Radio - Sunday, February 15th, 2015

Today is the 50th anniversary for the unveiling of the Maple Leaf as Canada's flag. So to honour the day we thought we would play bands from Canada with songs about national identity, Canadian icons, and insight into their hometowns, which give the microcosm look at Canada. We pulled songs by region so starting with our hometown here is a punk look at Canada.

RANDOM KILLING - Take our flag (Aardvark)

Toronto
MARTHA AND THE MUFFINS - Suburban dream (Virgin)
THE VILETONES - C.O.N.T.R.O.L. (Other Peoples Music)
THE POLES - CN Tower(Nimbus)
YOUTH YOUTH YOUTH - Why pay more (NRK)
APB - Living in the USA - Better Red than Dead (Unreleased)
HYPE - O'Canada (Reuben Kincade)
CAREER SUICIDE - Quarantined (Deranged)
SCHOOL JERKS - Slums of the future (Bad Vibrations)
URBAN BLIGHT - Toxic City (Slasher)
ABSOLUT - Neo Fuckers (Electric Assault)
HASSLER - Pig Pen II (Deranged)

Montreal
GENETIC CONTROL - Brave New World (Generic)
NILS - Scratches and Needles (BYO)
S.C.U.M. - Exit Death (Psyche)
SISSY HAVOC - Spectator Sports (Mentaka)
SLOBS - Write Offs (Self-Released)

222's - Lowlife (Sonik's Chicken Shrimp)
THE DISCORDS - R.C.M.P (N.D.G.)
ASEXUALS - New World (Og)
BORN DEAD ICONS - Ceremony (Dead Alive)

Hamilton
FORGOTTEN REBELS - National unity (Unreleased)
CHOKEHOLD - Culture Cease (G.A.S. Religion)
LEFT FOR DEAD - A nice place to Raise Children (No Idea)
BORN WRONG - True Patriot Love (Schizophrenic)

Fredericton / Ottawa
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH - Face the nation (Self-Released)
GUILT PARADE - Fuck off America (Self-Released)
BUREAUCRATS - She's an American (Self-Released)
RED SQUARES - Ottawa Today (Double Helix)

Winnipeg
POPULAR MECHANIX - Ice Box City (Dollartone)
UNWANTED - Gotta get out (BYO)
STRETCH MARKS - Who's in charge (Head Butt)
ROYAL RED BRIGADE - Search The City (Harvest King)

Edmonton / Calgary
SNFU - Thee Maul that eats Peeple (Cargo)
CURIOUS GEORGE - Canadian National Front (Nemesis)
NO PROBLEM - Living in the void (Debt Offensive)
KNUCKLEHEAD - North of the 54 (Stumble)
MOTHERFUCKERS - Bomb the Stampede (Handsome Dan)

Vancouver / Victoria
SUBHUMANS - Oh Canaduh (Self-Released)
DOA - Royal Police (Sudden Death)
DEATH SENTENCE - R.C.M.P. (Self-Released)
THE EVAPORATORS - Gassy Jack (Mint)
FROSTBACKS - Kill the Prime Minister of America (Self-Released)
INFAMOUS SCIENTISTS - Canada's Pissed (Alandhiscar)

Radio - Sunday, September 11, 2011

Click for download

FEARLESS IRANIANS FROM HELL - Decade (Boner)

DIRECT ACTION - Living Dead (Bitzcore)
DAMNABLE EXCITE ZOMBIES! - Pain (Not Very Nice)
LIP CREAM - No No Mercy (Hold-Up)
GAUZE - Wassyoi (XXX)

SCHOOL JERKS - Decline (Cowabunga)

STEELPOLE BATHTUB - Bee Sting (Lookout)
SUBWAY SECT - Ambition (Rough Trade)

WIRE - Dot Dash (Harvest)

RECENSION - ....and Watch out for Christians (625 Productions)
PSUDOKU - Dimensional Warp (625 Productions)
GET DESTROYED - Sort out (625 Productions)
GAZ-66 INTRUSION - She Suffers (625 Productions)
INTERNAL ROT - Purple Rain (625 Productions)
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS - Adult Humour (625 Productions)

RORSCHACH - Hardware (Vermiform)
NO COMMENT - Modern Moses (Noise Patch)
NEANDERTHAL - Fluids (Vermiform)
BORN AGAINST - Resist Control (Vermiform)
BRUTAL KNIGHTS - Bikini Diet (Deranged)

CHEAP TRAGEDIES - Ain't Dead Yet (Mad at the World)
NAPALM DREAM - Spit in the Wind (Mandible)
NILS - Truce (Profile / Rock Hotel)
HUSKER DU - Somewhere (SST)
RHYTHM PIGS - Marlboro Man (Mordam)

YOUNG PIONEERS - Regrets of the Doublers (Lookout)
CRIMPSHRINE - Pretty Mess (Lookout)
NEW TOWN ANIMALS - Baby, You're the Reason  (Zircon Virile Acxtion)
THE STATICS - Rebel Like Me (Ugly Pop)

BOSTON STRANGLER - Hit and Run (Self-Released)
RAMONES - Loudmouth (Sire)
BROTSKOD 11 - Infor Doden (Self-Released)

PSYCHED TO DIE - OCD Life (Grave Mistake)
ENUF - Face the Music (Self-Released)
MOLESTED YOUTH - Dead world (Deranged)

SNAKEPIT - Snakes never sleep (No Contracts Just Trust)
CONDOMINIUM - Elevators (Self-Released)

DIRECT APPROACH - My Time (Self-Released)

SICK CHARADE - Sick Charade (Self-Released)
SICK CHARADE - Victims (Self-Released)
SICK CHARADE - Lock Up (Self-Released)
SICK CHARADE - Getting Too Much (Self-Released)
SICK CHARADE - Formaldehyde Face (Self-Released)
SICK CHARADE - Fucking Hesitation (Self-Released)
SICK CHARADE - Modern Genocide (Self-Released)

Radio - Sunday, February 3, 2008

CAREER SUICIDE – Fan the Flame (Deranged)

CRIMINAL INTENT - Suicide (Sewercide)
CROSS LAWS - Warning Signs (Sorry State)
ANTIBODIES - Hymns for Dregs (Choking Hazard)
THE SPEARS - Bullet Proof (Choking Hazard)
THE FREEZE - Skeletons in the Closet (Schizophrenic)
ANTI-SOCIAL DEGENERATES - Scum Patrol (Self-Released)

NILS - Daylight (Cargo)
NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS - Angels of Destruction (Hjernspind)
DAILY VOID - Surprise Surprise (Hazac)
FITS - Bored of education (No Exit)
DRY HEAVES - Portable (Rave Up)

UNKNOWN SOCIETY - You Hippy (Bootleg)
CHINA WHITE - Nightlife (Frontier)
DOT - Where Do I Fit In (Laser)
SAND IN THE FACE - NYC (Ila)
NEGATIVE GAIN - Back from the Dead (Pusmort)
SUDDEN IMPACT - Just Yourself (Fringe)
PROBLEM CHILDREN - Future is Now (Irate Faction)
ONE BLOOD - Uncle’ Joe’s Revenge (Gern Blandsten)

EVERYTHING FALLS APART - Give Up (Art of the Underground)
VICIOUS CYCLE - Vicious Cycle (Radio 81)
BLACKJACKET - Method to Our Madness (Self-Released)
NEO NASTIES - I’ve Got Problems (VPAF)

EFFIGIES - Below the Drop (Enigma)
ARTICLES OF FAITH - Up Against the Wall (R Radical)
ASTA KASK - PS474 (Rosa Honung)
ACID REFLUX - Just Another Day (No Way)
SOCIAL CIRKLE - Life Crisis (No Way)
BRAIN HANDLE – Oblivion Crud (No Way)

DICTATORS – Cars and girls (CBS)
CLASH – Spanish Bombs (Epic)
ROCKPILE – Heart (Columbia)
UGLY DUCKLINGS – nothing (Razor)
MAGAZINE – Recoil (Virgin)
VORWARTS – Fall It Down (Crash Course)
KARANTEENI – Halvantoimin (Poko)
THE K-TELS - I Hate Music (Pinned)
The Dolls - Trash (Bootleg)

DIE ANGST - Endlichkeit (Thought Crime)
SKITKIDS - Ackliga Javlar (HG Fact)
AKUTARE - Inject Blues (Schizophrenic)
THE TOYOTAS - Run Down Cities (Radio 81)

Demo Feature
FIX MY HEAD - Garbage Existence (Self Released)
FIX MY HEAD - Whitehaven (Self Released)
FIX MY HEAD - Swirling Vortex (Self Released)
FIX MY HEAD - I Sharted my Pantaloons (Self Released)

THE FALLOUT - Bowl of Flies (Rubber Factory)

Release - SNFU "Better Than a Stick in the Eye" LP

SNFU's two record deal was done with BYO and BYO weren't really doing records at the time. A label from New York named Rock Hotel was working with the Nils from Montreal. SNFU's friend Gubby and former road manager had moved to Montreal to work with Randy Boyd at Cargo. He shared this with Randy and Randy decided that SNFU should be the first band to sign with Cargo Canada. Hindsight is 20-20. Chris Williamson got in a war with the parent company Profile Records and the Nils became the pawn. Chris wouldn't release them from their contract and Rock Hotel was unable to record anymore records effectively killing the Nils chance as a band. In the words of Chris Walter, "SNFU dodged a bullet by signing with Cargo".  

On June 21st, 1988 the band drove straight from their last date on tour to Profile Studios in Vancouver. The band bunked with various friends in the city and Marc Belke considers that one of the band's biggest mistakes on this record. We learn from Chris Walter's book "SNFU....What No One Else wanted to say" that Marc believed "instead of talking about the songs and discussing arrangements, we all split up after the recording day and didn't see each other until the next session".
The band picked Cecil English to be the producer on this record and they chose him because of his work with NoMeansNo. The band played live from the floor and Chi cut his tracks independently, using a vocal booth for separation. The sound was stark and unadulterated, the tone loud and hard. The song's were well practised from month's of being on tour.

The producer realized right away that "Time to Buy a Futon" was the best song of the bunch. A clever jab at consumer trends, the songs starts with a blood curdling scream and an avalanche of guitars. The song was so memorable that they started off the record with it.

"G.I. Joe gets Angry with Human Kind" picks up where "Broken Toy" leaves off using toy analogies for human behaviour.

"The Quest for Fun" is a cryptic warning regarding the perils of excessive behaviour.

"Tears" hints at the conflict Ken suffered as a gay man who had yet revealed his sexual identity fully.

"In the First Place" is a bitter lament to failed personal relationships.

Side two opens with the "Postman's Pet Peeve", which is a funny observation about the relationship between dogs and postmen.

"What Good Hollywood" is a furious and slightly nostalgic ode to the passing of classic Hollywood stars.

"The Happy Switch" expresses the band's determination to forge ahead, despite the many obstacles and hardships along the way.

"Straightening out the shelves of my mind" is a sobering observation about the numbing effects of urban density.

"Thee Maul that Heats Peephole" is a clever disguise for a song about the West Edmonton Mall.

"Tour Tantrum" accuratley depicts the tension that builds up while touring.

The album concludes with a cover of Cat Stevens "Wild World" which demonstrates the cheerful playfulness that the band was known for.

In the mixing process the band realized that they weren't happy with Curtis' bass playing. They didn't have the money to go back and fix it. But they were happy with Chi's vocals.

The cover was drawn by Englishman Graham Ward and assembled by Kelly Hansen, portrays a twisted looking family seated on lawn chairs while an ugly baby plays with a very war-like toy in the foreground. This captures Chi's fascination with toys. This was released in December 1988.

01. Time to Buy a Futon
02. G.I. Joe gets Angry with Human Kind
03. The Quest for Fun
04. Tears
05. In the First Place
06. Postman’s Pet Peeve
07. What Good Hollywood?
08. The Happy Switch
09. Straightening out the Shelves (of my Mind)
10. Thee Maul that Heats Peephole
11. Tour Tantrum
12. Wild World (Cat Stevens)

Flyer - Friday May 27, 1988

MRR Review - Nils LP review

Tim Yohannon wrote a review for MRR of the Nils LP. This appeared in issue #57, which came out in January 1988. Click on image to enlarge it to a readable size.

Flyer - Saturday January 24, 1987

The Nils play Hamilton.

Zine - Mount the Purple Sceptre

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Glenn did many zines and in the end he changed the name of the zine for every issue. This version of his zine was inspired by the Sons of Ishmael song "man and His Penis Sceptre". This helps explain why Sons of Ishmael are on the cover and the picture of Tim is the gesture he would make when he sang the song so Gl;enn has caught him in the moment. I interviewed my friend Jim about his band Half Off, who were a straight edge band from California. Glenn was inspired by horror movies so there are some reviews of those, as well as a piece on Clive Barker. Mike from BSL did an interview with the Stupids who were a skate band from the UK. there are a few pages of rad horror art done by Paul Douglas Jr. There is a page of zien reviews. There is an interview with the Nils and Glenn used a picture I took. There is a collage on Evil Dead 2. Glenn interviewed Chris Jones from Verbal Assault. There is an interview I did with Face First who were a straight edge band from Oklahoma. Glenn did an awesoem job with music reviews and including pictures of the bands with them. It looks amazing. there is an interview with SNFU in Guelph. And Paul from Holland's Larm did a mail interview with Glenn which was amazing. Glenn was the original guitarist in Death of Gods and then left and started up MSI.

Flyer - Thursday November 6, 1986

Don of Reuben Kincade started doing some of his bigger shows at the Latvian House. there was only a few shows that happend here. This is the tour where Youth Brigade had changed their name to the Brigade.

Flyer - Thursday, June 12th, 1986

MRR Review - Nils "Sell Out Young" 12" review in MRR

Dog wrote this review for MRR of the Nils 12". This appeared in issue #33, which came out in February 1986. Click on image to enlarge it to a readable size.

Flyer - Free the Five

This must have been a benfit show in Montreal for the Squamish Five.

V/A "Primitive Air Raid" LP

Primitive Air Raid is the first record of it's kind in Montreal. It is a random sample of Montreal's unrecorded underground. A few alternative bands made the record, but largely this represented the underground. the scene in Montreal has been alive for years. S.C.U.M. was asked to particpate but had difficulties retreiving their recording so they missed the deadline. Violent Meals went to Europe and forgot to leave their tape. Porcelain Forehead were from Ottawa and Direct Action were from Toronto. Both bands played a benefit show for the comp and as a result were added to this comp. This classic comp was the first release by Psyche Records who would go on to produce a number of other releases mostly of Montreal bands.

Jeff Bale reviewed the comp in MRR as "An excellent cross-section of Montreal-area bands, most of which haven't released any vinyl before. From the thrash of DIRECT ACTION and NO POLICY to the chunky pop-punk of the NILS to AMERICAN DEVICES' weird, rockin' stuff to fast punk by GENETIC CONTROL, the ABSURDS, and FAIR WARNING to the garage punk of PORCELAIN FOREHEAD to MORBID FIRE's experimental garage thrash, this album provides listening enjoyment. The only musical letdowns are art- damaged numbers by ≠ and IAGO NEON. The ASEXUALS, on the other hand, provide the lyrical low-point with their imbecilic pro-contra chant; their line "political morons without a fucking clue" must be autobiographical, since they apparently know nothing about Nicaragua, American foreign policy, or the circle-A which they employ in their moniker." (from Maximum Rocknroll #19, November 1984)

The songs on here are:

1. Asexuals - Contra-Rebels

2. Fair Warning - Six O'Clock Blues

3. Fair Warning - Open Your Eyes

4. Vomit and the Zits - Suicide

5. Vomit and the Zits - What the Hell

6. Porcelain Forehead - Cold Steak

7. Absurds - Moral Feedback

8. Absurds - Futur's Nature

9. Genetic Control - Suburban Life

10. Direct Action - Hate Generation

11. American Devices - Spontaneous Combustion

12. The Nils - Call of the Wild

13. Red Shift - Underflesh

14. Iago Neon - Preliterate Robot

15. Morbid Fiesta - Le Nul Parfait

16. No Policy - News or Propaganda

17. Does not Equal - Emotion 9

Release - Various Artists "Something to Believe In" LP

This was an amazing compilation put together by BYO Records that featured bands from the States and Canada. It was one of the first major comps that featured Canadian hardcore bands. It gave the Canadian scenes some vindication. I know the Young Lions track got screwed up in the mastering stage, but the rest of it sounds great. the comp contains one of my all time favourite Youth Youth Youth songs. SNFU, DOA, Personality Crisis, Stretch Marks, and the Unwanted were some of the best hardcore bands at the time. And this comp really stands the test of time. Here is the line up for the record:

1. NILS "Scratches and Needles"
2. RIGOR MORTIS "Silent Scream"
3. BIG BOYS "History"
4. UNWANTED "Tanks Keep Rolling"
5. TOURISTS "Memories"
6. KRAUT "Pyramids"
7. YOUTH BRIGADE "Care"
8. YOUTH YOUTH YOUTH "Domination"
9. SNFU "Victims of the Womanizer"
10. PERSONALITY CRISIS "Piss On You"
11. CHANNEL 3 "Indian Summer"
12. YOUNG LIONS "In a Field"
13. ZEROPTION "Realpolitik"
14. DOA "Tits On the Beach"
15. 7 SECONDS "Out of Touch"
16. STRETCH MARKS "Foreign Policies"

A review that appeared in Flipside #43 magazine in 1984 was "The compilation stands up to B.Y.O.'s usual excellent standards - good bands, good sound, good package. A must compilation, the only thing I don't like is the cover."

In Chris Walter's book "SNFU....What No one Else Wanted to Say" we learn that SNFU go to record their song for this comp at the same time that Unwanted do their song. Both bands record at Mid Ocean Studios in early November 1983. Unwanted hung out in the studio while SNFU recorded "Victims of the Womanizer" and Ken "Goony" Fleming and Norm Simms (from the Unwanted) helped out with those back up vocals which make the SNFU song such a stand out. Some would argue that the gang choruses were a signature sound to Youth Brigade's sound and to BYO's earlier releases. I think it may have been part of the appeal for why the Stern Brothers would go on to offer SNFU a recording contract although Chris Walter learns that the amount of feedback the Stern Brothers heard from others about the SNFU song played a more significant role. Regardless, both band's fit the session around some shows that they were playing together in Winnipeg and after their session they would play a show at Wellington's that same day.

Scene Report - Montreal / BC Scene report

The Montreal scene report is well written and talks about the origins of punk in Montreal and then gets into the curent scene back in 1984 which featured Unruled, S.C.U.M., the Nils, the Discords, Vomit and the Zits, No Policy, and Fair warning among others. The BC scene report talks about the "Bloodied But Unbowed" release and "General Strike" as being recent releases for DOA. There was also a Youth Youth Youth ad for the "Sin" 12". Click on the images to enlarge them to a readable size.

Nils cassette

The Nils recorded this cassette release at CRSG in Concordia. The folks in the band included Alex on vocals, Karim on guitar, Fit on bass, and Terry on drums. The songs on here are:

1. In an Instant

2. The Back Flow

3. Scratches and Needles

4. Give Me Time

5. The Gathering

Below is the lyric sheet for the demo.

Flyer - Saturday November 6, 1982