Eli Paperboy Reed Shares New Single 'IDKWYCTD (I Came To Play)'

Eli Paperboy Reed today unveils the second single, “IDKWYCTD (I Came to Play),” from his forthcoming album Hits And Misses: The Singles out October 20 on Yep Roc Records. 

The high-energy, anthemic party starter, “IDKWYCTD (I Came to Play),” one of three originals featured on the album, was featured in Disney's Marvel comic series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

“In March of 2020, as the world began to shut down, I got an urgent request,” says Reed. “A song of mine, one that only existed as a demo at that point, was going to be used in a new animated TV show, and they needed a finished version. Fast. As lockdowns set in across New York City, I convinced my good friend and the owner of Hive Mind Recording in Brooklyn, Vince Chiarito, to give me one day. We recorded “I Came to Play” with just the two of us playing, layering as we went. It turned out to be the last session either of us did for many months. I, for one, can hear the immediacy and outright fear of those early days listening back to the song now.”

Featuring songs previously only available as 45 rpm singles at the merch table during Reed’s international tours, the 11-track remastered collection features vividly reimagined covers spanning every genre and a trio of originals not on any album. 

With a noirish R&B take on Steely Dan's 1972 hit "Do It Again," the album also includes covers of Bob Dylan's "To Be Alone With You," Merle Haggard’s “I’m Gonna Break Every Heart I Can,” Latimore's 1974 hit "Let's Straighten It Out," showcasing a vocal intensity that's not quite as present in the nearly spoken word original. “Steal Away“ and “I Don’t Know What the World is Coming To” were cut live at FAME in Muscle Shoals, with the swampers David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Spooner Oldham.

Reed’s take on Motörhead’s classic “Ace of Spades” was the first single released from the collection. Reimagined as a soul revival, the pulsing organ, Memphis-style horns and chicken scratch guitar serve as a backdrop for Reed's signature vocal wails. So convincing is Reed’s rendition of “Ace” listeners will wonder if it was Motörhead doing the covering rather than the other way around.

On October 14, Reed will kick off a fall tour run with a 40th Birthday Bash at Union Pool in Brooklyn. In celebration, for one night only, Reed will perform one of the greatest live albums of all time, Sam Cooke’s One Night Stand - Live at The Harlem Square Club, in its entirety. Tickets are now on sale here. Proceeds from the show will be donated to the Brooklyn Youth Music Project

Now eight albums deep in a nearly two-decade career, the earliest tracks on Hits And Misses were cut in 2009, following Reed’s career-launching album, Roll With You, and the latest in 2020, just before the release of his critically acclaimed album of Merle Haggard songs, Down Every Road.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Reed spent much of his teens and twenties immersing himself in the juke joint culture of the Mississippi Delta and playing organ and piano in the Chicago church of famed gospel singer Mitty Collier. A series of studio albums earned widespread critical acclaim, with NPR hailing his music as “inspired, raw and powerful,” and Uncut lauding its “urgent, electric energy.”

Eli Paperboy Reed Tour Dates

September 8  - Festival Altaveu - Sant Boi De Llobregat, ES
September 9  - Beltza Weekend - Pamplona, ES
September 11 -  Sala X - Sevilla, ES
September 13  - Rock & Blues - Zaragoza, ES
September 14 - Loco Club - Valencia, ES
September 15 - Lula Club - Madrid, ES
September 16 - Sala BBK HIRIZ HIRI - Bilbao, ES
October 14 – Eli’s 40th Birthday Bash @ Union Pool – Brooklyn, NY
October 19 –  Edmonds Performing Arts Center – Seattle, WA
October 20 –  Hering Auditorium – Fairbanks, AK
October 21 – Alaska Center for the Performing Arts – Anchorage, AK
November 2 – Wachholz College Center – Kalispell, MT
November 4 – Alberta Blair Theater – Billings MT 

photo credit: Ray Lego 

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