Joe Keery, who releases music under the name Djo, just shared that one of the songs off his new album, The Crux, is an "homage" to his Stranger Things co-star Charlie Heaton. The track is called, "Charlie's Garden," and he told Entertainment Weekly, "I guess part of trying to be as honest as I could was realizing that I could use these songs to sing about the people that I love in my life, and to memorialize these times that I'm experiencing. And so, it just kind of came about.”
As for the inspiration, he explained, "Charlie and Natalia lived together, and I lived with a friend, and our backyards touched. Charlie is always in his yard doing all these chores. Over the summer, we'd have off days, and I would be hanging out, playing guitar, and I'd look back in the yard and he'd be digging, he'd be burying wire."
He continued to add, "He and Natalia were taking their dog Penny for a walk at the park and they left, and he has a piano in his house and I was just dinking around, 'Hey, can I play your piano while you're gone?' 'Sure.' [I replied,] 'Okay, lock up.' So this song just comes out. Charlie and Natalia come back, and I say, 'Hey, listen, I got this song!'"
He considers the songs one of his favorites "because the influences are very clear," citing the Beatles, Paul McCartney specifically, and Electric Light Orchestra. Heaton also has a cameo. "It's an homage to my great friend and my time in Atlanta. So I get a real kick out of listening to that song," he commented.
Stranger Things fans will also notice a few Easter eggs in the lyrics of "Delete Ya." Keery has starred on the hit Netflix series as fan-favorite Steve Harrington since season 1. The fifth and final season is scheduled to be released sometime this year.
The Crux is available now.
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