Buckingham Gives Retroactive Credit...Nov 2021". stereogum.com. Stereogum. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  30. ^ "Reg Wick". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 23 January 2022. and Phil.
  31. ^ "Kellii Scott". remo.com. Remo Inc. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  32. ^ "Pete Frolander". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Sofia Silva". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  34. ^ "Gilden Tunador". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  35. ^ "Tony Rabalao". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  36. ^ "Bob Wilcox". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  37. ^ "Jarek Leskiewicz". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  38. ^ "Chris Church". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  39. ^ "Gregory Macdonald". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
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