Ohio Express bandmates reunite to record new song for 21-year-old Shelby musician

MANSFIELD — Dean Kastran, Dale Powers and Tim Corwin have guitars far older than McCray Martin.

Hell, they may have guitar picks older than the 21-year-old Shelby man.

But Martin loves all music — especially the sounds that emerged in the late 1960s when the three aforementioned local music legends were setting the country on fire as the Ohio Express.

Martin had no idea that the band’s love for that musical era would lead to a recording reunion of sorts for three of the surviving members of the Mansfield garage band that made history in 1968.

Martin, a student at Capital University in Columbus, first put his love for that musical era into action when he helped form The Bopper Brothers, a four-piece Ohio rock band that brings ’60s and ’70s rock styles to the modern day.

The band is comprised of guitarist/leader Paul Loveless, 18, from Lewis Center, Ohio; Martin as producer and on keyboards; bassist Brig Sliker, 20, from Bellefontaine; and drummer Randy Domka, 17, from Mansfield.

The Bopper Brothers features the use of layered harmonies, eclectic instrumentation, and rich arrangements to emulate the styles of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, etc.

Their first album, “No Way to Go,” was released in 2025, and their upcoming album “Kaleidoscope” is set to release this summer.

Martin had something specific in mind for his newest song, “Set Me Free.”

“I had decided that I wanted to write something inspired by the Ohio Express. So for about a month straight, I listened to nothing but that material and I wrote this song,” said Martin, who grew up in a musical family.

“Over my years living in Shelby I’ve gotten to know a lot of the musicians in Shelby and Mansfield on a deep level, and I like to include them on our recordings,” he said.

“I felt inclined to ask Dale and Dean to be on the recording because they were already good friends of mine. I had played with them on the ‘Golden Summers Revisited’ show in Ashland.

“They were more than happy to be a part of it and I thought that was gonna be it. Then out of nowhere, we sort of lost our drummer. I remembered then that Tim was still alive and I had met him once previously,” Martin said.

He got Corwin’s contact information through a mutual friend.

“I reached out and he was willing to drum on the track, though he hasn’t drummed in about 40 years,” Martin said.

“He came in and put that down, and once again, I thought that was gonna be the end of it. Because at least to my knowledge, there is a little bit of drama between the two parties.”

But time heals all wounds and any remaining divisions among the old band mates have passed.

“I suggested the idea of taking the photographs. Somehow, they were all very into the idea of like coming back together (for the photo shoot),” Martin said.

It’s been almost 60 years since the Ohio Express was founded, albeit under the name “Sir Timothy and the Royals.”

“To my knowledge, for whatever reason, Dale, Dean, and Tim have not appeared on the same piece of recorded music since 1968. It also appears that they have not been seen in the public eye together since the mid-80s (or at least in a very long time),” Martin said.

“I am blessed to reunite them on what might be the last studio recording they play on together. This is a very special thing, and I think it will surprise a lot of people,” he said.

The song is being released online Friday night.

Martin said the song will be available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music and other online music venues.

Is there a live performance of the song (and others) in the offing?

“I’m not sure if we’re going try to do anything public or not. I’ve been playing with that idea,” Martin said.

“I’d have to look into it more, but as of right now, it’s just a digital thing.”

(Below photos are courtesy of McCray Martin and The Bopper Brothers band.)