Radio - Sunday, February 28th, 2021

Tonight's show is part of a series on the early Toronto hardcore scene named after the book "Tomorrow is Too Late". Tonight we look at one of Toronto's second wave promoters - Don Lebeuf, better known as Reuben Kincaide Productions. 

His primary responsibility was to help HYPE. But soon he took NEGATIVE GAIN under his wing. And then the RHYTHM PIGS adopted him as their tour manager. 

He brought so many great bands to town. And he gave so many local bands a chance to play. 

Unlike other cities where there was a love/hate relationship with promoters, there was only love for Don. So much so that when he took a bath on the Brigade show, bands rallied and put together a fundraiser. Unheard of. 

He became a regular contributor to Pirates of Doom fanzine with a regular column called  Reuben's Ramblings. He also contributed to One Solution and Maximumrocknroll (Berkeley). 

He had a lot of stories about bands, the scene and how things evolved in the scene.

You can download the show here.

Here is the playlist to go with the interview:

HYPE - It's all Hype (Reuben Kincaide Productions)
Interview
THE CLASH - London Calling (Epic / CBS)
Interview
STRETCH MARKS - Foreign Policy (BYO)
Interview
NEGATIVE GAIN - My Old Man (Pusmort)
Interview
SNFU - Get Off Your Ass (BYO)
Interview
HYPE - I Wanna be Neil (Reuben Kincaide Productions)
Interview
ADRENALIN O.D. - Suburbia (Buy Our / Psychic Volt / Beer City)
Interview
HYPE - Real Eyes (Fringe Product)
Interview
HYPE - Wipeout (Fringe Product)
Interview
7 SECONDS - Walk Together, Rock Together
Interview
HYPE - Free Trade (Fringe Product)
Interview
HYPE - Burned (Fringe Product)

Radio - Sunday, August 30th, 2020

Bruce La Bruce is an important name in the Toronto hardcore scene. He is mostly known for his filmaking. He was one of the first people to mix hardcore punk with LGBTQ footage. One film constantly referred to is “No Skin Off My Ass”. When he was first learning his craft he hung out and lived with FIFTH COLUMN and became a go go dancer for them and appeared on some of their recordings like “The Fairview Mall Story” which will feature in this interview. He did a zine called J.D.'s. He played drums in ZuZu’s Petals. He helped coin the term “Homocore”. He wrote a LGBTQ manifesto called “Don’t be Gay” that appeared in April issue of Maximumrocknroll in 1989. He did many films featuring some amazing people in the hardcore scene. In an interview that we did in 2018 for the book “Tomorrow is Too Late” Bruce takes us through the back stories of all these projects and fills us in on a whole lot more about the punk scene back then. This is the latest installment in the feature series on the early hardcore scene in Toronto called “Tomorrow is Too Late” with a look into Bruce La Bruce. Download and MP3 here.

ANGRY SAMOANS - Homo-Sexual (Bad Trip)

BRUCE LA BRUCE - Interview (CIUT)

FIFTH COLUMN - The Fairview Mall Story (Hide)

BRUCE LA BRUCE - Interview (CIUT)

SUBHUMANS - Slave to My Dick (Quintessence)

BRUCE LA BRUCE - Interview (CIUT)

MDC - Chicken Squawk (R Radical)

BRUCE LA BRUCE - Interview (CIUT)

SCREECHING WEASEL - I Wanna Be a Homosexual (Shred of Dignity)

BRUCE LA BRUCE - Interview (CIUT)

BEEFEATER - Fred's Song (Dischord)

BRUCE LA BRUCE - Interview (CIUT)

NIP DRIVERS - Nips Get Pissed (New Alliance)

BRUCE LA BRUCE - Interview (CIUT)

OPERATION IVY - One of These Days (Lookout!)

Bruce has a new movie called "Saint-Narcisse" that will be world premiering at the Venice Film Festival on September 11th. 

Radio - Sunday, May 10th, 2020

DIRECT ACTION were one of the most important hardcore bands to come out of Toronto. They inspired almost everybody in that early scene. Everyone we spoke to had a story about DIRECT ACTION. People talked about how loud they were, how heavy they were and how righteous they were from a political standpoint. They encompassed everything from sound to lyrics to looks. They were everything. DIRECT ACTION were Toronto's answer to DISCHARGE except they wrote songs that expressed themselves in songs longer than a haiku. DIRECT ACTION released a demo and an LP. Their tape was booted after they broke up and has been officially released by Schizophrenic Records. We spoke to Dave, Buzz and Mike (Three guys on the right in the picture above) three years back for the making of the book, "Tomorrow is Too Late". You can listen to this interview on the player above or download the show to listen on a device here. 

DIRECT ACTION - Direct Action (Schizophrenic)
DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)
THE UNKNOWNS - Teenage Terrorist (Punk History Canada / Stumble)
DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)
DIRECT ACTION - P.C.P. (Schizophrenic)
DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)
DIRECT ACTION - I Like Speed (Schizophrenic)

DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)

DIRECT ACTION - U.X.B. (NRK)

DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)

DIRECT ACTION - Angels of Death (Schizophrenic)
DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)

DIRECT ACTION - 19 A.D. 4 (Schizophrenic)

DIRECT ACTION - Liberty (Schizophrenic)

DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)
DIRECT ACTION - Living Dead (Schizophrenic)
DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)
DIRECT ACTION - Hate Generation (Schizophrenic)
DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)
DIRECT ACTION - Trapped in a World (Schizoprhenic)
DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)
DIRECT ACTION - One Tin Soldier (Schizophrenic)
DIRECT ACTION - Interview (CIUT)
DIRECT ACTION - Tomorrow is Too Late (Schizoprhenic)

Thanks to Derek Emerson for helping with the coordination and interjecting with important questions that were getting skipped over AND Shawn Chirrey for the sound engineering and real time fact checking while the interview was in progress. And then the hours of de-briefs while we tried to make sense out of what we just learned. Thanks to Darrin for sharing the photo above. 

References:

• A Number of flyers and reviews used for this interview have been posted on our facebook acount under a photo album called "Direct Action";
• Direct Action "Tomorrow is Too Late - 1984 Tape" LP.

Radio - Sunday, February 2nd, 2020

Still Thinking was initially a zine that published three issues and then became a label that put out two releases. And although that doesn't sound like much there was a lot of unique things about this zine and label. The zine was the combined efforts of some regular and one off contributors which evolved around these kids who went to the same high school in Port Credit. I interviewed Shawn Chirrey (Tomorrow is Too Late) and Vik Adhopia (CBC radio reporter) who were two of the main contributors about the issues and the interviews that appeared in them. Vik worked at the school's yearbook and brought his early journalism and layout skills to the zine. And Shawn had a familial hook up to a printer and the zine was a four page saddlle stiched booklet that made the zine looked pretty professional. The zine stood out not only for their looks but for their coverage which was a mix of hardcore, industrial, metal, and other sounds that made up the alternative scene at the time. Then we talk about the label departure which started out with a local compilation that doubled as a benefit for Nicaragua. And finally the North American licensing of the Heresy "Face Up To It" LP that was not exclusive and basically sunk the label. A music playlist gets developed around our conversations that was not what I expected. Here is their story. 

DESCENDENTS - Suburban Home (SST)  
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
THE CURSE - Shoeshine Boy (Hi Fi)
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
7 SECONDS - Walk Together, Rock Together (BYO / Positive Force)
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
HYPE - It's All Hype (Reuben Kincaide)
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
THE CRUCIFUCKS - Hinkley Had a Vision (Alternative Tentacles)
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY - Technocracy (Death / Combat Core / Fringe / Metal Blade)
DIRTY ROTTEN IMBECILES - I Don't Need Society (Death / Enigma)
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
DAYGLO ABORTIONS - Religious Bumfucks (Fringe / Toxic Shock / God / Beer City / Unrest)
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
SONS OF ISHMAEL - Slow Children Playing (Still Thinking)
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
MINUTEMEN - The Only Minority (SST)
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
DAG NASTY - One to two (Dischord)
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
DEZERTER - Ku Przyszlosci (MRR)
Still Thinking interview (CIUT)
HERESY - Network of Friends (Still Thinking)
NUNFUCKERS - Be yourself (Still Thinking)

Shawn has been involved in a lot of important things in Toronto which are too numerous to mention here, but involve vegetarian stores, public health and the Tomorrow is Too Late book. And Vik does some important reporting on CBC radio  and tries to work in band lyrics into his headlines so if you catch his stories play name that tune with him.

Radio - Sunday, September 1st, 2019

Tonight's show is the third band in the Tomorrow is Too Late series, which is the radio interviews from the early Toronto hardcore bands that were conducted for the book by the same name. Tonight's band is Micro Edge, Toronto's first skate-core band. They shredded in a way that those early skate bands did (think JFA). They wrote one of the most memorable songs from the era called "(So You Think You're) Hardcore, eh", which is where we start this interview. The song appeared on the limited edition compilation that came with the first pressing of the book. But all of us wanted to see that song come out on vinyl. 

I had interviewed the band once before back when Sudden Impact did a reunion show at our old studio. The interview was lost and consequently never aired. It was one of my biggest regrets. So when they agreed to take a chance again and do this do over, I was super grateful. 

We get talking about how the band got into punk and skating and how the two things intertwined. Reminiscing about the early days of skateboarding reliving the spirit of skaters and that can do spirit, and developing their own culture with a zine that Dave put out called "Bong Out". "Bong Out" had interviews., show reviews, skate shots, and raditorials. I am going to put some pictures of the issues that Dave shared with us on the Facebook page under a Micro Edge photo album. They play with S.C.U.M. who were skaters. They skate with JFA. Reid's editorial and artwork, Dwayne skating shots, reviews of a lot of early shows in Toronto - it's a fantastic time capsule. 

In the interview we talk about some iconic shows in Toronto's hardcore history. We start out by talking about the Circle Jerks for shows in Toronto which included their gig at the Bev under the Spankin' Monkeys. The Dead Kennedys gigs at the Concert Hall were paradigm shifting in terms of the punk scene at the time. Their first gig at the Wexford Battle of the Bands with Boris sporting a mohawk (see right). They talk about Quarantine's all ages matinees. They opened for the F.U.'s from Boston which gets covered in Bong Out. DRI and JFA slept on Boris' kitchen floor. JFA skated the parking garages in Kensington Market. They got to play Start Dancing and saw some of the shows at the Desh Bhaget which is the hall that Start Dancing broke in.  

Micro Edge spend some talking about the scene back then. Getting to see Teenage Head at the Wexford school dance had an impression on Boris. They shared a practice space with YYY and NJF after losing Dave's dad's basement. Dave meets Brian Taylor by chance at the York Mills subway station and wind up being gifted a "Why Pay More" demo which becomes a fought over prized possession. Chronic Submission's association with the skinhead scene. The importance of the Record Peddler on finding out about music, finding out about shows, and meeting people. And the Young Lions who had the Garage, supported Rock Against Racism, and set the groundwork for this scene.

You can download the show here. Download the full interview here. Pick up their LP through Ugly Pop. The playlist looks like this:

MICRO EDGE - (So you think you're) Hardcore, eh? (Ugly Pop)
MICRO EDGE - Attitudes, Feelings and Ideas (Ugly Pop)
MICRO EDGE - United We Skate (Ugly Pop)
MICRO EDGE - Energy through Noise (Ugly Pop)
SUDDEN IMPACT - Bent OK (Marquee)
MICRO EDGE - School (Ugly Pop)

MICRO EDGE - Livin' After Midnight (Ugly Pop)
MICRO EDGE - Louie Louie (Ugly Pop)
MICRO EDGE - Assholes (Ugly Pop)
MICRO EDGE - Untitled (Ugly Pop)

Flyer - Tuesday July 23rd, 2019

TONIGHT - at the Toronto Public Reference Library, Beeton Hall, 6:00pm start a live podcast with the folks behind the book Tomorrow is Too Late. Will be part of a live podcast called "Kreative Kontrol".

Radio - Sunday, June 2nd, 2019

Part two of the Tomorrow is Too Late series is More Stupid Initials, more commonly known as M.S.I. This is a band that was very close to me and by that I mean they were a group of kids that I got to hang out with. They were group of friends in the scene, so they mean a lot to me. But they also played an important part of the Toronto Hardcore scene. They were Toronto's first straight edge band, but they didn't sound like a typical straight edge band. As a result they caught a lot of people off guard. So we try and get at the essence of this band decades later. Tim, Paul, Derek and Glen were in on the interview. John couldn't make it. And this interview was editted and produced by Rob Ferraz for radio. Photos by Kim Glaholm. If you listen to these on an MP3 player here is a download for an MP3 file of the show. 

MORE STUPID INITIALS - You (Bring Your Own Bands / Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Forced Beliefs (Bring Your Own Bands / Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Army Mentality (Bring Your Own Bands / Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Back in Control (Bring Your Own Bands / Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Choke / Fighting for Nothing (Bring Your Own Bands / Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Choice (Bring Your Own Bands / Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Generic Straightedge Song (Bring Your Own Bands / Schizophrenic)

MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)

MORE STUPID INITIALS - Generic Straightedge Song (Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Addict (Bring Your Own Bands / Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Infection (Still Thinking / Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)

MORE STUPID INITIALS - The Border Song (Bucko-5 / Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)
MORE STUPID INITIALS -Rear View Mirror (Bucko-5 / Schizophrenic)
MORE STUPID INITIALS - Interview (CIUT)

Flyer - Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

Radio - Sunday, December 2nd, 2018

Back in October we aired part one of the Chronic Submission interview. Chronic Submission were the youngest band and some say the most devastating because many people underestimated them.  We finally get to air part 2 of an interview conducted for "Tomorrow is Too Late". We pick up talking about the "T.O. Hardcore '83" comp in detail and we end with looking at how punk impacted us in a lasting way. 

You can download the show here if you want to listen to it on your own device. Here is the playlist.

CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Cops Ain't Tops (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - GO4It (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - They're Fucked / I Hate Preppies (NRK)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)

CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Not At All (NRK / Schizophrenic)

CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)

CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Four Points (NRK / Schizophrenic)

CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)

CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Bad Trip (NRK / Schizophrenic)

CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)

CHRONIC SUBMISSION - World of Change (NRK / Schizophrenic)

L'AMOUR - The Edge (Beach Impediment)

NEIGHBORHOOD BRATS - Leaving Town (Taken by Surprise)

BETA BOYS - Laugh - Cry (Feel It)
BARRICADED SUSPECTS - Usurp (Self-Released)

DEMERIT - Modern Society War (Maybe Mars)
CONTRA - Fertile Mind (Self-Released)
CONVENIENCE - Invisible (Iron Lung)
C.H.E.W. - Patience (Iron Lung)

RASHOMON - Surrender (Iron Lung)
ROHT - Sama Um Pig (Iron Lung)
LEXICON - Isolation (Iron Lung)

Tired of Everything are a new hardcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina. They feature members of Salmonella, Mad Dog and Zipper and Will Butler who runs To Live a Lie Records. They play a style that Felix Von Havoc once described in a column as youth crew meeting crust and he called it youth crust. Tired of Everything falls in that fusion camp. Here is their demo “Silenced”.

TIRED OF EVERYTHING - Industry of Lies (To Live a Lie)
TIRED OF EVERYTHING - Eyesore (To Live a LIe)
TIRED OF EVERYTHING - Missing Stair (To Live a Lie)
TIRED OF EVERYTHING - Supremacy (To Live a Lie)

TIRED OF EVERYTHING - Mental Hell (To Live a Lie)

TIRED OF EVERYTHING - Silenced (To Live a Lie)

Radio - Sunday, October 14th, 2018

A book on Toronto's hardcore scene just came out last night called "Tomorrow is Too Late". To assist the book we carried out a number of interviews recorded at CIUT that will become part of a series by the same name. Tonight is the first in a series of these interviews with a band that stole the show, Chronic Submission. A story that repeated among many bands was a story about how everyone under estimated how good Chronic Submission. This had to do with how young they were. People thought of them as almost a novelty until they heard them play. Chronic Submission would slay everyone on the bill. At last night's gig I experienced what everyone said about the band. They destroyed last night's book launch gig. You can download the show here if you want to listen to it on your own device. Here is the playlist.

CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Chronic Submission (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Kill The Press (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Plastic Punk (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Streetcar Windows (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Psychopath (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - In Hiding and On the Run (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - I Hate Preppies (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Tight as a VIce (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Death Squads (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Cops Ain't Tops (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Kids Krime Kaos (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Urban Violence (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Nuclear Threat (NRK / Schizophrenic)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Interview (CIUT)
CHRONIC SUBMISSION - Take Action (NRK / Schizophrenic)

So last night was also the record release for "Empty Heads, Poison Darts", the band's second cassette.  You can order your copy at https://schizophrenicrecords.bigcartel.com. I think this might be a limited press so don't snooze on this. And Brian Taylor (NRK) has made "Sick of Reality" available on bandcamp. Also available is the legendary "T.O. Hardcopre '83" comp with other Chronics material. Visit this site as well to get the complete collection. You won't regret it.

For those interested in getting a copy of the booklet you can order in Canada at uxbpresscanada.bigcartel.com and in the US or internationally at uxbpress.bigcartel.com.