Radio What Wave Playlist Jan 24/2013.   Canadian Garagepunk Sandwich Part 1

This is an incomplete history of Canadian garagepunk music (according to my subjective views and what's left of my memory), with Radio WW covering the 80's and onwards and the show that comes right after us, The Freakout, playing 60's Canadian Garagepunk. It was originally going to be a one show affair, but with the amount of material, we've gone to 2 shows. The Radio WW portion of the history is arranged chronologically, although we had to deviate in a few places to keep the flow. Enjoy!!

1. The Gruesomes...3 Men 1 Coffin...from A-Billy, a 7" EP that came with WW #18. This song is also on the Live In Hell cassette, Gruesomology CD (Sundazed) and Live In Hell CD (Ricochet Sound). Originally done by the infamous sludgeabilly duo, Deja Voodoo, The Gruesomes did this as a tribute to their pals and label mates. Started this show with The Gruesomes as they are probably the best known garagepunk band to come out of Canada.

The Gruesomes at Call The Office, London Ontario

2. Simply Saucer...She's A Dog...Pig Records 7" and bonus track on the Cyborgs Revisited CD. I had to play 3 bands that pre-date the whole garagepunk movement as Simply Saucer and the 2 following bands have influenced many of the bands that are played later in the show.

3. The Secrets...All The Girls...Teenage Rampage LP. 3 Viletones and a Diode break away from punk rock at it's height in Toronto and form a rock'n'roll band. Possibly a bad move at the time, but the critics adored them and their music stands the passage of time. And there's a connection back to 60's punk in this combo as their vocalist was in a late version of Syndicate of Sound (Hey Little Girl).

4. Raving Mojos...Yeah Yeah Uh Huh....live recording from The Turning Point in Toronto,7/1/82. These guys took Stoogisms, 60's punk and blues to a whole new level and called it rock'n'roll. There's a video out there of these guys pounding it out live, and the singer appears out of nowhere doing cartwheels across the stage! The bass player for this band is currently in the greatest live band ever, The Fleshtones!

5. UIC...Let's Dance On...recorded live at Call The Office, London Ontario.3/16/85. From Exeter, a small town just north of London, where you could pick up those Detroit radio stations back in the day and it warped these young men something fierce! These guys were playing this noise from about 1981 onwards, but didn't record until years later. This particular show, was video taped by Wayne Fisher and some of the songs appear on youtube. Yep, that's me dancing up front by the stage on some of the songs.

UIC in Lucan Ontario, fall 1984

6. 10 Commandments...Feel It...from their cassette Pagan Fest-a-go-go. Possible the first Toronto band to delve into 60's garagepunk with both feet. Lead singer James Lord is now a music director with our national radio network, CBC.

7. 10 Commandments...Not True...from their first LP, Weird Out. They self released at least 3 LP's and later went to a more powerpop type of sound.

8. The Beaumonts...She Treats Me Right...from the Time Machine CD on Stomp Records from 1996. This CD isa  history of the Canadian 60's garage punk and surf scene from 85-95. The Beaumonts were from Vancouver and birthed 2 Toronto bands (both of which will appear in Part 2 of this show), The Cheshyres and Drums Along The Gardiner.

9. The Enigmas...Windshield Wiper...from their Strangely Wild 12". Another Vancouver combo, they released at least 2 12" EP's and appeared on a couple of compilations and members went on to later Vancouver combos.

10. Terminal Sunglasses...The Coyote Finally Wins...from their Wrap Around Cool LP. These guys added some psych sounds to their 60's punk sounds and finally the roadrunner gets his due. Unfortunately one of the members found out he was allergic to cigarette smoke and couldn't play bars due to the smoke...hence the band packed it in.

11. Boy From Nowhere...Train Kept A Rollin'...recorded live at the Langarth Bar and Grill 11/1/86 Halloween party. The first London Ontario band to dig into 60's punk and mix it up with blues. 

Boy From Nowhere at Langarth Bar and Grill 1986

12. The Gruesomes...Psycho...recorded live at Larry's in Toronto 3/29/86. This was The Gruesomes first show in Toronto and was a part of a show called The OG Easter Party and was a showcase for OG Records. Deja Voodoo, Ray Condo, Chris Houston and UIC all played this packed showcase. It was our first meeting with The Gruesomes and everything we had heard about them was true!!

13. The Gruesomes...Boredom...recorded live at Key West, London Ontario 1/11/87. We finally get The Gruesomes to London, a sunday night and we're figuring the place will be empty. WRONGO!! The place was packed and The Gruesomes musta played over 2 hours!! Then they stayed at our place and didn't leave for several days as they devoured all our junk food, watched our cheesy movies (especially that Beatles mockumentary of the kids trying to get into see The Beatles in NYC) and played most of our 60's and blues records. Loads of fun.

14. The Gruesomes...What Wave...from Mr Garager's Neighbourhood, an LP on OG Records that we compiled. Nope, we didn't ask The Gruesomes to do this, they thought it up all by themselves.

15. The Gruesomes...some radio promos they cut.

16. Legend Killers...99th Floor...early demo from this band of drunks that figured anybody can do this and they proved themselves right! Another combo from London Ontario who are the only band to have appeared on every What Wave compilation record, tape and CD! And we're honoured to have them!

Legend Killers coming out of their cave! Photo by Martha Rutherford.

17. Legend Killers...Strychnine...another early demo, this time released on Slippery's Club Hits,the cassette that comes with WW#24. AND....this cassette is currently #1 on the CHRW charts!!!! Holy crap Batman!! How can this be!!

18. The Rosy Red...Cavin' In...from a brand  new demo as we take a musical interlude to introduce the 4 bands that would be playing on Jan 25th at the very first Kissin' The Carpet, a soon to be monthly garagepunk show in Hamilton Ontario.

19. Magic Shadows...Parasite...a demo from this Hamilton combo who are also at Kissin' The Carpet.

20. The Mystics...Waiting For You...from their very first CD and like the 2 bands above, are at Kissin' The Carpet.

21. The Pow Wows...EIO...from their Get Hip LP, Nightmare Soda, and like the 3 bands above....

22. Purple Toads...Strychnine...from a demo. The Purple Toads evolved out of Durango 95 and went into the 60's garagepunk sound fueled by alcohol and drugs. 

A dancing Purple Toad!!

And we're out of time. Check the show that came right after this, The Freakout as Ryan played an hour of 60's garagepunk.

We'll be back next week with part 2 of The Canadian Garagepunk Sandwich.

All photos courtesy WW archives unless otherwise noted...please put proper photo credits when using these pics.

Here's a link to the archived show:

http://chrwradio.ca/content/radio-what-wave#prev-shows

Au contraire!... I´m totally shooooooocked!! Outch!  

You say you don´t like Nico´s singing?, OK, I´m fine with IT and I´m not picking at you!! But I can tell you something: She had such a beautiful voice while talking!!! So sexy and deep...  I was lucky enough to spend a whole night with her (No! not having sex with her, you perverts!!).  But a lot better: Alk, stuff and talk...whatever, none of your business ;)   more important then her strong voice: she was simply such a beautiful person!! You would love her voice that much as well, if you just got to know her! :)
Rest in Peace, Christa. :*

TipplerMario said:

I don't think this will be shocking but, I hate everything The Velvet Underground did with Nico, I hate it, I can't stand it, is it her voice, idk, I just don't like it.

Is it possible to call them "a Music Machine wannabee"-band just for a single glove used by a young Rudi, while on the other hand, still today, you have bunch of bands wearing bones-chains a la Fuzztones? Are they Fuzztones wannabee bands?? I´m confused...  
(but hell, it may be!.. ;)

Unfortunately my english is not that good, so I´m not sure to understand the rest.. BUT accidentally, I did compare them as well to Cramps or Ramones (or Gun Club or a few more)  in the past, just, not in their look!! But in their vigor? In their generate of energy live?  in the (lot of) gigs i´ve been witness, (since  mid 80s)?.. their coolness, their singularity?
Hell! Yeah! Nobody can tell me they are a "cover-band"!! They are TOO special!!

John Battles said:

Well , specifically , in The US. I KNOW THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN HUGE IN EUROPE. It's just always been cool to call 'em a Music Machine wannabee in the clothing department (When their look leaned just as heavy on The Cramps and The Ramones , I always thought.). So , they don't sound like they're playing guitar with their dicks. that makes 'em BAD? In the 80's , Garage meant , copy Pebbles songs ,or Brit R'n'B ,  not much else. Today , it means all kinds of things that have NOTHING to do with Garage , and some things that do. Rudi's still doing what he 's always done , the way The Cramps and The Ramones still did their thing , dig it or don't.        

 
Tersicore said:

Hey John,

"It's never been cool to like The Fuzztones" Where??
Do you mean here in GHP? or in the USA? 
In Europe is always been cool to love The Fuzztones and we still love them!!
And I´m sure I can speak for the most.
They shaped a whole generation here. Me included! :)
..and their gigs are still great!!

John Battles said:

Yeah , exactly. I'm not saying everything Childish did was shit , but , he was the "Garage " act that people who know nothing about this music gravitated toward in the 90's , in particular. A couple of carefully curated comps , like the one Sub Pop did , might cast him in a better light , but he did more records than Frank Zappa 20 years ago.

Chesterfield Kings , I liked to a point. They were always inconsistent , live. They could be great, or terrible. I never bought any of their records , except a bootleg from the first tour i saw them on , in '88.      Fuzztones , I still like. Maybe not everything , but "Salt For Zombies" was probably the best thing they ever did. It's never been cool to like The Fuzztones , which kind of makes me like them , more. There's very GOOD FOOTAGE On YOU tUBE  of their recent gig in Italy.   I kind of felt I was being put on with The Mummies , tho' I can take a joke. People take them seriously , now.   When I saw The Gories , in 1990 , opening for The Gibson Bros. , I was the only person standing in front of the stage . Everyone else was in the rear of the club.... I knew they were on to something , but their legend loomed larger in death. Now that they have reformed , they're playing to hundreds of people a throw, many too young to have seen them the first time around. And , they were kind enough to ask me to open for them , two years ago. I sort of felt like they must have , in 1990 , but , WE WERE ALL THERE TO HAVE FUN. There's still this innocence about The Gories. They are not Rock Stars , and they do not have a master plan. "It's Rock'n'Roll , and the message is DO IT ! TO IT !".
dave said:

Can't stand the Fuzztones or Chesterfield Kings, in fact most 80s 'garage bands' just make me cringe. Didn't like new stuff 'til the Mummies/Gories for the most part.

Oh, and John, I'm with ya about the Childish thang. You could prolly make about 4 compilation LPs of related stuff, but jeez, enuff!

Well , specifically , in The US. I KNOW THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN HUGE IN EUROPE. It's just always been cool to call 'em a Music Machine wannabee in the clothing department (When their look leaned just as heavy on The Cramps and The Ramones , I always thought.). So , they don't sound like they're playing guitar with their dicks , and Rudi can sing  ,  that makes 'em BAD? In the 80's , Garage meant , copy Pebbles songs ,or Brit R'n'B ,  not much else. Today , it means all kinds of things that have NOTHING to do with Garage , and some things that do. Rudi's still doing what he 's always done , the way The Cramps and The Ramones still did their thing , dig it or don't.        

 
Tersicore said:

Hey John,

"It's never been cool to like The Fuzztones" Where??
Do you mean here in GHP? or in the USA? 
In Europe is always been cool to love The Fuzztones and we still love them!!
And I´m sure I can speak for the most.
They shaped a whole generation here. Me included! :)
..and their gigs are still great!!

John Battles said:

Yeah , exactly. I'm not saying everything Childish did was shit , but , he was the "Garage " act that people who know nothing about this music gravitated toward in the 90's , in particular. A couple of carefully curated comps , like the one Sub Pop did , might cast him in a better light , but he did more records than Frank Zappa 20 years ago.

Chesterfield Kings , I liked to a point. They were always inconsistent , live. They could be great, or terrible. I never bought any of their records , except a bootleg from the first tour i saw them on , in '88.      Fuzztones , I still like. Maybe not everything , but "Salt For Zombies" was probably the best thing they ever did. It's never been cool to like The Fuzztones , which kind of makes me like them , more. There's very GOOD FOOTAGE On YOU tUBE  of their recent gig in Italy.   I kind of felt I was being put on with The Mummies , tho' I can take a joke. People take them seriously , now.   When I saw The Gories , in 1990 , opening for The Gibson Bros. , I was the only person standing in front of the stage . Everyone else was in the rear of the club.... I knew they were on to something , but their legend loomed larger in death. Now that they have reformed , they're playing to hundreds of people a throw, many too young to have seen them the first time around. And , they were kind enough to ask me to open for them , two years ago. I sort of felt like they must have , in 1990 , but , WE WERE ALL THERE TO HAVE FUN. There's still this innocence about The Gories. They are not Rock Stars , and they do not have a master plan. "It's Rock'n'Roll , and the message is DO IT ! TO IT !".
dave said:

Can't stand the Fuzztones or Chesterfield Kings, in fact most 80s 'garage bands' just make me cringe. Didn't like new stuff 'til the Mummies/Gories for the most part.

Oh, and John, I'm with ya about the Childish thang. You could prolly make about 4 compilation LPs of related stuff, but jeez, enuff!

One more confession:
I can´t stand Jazz-music!!
Except for some influence in bands like Lounge Lizards or other few No-Wave bands.
Mea culpa, sorry!

Hey John,

"It's never been cool to like The Fuzztones" Where??
Do you mean here in GHP? or in the USA? 
In Europe is always been cool to love The Fuzztones and we still love them!!
And I´m sure I can speak for the most.
They shaped a whole generation here. Me included! :)
..and their gigs are still great!!

John Battles said:

Yeah , exactly. I'm not saying everything Childish did was shit , but , he was the "Garage " act that people who know nothing about this music gravitated toward in the 90's , in particular. A couple of carefully curated comps , like the one Sub Pop did , might cast him in a better light , but he did more records than Frank Zappa 20 years ago.

Chesterfield Kings , I liked to a point. They were always inconsistent , live. They could be great, or terrible. I never bought any of their records , except a bootleg from the first tour i saw them on , in '88.      Fuzztones , I still like. Maybe not everything , but "Salt For Zombies" was probably the best thing they ever did. It's never been cool to like The Fuzztones , which kind of makes me like them , more. There's very GOOD FOOTAGE On YOU tUBE  of their recent gig in Italy.   I kind of felt I was being put on with The Mummies , tho' I can take a joke. People take them seriously , now.   When I saw The Gories , in 1990 , opening for The Gibson Bros. , I was the only person standing in front of the stage . Everyone else was in the rear of the club.... I knew they were on to something , but their legend loomed larger in death. Now that they have reformed , they're playing to hundreds of people a throw, many too young to have seen them the first time around. And , they were kind enough to ask me to open for them , two years ago. I sort of felt like they must have , in 1990 , but , WE WERE ALL THERE TO HAVE FUN. There's still this innocence about The Gories. They are not Rock Stars , and they do not have a master plan. "It's Rock'n'Roll , and the message is DO IT ! TO IT !".
dave said:

Can't stand the Fuzztones or Chesterfield Kings, in fact most 80s 'garage bands' just make me cringe. Didn't like new stuff 'til the Mummies/Gories for the most part.

Oh, and John, I'm with ya about the Childish thang. You could prolly make about 4 compilation LPs of related stuff, but jeez, enuff!

Cute, it's got that inept feel to the music, be good wit some Norton novelty stuff.

Love the video and the Super-8 look.

Not sure if this has proven you wrong mate, but wot a tune and band.

dave said:

I think most (but not all) music made since Bush stole the Presidency is crap, esp. in various punk genres. (It's just a handy reference point :D )

And yes, I would love to be proven wrong.

Been some killer metal, though.

I think most (but not all) music made since Bush stole the Presidency is crap, esp. in various punk genres. (It's just a handy reference point :D )

And yes, I would love to be proven wrong.

Been some killer metal, though.

First show - Pretty sure it was Madness at Melbourne's Festival Hall, must have been about 16 or 17. Probably 1980. I still remember the scary looking skinheads in their boots and braces and the totally hot woman wearing a clear plastic raincoat and nothing else.

First punk show - Dead Kennedys at Monash Uni. 1983 I think. They played with The Corpse Grinders. Awesome night. I still have a ticket stub.

Best Show - Where to start. I saw Lightning Bolt a few years ago. They played to a room of about 300 people. Perhaps the most powerful gig I have ever seen in 30+ years of live music. What about Nomeansno and DOA supported by Front End Loader. Ort any New Christs gig, especially the night they played Melbourne Uni with Exploding White Mice. Or feedtime, or The Cosmic Psychos, or the meanies, or Lubricated Goat in front of 25 people, or the Dirtbombs at Golden Plains or Off  two night ago  ............................................................   

Cheers again... for physical distro of LP, I'd recommend www.interpunk.com.

Yes, try to get up 300 copies of a slab of vinyl... then go for digital stream/download on the net (we can probably help ther if you want) worldwide.

In my opinion bands have to have huuuuge cred to sell many copies thru distro. Our BIG sellers (never more than 1000 printed) has sold like 70% at gigs, not thru distro.

But of course it's good to have a distro back when people ask in record stores...

Feel free to PM us here or at info at zorchproductions.com & we can try help...

Cheers / ToBBA Z

Nice one. I think vinyl with download is the way to go these days. I seem to move a lot of unknown bands for OS here in Australia. It is expensive but 300 ain't a bad number. There's plenty of small distro's on the net you can approach.

All right all you garagepunk aficionados. My question is this. I just finished recording a rip your face off garagepunk session with the dRIVIN bEATS and I want to know what is the best format to release this monster upon the world?

Vinal; Coolest method but costly and how many pieces can I expect to sell?

CD; not as cool as vinal but cheeper and I ain’t no dady Warbucks if you know what I mean?

MP3 release; not cool at all and doesn’t make an impact visually but cheep?

I know this is a question that everyone is wrestling with these days.

What say you?   

I still need to get mine someday...

There is a special drum clamp that on one end you attach it to the tambourine and the other attaches to the kick drum. when the beater strikes the head the tambourine sounds just slightly behind the beat. I've played as a one man band for years and this method really fills out your sound.

Drew Starr said:

You just clamp it to the kick drum. When the beater hits the head it will cause the tambourine to do its thing.

Gonzo said:

How does he actually attatch it though ? Just a simple fix of duct tape ? I've only seen him once and never got close enough to see how exactly it's seated.

Kendal Killjoy said:

Desperate twisters is right about BBQ. But if its for home recording and not live playing live I recommend just overdubbing the tambourine separate cuz sometimes I want tambourine on off beat instead, plus with the BBQ method the tamb can tend to get slightly off n really muck up your rhythm and since it is so high frequency it will be super obvious. Hey, mark sultan overdubs so I don't feel it breaks any rules. For an example of a tambourine being off the ENTIRE song check out kk @ BBQ's "love you so" from the s/t release. Awesome track but goddamn is that tambourine on its own rhythm!

That is fucking awesome news. Bring it on

Yes! the In The Red - "coming soon" is just not enough.

I WANT! I WANT! I WANT IT NOWWWW!!!

These are all I have in my car at the moment. Have come across so many great bands ie - The Amputees & some where I've been reminded that I need more of their catalogue ie - The Bloody Hollies.

It's sad when independent labels go bust. I always thought the name and logo were a bit silly, but it was a good reflection of the bands and general sound of the day.

Gotta say, as much as my tastes have changed, I still consider OpIvy to be one of my favorite bands. They were the gateway to better music for me. Lookout! may have been dormant for a while, but still sad to see them go for good. Unfortunate.

Show #407: "R.I.P. 2012, Part 3 of 4"

This week (plus the last 2 weeks, and the following week) is my annual "R.I.P." show, where I pay tribute to all the musicians/artists/singers who died in the past year. I will play a track and give a brief bio on each artist featured as a tribute. This is PART THREE of FOUR shows. I'll be covering 130 total artists of the 50's, 60's and 70's who died in the year 2012, in a four part show. I will be playing music chronologically by the artist's death and tonight's show covers May through September of 2012. So, tune in tonight and learn about the musicians and singers who died in the end of spring into the summer of 2012, hear their story, and hear their music. Tonight you can hear music by: Hawkwind, The Platters, Head West, The Yellow Balloon, Kevin Ayers & The Whole World, Kitty Wells, Deep Purple, Boffalongo, Zoot, Los Shakers, Raven, Jimmy Jones, The Duprees, Killing Floor, Scott McKenzie, The Poets, Joe South, The McGuire Sisters, Sir Douglas Quintet, and many others!

***To stream The Metaphysical Circus live via the web click this link: http://portsmouthcommunityradio.org/listen ... to listen to past shows, view playlists and more, fan the show on facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Metaphysical ... ref=stream
Live every Friday night at 10pm to 1am EST on WSCA-LP 106.1 FM, Portsmouth Community Radio!

Watch my playlist unravel before your eyes LIVE here: http://wscafm.radioactivity.fm/

Egg

Would HIGHLY recommend Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, a great stoner band from the UK. Very inspired by Black Sabbath but are able to hold their own without ripping them off. These are off their debut LP which is a concept album about a sadistic priest who has an affection for hunting and torturing witches, pretty heavy stuff. 

Off the new album. Stunnah!