With his long-anticipated debut album announced and on the way in October, LA singer-songwriter (and all-around music scene mover and shaker) GARY CALAMAR presents the second preview single, which sees him joining forces and voices with modern psych-rock legend ROBYN HITCHCOCK for “Who Are We Gonna Be Today?” It's a driving rocker that weds razor sharp lyrics to an infectious melody and unites the two singers in harmony to, as the lyrics say, “float some questions across the universe.” The single hits all digital platforms on October 9, two weeks ahead of the album ODD NUMB3RS AND SLANTED RHYMES, and it's up for pre-order and pre-save now:
https://orcd.co/garycalamar-wawgbt
“Who Are We Gonna Be Today?” follows last month's indie hit single “I Got An Idea” (featuring DEVO's Mark Mothersbaugh) as the second preview single from ODD NUMB3RS AND SLANTED RHYMES, the debut full-length album for GARY CALAMAR. It's a record that's been twelve years in the making: while Calamar has been a presence on the Los Angeles music scene since the late ‘70s as a Grammy-nominated music supervisor for television, popular radio DJ, band manager, author and record store manager, his recording career kicked off in earnest with the 2014 EP YOU ARE WHAT YOU LISTEN TO and has continued with a string of acclaimed indie singles ever since. All of the key tracks are collected on the album, where they're joined by three previously unreleased tracks including this new and very of-the-moment single.
Within the very first verse, Gary gets straight to the point: “Who are we going to be today, where are we going to stand, what will we say?” with references to JFK, The Fab Four, Mohammed Ali, Sam Cooke, DW Griffith, The Kinks, and a despicable leader. Along for this high octane ride is the master of surreal, psychedelic folk-pop, ROBYN HITCHCOCK. His acerbic harmonies shadow Gary, as the lyrics ponder a series of what-if scenarios: “What if the bullets never landed at JFK, and what if Sgt. Pepper never taught the band to play? Is it the top of the morning, or the middle of the night? I’m just trying to sort my left brain from my right... YES, NO, MAYBE, MAYBE NOT.”
It's a hook-propelled inquisition of identity that takes inspiration from some of the musical heroes cited in those lyrics as well as the one providing the unmistakable harmonies, but like all the tracks on the new album, it comes from a perspective that's uniquely Calamar's own. As he says, “I love songwriting and twisting words over, under, sideways and down. I attended the school of lyric writing by listening to greats like Bob Dylan, Warren Zevon, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Pete Townshend and Mr. Hitchcock, to mention but a few.
“Although Robyn is from London and I am from The Bronx we had a sonic rendezvous through the radio airwaves as the Brits were starting to invade America. I first met Robyn when I invited him to be a guest on my old midnight radio show and over the years we’ve stayed good friends. Not only is he a mind blowing artist, he is a beautiful guy all-around. They say never meet your (cult) heroes, but I did, and I’m very glad I did.”
This song, and many more on ODD NUMB3RS AND SLANTED RHYMES, readily demonstrate that GARY CALAMAR can craft a melodic turn of phrase that stands alongside the work of his influences.
Expected release: October 9, 2026