Everett Barilla The Gorilla

This Great Ape is happy to be informing and entertaining you.
Outside of radio I enjoy long walks on the beach, candle lit dinners, photography, sports and monkeying around. I also have a fascination with tattoos, currently at 10.
I have a very trivial brain and my intelligence can be best described as that one Jeopardy category that all the smart people never get is where I make my money aka useless knowledge. I am not as dumb as I may look, even with a face for radio.

Marineland of Canada Is No More ???
Once a beloved tourist attraction in Niagara Falls is no more ??? The park was once a staple and everyone sang along to the commercial jingle “everyone loves Marineland” well until they didn’t. Marineland was once my
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Lisa Brokop & Joe Wood Are Going Into The Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame
Press Release: THE CANADIAN COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION® TO INDUCT LISA BROKOP AND JOE WOOD INTO THE 2025 CANADIAN COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME™ BROKOP AND WOOD TO
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Gord Bamford Interview
I had the chance to talk with the 26x CCMA winner country music superstar Gord Bamford about his upcoming stop on his Just Gettin’ Started 25th Anniversary Celebration Tour Stop in Falher on Saturday June 14th. The
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Mariya Stokes
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Mariya Stokes with her song “One Of ‘Em.” Mariya is an artist from Alberta and recently released her first album called “Mood Ring” which “One Of ‘Em”
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The Last Rodeo: A Heck of A Ride
The Last Rodeo is a film from Angel, the same company that gave the world The Sound of Freedom and the recent well received animated film The King of Kings, gives us a story worth telling. The
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AMA Awards Aren’t Going Over Well With Country Fans
Last night was the American Music Association Awards and in the country categories let’s just say a lot of country music fans were not happy with a couple outcomes. There were already a number of outraged fans
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Justin Hogg
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Justin Hogg and his new single “Picture Perfect.” Justin is resuming to releasing new music following a few years away dating back to pre-pandemic as the creativity
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Lilo & Stitch: Disney FINALLY Gets A Live Action Remake Right
I took the first chance I had to take in the live action remake of Lilo & Stich and I have to say it actually translated and worked. The movie is different from the original in that
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Dasha Rocks Tonight Show
Dasha took the world by storm with her single “Austin” that crossed genres and she has her radio follow up “Not At This Party” out and she got the chance to perform it on the Tonight Show
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Mackenzie Leigh Meyer
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Mackenzie Leigh Meyer and her new single “House Husband.” Mackenzie is from Hamilton, ON and has had created a good career for herself. Not only is Mackenzie
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Can We Just Get A Proper Superman Movie ???
The new trailer for the upcoming Superman movie has come out and for me it makes me want to skip the film. Now why would I want to do that? Well that is because in true comic/superhero
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Nicolas Cage as John Madden ??? … It Is True !!!
Amazon has given us the first look at Madden, a movie about former Super Bowl winning coach, football analyst and football game pioneer John Madden. The movie has some fun casting including the eccentric Nicolas Cage as
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What you can’t name your baby in Australia
I reecntly saw a list of banned baby names for people in Australia. Now here is Canada we don’t have any banned baby names just that you can’t use symbols or numerals. Now some of these names
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Fight or Flight: A Bit of A Mess… But A Fun Mess
Fight or Flight hit cinema’s back on Friday and seemed to go under the radar until just before the release. Fight or Flight stars Josh Hartnett, who has made a bit of a comeback in recent years
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Peter Peres
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Peter Peres and his new single “One-Sided.” Peter who is from Toronto got his start with pop music before making the transition to county at the suggestion
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2025 ACM Award Winners
Last night was the 60th annual ACM Awards that were hosted by the one and only Reba. The show had plenty of performances but none as memorable as Alan Jackson performing “Remember When” with Jackson fighting tearing
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Sinners: A Sin Not To See
Sinners might be one of the biggest surprises of 2025 at the movie theatre. A movie about vampires in the south in the 1930s centered around blues music shouldn’t work this well never the less be in
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Barilla The Gorilla’s Playoff Predictions: Round 2
Well there was plenty to be excited about with what happened in round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and some very exciting matchups are set for round #2. Round 1 predictions saw a few correct teams
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Ashley Ghostkeeper Swung By River Country
Friday afternoon I had a special guest join me in studio and that guest was Ashley Ghostkeeper. Ashley may live in Calgary these days but is originally from up North and has lived in the Peace and
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Josh Stumpf
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Josh Stumpf and his new single “Highway Money.” Josh who is from Prince Albert, SK had been played on the show a few times in the past
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The Rock Goes Dramatic In The Smashing Machine
Well the trailer has dropped for the upcoming movie The Smashing Machine, which will see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson tackle a dramatic role portraying former 2x UFC Heavyweight Champion Tournament winner Mark Kerr. The film sees the
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Carson Janik
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Carson Janik and his current single “Easy For You To Say.” This song from Carson has been on the show before and I wanted to learn more
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WrestleMania Flopped Hard
Growing up I was a big wrestling fan, with periods where it wasn’t the utmost important but since university it has been a bigger part of my life with a number of new friends who loved it.
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Quinton Blair
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Quinton Blair and his new song “Same Ole Shift.” Quinton is a Manitoban who has been dominating the Manitoba country music scene ranking in numerous awards and
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Barilla The Gorilla’s Playoff Predictions: Round 1
Barilla The Gorilla here giving you my predictions for the NHL playoffs and of course we have to start with round #1. There will be some tough series to predict but I will do my best. Eastern
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Top of the Country Finalists Named
The Top of the Country contest has named it’s finalists for the contest that awards the winner $25,000 and one is from Alberta. Past winners have included Tyler Joe Miller, Matt Lang, Sacha, Hailey Benedict and most
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – JaimesonRhy
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was JaimesonRhy and their new single “Something More.” JaimesonRhy is a duo comprised of Jaimey Hamilton & Rhyley Bremner, both hail from Vancouver Island. The duo started between
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New Movie To Be Set in Northern Alberta
A new drama/comedy movie is set to take place in Northern Alberta with “Smudge The Blades.” The movie is created by Cody Lightning (of Smoke Signals fame) and Harlan Kingfisher. As the blades part of the name
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Jessica Sevier
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Jessica Sevier and her new song “Motel.” Jessica is a young rising talent out of Toronto, ON who is working on an EP, title TBD, and Motel
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The Naked Gun Is Back With A Teaser Trailer
The Naked Gun franchise was a spoof comedy series that is part of the legendary Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen resume, and was a smash hit in the 80s and 90s stemming from the show Police Squad. Well
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Why I Don’t Like Sending Interview Questions Ahead Of Time
It isn’t very often I get asked to supply questions ahead of time when conducting an interview but when I do unless there is a good reason otherwise I will not do it. If there is a
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Queens and Kings of Peace Country Happening Friday
This Friday is the Queens and Kings of Peace Country Music Series 1 which will feature 8 acts from across the Peace Region including the headliner being the runner up from Canadian Idol season 5 Jaydee Bixby.
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Chevy Beaulieu
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Chevy Beaulieu and his new single “If We Want To.” Chevy is a singer songwriter from Steen River, AB though he was born in the Northwest Territories
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Friday the 13th Prequel Show Coming Called “Crystal Lake”
A few years back an announced show for Peacock and A24 announced as a Friday the 13th series that would be called “Crystal Lake.” Well with the writers strike assisting with delays in the production alongside losing
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The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie Is A Fun Movie For The Family & Kids
At a time when Warner Bros. is seemingly scrubbing the Looney Tunes from it’s streaming, canned a well tested movie in Coyote vs Acme (now being saved), they released The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney
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U18C Provincials Coming To Peace River This Week (Interview)
The U18 C Provincial Hockey Championships start Thursday and goes to Sunday in Peace River at the Baytex Energy Centre. The Stamps will be the hosts as Mayerthorpe Mustangs, Sherwood Park Panthers, New Sarepta Eagles, Valleyview Ice
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Jordyn Pollard
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Jordyn Pollard and her new single “The Reason.” Jordyn is a singer-songwriter from Lloydminster now which side of Lloydminster is she from ? Well the Saskatchewan side,
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Happy Gilmore 2 Trailer Has Dropped
It’s been quite sometime since Happy Gilmore came out, nearly 30 years ago believe it or not. The popular Adam Sandler has the long awaited sequel coming to Netflix on July 25th. Happy Gilmore is joining a
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Catie St. Germain
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Catie St. Germain and her new single “Good Girls Gone Bad Mom.” Catie is an artist from Manitoba making her way in the industry and is off
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Jelly Roll’s Beautifully Broken Tour Is Just Beautiful
Jelly Roll played his first of two sold out shows in Edmonton at Rogers Place for his Beautifully Broken Tour and it is safe to say it was absolutely beautiful. This marks Jelly Rolls first tour in
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Justin Sutton
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Justin Sutton and his newest release “How About Today.” Justin and his band North of 49 are an up and coming act that was voted in to
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Joe/Jeff is Back and He is Still CANADIAN !!!
An old Molson Canadian ad that is popular on Canada day has been remade but the original actor. The video has been made and been going viral as a response to the trade war that has begun
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97th Academy Award Winners
It was the night to honor the best in cinema, from the actors, directors and completed films to the costumers, make up and editing, a number of things that go into making the finished product we love
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CMAB Award Winners
Last night in Calgary the Country Music Alberta (CMAB) Awards were held, and over the weekend some festivities took place as well. Now some people got some hardware, some names you will be familiar with others will
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Noeline Hofmann
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Noeline Hofmann and her latest release “The Bullfighter.” Noeline is fastly emerging talent hailing from the bad lands in southern Alberta, who has worked with Zach Bryan
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Paddington In Peru: A Fitting End To The Trilogy
Well at long last Paddington in Peru made its way to cinema’s in North America, after a UK release in November and it’s North American Release getting pushed from January to February, and it was certainly worth
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Jolene Harnish
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Jolene Harnish and her new single “One Road Town.” Jolene like a number of our headliners in the past hails from the east coast, in this case
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Top of The Country 8 Semi-Finalist Revealed
Well it is that time of year where the Top of the Country contest reveals it’s 8 semi-finalist. The Top of the Country winner receives $25,000 and the other finalists will get $10,000. The contest has seen
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Nayana
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Nayana with her new single “Floatin’ Downstream.” Nayana is a singer-songwriter from Ottawa with plans in the very near future to join a number of Canucks and
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Rising Stars Headliner Interview – Cambree Lovesy
This weekend on River Country Rising Stars the headliner was Cambree Lovesy with her new single “Afterthought.” Cambree is a singer-songwriter from BC, and someone who has embraced the century music scene and has seen the BC
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