Flyer - Friday, May 31st, 1985

Sudden Impact headline a show at the DMZ. Terminal Rage from Don Mills open up and so does Slaughter who were a local metal band.

Sons of Ishmael "Hayseed Hardcore" ep

Original cover

Repressing

This was Sons of Ishmael's first release. It was self-released and recorded on May 26, 1985 at Accusonic. This is an amazing ep. Sons of Ishmael, Toronto’s all-boy hardcore punk band, emerged in 1985 from the town of Meaford, Ontario (population 4400) as a reaction to small-town decadence. In June of that year the band released a 13-song 7” entitled “Hayseed Hardcore” which gained them notoriety and rave reviews in such magazines as Thrasher and MaximumRocknRoll. The first pressing sold out in 3-months. The songs found on here are:

1. Small Town Mentality
2. Break Free!
3. "Democracy"
4. Mr. Personality
5. Governors of Death
6. Todays Victim: Tomorrows Aggressor

7. Parasites
8. Explanation
9. Social Drinker
10. Condemned to Live
11. Another Groovy Tune
12. Follow the Leader
13. Service to Your Country: End to Your Life

Release - SNFU "...And No One Else Wanted to Play" LP

This is SNFU's first album. This is no their first recording, but it is interesting that the band went straight into albums from comps. In Chris Walter's book "SNFU: ....And No One Else Wanted to Play" we learn that before seeing SNFU the Stern Brothers were aware of them because of a cassette titled "Life of a Bag Lady". So the Stern brothers from Youth Brigade would release this on their label BYO. The Stern Brothers were very involved in their releases which included the recordings so they had SNFU come down to L.A. to record at Track Records. Shawn Stern would produce what would become a landmark record for the band. SNFU trusted them because Youth Brigade had already recorded and as a consequence had some experience in the studio. In relation to the "Life of a Bag Lady" recording the songs on this album were a step removed from the short, fasts bursts on the comps, although it was more in keeping with what was on the "Something to believe In" comp.

Chris Walter's writes "The first track, 'Broken Toy,' with its fast / slow bridge, is a blueprint for the songs to follow, and sets a pace that never flags. fast but not too fast, the album never loses its sense of melody, and a controlled but furious balance is retained throughout. the infectious 'Cannibal cafe' is a perfect example of that structured power, and highlights the band's ability to pen simple but instantly memorable music. Mike McDonald remembers when Ken was writing songs for the album. "I read the lyrics to Cannibal cafe before it was a whole song. that tune is based on the submarine sandwich place where ken and I ate lunch." perhaps Ken had some doubts as to the origin of the luncheon meat."

The title for the album comes from the first line of "Broken Toy", which worked perfectly with the artwork for the album cover of the little boy holding the hand grenade. Chris Walter provides an additional metaphor which applied to punks who experienced ostracization from their peers. This fit neatly into Ken's ability to write with double and triple entendres to many titles.

When SNFU was recording, they shared the studio with Slayer who were recording their "Hell Awaits" album. This was in December of 1984 and BYO would release the record in May of 1985.

The album cover was taken from a piece of artwork done by Diane Arbus. Jello Biafra warned the band that Diane's daughter, Doon, who managed her mom's estate after she committed suicide was very protective and had already made Sex Gang Children (who would later become Culture Club) remove LPs from stores with her mom's artwork on them. On repressing the record the band initially hired a friend named Jah Rick to draw a pointillism version of the photograph. The Stern Brothers were concerned that the artwork was too close to the original, but the printd a batch anyway uner the name Better Youth Canada (BYC) to protevct them from any legal challenges. This version was only available in canada and only for one pressing. SNFU would send another cover with a gory Christmas scene incorporating a severed head of the image by Diane Arbus. Another friend, Al Wanock, drew a cover of the same little kid riding a train which was in red ink and was used for Southern Studios in the UK. The last artwork was of an illustration of a family with the kid holding a gun.

The songs on this release are:

1. Broken Toy

2. She's Not on the Menu

3. Money Matters

4. I'm Real Scared

5. Joyride

6. Seein' Life Through the Bottom of a Bottle

7. Cannibal Cafe

8. Misfortune

9. Plastic Surgery Kept her Beautiful

10. The Gravedigger

11. Bodies in the Wall

12. Get Off Your Ass

13. Loser at Life / Loser at Death

14. This is the End

Flyer - Friday May 24, 1985

Flyer - Saturday May 19, 1985

Various Artists "A Message from Camp Sunshine" tape

Even more Chronic Submissions songs from the "Sick of Reality" tape apeared on this comp. Once again it is an international comp, once again they are the sole representative from North America and once again they appear with Anti/Dogmatikss from Barcelona. Tim Yohannon describes the comp as "An international comp tape inspired by Chris of BCT. This effort covers a bit of Spain, England, Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Holland. Represented are ANTI-DOGMATIKSS, MANIACS, CHRONIC SUBMISSION, RÖVSVETT, CERESIT 81, POST-MORTEM, BLACK VAMPIRE, ANTI-HEROES, AD NAUSEUM, FIEND, and BLUTTAT. Good sound quality. More comps to come."(from Maximum Rocknroll #29, October 1985). Here are the contributors:

1. Anti/Dogmatikss - El modelo de Español
2. Maniacs - Violence
3. Maniacs - Grenada Today (Tomorrow the World)
4. Chronic Submission - Chronic Submission
5. Rövsvett - Makt
6. Rövsvett - Heroin
7. Ceresit 81 - Pancho
8. Post Mortem - Asylum
9. Black Vampire - Nothing Else to Do
10. Black Vampire - Virgins Blood
11. Anti-Heroes - All We Want
12. Funeral Oration - Hell-age
13. Ad Nauseam - Who Are You
14. Ad Nauseam - Nausea
15. The Fiend - Weird Boy
16. Bluttat - The Grass
17. Anti-Heroes - Media Control
18. Chronic Submission - Modern Hell
19. Chronic Submission - Bad Trip
20. Black Vampire - Family Disaster
21. Post Mortem - In for the Kill
22. Post Mortem - TV
23. Rövsvett - Oskyldiga människor
24. Funeral Oration - Kill Kill
25. Funeral Oration - Sacrificed
26. Maniacs - Victim of the Night
27. Anti/Dogmatikss - Anti USA
28. Anti/Dogmatikss - Campos de cruces
29. Ad Nauseam - Ain't Gonna Be No Peace
30. Ceresit 81 - Kraft durch bier
31. Ceresit 81 - Korn
32. The Fiend - IRA

The tape was released by Red Mist tapes.

Saturday, May 11, 1985

Flyer - Friday May 10, 1985

MRR Review - DOA "John Peel Sessions" 12"

Tim Yohannon wrote this review for MRR of the DOA 12". This appeared in issue #23, which came out in March 1985. Click on image to enlarge it to a readable size. Thanks to Operation Pheonix Records for doing the PDF archives of the early issues of MRR.

Asexuals interview in MRR

The Asexuals write about touring down the east coast of the US. This appeared in MRR #25, May-June 1985. Click to enlarge to a readable size.