Zine - Schrik # 2

Schrik is a Toronto zine pulled together by Deanna and this issue came out in September 1981. The issue starts out with an editorial which explains why a local band named FATAL K.O. would move to Vancouver. Later there is a review section that hypes the "Vancouver Independence" compilation. There is also a great scene report disguised as a gossip column. There is an article that explains what fanzines are. There is a bio piece on a band from Edinburgh called Another Pretty Face and posthumous one on the Mods. This zine also has the first interview that I ever read about the Young Lions. There is a part 2 of an interview with L'Etranger. there is a show review of Stiff Little Fingers and one of the Viletones during their rockabilly phase. there was also an interview with someone trying to make a film around the Young Lions. And there is a section on self-publishing authors from Toronto like Stuart Ross and Crad Kilodney. Thanks to Dhaibid James for loaning us this so we could scan it.

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. 

Flyer - Thursday, September 24, 1981

Slander - "Hemi-Conscious" LP

SLANDER represent part of Hamilton’s unwritten past. And it is kind of crazy because they were one of a few bands to get a full length out back in 1981. That is a feat unto itself. But they had a lot of other things stacked against them. They weren’t entirely well liked among their peers. There was an animosity that existed between some members and TEENAGE HEAD. And yet somehow they incorporate part of the TEENAGE HEAD sound, which makes me think that there is something in that Hamilton harbour water. Songs like “No Place to Go” exhibit the bands shared love for 50’s rock ‘n roll, which was a big signature on TEENAGE HEAD’s sound. And this is not the only band’s cover. They do a Neil Diamond song that was originally written for the Monkees in “I’m a Believer”. They cover “House of the Rising Sun” by the ANIMALS. They even did a cover of the BEATLES “8 Days a Week” which in an era where the Viletones chanted “No More Beatles, No More Stones, We want the Viletones” was a pretty ballsy thing to do. Either that or stupid. The band also displays a FORGOTTEN REBELS sound which makes sense given that the key guitar player was originally in the REBELS. But there is also lots of Johnny Rotten inflections in the lyrics like “I want you’re woman to be free”. There was 5,000 of these pressed and the members never saw a dime. This is the age old story within the music industry. It’s just that this guy Bill McDowell wasn’t industry. He may have had money but he didn’t have the record industry apparatus around him. That didn’t stop him from being a dick to this band. Seems like management was a curse in this instance and so many others. But there was a record that did come out. And North Shore Records was named after the posh area of Burlington that Bill was from. And there are some great originals like “Jail-Bait” or the ode to Hamilton in “Rockin’ on Main Street”. A blog named "Girls from Tahiti" has a download of this out of press full length. The songs are:

1. Destination
2. Jail- bait

3. Good Thing
4. No Particular Place to Go
5. 8 Days a Week
6. I Need You
7. I Want Your Woman
8. Petticoat Junction
9. Rockin’ on Main Street
10. House of the Rising Sun
11. The Pigs
12. I’m a Believer
13. Upside Down
14. Ghetto
15. It’s Over

Flyer - Thursday September 17 - Saturday September 19, 1981

Thanks to Karen Jankulak for digging this one up.

Flyer - Saturday September 12, 1981

Here is a flyer for a Rock Against Racism benefit at 300 Bathurst Street. The Young Lions played with UK Reggae artist Horace Faith for a Punky Reggae Party.

Zine - Civil Disobedience

 

Civil Disobedience is a Toronto punk fanzine. This might be an earlier issue, but it came out after August 6th, 1981 because there is a reference to a Globe and Mail article, which was the inspiration behind a piece on nuclear war.

- This issue starts out with a collage on a Poison Girls song;

- There is another collage piece critiquing gender roles as related to masculinity;

- There is a review critiquing the film "D.O.A.";

- There is a collage on TVs;

- There is a collage for the Dead Kennedys song "Holidays in Cambodia"; and

- The back cover is a collage of headlines with the questions about why more people aren't punks given how crappy the world is.

You can download a copy of this issue here.