Flyer - Saturday December 12, 2010

School Jerks tour flyer

Death Sentence CD

In 2009 this label named Lazy B digitized “Not a Pretty Sight” and “Stop Killing Me” into a CD format. This is the Vancouver band and not the Australian name doppelganger. The band always had a DOA likeness to their sound, but those comparisons were largely because the singer, Pete Cleaver, sounded so much like Joey Shithead. It is uncanny. DEATH SENTENCE had a little heavier particularly on “Stop Killing Me”, but that material came out two years later after the band worked at getting bigger production.. As a result that material sounds like shit. But “Not a Pretty Sight” is incredible. We heard that record because Fringe licensed it in Toronto and as a result there were lots of copies around. As a result of this release I learned that it had originally come out on the band’s own label Undergrowth, which was the name of the band’s first demo. The opening track “Live to Die” reminds me of the BLACK DONNELLYS with the unrelenting build ups that just keep driving the song. And if I were to compare DEATH SENTENCE to anybody it would be DOA from the vocals, BLACK DONNELLYS from the pace and maybe some BAD BRAINS or GBH from a musical standpoint. One of Canada’s lesser known gems. Up there with bands like YYY and DIRECT ACTION. (Lazy B Records - #1, 650 West 6th Avenue / Vancouver B.C. / V5Z 1A5 / Canada)

Flyer - Friday December 11, 2009

Zine - EXD, Volume 9, Issue 5

Click to download a copy of the zine

Issue 5 features an interview with Haz Was from Mississauga. Mad skaters that play hardcore like back in the day. There is an old interview I did with Nomind back in 1987. And there are a couple of photos of Youth Youth Youth from their reunion show.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

click here for a MP3 version

We spoke with Andrew Cash, the guitarist and lead singer from L'Etranger. He spoke to us about their beginnings in Scarborough, namely through Neil McNeil school. He spoke to us about how the Mods and the Young Lions were local influences and bands like the Clash who were hugely important, which I think is obvious when you watch videos of Andrew play his guitar. He embodies Mick Jones and L'Etranger embody the sound and call to action through the bands lyrics and practises. We tried to fill in a history of the band through shows and releases and talked briefly about lyrics, tours, and how they funded "Innocent Hands". It was so great to hear someone begin to tell the story of L'Etranger, a band that I so admire. You can download an MP3 file of the show and below is a track listing for what was played during the show.

L'ETRANGER - Trail of Tears (Ground Zero)
Interview with Andrew Cash from L’Etranger
the CLASH - White Man in Hammersmith Palais (CBS )
Interview with Andrew Cash from L’Etranger
THE YOUNG LIONS - Things are Gonna Change (Schizophrenic)
Interview with Andrew Cash from L’Etranger
L'ETRANGER - Barricades (Ground Zero)
Interview with Andrew Cash from L’Etranger
L'ETRANGER – Today’s Papers (Ground Zero)
Interview with Andrew Cash from L’Etranger
L'ETRANGER - Wrestling with the nice stuff (Ground Zero)

Flyer - Saturday December 5, 2009