PERCHERON

Lonesome tales and the dark horse

photo and words by tiina liimu

When asked if these dark ballads are fact or fiction? “They are all factual,” answers the lead vocalist and guitarist-harmonica player Gordon Smith. Losing many friends and family early in life, “Everything from car accidents to suicides, homicides, drugs, booze, guns and the list goes on and on,” he recalls and “the name Percheron comes from a large breed of work horses my dad use to have a lot of them on our farm in Nova Scotia.” Growing up with a large family of six brothers and three sisters also provides much nourishment for material. “Percheron reminds me a lot of my dad so that was my main decision in the name,” he adds.

This beautiful yet melancholy music is indeed ridden with tragedy. “I found my father dead two days before my 20th birthday,” says Smith. “I have broken 26 bones in my body; been put in the hospital for 18 months one time; 324 staples put in my back to repair a fully-transected bronchial tube after being thrown from a car into a tree then crushed in-between the car and tree.”

Percheron is another large family graced with gifted members from many shared and very different musical projects. Gordon Smith and guitarist vocalist Brock MacInnes both play with Tobeatic, Cooked and Eaten and Rotting Hills. Smith is also with the D-beat powered Erosion. Ainsleah Hastings is on vocals and Blake Bamford from Dire Wolves on banjo, guitar and vocals. Tegan Ceschi-Smith from Cornshed came on board through good friends and she plays fiddle and sings vocals. Tim Mathias on bass and vocals is also with The Harmonic Cosmonauts. Drummer, Joel Loewen from Tobeatic introduced Smith to Jacob Mullen on pedal steel. This diversity of heavy and roots brings much weight to the table. “I just show them the base of the song and lyrics and they just take it and go with it,” explains Smith. “They are all such amazing musicians and add so much to every song all of them and so much fun to work with.”

A self-titled 10-inch vinyl with five tracks is getting ready to release late May, early June. Some early cassette tapes were available with Sian MacLeod’s artwork. “We sold out of them in a couple shows,” says Smith. With a prolific working relationship, this project recorded, mixed and mastered by Jesse Gander at the Hive studios is the 28th album they have done together in eight years. A photo book has been compiled for the physical vinyl release and artwork is by Alexis Hogan, a complete package.

This lonesome magic can be experienced with upcoming shows May 3^rd in Sooke plus May 4th at Logan’s Pub and you can hear and purchase the self-titled digital release at their Bandcamp now.

DEPRESSING

nice guys finish worst

by Heath Fenton

 Some say that most heavy metal artists must have a split personality. Otherwise how can they be so evil and violent onstage but yet most are actually down-to-earth friendly people. A perfect example of this is Andrew Drury. Most notably Drury is the lead vocalist for local noise metal merchants Baptists. And if you’ve seen him perform live before you know that when he is onstage there is no audience member, venue equipment or full drink that is not in immediate danger. Known for violent ramblings and sudden outbursts, Drury is actually probably more of a threat to his own well being. But if you talk to the chap offstage, he is really soft-spoken and humble; a complete 360 from what you see up there. “I definitely don't consciously try to go crazy onstage or anything,” Drury speaks of his antics. “Heavy music has always just amped me up. It makes me want to circle pit and punch holes through things.” Sounds like a bunch of fun, don’t it?

 Drury has a new band on the side called Depressing where he plays guitar and sings. The music is fitting for the name. It’s got a sort of a down-and-dirty grunge metal vibe to it. It’s not at all sexy. Unless you’re into trench whores. All though a chipper young fellow in the flesh his lyrical approach is quite dismal. “I basically just write about whatever has been on my mind the most at that period of time.” Metal does tend to take people to bleak places but Drury explains, “I'm pretty sure that my lyrics would always be in the same vein regardless of the style of music.” And still, I can’t get him to admit that he is a nice guy. “Maybe you just happened to catch me at the right time,” Drury seems to sneer.

 Rounding out the Depressing line-up is Ryan on drums and Chuzzz on bass. They have a real DIY ethic to them so you won’t be seeing them around the Internet anytime soon. You can purchase their new record, Life Just Gets Worse, at one of their few and far between shows. Their Rickshaw show will be their first show in almost a year.

 So make sure to show up, witness the spectacle and judge for yourself just where nice guys finish. Depressing play the Rickshaw on May 26 with Barn Burner, Hopeleus, and Astrakhan.  

NO-SEE-UMS

too loud to stay in the garage

by MatthewYoudan

No See Ums have been called invisible, biting, and even annoying pests of the East Coast. Vancouver's band of the same name even has some affiliation for this term. “It’s slang for a little biting gnat,” says guitarist and songwriter Mike Roche. Yet they recently recorded a catchy, bombastic seven-song EP with Otic Sound's Joshua Stevenson, highlighting a year of insanely loud amps and heartfelt rock bravado from veteran rockers Alex Angel, Mike Roche, and Keytar Middlechilds.  

“This was going to be an acoustic dinner lounge project, but then Alex wanted to play drums,” Roche jokes, regarding their move from Vancouver's once infamous garage act Thee Manipulators. They immediately penned seven songs and searched for an adequate pianist to play keys, when they were put in touch with Middlechilds. Previously a bassist for the short-lived Vancouver punk act Trimesters, she found a stronger role musically as a key member in the swollen volume of No See Um's act.  

This three-piece garage act plays their songs in string busting three-minute blasts, sounding like the Oblivians, the Monks, or King Khan and the Shrines. Their live performances are ridiculously loud, sonically obliterating, a justification for bringing or buying earplugs. Roche, however, regards his songs as second-hand reworkings that have yet to be discovered. “All of our songs are going to come back and haunt us, because one day someone is going to say you've done this to a tee,” he regards with all earnestness. 

This project also sees Angel switching instruments, sitting behind the kit despite a reputation as guitarist and the rubber-faced centre of attention in Thee Manipulators. Their recent performances highlight his aptitude for insanely loud beatings and near trashing of house kits. “I didn't like all the attention from the girls, I wanted them to focus more on the music,” he comments. Roche chides in, “He's really looking forward to hauling around even more gear.” 

A highlight of their latest project was last years' billing at the Seattle's now defunct, but infamous, Funhouse. They reunited with Stevie Kicks, a former band mate of Angel's in the pop punk group New Town Animals. “We wanted to play before they closed, and Brian Foss gave us a coveted Saturday night to throw whatever bill we wanted,” Roche recalls. “The venue itself is going to be the subject of a Kickstarter-funded documentary.” 

This month they're making a brief appearance before embarking on releasing their self-titled EP. It's Alex's 40th birthday, but his girlfriend said he was just going to be at home eating soup, cites Roche about their next excursion. “I figured to throw piss in the wind and see what happened.” Thus, music biologists have reported that No-See-Ums have been discovered all over the Pacific Northwest.

However, No-See-Ums, the self-titled EP will be available for download this month here: http://noseeums.bandcamp.combandcamp

BLACK TUSK

there is something in the Savannah water and it’s tainted with metal 

by Heath Fenton

Every once and a while a vibrant music scene will emerge from some random city. More recently it has happened in cities such as Seattle, Montreal, and Detroit to name a few.  It’s not like these places needed to get put on the map, but the music scene they provided created a folklore of hipness amongst the music community.  The latest city to gain such steam is a most unlikely one.  The sleepy southern hollow of Savannah Georgia has been gathering speed in the underground metal world.  Black Tusk is one of the heads of the Savannah three-headed band monster also consisting of Baroness and Kylesa. Some buzz publications might have you believe that Savannah is the new place for bands to move to and live out your rock and roll dreams. Nothing could be further from the truth, stresses Black Tusk guitarist/vocalist Anton Fidler. “That has been a giant misconception.  Savannah barely even has a scene.  People seem to think that it’s us, Baroness and Kylesa playing every fucking weekend.  It’s not like that at all.  Savannah has an art college and there’s just a ton of hipster kids and they just want to listen to DJs and indie rock.”  In fact, Savannah doesn’t even have a record store. But whatever city council has been spiking the Savannah water supply with it has rubbed off the right way on a few.

Fidler and his Black Tusk band mates Jonathon Athon (bass/vocals) and Jamie May (drums/vocals) all formed on the same street.  They grew up through their formative years with some like-minded folk and eventually just started their own little metal scene through friends and hangers-on at a DIY venue called The Jinx.  If they were all to tour together and the bus crashed killing them all, the Savannah underground music scene would be wiped clean.  Black Tusk are so constantly lumped in with the other two Savannah bands that you’d think they’d get sick of the comparisons.  Although there is a similar Savannah sound steeped in a proggy sludge, the reality is that all three have unique characteristics to their sound.  Black Tusk is like the dirty ugly cousin.  “It’s like this,” explains Fidler, “we’re the Motörhead , Kylesa are the Pink Floyd and Baroness are the Led Zeppelin.”  An analogy I couldn’t agree with more.  With roots sprung from an early love of punk rock, Black Tusk can get it all on with crust, raunch, sludge and they hit hard. Fiddler goes on, “It’s sometimes a little bit of punk rock, sometimes a little bit of rock and roll and always heavy metal.

Black Tusk are currently touring their fourth album entitled Set the Dial, their debut for Relapse Records.   And they’ve been touring their ass off since 2006.  They will be returning to Vancity after just playing here a couple of months ago as one of the openers for the KEN mode/Todays the Day tour.
I was at the show and they absolutely pummelled the Rickshaw’s hard concrete walls. That was their first time in Canada for about three or four years, Fidler figures.  It’s the usual story of border problems that have steered Black Tusk away: “It’s definitely a hassle but once we’re across all the Canadian shows are awesome. Great enthusiastic crowds.” Fidler says about crossing the border last tour. “I was a little taken aback about spending 50 dollars on a 30-pack of beer. That was a little bit crazy.” But grouchy border guards and expensive beer aside, Black Tusk have nothing but good things to say about our fair country.

Black tusk play the Rickshaw theatre on May 5^th with Kvelertak and Burning Ghats.

SUBCULTURE

By wendythirteen

Some sad news to pass along.... Caleb Henyu-Crowchild passed away mid-April in his sleep... He was a strong supporter of the punk and metal music scene and rarely missed a gig.... To honour him as an exemplary single dad and raise some funds for his girls, we are having a couple of shows coming up in May.... The first one is his memorial show on Monday, May 6 featuring the Dayglo Abortions with Snaggletooth [Motörhead] and the Fight United... There will be a 50/50 draw and a donation box at the show... A second full fundraiser show is slated for Saturday, May 18 and is being co-organized with RC Guns and her band the Wett Stilettos... Both shows are at Funkys 37 West Hastings...

Deadlines... Something that both writers and booking coordinators have to deal with constantly... Sometimes when I bang out this column two weeks before the issue comes out, things shift in the scene.... It's the same with booking.... I can send the booking calendar to print for the month only to have it change within an hour.... Music is definitely a fluid business and dealing with humans, the variables in life events are endless.... That is why I always include the disclaimer at the bottom of the monthly that reads... 'all gigs subject to change shall be the whole of the law'... Waiting around for people to get back to you with full line-ups also makes things hairy... People just don't know that most advertising deadlines are two weeks in advance so you really need to have the line-ups set sooner than later for proper gig promotion...

So going around on Facebook today was an iPetition to save the Wise Hall.... Seriously, after 52 years of existence, is nothing sacred for the gentrificating NIMBY neighbourhood newbies...? I'm really sick of these cashed-up cultural purists that frown upon anything that doesn't suit their tastes .... Good old noise complaints are the bane of any live venue! What I don't understand is how nightclubs with droning booming bass wouldn't be more annoying?! Hey developer peeps! Go buy up some land on the West Side and slap up a complex of lofts and town homes over there.... Keep your modern urban living out of East Van!

Good news for the all ages scene... After years of hard work trying to find spaces to get kids off the streets and into live music, Safe Amp has finally secured a temporary space at Astorino's on the corner of Commercial Drive and Venables... If you are interested in playing there go to safeamp.org and fill out the booking form... Safe Amp also started a petition to change the archaic B.C. liquor laws that segregate minors from attending shows... It's thankfully getting a fair amount of press so I hope it helps the cause... I had the mom chaperone of a local underage metal band's member that was quite choked that the boys had to play and then leave courtesy of these rules over the weekend...

Hoping the City of Vancouver's restriction-lifting venue policy has made a change for the better for people trying to put on shows and create alternate spaces ... I am definitely seeing a resurgence of restaurant-disguised liquor spaces that are holding a lot of art themed 'cultural' events that include drinking and dancing ... I guess it's a start seeing  how those words 'drinking and dancing' in the same sentence were forbidden by the City just a couple of years ago... Bravo!! It's a start!!

CASUALTIES, DAYGLO ABORTIONS

Rickshaw Theatre

April 11, 2013

NYC Casualties launched off with “My Blood, My Life, Always Forward,” from their new LP Resistance. Front man Jorge led the pandemonium provoking punx to move beyond the barricades with songs from On The Front Line, For The Punx, Diehards, and Underground Army albums from 1997 onwards.

 Despite the fact that these streetpunks just released on metal label Season of the Mist, there was no shortage of a charged mosh at this show. Finishing off with ‘97 anthem "RIOT" and the words to “We Are All We Have Tonight” inciting a sing-along that will ring true and in your head for days to come.

Dayglo Abortions warmed up a Canadian punks' heart and that stash hidden inside your studded vest (?) ensured the venue floor was well topped up.

Photographer Cat Ashbee has been shooting punk stalwarts in these parts for quite some time and she offers up her report for the show.

“East Coast meets West Coast for a night of epic music. Once again, Thursday night rushes in like a rogue wave and floods the streets with energy. Forget Friday, it’s time for the punks to take the streets early. 

New York City has been kind enough to lend us her punk sons, the Casualties, for the night and Victoria has responded with a lethal dose of the Canadian icons, the Dayglo Abortions.

 If you are unaware of the band Casualties, just picture the absolute epitome of punk and then multiply that number by 11. The hair, the studs, the hardcore sound and the attitude on stage give these boys their classic feel and have been doing so for their 23 years of stomps, screams and high jumps.

 If you are unfamiliar with the music, the legacy and the imagery of The Dayglo Abortions, that big ball of warm light in the sky is called the sun and welcome to the world that lies beyond the rock you have been under."

- tiina liimu and Cat Ashbee

- photos by Cat Ashbee

SUBROSA, EIGHT BELLS, ASTRAKHAN, DUNGEONS

The Astoria

April 20^th, 2013

This past Saturday presented ample opportunity to catch some new to these ears musical goodness and mix with the bearded jean-jacketed types as a rush of quality metal from straight up hardcore to complex violin-rich doom graced the stage of the Astoria. Thank God the ear protection was firmly in place.

Local four-piece Dungeons opened things up with a furious set that could have been doom or thrash metal, but it was hard to tell because they were a bit too big in sound for the space and some of the finer details drowned a bit in mix. However, it can be said that drummer Garret pulled out some incredible skills on the kit that left my already fuzzed head in a spin.

Vancouver’s Astrakhan were up next and led the swelling crowd on a punishing journey through tight complex rhythms held in place by a brutal bass and drum heavy shroud that was just awesome.

From the floor set up to the stage, Portland, Oregon's Eight Bells turned the corner from brute strength metal to something more like expressionistic art metal with a gothic bent. With guitarist Melynda Jackson and bassist Haley Westeirner at the forefront, dressed in flowing white robes and drummer Christopher Van Huffel holding it down in back, Eight Bells played the balance between heavy and atmospheric, using electronic wails of feedback to add to the glorious wall of sound.

Headliners Subrosa from Salt Lake City were amazing. Melodic, euphoric, busy and blissful while keeping it down low and heavy as hell, Subrosa was one of the more interesting metal projects I’ve seen in a while. Flanked by two intense violin players, the band played with a sound that mildly reminded me of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, only heavier in bass and of a different sort of doomy darkness.

The lighting was a perfect cast of blue hue and didn’t change all night, which was perfect for what was onstage. The crowd was respectably attentive and you could tell that this was more than just a showing of technical skills and rowdy fans. I may have gone into this blind to all acts on board, but I left having understood the future of heavy music a little more.

- by Nathan Pike

- photo tiina liimu

YOB

manifests a substantial presence

There is an undeniable transcendent or spiritual tie-in with doom metal band, YOB. “My focus is to reach within and try to unravel the mess inside of myself, and then to reach out to others who are working on this as well,” explains guitarist and vocalist Mike Scheidt. “I think the mystical or spiritual connect comes from the attempt to be fully present…. but the most important piece is what we as band and people as audience bring to those ideas and symbols, in the moment.” Scheidt revealed an interest in the teaching of Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nisargadatta, HWL Poonja, Shunryu Suzuki, amongst others.

An absence since 2005 brought about The Great Cessation album in 2009 followed the 2011 Atma on Profound Lore. Scheidt and drummer Travis Foster have done four YOB albums together. When they reformed, the decision to have bass player Aaron Rieseberg join was a given based on that first jam. “I am the original member/songwriter/visionary dude and my criteria for members has always been to play with friends/people I know and make sure that we are all on the same page as to what we are trying to achieve as a band,” he explains. As for upcoming music, it seems the creative process is something that happens on it’s own timeline. “Working hard on vibes and riffs everyday. I am pushing myself really hard to come up with new music that builds on what we have already done but pushing beyond it as well. Way beyond. Not sure when that will surface.”

Plotting the growth is a curious and anticipatory experience. The conversation moves beyond tactic with the development of many of the extreme forms evolved from punk, metal roots and doom metal gathering attention. Instead, shining the spotlight towards an artform with principle. “Playing like your life depended on it, wins over imagery, gimmicks, glossy photos and scene politics/fashion, period,” says Scheidt citing bands like: Watain, Neurosis, Swans, Dead Can Dance and Sleep. That sort of a list certainly expresses the depth at work. “The heart, imagery, conviction, authenticity, it’s not ‘entertainment’ it’s in the moment,” he says and adds, artists bleeding, living and dying for their art, completely losing themselves in IT. Whatever the style is, or where ever it hails from, give me that.”

It is no surprise YOB’s influences would include Pink Floyd, Sleep, Burning Witch, early Cathedral and Neurosis. “Scott Kelly and Neurosis as a whole are penultimate examples of what depth of soul and truth looks like in musical expression. Unflinchingly. Zero gimmick. Complete honesty,” says Scheidt and has had the opportunity to share the stage. “Scott and I have become good friends over the years and it’s a friendship I treasure.”

Scheidt balances touring with being dad to 17-year-old twins Zeke and Maggie and a 14-year-old boy Hudson. “Touring is not for everyone. It is very difficult and can strain the most Zen of people. There are folks who are made for it, when you meet them it’s undeniable. Lifers. I am one of those people. These days we are daring to dream a little, to get out there a little more and see what comes from it,” he explains. “The priority at the moment is the writing till the new album takes shape. “But the vision and the art come first and we will not do anything to jeopardize that. A tour is six weeks, an album is forever,” says Scheidt.

Until then the last live bookings are these three Northwest shows. “I am really glad we are playing these shows,” he says. “Can’t wait to see folks and share in some decibel abuse.”

Catch this opportunity with YOB live at Interurban Gallery Saturday April 6 and an art exhibit.

by tiina liimu

GOATWHORE

revitalizing American metal

 There’s a new wave of American extreme metal. Have you heard of it? No?  Well, take notice. 
One of the forefathers of the movement are the Louisiana swamp lords, Goatwhore.  Since 1997 the band has been a staple in this relatively unknown revolution.  For the last few years bands like High on Fire, Cephalic Carnage, Pig Destroyer and The Black Dahlia Murder, among others, have been carving a hidden tunnel of evil that smuggles in the sounds of the American underground. A revolution that has taken over from the Florida death metal scene left dormant in the 1990s.

Forging the way with European influences and instilling a definitive American sound, Goatwhore continues being kings of the vibrant Louisiana metal scene. It just so happens that Louisiana is only a stone’s throw away from the land of FLA, the birthplace of death.  So they packed up camp and made the drive across the state border to the land of Saint Petersburg to record with legendary producer and death metal aficionado Eric Rutland.  The outcome was Goatwhore’s fifth album, Blood for the Master. It sounds like a brewing pot of violent volume and good old-fashioned American angst.

Drumming up the demons is vocalist Ben Falgoust, who was recruited for the open position after a Baton Rouge punch up involving original vocalist, and current guitarist Sammy Duet. “Sammy got in a bar fight in Baton Rouge and he got his jaw broken.  I was into a lot of the shit he was doing and I kind of stepped in and helped out and did some shows and after that things sort of fell into place and they kept going from there,” says Falgoust of his Goatwhore apprenticeship.  A wired jaw later, Ben is in the fold and Goatwhore takes hold.  It’s now been over ten years and Zack Simmons and James Harvey were summoned on drums and bass respectively.

It may be a small coincidence to reach Ben by phone in the Goatwhore tour van on their way to Baton Rouge. The same town of that fateful dust up after a riverboat show at Austin’s South By South West (SXSW).  People have been sticking the black metal label onto Goatwhore like sand on a fresh wound. However, extreme metal is a more deserving term to describe them.  Because, in reality, they are just straight up Southern-fried badass heavy music that covers a number of the many so-called metal sub genres. “People like to put things in categories but using the term extreme leaves it a little bit more open,” Falgoust explains. “We have the angles of death metal, black metal, thrash metal and things like that all kind of blended in even to the point of full on crust, punk and hardcore.” Goatwhore are not a band to be pigeonholed, they just play music that they grew up with and love.

The Vancouver show will mark the beginning of a small Canadian tour that runs from coast to coast. 3 Inches of Blood will jump on the tour to co-headline after the Vancouver date. “The common thing we think about Canada is the cold weather of course but overall, our experiences through the years from the first time until now have been really good,” says Falgoust.Goatwhore are no strangers to Canadian soil and this will actually be their third stop in the last three years.

by Heath Fenton

photo by Nathaniel Shannon

Goatwhore play the Rickshaw Theatre April 10 with Tyrant’s Blood, M16 and Galgamex.

KENTUCKY WOMANIZER

spark their own kinda light

Burlesque artist Calamity Kate is the rocking seducer of roller Troy Zak, or is it the opposite? Either way, Kentucky Womanizer is a punk ‘n’ roll band with a namesake. “It's my tribute to the real King of Rock 'n' Roll, Neil Diamond,” says bass player and vocalist Zak. “A master song writer. He is so romantic,” adds Kate. “I made it clear to Troy that I get a 'hall pass' should the opportunity ever arise.

“We had been talking about doing something together,” explains Zak. “Calamity Kate, hands down, is one of the most engaging people I've ever seen on a stage.

“I told Troy that I'd sleep with him if he started a band with me, and it worked,” laughs Kate.

“We made a deal I would write the music, sing and Calamity Kate would do all of the back up vocals and light some shit on fire, grind sparks off her smokin' hot body,” says Zak, and “give people something to remember. It's more than music. It's entertainment and we both love that.”

Kate had been on tour with Big John Bates and the Voodoo Dollz. “I loved being a part of that band,” explains Kate, “but I wanted to do something a little different and since I'm dating such an incredible musician, we thought that we could combine both of our talents.”

Zak has toured with the Vibrators, Last of the Bad Men and is on the road with the Real McKenzies. Kentucky Womanizer is a project with Kate and Zak at the core. Add Corporal Ninny from SNFU, the Hookers and the Red Hot Lovers on drums. Guitarist Justin Jeske, from the Wanna-Be's on Lookout! Records, recorded on the album as well. “We have a talented pool of musicians in this city to pull from,” says Troy, “whether or not they stick around depends on if they can get through the set while Calamity Kate is on stage half naked and starting fires.”

The provoking number “Get Down Get On It” is proof of that. “It makes me want to get up, dance and drink a lot of beer!” exclaims Kate. “It's not about sex,” explains Zak, “but it could be. It's about getting off your ass and achieving your goals. For me it meant fronting my own band.”

Three of those songs are out on a comp called Love Thy Beaver including the latter and two covers that feature Calamity Kate on vocals and Greg Kuehn of T.S.O.L. on organ. Look for a 10-inch on SHAKE! Records from Victoria.  An EP of eight punk ‘n' roll songs recorded at the House of Payne.

Kentucky Womanizer is a modern day rock ‘n’ roll ceremony of Vaudeville. “As far as punk rock making a comeback? I didn't know it left town. I've still got my records so it's here forever,” says Zak. It’s a ditto for burlesque. “Lucky for us, Vancouver has some of the best performers in the world.  I see it fitting together beautifully as myself and many of my fellow artists are always creating numbers to punk/rock songs,” explains Kate. “Traditionally, burlesque had always been performed along with a live band…”

Be tempted by Kentucky Womanizer, The Injectors and The Stockers April 25th at Gators Pub in Abbotsford

by More Betty

Photo by Matt Leaf

NAPKIN RECORDS TURN ONE

                                  

basement punks get a year wiser

Emphasizing creativity and innovation above budget and sanity, this has been a challenging and productive year for Napkin Records. To celebrate their first birthday, Napkin hosted an all-day bash with some of their label's best talents, including Hemogoblin, Lesser Pissers, Bertha Cool, and Industrial Priest Overcoats playing a showcase at Neptoon Records. Even more promising, a 20-track tape was released free-of-charge, featuring some great art work and the rest of a largely new but impressive roster, including Gender Dog and Night Detective.

“Basement punk bands with no way to facilitate producing their music” are Napkin's focus according to label co-founder Rob Tunold, who started the label with Ben Beckett in 2012. They’ve populated their roster with acts “so focused on making music that they don't have anything to do with it,” says Tunold. This includes two completed EPs by Lesser Pisser and Girl Dracula, a cassette by Industrial Priest Overcoats, and two compilation cassettes—including their anniversary release—featuring all of their talents.

They follow in the ambitious vein of several other Vancouver start-ups, promoting a local roster and distributing them amongst independent record stores and through repeated live appearances. But they can't take their influences too seriously. “Richard Branson is kind of always been the guy. My dream date has been windsurfing with Richard Branson. Give me Richard Branson, a hot air balloon and a Jeep Wrangler,” Beckett jokes. 

In addition to operating as a label, they publish an online magazine called the Weekly Douche, which includes “doing band and show reviews, crosswords also an advice column with Mel Venus,” says Beckett. The contents are satirical, subversive, and, at times, surreal as their writers take the form of characters and caricatures of various stereotypes. “We're doing everything a paper would do, but better,” Tunold quips. 

“We're also actively recording anybody who wants to record, for a fraction of what anyone's charging,” Tunold makes clear. Although they began in a promising location filled with many of their friends, they've since moved homes to Frownstairs.

We were treated to complimentary performances by many of their acts throughout the night. Hemogoblin were ferocious during their set. A uniquely heavy two-piece, head banging their way through nearly metal psychedelic thrash. Though their performance was an exception to the post punk influence of their label contemporaries, they were welcomed with wild applause tonight.  A split with them and Bertha Cool, who also performed that night, is due from Napkin later this year.

Industrial Priest Overcoat followed with a high energy, shrieking performance that saw all the members of the act trading instruments and roles with adept ability. Beckett alleges they're the reason for Napkins creation. “That's the kind of band Napkin Records is about, our flagship band, as opposed to any kind of mission statements we might have,” Beckett asserts. “It's the work of Trevor McEachron, who records everything in his bedroom, all instruments himself, for years. We put together a band for him, and we're putting out his record, and the music is amazing.”

In autumn, Napkin Records is embarking on its first American tour through the East Coast, starting in Ohio and hitting many notable cities. Before they leave they'll be making additions to the current roster, including the Whirlies, Gender Dog, and Barrett's Syndrome. They're also very willing to pick favourites, referring to Industrial Priest Overcoats as their current flagship band and looking forward to scheduling a fundraiser. 

The no-cost, community-dependent performances like Neptoon's celebration are what keep Robert Tunold and Ben Beckett motivated to continue their label. “Anything we've done that's been free, we've been happy to do. Whether it’s house parties such as Frownstairs or at Neptoon records today.” With as much progress, we can't help but look forward to their next exhibition.

Napkin records are co presenting Bertha Cool, Industrial Priest Overcoats, and Night Detective at Astorinos, on April 28th with the Safe Amplifcation Society

by Matthew Youdan

Photo by tiina liimu