Flyer - Saturday December 31, 1988

The bass player, Alisdiar Jones, made this flyer. Other flyers can be viewed at http://homepage.mac.com/alisdairjones/PhotoAlbum85.html.

Flyer - Friday December 30, 1988

Flyer - Saturday December 17, 1988

This flyer was sent to us via Ian Hart.

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 - Sunday, December 11th, 1988

The Doughboys were supporting the "Whatever" recording. Courtesy of Noxious Art archives.

Fail-Safe info sheet

Fail-Safe "Get-Lost"

This was a T-Shirt design.

Flyer - Friday December 2, 1988

Zine - Rear Garde #28

Rear Garde from December 1988. This was issue 28 and featured interviews with All, the False Prophets, Adrian Sherwood, Butthole Surfers, Sham 69, Stratejackets, Jr. Gone Wild, Chris Spedding, the Look People, the Band of Susans and Death Angel. There are scene reports on Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, music reviews and other column writing.