/The Ernest Thompson music blog is a space for me to 1) discuss my current happenings, and 2) discuss my views on music / pop culture, unrelated to my own music career. I will attempt to be unbiased when discussing the music of others. The world needs music journalism. I may eventually move elements of this blog away from my professional website. No ads.
9/19 - 10/10 Run of Shows! Almost in the books.
Each Weekend from September 19th, 2026 til October 10th, 2026, I have maintained a performance booking at a location in North Carolina! The last of these engagements approaches this Saturday at the Dear Dad’s restaurant on S. Elm Street in downtown, Greensboro. I have performed at Dear Dads’ downtown location before, so this will be my triumphant return!
Saturday, 9/19, I played electric lead guitar as a stand-in player for Mebanesville, the international roots rock ensemble based out of Alamance County, NC.
Saturday, 9/26, I performed a solo-acoustic set at “Little Brother Brewing” in Kernersville, NC.
Saturday, 10/03, I performed a solo-acoustic set at Dear Dad’s (Battleground Ave. Location) in Northwest Greensboro.
This Saturday, 10/10, I will be performing solo acoustic at Dear Dad’s downtown.
Thank you to everyone that has supported me so far. Onward and upward!
Successful Show @ Dear Dad’s (Downtown 219 Elm Location)!
Last night, August 22nd, I performed a live solo acoustic set at the Dear Dad’s restaurant in downtown Greensboro. Dear Dad’s is a modern upscale breakfast fusion restaurant, that serves “Chicken N Wafffles,” “Blackened Srimp,” and other interesting fare all day long.
The performance was low-key, with me being tucked into a credenza near the service staff. It felt as if I had replaced the jukebox at a converted Waffle House.
Material-wise, I cast a wide net to appeal to a broad demographic: Van Morrison, The Beatles, Wilco, Willie Nelson, and other Billboard artists were covered, in addition to my own original songs. which the crowd seemed to enjoy. I met people and handed out a few business cards. Thank you so much to everybody who listened, stopped by, or had a hand in making this happen. On to the next!
Show announcement: Saturday, August 22 at Dear Dad’s (219 S. Elm Street) in Downtown Greensboro!
On Saturday, August 22, at “Dear Dad’s” in Downtown Greensboro NC, I will be performing from 5:30pm-8:30pm for the dinner crowd!
To clarify, this performance was originally scheduled on 8/8, though due to a scheduling overlap it was moved to 8/22. If anyone had been monitoring this site and noticed the discrepancy— that’s what happened! :) I look forward to making appearing on the downtown scene. Hope this kicks off more gigs in Downtown Gso!
To further clarify, this is a restaurant gig, not a ticketed performance. Plan to eat, tip your waitstaff, and be entertained as I work through a list of covers and originals! :)
Successful gig last week at Martin’s BBQ.
Last friday, July 31st, I made the trek out to Martin’s Barbecue Joint in James Island, SC, where I performed a 3 hour set on acoustic guitar and vocals for the dinner crowd. It went over well. It gave me an opportunity to brush up on my cover repertoire. Martin’s is a family-friendly “down home” type of restaurant, with a large outdoor patio. They smoke the Barbecue on-site. The walls are covered in vintage album covers (vinyl), with a theme of “honky tonk” and “classic country.” Thus, I played Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Hank Snow, and other old-timey favorites, in addition to my original songs and more contemporary fare.
Song Spotlight: Chantal Kreviazuk - Over My Dead Body (2025)
by ERNEST THOMPSON:
Here’s a sublime offering from Chantal Kreviazuk. To understand the importance of this song, we have to zoom out to somebody far more famous.
To most, the singer-rapper DRAKE blasted into pop consciousness somewhere around 2008-2009. Since then, he has been difficult to ignore, with 90 top-10 Billboard singles. His signature “brooding” sound, with minimalist synths, melodic vocal top-lines, and staccato prose, influenced a generation.
A benchmark of Drake’s style is the 2011 full-length album, “Take Care,” which sold 2.2 million copies. Track #1 on “Take Care,” titled ‘Over My Dead Body,’ sets the agenda for DRAKE’s well-known aesthetic: contemplative piano chords, followed by a pitch-distorted woman’s voice singing wistfully about a male lover.
“I know you don’t love me, baby
They’re trying to take you away from me
…Only over my dead body.”
For years, the woman behind this vibe was a mystery to the masses. Was it digital? Was it a sample? It was vaguely haunting yet sweet at the same time. Generations of hip-hop fans nodded their head along to this without the faintest idea of the source. (Okay, it wasn’t a secret. The credits were in the liner notes. But who reads liner notes?)
In the past several years, this vocal sample has received renewed attention. Actually, it was an original composition — not a sample — performed live (on grand piano and vocals) in-studio by Canadian songstress Chantal Kreviazuk. This is special. This performance was mixed with synths and electronic drum programming by Drake’s producer, Noah Shebib, to create the instrumental backing track for Drake’s rapping. To be clear, this origin story had not been discussed anywhere publicly for over a decade, which is significant, given the high-profile nature of the inter-genre collaboration. For those who don’t know, Chantal is famous, though under-appreciated.
By itself, Chantal’s co-composition is incredible, and is somewhat difficult to parse in the 2011 Drake recording (though it accomplishes its goal of setting a mood). It is thus interesting to imagine ‘Over My Dead Body’ as a standalone adult contemporary pop song…. suspenseful music… (that’s what she did!)
FYI— Kreviazuk is a household name in Canada, due to nationwide success of her songwriter albums released in the late-90’s and early-2000’s. See Under these Rocks and Stones (1996). Yet, Kreviazuk is not hugely known amongst general audiences in the United States. She is popular among fans of singer-songwriters for her classically trained piano skills, voice, and emotively direct lyrics. Which makes total sense, that she would collaborate with fellow Canadian Drake, though it’s kind of bittersweet that her contribution was a one-off.
Can we imagine a world where, rather than leaning harder into the paranoid isolation of chart-topping rap stardom, Drake did full-length auteur singer-songwriter collaborations with adult contemporary stars? Could he be that open?
Recently, Kreviazuk has set about ‘reclaiming’ songs she has written for — and with — other artists. In 2025, fourteen years after her mysterious and sublime contribution to Drake’s success, Kreviazuk has released her own full-length version of ‘Over My Dead Body,” with easier-to-understand vocals and additional lyrics (see video at the top of this post). It is really, really good, and hopefully enjoyable to the odd person who may be a drop-in hip hop fan and full-time songwriting fan.