Radio What Wave Playlist May 5/2016 All Canadian 80's/90's Garage Special
1. The Gruesomes....What Wave....from Mr Garager's Neighbourhood LP, OG Records 1989. We're starting the show with a spotlight on The Gruesomes as they are playing this friday in Montreal and Saturday in Montreal. The Gruesomes started in the mid 80's, based in Montreal and are the band that the world associates the Canadian garage music scene with. Hugely popular in their lifespan, they managed to cross Canada many times, topped the college radio charts from shore to shore and release many records that are still in demand to this day. This particular track was a surprise to us, as we were compiling this LP and had no idea The Gruesomes were submitting it! It was their way of paying tribute to What Wave for all the times they stayed over at our place, eating our food, playing our records, watching our video tapes and just hanging out having fun! They were real easy house guests!
2. The Gruesome.....Medication....recorded live at Station 10, Montreal 5/9/1986. Very early live recording to give you an idea of their early live sound....although it really didn't change a lot over the year, just got tighter with the addition of drummer John 'Jed' Knoll and lots of live shows.
3. The Gruesomes.... Jack The Ripper 1....from their 7" on Primitive Records. It's been re-ished in Greece in the last couple of years.
4. The Gruesomes....Jack The Ripper 2... as above.
5. The Gruesomes....Get Outta My Hair....from their first LP, The Tyrants Of Teen Trash on OG Records from 1986. Their debut longplayer and has since been released on CD on Ricochet Sound and is still in print.
6. The Gruesomes...Way Down Below....from their second LP Gruesomania on OG Records from 1987. This was the first LP to feature long time drummer John 'Jed' Knoll who replaced original drummer Eric Davis. Eric is the brother of bass player John Davis.
7. The Gruesomes....Unchain My Heart....from the Primitive 12" EP.
8. The Gruesomes.... Hey....from the Gruesomes third and final LP, Hey. This one had a corny video that got lots of play on Much Music (Canada's version of MTV) and lots of radio airplay and was a constant request at live shows. A fun and catchy tune that was perfect for the band!
9. The Gruesomes....3 Men 1 Coffin....from the A-Billy 7" EP that came with What Wave zine 18 and was also featured on the cassette Live In Hell that you could get at live shows. The live recording was done in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Canada's east coast and many many people claim to have been at this particular show!. This song was also featured on the Sundazed compilation CD Gruesomology 1985-1989 which came out in 2003. The Gruesomes were one of the very few 80's garage combos to have a release on Sundazed, one of the best labels for 60's re-issues.
10. The Gruesomes....Cry In The Night....recorded live at Key West, London Ontario 1/11/1987. This was the very first Gruesomes show here in London Ontario and was on a sunday night in the dead of winter. We were really concerned that few would come out, as The Gruesomes were fairly new and pretty much unknown around here except at WW HQ's. But those concerns were tossed aside when we showed up and the place was packed with people eager to see what all the hype was about! And The Gruesomes proceeded to tear the house down and played well over 2 hours that night! The first of many visits to London Ontario! They placed Key West once about a year later, and after that it was Call The Office with kids packed in like sardines for the dozen or more shows they played here.
11. The Gruesomes....I Try....from Thee Cave Comes Alive, Action Records, 2004 from Greece. This is a vinyl LP of tracks that were on the cassettes that came with What Wave zine. The tracks were picked out by George Rigas, who arranged to have the record released. This was per-facebook and in the early days of internet communication so it took a couple of years to find the bands and put this thing together! Well worth it, as the final product featured some of the finest garage combos of the mid 80's/early 90's.
12. The Gruesomes....Cave In....from the CD of the same name released 2000 on Tyrant Records.
13. The Gruesomes....You Gotta Believe.... as above. All The Gruesomes material is available on CD from Ricochet Sound in Montreal. There's lots of bonus tracks and liner notes with all the gory details.
14. Drums Along The Gardiner...Nuclear Plant....from Disgraceland, the cassette that came with What Wave zine #15. Drums Along The Gardiner were a late 80's garagepunk combo from Toronto that mixed a lot of late 70's punk into their sound, something that few were doing back in this time. They are re-uniting next thursday, May 12th at The Garrison in Toronto for one night only.
15. Drums Along The Gardiner....Fish....from their one and only 7" record.
16. Drums Along The Gardiner....Speedin' In The USA.....from Baloney Sandwich, the cassette that came with What Wave zine #19. Drums Along The Gardiner played London a number of times, at the Key West a couple of times, the Brunswick and finally at Call The Office and had a bit of a following here.
17. Drums Along The Gardiner....75...the other side of their only 7".
18. Drums Along The Gardiner...Cincinnatti Blues....from a demo cassette they sent us back in the late 80's.
19. Drums Along The Gardiner,,,,Vagabonds....from Mr Garager's Neighbourhood on OG Records from 1989 as mentioned at the very beginning of this track list.
20. The Dundrells....Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White....recorded live at the El Mocambo in Toronto 5/2/1986 when they were opening for The Fleshtones. This was the first time we saw The Dundrells and they put on a great show that night! The Dundrells will be re-uniting on Sunday May 15th at the Horseshoe in Toronto for Derek Von Essen's book release party for No Flash Please!, a book of monochrome pics of the Toronto scene from 1987 to 1992. There's also text, by former CHRW Music Director Phil Saunders. Derek is an excellent photographer and this book will be well worth picking up for fans of that era.
21. The Dundrells....Mr Nasty....from the compilation LP It Came From Canada Volume 2, a series of 5 LP's that chronicled the best of the independent Canadian music scene of the time period. OG Records released this series and it did really well on the Canadian college music charts, exposing many to what was happening across Canada.
22. The Dundrells...Girl, It's OK.....from their cassette release and a live version of this song was on a What Wave cassette called Live In London. Great catchy chorus on this one!
23. The Dundrells....Nothing On TV....their first 7" and a great power pop meets garage sound and one of those songs that coulda and shoulda made the AM radio charts back then!
24. The Dundrells....Sock It To Me....from their second 7" and a move towards funk/soul somewhat like The Fleshtones were doing.
25. The Dundrells....Hurt By Love...from the compilation LP For No Apparent Reason which featured almost all Toronto bands. The Dundrells were from Toronto and were around in the early to late 80's and had a fairly large Toronto fanbase. They came to London several times and played at the Key West Cafe which was on the west side of Talbot St, between King and York on the second floor.
26. The Beaumonts....She Treats Me Right....from the compilation CD, Time Machine on Stomp Records from 1996. Early 80's combo of which some members formed The Cheshyres in Toronto in the mid 80's. This particular CD, is a really good compilation of what was happening in the Canadian garage music scene in the 80's to early 90's.
27. 10 Commandments....Not True....also from the Time Machine CD. 10 Commandments were based in Toronto, released several singles and LP's and appeared on many compilations. They were probably the first Toronto 80's band to immerse themselves in 60's garage sounds! Singer James Booth went on to CBC Canada as a producer and behind the scenes guy.
28. The Cheshyres....Too Many Women....also from the Time Machine compilation CD. Toronto based and only appeared on compilations during their life time. Drummer Ken Anderson moved to NYC and appeared in Optic Nerve and later the Ultra 5 and is presently in a folk duo with his wife and travels the world. Singer Wayne Pattern moved to London and joined the band the Evil Hoodoos whom we'll hear later on this episode.
29. The Enigmas....Windshield Wiper....from the Strangely Wild EP and from Vancouver. They released one other EP and also appeared on several compilations.
30. Terminal Sunglasses...Antenna Dilemma...from the LP Wrap Around Cool on OG Records from 1985. From Montreal and broke up not long after the LP was released as one of the members had problems with smoke in the bars where they played. This LP is set to be re-issued on pink vinyl sometime this summer. Guitarist Chris Burns still plays in bands to this day.
31. UIC....2 Plus 2....from It Came From Canada Volume 1. UIC were originally from Exeter, a small town just north of London Ontario. They moved to Toronto and did really well for themselves, released a couple of LP's and appearing on many compilations. They reformed at the Mike Star tribute show last month and blew the roof off the place as they sounded so GREAT!! It was like stepping back into a time machine pointed at 1987 as the boys haven't lost anything since those days. They're slated to play Toronto and London sometime late this summer, a show NOT to be missed!!
32. Electric Roaches....1 2 5....from a self released 7" and from Montreal. Don't know anything else about this one, except it's rather obscure.
33. Lost Patrol....No Escape....from a self released 7" and from Windsor Ontario. This combo started as a straight 60's garage combo, but with a few member changes and the addition of Karen Marrero on lead vocals, they moved towards a heavier sound mixed with lots of garage and soul. Karen had, and still has, one of the finest voices around these parts.
34. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet....Theme From TV...from one of their early 7" records. 3 piece instro combo who became big when one of their songs became the theme song for the hit TV series, Kids In The Hall! They released many singles, appeared on a ton of compilations and released a few LP's. Everything was collected on a box set for the last record store day. Live, these guys were really fun to see as you'd never know what they would play.
35. Legend Killers.....99th Floor....demo from 1986 and from London Ontario. These guys had the record of appearing on every compilation that we ever released! A record that can't be beat! They release a 7", cassettes, and later a CD and appeared on many compilations. For a while, they were the most popular band on the bar circuit here in London and you were guaranteed a good time at a Legend Killer show!
36. Boy From Nowhere.... Heart Full Of Soul....from Thee Cave Comes Alive LP from Greece on Action Records. Long time London Ontario band that played just about everywhere here in the city and only appeared on What Wave cassette compilations. They also played at our wedding (as did UIC and The 3D Invisibles) and in our basement and have been back playing together for several years. Check them out live if you get a chance as lately, they've added Jade on keyboards for a more 60's type of sound!
37. Flying Squad.....Paint It Black....recorded live in Oshawa Ontario. Another London band, this band was disliked by many as singer Tim could clear a room with his facial antics while singing. But if you just listened, you'd hear one of the best voices around and some really fine biker rock! Flying Squad released a 7", cassette and appeared on many compilations.
38. Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons.....Are You Really Gone?...from the 7" Four Whom The Bell Tolls that came free with What Wave 16 from 1988. 3 piece from London Ontario that featured Andrew Lewis on drums, who is now a world famous poster designer. Singer Tom Dumphy is a member of The Rizdales, a country outfit known throughout North America.
39. The Mongrols....Plastic Girl....also from the above record. Another local combo who originally went by The Ungone, but switched names for an unknown reason. Not to be confused with the other Mongrels, another local band from the present. The Mongrols appeared on several compilations.
40. Frankenstein 5....Feel It... from their cassette and also from London Ontario. Our only pure 60's garage combo here in London. They appeared on many compilations and even did a short tour of the Eastern United States before packing it in.
41. Broken Arrow.... You Ain't Trickin' Me....from the What Wave cassette Baloney Sandwich. Another local combo that featured at least one member of the Mongrols and played around town live a fair bit.
42...The Evil Hoodoos....Same All Over.....from a demo and another local combo here in London that featured a member or 2 of the Frankenstein 5 and Boy From Nowhere.
43. The Supreme Bagg Team....Crankin' With Elvis...from Mr Garager's Neighbourhood and also appeared on a What Wave cassette. These guys were from Toronto and played London at least once. They released a 7", LP and appeared on many compilations. This particular song is a fave of mine.
44. The Chessmen....Adventure....from their only LP released on Zapp Records and from Hamilton Ontario. The Chessmen played London a couple of times and hosted many of their own shows in Hamilton, bringing in out of town bands and creating a scene. They released this LP and appeared on many compilations. Drummer Mike White authored the recently released Popkiss book, the story of Sarah Records and also wrote for many publications.
45. Purple Toads.... Gonna Have A Good Time....from their first LP on Star Records and out of Oshawa Ontario. This song title summed up the Purple Toads as they always had a good time and opened for many of the bigger bands in Oshawa and Toronto. They played London countless times and released 2 LP's and appeared on many compilations.
Big Thanx for all the crazy phone calls tonite!!! And all those facebook messages, emails and Heys!!!! Glad to hear that some of you had as much fun listening as i had putting this sucker together!!! The 2.5 hours went by like nothing for me and brought back a ton more memories from those days!
Here's a link to the archived show:
https://chrwradio.ca/program/radio-what-wave