Puzzle fundraiser - The Clash

The Clash are considered by many to be their gateway band into punk. With good reason as they were so versatile with their music writing. They were aware politically and always stuck up for the underdog. They made us give a shit and fight for something. And the White Brothers caught them at their first show in Toronto at the Rex Theatre. The White Brothers would go on to do many things with these historical document but the main thing they were doing was trying to establish a historical record for these important musical events that happened in their neighbourhood no less. Initially in the pages of their zine "Smash it Up" and with beautiful oversized prints at the Steamwhistle Brewery in an exhibition titled "Toronto Calling". Then to commemorate the Clash's 40th anniversary to Canada they put together a display of photos exhibited in the Pape/Danforth branch of the library called "The Clash on Danforth". Standing room only and even then it was difficult to get in earshot of the talk. And then there was the launch of Alone and Gone at the Rivoli where a talk with Nick Smash, Ivar Hamilton and Alan Cross discussed the Clash in Toronto. The White Brothers have allowed us to make a puzzle with this iconic shot as a fundraiser for CIUT which you can order at We Piece Together. Order at : https://wepiecetogether.com/product/ciut-89-5-fm-the-clash/

Our very own Rob Ferraz captured Joe Strummer at HMV on July 25th, 2001. That would be the last time Joe Strummer was in Toronto. THis is also available as a puzzle and can be ordered at : https://wepiecetogether.com/product/ciut-89-5-fm-joe-strummer/

 

Radio - Sunday, April 19th, 2020

Another week of self-isolation and more punk songs are coming out about this experience. Some of that is on tonight's show which includes the opening song and Jimmy Vapid's demo. There is a lot of new street punk in this show and guest sets from John Di Marco (Rubber Factory Records). You can download the show here. 

COVID-19 - I am the Corona-Virus (Youtube)




We started off tonight with a song on youtube by a band called COVID-19, which reportedly features members of UNITY and IGNITE. This is a song called “I am the Corona-Virus” and we will put up a link for it on the blog post. Thanks again to Dave KW for this.

EU's ARSE - Non Ho Paura (Break the Silence)
DEBUNK - Flower Power 
GANG CONTROL - Gender Apartheid (Feat. Hasse) (Self-Released)
RAT CAGE - Not Got No Hope (La Vida Es Un Mus)
BUGGY - Blood Currency (Self-Released)

THE SHIT DOGS - WWII Never Ended (Pangolin / Last Laugh)HEY TAXI - War is Hell (Mystic)F.U.'s - Green Beret (Modern Method)THE WARDS - Poison Gas (Medical)LOST ONES - Total Nightmare (Self-Released)

WAYNE COUNTY AND THE ELECTRIC CHAIRS - Toilet Love (Safari)
IDEALS - Depression Baby (Wow!)
CHRISTIAN DEATH – Deathwish (L'Invitation au Suicide / Normal / Contempo)
V-NECKS - Sand Overdose (Smash)
TBA - Through My Fingers (Smash)

John Di Marco, a long time listener of the show and proprietor of Rubber Factory Records, and a podcast host on Razorcake, had some self-isolation sets he put together for the show.  These next two sets were programmed by him. 

GREAT ST. LOUIS - Endless War (JSNTGM)
ADD/C – Paradigm (Mauled by Tigers / Plan-it X South)
THE ARRIVALS - New Gold Standard (Recess)
MUHAMMADALI - It's Gonna Be OK (Dirt Cult) 
BIG SAD - The World Has to End (Rad Girlfriend / Rubber Factory) 

MINUTEMEN – Fascist (SST)
PROPAGANDHI - Devil's Creek / Failed States (Experimental Prototype) (Epitaph)
PAILHEAD – Ballad (Wax Trax!)
DEAD TO ME - By the Throat / Splendid Isolation (Fat Wreck)
THE DICKIES – Paranoid (A and M)

If you want to help program some sets feel free to contact us and we will see how we can pull this together. 

SEKUNDERA - Måndag Morgon (Luftslott / Far$ans Pengar)
MOVING TARGET - My Friend (Boss Tuneage)

HUSKER DU - Gotta Lotta (Minneapolis, 1986, B Sides)

THE HASKELS - Rock n Roll Hoodlums (Splunge Communications)
PLEDGE DRIVE - Conspiracy Theories (Self-Released)

ROYAL OI! - Spittin' Fire (Self-Released)
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM - Radio Station (Self-Released)
POSLEDEN UDAR - Не 3аборавам (Self-Released)
FUCK UPS - Just Another Fuck Up (Knock Out)

BARFIGHT CHAMPS - Fallen Angels (Self-Released)
DOUG AND THE SLUGZ - Skinhead Faction (Randale)

VICE SQUAD - Ignored to Death (Last Rockers)

CRIMINAL OUTFIT - Criminal Outfit (Self-Released)
THE VERTIGOS - This is Decontrol (Mangrove)

FINLAND STATION - Let's Go Chill (With Kim Jong Il) 

Demo Feature 
Jimmy Vapid has also come up with a recording about covid-19 titled “Short Songs about a Virus”. 29 songs that he had friends help write the lyrics. He sent it to me this week and proceeds from the sale of this release are going to the Italian Red Cross. Go to bandcamp.

JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Andrea Imbalzano)– City Pressure (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (John French)– Family in Quarantine (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Leysa Lakowsky)– I Got You (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Giuseppe Palumbo)– Locked in the House (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Jonathon Lambert)– Lonely Saturday Night (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Ryan Barneski)– Goodbye Americans (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Valentina de Rosa)– Worlds Apart (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Matt Deecrack)– Thursday Morning (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Andrea Manges)– Sunday Afternoon (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Jordan McLelland)– All Alone (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Curtis Tone)– Life is Fucked (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Matthew Ellis)– My Heart is Hanging Upside Down (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Mattia Neri)– Hypercube (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Jason Boardman)– Nothing Like a Pandemic (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Neil Scott)– One More Day (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Mattia Neri)– Running Through the Mud (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Katie Whitaker)– You’re Not Invited (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Chris Tull)– Covid-19 is Go! (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Chris Kucher)– Asymptomatic Solution (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Franz Barcella)– Frontline (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Axel Muller)– Fifteen Days in Isolation (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Brad Manners)– I Ain’t Fine (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Andriano Cecchetti)– A Door to My Mind (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Fabio Militano)– I Never Get Laid (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Chris Mug)– The Turnaround (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Jesse Vachon)– Quarantine Boogie (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Morry Core)– Ceiling Sweeper(Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Tanya Dube)– The Quarantine Blues (Self-Released)
JIMMY VAPID and FRIENDS (Becky Choquette)– Throat Puncher (Self-Released)

Review - Clash in Toronto: A selection of photographs 1979 - 1984

This is the latest in curated books by Nick Smash of Smash It Up zine. This book follows up all the speaking engagements about the CLASH at the Rex Danforth Theatre. This book is a collection of stories and artifacts about all four of the CLASH shows in Toronto. 

Nick outlines the tour details of the ones that brought the CLASH through Toronto - i) "Pearl Harbour" tour at the Rex Danforth Theatre in February 1979, ii) "Take the Fifth" tour at the O'Keefe Centre in September 1979, iii) "Combat Rock" tour at the CNE Grandstand in September 1982, and iv) "Out of Control" tour at Maple Leaf Gardens in April 1984. 

Nick covers events from the Clash's itinerary that were effecting at the band at the time. Important context.

A collection of newspaper articles with pulled out quotes usually misunderstanding the CLASH. 

And then the photographers recollect their thoughts. Brother Simon has some choice nuggets about the Rex Theatre. Don Pyle explains how he got those shots at the O'Keefe. Some of the photographers talk about technical details of cameras, lenses, and aperture speeds. But the stories and reflections are the gold to be mined out of this book. Ivor Levene even transcribes a back stage interview with Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon from memory. And Mike Coffey recollects the stories from his departed brother Joe. Joe had told these stores to his family with a lot of proud about shooting the Clash at the Rex Danforth. 

Good attempt at a CLASH exhibit in the Smash museum of music for the T. Dot.

Review - Clash in Toronto

On December 21st, Nick Smash hosted a talk on the impact that the Clash had on Toronto with radio hosts Alan Cross and Ivar Hamilton. But think of it as metaphor for the impact that the Clash had on Toronto in general. 

Nick starts out with some thoughts on the importance of the Clash. This is backed up by Allan Cross experience of finding out about the Clash on Winnipeg radio. That's where he first heard them and how they stood out. And then trying to find them at the local record store. It was a behind the counter purchase (in other words the special records were not in the regular racks). 

Ivar Hamilton had some stories about a variety of punk shows that happened back in the day. the crowd got involved as a hive mind experiment with people sharing stories about shows and the particulars. Nick's brother Simon told the back story to the infamous New Music interview with the Clash at the O'Keefe Centre. And then the piece de resistance was an interview that Ivor Hamilton did with Joe Strummer in '86(?). Could have been the last interview with Joe Strummer in Toronto and he talked about the number of projects he was involved with. There was also a great story about Joe Strummer trying to play the CFNY studio that was on Yonge Street. Something happened where he could not play and he retreated to the street to do a busking session. 

The event was a launch party for a new book that Nick Smash has curated called "Clash in Toronto: A selection of photographs 1979-1984". Photographers who made contributions include Simon White, Don Pyle, Erik Christensen, Joe Coffey, Carm Ferrari, Randy Johnston, Ivor Levene, and Paul Till. The book argues that in the absence of a rock and roll museum, publications like this have to collect these moments. Nick's thoughts along with those of the photographers collect memories for the four times that the Clash played Toronto. I am not sure of there are any copies left, but f you are interested in one reach out to Nick Smash on facebook. Proceeds for this book are going to Strummerville. 

Radio - Sunday, May 19th, 2019

On January 24th of this year, Nick Smash of the RENT BOYS INC. was in town to do an exhibition on the CLASH and to promote his new book "What You Don't Want is What You Get", which outline his time in England with the RENT BOYS INC. and THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS. He arranged to meet up with Dave Howard to go over the details of that adventure. THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS are an important part of the Toronto post punk scene. This story reflects the flight that creative types undertook to make a go of it. This is a conversation between Nick Smash and Dave Howard telling something akin to road stories which talk about some of these exclusive recordings, stories behind them, influences, and people in the scene that they were apart of in the mid-80s. We get stories about the squats, the rehearsal spaces, folks in the scene. You can download the show here. 

THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - Baby Come Back (live at the Rock Garden on July 4, 1986)
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - The Murder of your Smile (live in Manchester on July 26, 1986)
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - I Feel Good (live in Manchester on July 26, 1986)
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - Just Another (live in Manchester on July 26, 1986)
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - Camberwell (live on the BBC, Janice Long)
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - Nothing to Say (live in Valencia, Spain)
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - Nothing to Say (produced by JJ Burnell of the Stranglers)
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - Plastic Horse ()
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - How Was I to Know ()
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - Pleasure of Pain (live in the Netherlands)
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - Shakin' All Over (live in the Netherlands)
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - The Killing Time
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - Rock On
THE DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - Road Warriors

Flyer - Friday, February 1st, 2019

Radio - Sunday, June 21st, 2015

Tonight's show was an interview with the White Brothers. Simon did a photo exhibition in 2010 called "Toronto Calling" which saw some blown up photos of the Ramones and the Clash in the Steamwhistle building. These early photos captured the first punk bands to play in Toronto. His Brother Nick is known for a fantastic zine he did from 1979 - 1984 called Smash It Up. It was a local zine that covered the early post punk scene so well and incorporated all kinds of journalism as a way of getting the story about these incredible period that the mainstream press couldn't be bothered covering. Nick has been working on this book since the "Toronto Calling" exhibit and has incorporated a cut and paste approach to capturing the period. Nick and Simon spoke with us earlier in the day about this work captured in "Alone and Gone" this brand new book released yesterday. We catalogue clubs, zines, and bands as an approach to trying to capture the time and the developing new sounds coming out of this explosive period. We start off with the Clash show at the O'Keefe Centre and get into the Edge as a centre for shows from 1979-1980. Nick speaks about the role that zines play in developing the scene. the list of zines included Dave MacIntosh's Cause and Effect, Deanna's Schrik, Sounds form the Street, Civil Disobedience, Joannie Morris' All That Jazz, TOHC, Fifth Column's Hide, Red Shoes, this Tiny Donkey, and Goog Poogly. We speak about the reggae scene and the cross pollination with bands like the Young Lions, L'Etranger, Youth Youth Youth, 20th Century Rebels, Truth and Rights, and the mainstreaming with the Parachute Club. I grill Nick about some of the clubs at the time like the Cabana Room, the Palais Royale for out of town ska bands, the basement at the Drake, 100 Bond Street, St. Lawrence Hall for RAR and the Bop Cats, and Exile out on Main Street. We speak about the the paradigm shift that Start Dancing represents in the scene. We speak about the Garys record label that never came about. We speak about the role of the cassette tape in developing the post punk scene. We speak about the phenomenon of outdoor shows in the 80's. We speak about the role that radio had on developing the scene which starts with CFNY and also moves into CKLN. Nick tells us about 291 which was originally known as the Suicide Club and became a punk house that Smash It Up and the Dave Howard lived at. Nicks tells us about the Fifth Column, Hunger Project that went on to become the Cowboy Junkies, the Hi Fis that go on to become Blue Rodeo, the Rheostatics, Handsome Ned, the Sturm Group, Woods are Full of Cuckoos, the Rent Boys Inc., Breeding Ground, Vital Sines, Alta Moda - Molly Johnson's first band, Blank Generation that become United State and then National Velvet, Blibber and the Rat Crashers that become Jolly Tambourine Man, the Lucky Strikes, Mark Malibu and the Wasagas, and Crash Kills Five that becomes Shadowy Men. This is all a preamble to figure out if there is a Toronto sound. Nick tells us the Dave Howard connection to the "Alone and Gone" title. The Playlist for tonight's show is as follows:

THE CLASH - London Calling (CBS)
Interview with Nick and Simon White (CIUT)
DAVE HOWARD SINGERS - They Come They Go (Self-Released)

If you are in Toronto you can get copies of the book at Rotate This.

Flyer - Saturday, June 20th, 2015

Nick White (a.k.a. Smash) is in town to launch his new book on the period of music in Toronto between 1979 and 1984. Situated in one of the worst economic times with political crises abound, culture responded. Garnering musical influences from the UK and the States, Nick looks at what these bands brought to Toronto by way of influences. He starts out with the Clash's show at the O'Keefe Centre and what punk rock looked like in a world music context which threw open the doors to all sorts of music experimentation which are around today. We talk about fractured scenes, but this was the apex or the blueprint for when it all happened. Toronto being a receptive music market soaked it all in and spat it back out with an underground scene that has scene little by way of recognition. Nick takes you through the bands like the Rent Boys, the Dave Howard Singers, Breeding Ground, Kinetic Ideals, V (pre Parachute Club), Hunger Project (Pre-Cowboy Junkies), the Hi-Fi's (Pre Blue Rodeo), the Rheostatics, The Mods, Truths and Rights, Lillian Allen, Third World....The list is endless. Nick also takes us into the world of the haunts where the musicians honed their sounds like at the 291, the Bev, the Cameron House, The Cultural Centre and all sorts of places. He explores how various mediums started up like zines and campus community radio, CFNY, as a result of being shut out of mainstream media. And he gives great insight into what touring bands brought like U2, Echo and the Bunnymen, Killing Joke, the Specials, The Jam, Madness, the Buzzcocks. It's all here. Flirst hand accounts with gonzo journalism which is beyond dedication but borders on fanaticism, which demonstrates the fan part of fanzine. With photos from his brother Simon, some of which appeared in Toronto Calling five years prior but so many more in this book, it is like a more cut and past version of Trouble in the Camera Club but the next chapter to follow.  Nick will be at the Rivoli between 1:00m and 4:00pm playing some of the music captured in the Smash it up comps to also give you a flavour of the sounds of the time.

Zine - EXD, Volume 14, Issue 1

The new issue of the EXD zine is out and this issue features an interview with two members from Creative Zero who were a hardcore band from the early 80's that formed in the Peterborough area. James Zero, who played guitar, and Joel Wasson, who played drums, were the interviewees. They fill us in on the band tell us about moving to Toronto, give us stories about the shows they played, the bands they played with and the clubs that this all happened in. They also inform us that they were recorded for a second T.O Hardcore comp that never came out. But they were in "Not Dead Yet" so that is part of the narrative. Tim Freeborn transcribed this beat of a discussion. We also included a few reviews of an ealry Toronto punk zine called "Smash it Up" with links to on-line versions so that you can download them for yourself.

Zine - Local Smash #20

This is issue #20 of Smash It Up, which is a Toronto punk fanzine put out by Nick Smash. This issue came out in December 1981. The issue starts out with a road trip diary for the Young Lions and 20th Century Rebels for a nuclear disarmament benefit show they play in Montreal. It didn't go so well.

There is an article on the Professionals who played the Voodoo Club. there is bits of an interview with Paul Cook in the piece.

There is an interview with Simple Minds who are from Scotland. This was the second time they had come to Toronto and was around the time that "Sons of Fascination / Sister Feelings Call" had come out because the band talks about it in the interview. They are pretty chatty and down to earth which is surprising to me because I saw them play Maple Leaf Gardens when they were a bit full of themselves and scolded the audience for coming up on stage. Difficult to think of them as the same band.

There is an update on Toots and the Maytals who had broken up and then gotten a new band together to come back up to Toronto. This is the man who wrote "Pressure Drop". There is a lengthy interview with Echo and the Bunnymen at their second show which took place at the El Mocambo. I think all the shows were happening there after the Edge closed down.

Jill Heath does an interview with the Young Lions where she starts out with the show in Montreal. They also cover:

- the song "United"
- the song "Goodnight Belfast"
- the Toronto Sun newspaper
- the song "One Little Nazi"
- and a big show they have organized featuring seven of Toronto's newest punk bands.

Jill Heath also does an interview with the ska band from Vancouver called the Villains. it was at a sold out show at the Masonic Temple on November 14th, 1981 and they were booked to come back for the end of December to play the Headspace for 8 days which was unheard of back then.

There is an update on Toots and the Maytals who had broken up and then formed with a new line up. This is the guy who wrote "Pressure Drop".

There is an article written about Youth Youth Youth, which is one of the only pieces I have ever seen written about what I would consider Canada's best hardcore band. The article provides some insight into motivations behind their songs and some interpretation into lyrics. There are a couple of quotes from Rob Mallion the guitarist and they mention that the third issue of Civil Disobedience had come out. They refer to Civil Disbobedience as a political zine that members of the band published.

There are some record reviews of John Foxx of Ultravoxx and Bow Wow Wow.

There is an interview with a band from Toronto called Boys Brigade. They sound like a percussion based dance new wave band similar to bands like Bow Wow Wow or Pigbag or Parachute Club or Norda. There was lots of other bands doing that same sound. Boys Brigade formed out of members of Arson and the Androids. I don't think they ever went anywhere because I never heard of anything about them outsude of this interview.

There is a write up on the Pinkertones who relocated to Toronto from Halifax.

There is an interesting scene report on Liverpool that writes about bands like Big in Japan, the Spitfire Boys, Crucial Three, the Nova Mob, the ID which became OMD, Dalek I Love You, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Teardrop Explodes.

There is a show review of Siouxsie and the Banshees at the El Mocambo.

There is a review of a Start Dancing show at a hall on Claremont that motsly describes the V-Necks.

There is also a review of an Iggy Pop show at the Music Hall.

This is courtesy of Daibhid James and his archive. Daibhid hosts Moondoog Ballroom on CIUT.

Zine - Smash It Up #19

Smash It Up is one of Toronto's best and most dynamic punk fanzines, which came out in the hardcore and new wave eras. The zine was produced by Nick Smash. This issue is #19 and it came out at the end of September 1981 which can be placed by the Dead Kennedys interview which happened on the 25th of September. That must have been the last thing written before going to print. There is a show review and interview is mostly with Jello Biafra (singer) and a little bit with Deron Peligro (drummer). There is also comments about East Bay Ray. Jello displays an impressive knowledge of the Toronto punk scene. This might have been the show that New Music did a fluff piece on that I saw as a kid. 

There is a piece about DOA where they are touring England. I learned that the "Let them Eat Jellybeans" comp was put together to promote North American bands in the UK and Europe.

There is a piece about the L.A. scene and reviews of releases that had come out then like Black Flag's "Six Pack" and The Germs "Germicide" and the Adolescents LP. THis worth the read because it is written from someone who lived there so they have insight into the sound of the bands.

There is some coverage on the first Police Picnic which took place in Oakville in a farmer's field. There is nothing on the Specials or the Go-Go's or Iggy Pop, but there is a pretty amazing piece on Killing Joke. There is also a piece on John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett who were greeted with fresh fruit and rotting vegetables, which is better than what Nash the Slash got which was a pulling of the cord. 

Around that same time (August 30th) the Cure played the Concert Hall and there is an interview with them although my issue has part of it cut out. You will see the gap in the PDF. 

John Foxx from Ultravox had just released a solo record named "Metamatic" and the drummer from 999 was involved in the recording.

On the reggae side of things there is an interview with Horace Faith. There is a review of the Equators full length along with a solo piece by Michaele Jordana of the Poles.

This issue appears courtesy of Dhaibid James's archival collection. Dhaibid hosts a show on CIUT called Moondog's Ballroom. 

Zine - Smash Media, August '81

This is Smash It Up for August 1981. Cover art designed by Noxious Art.

Zine - Stir It Up

Stir It Up looks like a version of Nick Smash's Smash It Up. Stir It Up is pretty close in name and would be a clever play on the name Smash It Up. And there is lots of reggae content inside this issue which justifies the Bob Marley song title. In fact there is a review of a Bob Marley tribute concert inside that took place at a club that I have never heard of called Fourth World (167 Church Street). The show took place on May 17th which is close to Bob marley's birthday and featured Toronto reggae acts Truths and Rights, 20th Century Rebels, and Leroy Sibbles.

There is other reggae content like the intro and quick interview with a white reggae band called the Customers. There is a piece on another little known band Bloodfire. And there is an interview with the drummer from Steel Pulse, which may be the same interview as the one found in Rebel Music.

Interestingly, this issue also features a lot of punk bands that had reggae influences like Stiff Little Fingers or had interesting bass sounds like Gang of Four. The zine starts out with an interview with JJ Burnell from the Stranglers who I learned recently tried to play bass like he was performing at a Jamaican dancehall. The interviewer wanted to find out how much they were into UFO theories with the Meninblack theme. But JJ really wanted to discuss the validity of sub sonic sounds which is really about getting back to his thoughts on bass playing when you think about it.

There is a handwritten interview with Andy Gill who plays guitar in Gang of Four. They played a number of times in Toronto and this show was on Canada Day in 1981.

There is a review on a show that closed the Edge, which had a certain Last Pogo symmetry to it because it was he garys and it was the club they went to after they left the Horseshoe which was signified by that Last Pogo show.

There is an interview with Teardrop Explodes that looks like it is printed on fullscap and the quality is difficult to read. Someone had access to school equipment. There is a review section which fits in with a lot of new wave releases that came out at the time. I totally enjoyed reliving those and they included reviews of the Cramps, the Stray Cats, Killing Joke, Kraftwerk, Simple Minds, Pig Bag, Siouxie and the Banshees, Wasted Youth, Dead or Alive and Basement 5, which is the first review I have ever read of Basement 5. This demontrates how broad the spectrum of punk was back then. It also explains the interview with Kinetic Ideals which is the only interview i have read of the band. They were a new wave band from Mississauga, who had their own release and I would see their flyers when I was first getting into punk. And this is one of the things that I really appreciate about the zine. it covers lots of old Toronto punk including ads for old punk stores like the Record Peddler or Vortex or even Hot Wax, which I never heard of.

There is a great piece on a Stiff Little Fingers show that sounds like it was a regional appearance because kids from Montreal came down to see it. The show was at the El Mocambo and the piece spends a lot of time slagging the bouncers who weren't letting kids in. Some of those kids started a fire in the back alley of the club and the fire department got called, but it didn't seem to effect the show. The show happened on Monday June 29th (1981).

This issue also has the best interview that i have ever read with Vancouver's DOA. The interview has Joey Shithead, Randy Rampage, Dave Gregg, and Chuck Biscuits.

There is also an interview with a little known band rom Pittsburgh called Carsickness. They came up to the play with the Fall.

Thanks to Dhaibid James (Moondog Ballroom) for the loan of the issue to scan and put up.

Zine - Rebel Music, Issue #1

Rebel Music is put together by people involved in our local Rock Against Racism movement. This group took their cues from the British organization and was motivated to start up to oppose the Klan who were trying to organize in Toronto. Interestingly the main interview is with Steel Pulse, who are a British reggae band that wrote a song called "Ku Klux Klan". Steel Pulse were part of the British RAR movement and shared stages with the Clash and the Sex Pistols when they first started. They payed a show in Toronto on May 8th, 1981 at the Concert Hall and James was able to talk with the drummer after the show. They spoke about the two tone scene and the Brixton riots among other things. The zine also features a well researched piece on the local reggae scene in Toronto which profiled Leroy Sibbles, the Twentieth Century Rebels, Truth and Rights, Bloodfire, One Love, and DJs and record stores on where to find reggae in Toronto. It is an amazing resource. The cover was made by Noxious Art.

Zine - Smash It Up, April 1981

Smash It Up is a Toronto punk fanzine. This issue came out in April 1981. The cover artwork is courtesy of Noxious Art and I am not sure what a palm tree is doing on front of a Toronto skyline unless it is replicating the signage for the El MoCombo. This issue makes the promise that there will be an issue of Smash It Up coming out weekly for the month of April. I'm not sure if that happened but there is a listings for the Horseshoe on the inside cover so you get a look at all the shows happening that would be interest to the punk scene. This issue also starts out with a review of a local band called The Partys Over. They released a cassette in the vein of Kraftwerk. More evidence of Toronto's diversity when it came to music.

Bauhaus played the Edge on March 4th, 1981 and there is a review of the show that really starts out the issue. Simple Minds also played the Edge and there is an attempt at an interview but that doesn't come off.

There is an interview with Andy Paterson from the Government which is lengthy, but I appreciated that as this is the first interview I have read about the Government. They talk about things like the band's releases, the importance of independent art, and a song called "Flat Tire" that had some local coverage.

There is a Captain Beefhart piece that is illegible in this issue.

There is a handwritten interview with Truths and Rights who were a reggae band that appears on the Last Pogo compilation. they get asked about their thoughts on bands like the Police. And later in this issue there is a piece on another local reggae band called One Love. Maybe the reggae coverage warranted the palm tree theme.

This appears courtesy of the archival collection of Dhaibid James who hosts Moondog's Ballroom on CIUT 89.5FM.

Zine - Smash It Up, February 1981

Smash It Up is a Toronto punk fanzine. Despite the 1980 date on the cover, the part 3 of the Bangkok interview situates the release of this at February 1981. The issues starts out with a page and a half of reviews for recent releases like Nash the Slash's "Deadman's Curve" and the Clash's "Hitsville UK". Other reviews included Spandau Ballet's "the Freeze" and the Au Pairs "Diet". An odd review is Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight". There is also a Stranglers ep that I don't know about but most have come out after "Raven" which came out in 1979.

Interestingly this issue tucks in an interview with Sector 27 which was Tom Robinson's band who is most well known for the "Glad to be Gay" anthem.

There is another interview with Jean Jacques Burnell of the Stranglers. JJ tells the back story to a riot at a gig of theirs at a University in France, which they were about to go to court for. There was a slso a riot at a gig in Queensland Australia,which has even mre nefarious undertones associated to a local politician who was carrying out a campaign against punks and punk clubs. The song "Nuclear Device" was written about said politician.

There is an interview with Fred Frith about his record contract and had an appeal to punks for his Zappa meets Cage approach to guitar.

A reggae band by the name of One Love is interviewed. This band was a band made up of Ishan People (who were in the Last Pogo) and Mystics.

There is an interview with L'Etranger when they were a four piece. I found it intersting to learn about their appreciation of the Mods and that scene.

There is an interview with Drastic Measures who I remember seeing on the video shows and getting some radio airplay back in the day. I didn't realize that one of the members was in the Dishes.

There is a hilarious write up on the U-Knows which was an award show for alternative bands used to make a statement about the Junos. Sounds like it was just as bad as the ceremony it set about parodying.

Part 3 of the Bangkok interview appears here but it looses something from the absense of the other two parts.

 

This issue is here thanks to the archives of Dhaibid James, host of Moondog Ballroom on CIUT.

Zine - Smash It Up, December 1980

 

Smash It Up was a Toronto punk fanzine. This issue came out in December 1980. This issues starts out with a report about local bands by Randy Swagger, which included information on the Points, the Sharks, the Government, the Demics, Martha and the Muffins, the Civilians, Teenage Head, Blank Generation, the Spoons, the B-Girls, the Secrets, True Confessions, the Viletones, Tyranna, and the Bop Cats.

The first interview is with the Slits where they wind up talking about Sid Vicious death, which had just happened.

There is an interview with Martha Johnson at a Hamilton show, where she sheds some light on how crappy it is to be signed to major label. I wish she had more space to elaborate.

There is an article on Ultravox which was done around a show they played in Toronto supporting "Vienna". I didn't realize that Midge Ure was in the Rich Kids and was offered the guitarist spot for the Pistols when Steve Jones left. This all seems weird talking about him as a guitarist in light of Ultravox being a synth band.

There is a review of a Joan Jett and the Blackhearts show with lots of photos.

There is an amazingly designed piece on a Siouxsie and the Banshees show on November 18th, 1980 at the Music Hall.

There is part one of an interview with Bangkok who were a new band that featured Mickey Skin of the Curse on vocals.

There is a back page ad for Edge Records which I am guessing had something to do with the Garys and were reported to have been releasing the Sharks record.

 

Thinks appears thanks to the archive of Dhaibid James, host of Moondog Ballroom, also on CIUT 89.5FM.

 



Zine - Smash It Up, November 1980

This issue of Smash It Up is all about politics. This issue came out in November 1980.

It starts out with an article on the KKK trying to start up a chapter in Toronto and the writer calls for a media blackout of the organization.

This article is followed by a piece on Rock Against Racism which looked at how the organization evolved in Toronto. They mentioned the English roots to the organization with bands like Elvis Costello and Gang of Four and the Specials and the Clash. And then there was references to local punk bands like the Sharks who write a tribute to Albert Johnson called "Metro's Number one Problem". And Young Lions had a sing with the lyrics "One little nazi is one too many".

There is an interview with the leader of the Young Communist League of Canada, Sylvie Baillargeon.

There is a piece on Leon Trotsky.

And there is a note about a cancellation of a Clash gig and Maple Leaf Gardens that Teenage Head was supposed to play.

This issue appears here courtesy of Dhaibid James's archival collection. Dhaibid is host of the Moondog's Ballroom on CIUT 89.5 FM.

Zine - Smash It Up

This is another issue of Smash It Up that came out somewhere in the fall of 1980. The editorial on the second mentions that this is the eigth issue to come out in the year so I imagine it would have been out in September or October. The cover is in Russian and in true Smash It Up fashion fills a need to play with the name of the publication. It was a provocative thing to do given that 1980 was the height of the Cold War being played out through a nuclear arms race. The zine plays up like a Russian issue that has been translated. The circulation of the zine was somewhere between 25 and 50 copies and was sold for $0.20 a copy.

This issue starts out with an interview with Gary Numan at the Holiday Inn, which was more like a shrug off. On the same page is a playlist and a list of new releases that had just come out.

The next feature is a piece on heavy metal with brief descriptions of bands like Sabbath and Priest and Saxon and KISS.

The next piece is about a band named the Civilians and they were about to release a record on Star Records (the label that put out the first Forgotten Rebels LP). The Garys thought they were too metal so they never booked them.

There was an interview with the Demics just after the album had been released. One of the big concerns by that record gets asked which is about the album sounding too overproduced.

There is a piece on the Sharks that took four attempts to get. The inteviewer spent some time trying to interview the band (four times) and there are some answers but different members in some of those times. But at the end the interview read a bit like the Tyranna interview that followed. I liked te Tyranna interview better.

There is a review section on punk films and one of those was a showing of a film named Crash 'n Burn about the club in Toronto that was shown in an art gallery. There was reviews of "D.O.A.", "Punking Out", "The Great Rock 'n Roll Swindle" and some reggae films like "The Harder they Come" and "Dread, Beat and Blood". There is also a big piece on a film which had the Clash in it called "Preacher Man".

There is also some great record reviews which includes one of the Talking Heads "Remain in Light".

The back cover had a neat poster photo of a band named the Feds that promotes a new single and a show for November at the Edge.

Thanks to Dhaibid James of Moondog Ballroom for loaning us the issue to scan.