Okay, I give up-no one in this area knows about Our Lady Peace.

My favorite question to ask when I’m getting to know someone is, “What kind of music do you listen to?” which leads to, “So, what bands do you like the most?”

I become really excited when the person I’m talking to mentions obscure bands from decades past or from other countries. When this phenomenon happens, I ask, “Have you heard of Our Lady Peace?”

Blank stare. The person with a confused look on his/her face asks, “Our Lady who?”

Ah, man! “Our Lady Peace is an alternative rock group from Canada,” I answer.

The person shakes his/her head. I continue with, “They are well known for their song ‘Superman’s Dead’ released in ’97.”

Still nothing. “You know, the song that goes, ‘Why-ee-yi-ee-yi-ee,yeah, Superman’s dead, yi-ee-yi-ee, yeah, livin’ in my head…'”

Sometimes that rings a bell for the person I’m talking to. Most of the time it doesn’t.

So who is Our Lady Peace?

Like I mentioned, Our Lady Peace is an alternative rock band from Canada. They had the hit “Superman’s Dead” in 1997. They also happen to be my favorite band.

Obviously Our Lady Peace doesn’t get much airplay in this area, let alone in the United States, according to fans I’ve talked to in the nation.

I heard about Our Lady Peace by accident in 1995. I ordered an alternative rock magazine that came with a CD. The song “Starseed” by Our Lady Peace was on it, and I loved it.

That same year I bought a modern rock CD which included Heather Nova, Korn, the Presidents of the United States of America and Our Lady Peace. I purchased it for the Heather Nova song, but I enjoyed the song “Hope” by Our Lady Peace.

I then decided to buy the full length Our Lady Peace CD, “Naveed.” It was released in 1994 as their first CD. I loved the CD in its entirety and thus became a fan.

I love the unique qualities of Our Lady Peace songs. Lead singer Raine Maida’s voice is beautiful and raw, Jeremy Taggart is awesome on drums and Mike Turner and Duncan Coutts are guitarists with distinct sounds.

The Our Lady Peace sound is a bit difficult for me to describe, but perhaps a comparison will help. Led Zeppelin has a distinct sound-you hear the intro of the drums, guitar and/or Robert Plant’s voice, and you just know it’s a Led Zeppelin song. It’s the same for Our Lady Peace-their instruments are distinct and Maida’s voice is unmistakable.

They are working on a fifth CD, but Turner left the band two months ago. Hopefully, they won’t disband because of Turner’s absence.

Our Lady Peace rocks.