Slow
These days, a Toronto act like DFA 1979 can come off hiatus and cause a mini-riot at SXSW or headline Coachella, but there was a time when being a Canuck rock group wasn’t quite so cool. Many a homegrown act slogged it out on the tour circuit and college radio here at home before artists like Sloan, Cowboy Junkies and Blue Rodeo broke through beyond our borders, paving the way for the current renaissance of artists that sing out to the world right from our backyard.
But before Feist counted down on iPod ads and Arcade Fire took home an armful of Grammys, there was little documentation of the formative period that helped give rise to the current scene, something music writers Michael Barclay, A.D. Jack, and Jason Schneider attempted to redress in their book Have Not Been the Same, which examined the era from 1985 to 1995.
The book remains the only comprehensive overview of that period in Canadian music, and has just been reissued by ECW Press as an updated 10th anniversary edition after years of being out of print. (The relaunch was celebrated Friday night with a concert at Lee’s Palace featuring performances by reunited ’90s-era acts Weeping Tile, better known as songstress Sarah Harmer’s former scrappy alt-rock band, and King Cobb Steelie.)
At over 700 pages, Have Not Been the Same offers a remarkable glimpse into the depth and breadth of the indie scene that was, while also adroitly pointing to what was to come. The book takes a look at many of the more familiar artists who went on to commercial success — Blue Rodeo, the Tragically Hip, Cowboy Junkies, k.d. lang — but also includes a long list of acts that remained largely out of the spotlight, but were influential in their own unique way.
On the cusp of another NxNE, and to mark the book’s anniversary, we take a look at some of the key acts from that era that never truly got their due despite having made an indelible impact.
Who: KING COBB STEELIE
Guelph-area purveyors of dub-tinged electro-funk who weren’t afraid to bring the politics to the dance party (what other Canrock act do you know who can namedrop Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in a song?).
Then: Parlayed their status as a college-radio and touring favourite into signing with a major label (EMI) despite their complex blend of genres and large rotating lineup (over the years, the core duo of singer Kevan Byrne and bassist Kevin Lynn have been joined by up to a dozen different collaborators). For a while, even if you hadn’t heard of the band, you couldn’t miss hearing their hit “Rational” (from their 1997 album Junior Relaxer). Subsequent albums never quite made a breakthrough, but 2000’s Mayday, featuring guest vocalists like Crash Vegas’ Michelle MacAdorey, was a forebear to the kind of melodic electro now making itself heard in current microgenres like dubstep or chillwave.
Now: Seven years after their last album, KCS recently reunited to play a handful of shows to mark the band’s 20th (!) anniversary, prompting much nostalgia amongst GTA 30-somethings.
Begat: Many of the band members continue to be active in the Ontario music scene, including drummer Nathan Lawr, who has since gone on to a successful career as a rootsy solo songwriter, and more recently as frontman for the Afrobeat-inspired Minotaurs collective.
Who: SLOW
Vancouver punk-rock quartet whose song (voted the 10th best Canadian song of all time in a 1996 Chart magazine poll) gives Have Not Been the Same its title.
Then: Perhaps best known for causing a riot at Expo 86, after officials pulled the plug on the band’s set after complaints about their outrageous live show. Thanks to a little indecent exposure by singer Thomas Anselmi and bassist Stephen Hamm, the police were called and the event cancelled, spurring a melee of angry fans. Slow called it quits soon afterwards.
Now: Members continued to make music after the demise of Slow — Anselmi went on to form Circle C, who signed to Geffen in the heady indie heyday of the early ’90s; though their well-reviewed debut album sold poorly, the group had enough of a devoted underground following that they regrouped as Copyright, releasing two more albums. More recently, Anselmi teamed up with fellow Vancouver ’90s-era musician Vincent Jones (Grapes of Wrath) for a solo multimedia project influenced by David Lynch soundtracks.
Begat: While Slow might not be the first touchstone cited by the current crop of indie-rockers, their uncompromising spirit certainly paved the way for current punk acts like Fucked Up, who have managed to maintain a fierce iconoclastic, DIY approach even as they punch a hole in the mainstream.
Who: ERIC’S TRIP
Late, lamented Moncton, NB, alt-rock quartet who knew how to work the quiet/loud thing to great effect.
Then: The first Canadian band to be signed to influential Seattle label Sub Pop in the early ’90s, the band epitomized the kind of lo-fi grunge sound of the era (even taking their name from a Sonic Youth song), racking up a few minor college-radio hits and developing a devoted underground following right across the country.
Now: Broke up in 1996, but reunited in 2001, and have played the odd gig together ever since, mostly in the Maritimes. All four band members also worked together on singer Julie Doiron’s Polaris Prize-nominated 2007 album Wake Myself Up.
Begat: Guitar goddess Julie Doiron has gone on to establish a solo career that’s arguably far more successful than Eric’s Trip even in their heyday. Aside from her long list of solo albums to date, she’s also much in demand for collaborations across the musical spectrum, working with everyone from the Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie to Ottawa indie act Wooden Stars to punk-edged rockers Attack in Black. Bandmate Rick White went on to form psychedelic act Elevator to Hell and has also released solo material over the years, in addition to being in demand as a producer of fellow indie acts like The Sadies and Joel Plaskett.
Who: CHANGE OF HEART
Gritty, inventive rock’n’rollers with an ever-changing lineup (with the exception of mainstay Ian Blurton) who led the charge for a new era of Toronto bands.
Then: For a time, it seemed like Change of Heart was everywhere — they weren’t slick by any means, but they had a few hits (“There You Go”, “Trigger”), a couple videos, fairly regular airplay. In a sense, the band epitomized the heady alt-rock promise of the early ’90s: if your band worked hard enough at it, and had the right sound, it seemed possible to bust out of the local scene and onto a wider stage. But after 15 years, CoH called it quits in 1997 — the time for their particular brand of heavy riffage had passed, but their long history as an integral part of the city’s music community did not go unnoticed — nor unappreciated. Chat up local music types who fondly recall going to gigs in ’90s-era T.O., and you’ll find that both fans and fellow musicians alike still reminisce about CoH with a certain awed reverence.
Now: Change of Heart did reform for a one-off reunion show at the Horseshoe Tavern back in ’99, but its many members have since kept busy with other projects, particularly the always impressively-bearded frontman Ian Blurton, whose current band, the high-octane C’Mon, demands both earplugs and a strong constitution. One-time bassist John Borra can be found fronting the always entertaining Rattlesnake Choir most Monday nights at the Dakota.
Begat: It seems impossible to think of the Canadian music scene without Blurton, not only for his own music, but thanks to his work as a sought-after producer who’s lent his magic touch to records by a virtual who’s who of CanRock, from literate indie-rockers like The Lowest of the Low and The Weakerthans, to the honey-dipped alt-country solo stylings of Stars chanteuse Amy Millan.
