Musical Memories

I've been thinking about writing about some records/songs/bands that mean alot to me. And i've also been thinking about how certain records/songs/bands trigger a memory (good or bad). But then it becomes a matter of which ones to choose? I look thru my record and cd collection and there's just to many things to choose from. So i decided to grab my ipod and leave the decision up to fate. I've put my ipod on random and will write about each song that comes up. If this turns out to be a good read i might try it again....

First up....

Doughboys - "Stranger From Within" (from "Whatever" LP)
-- Canada's own Doughboys, who started after John Kastner left the Asexuals. The first 2 Doughboys records, "Whatever" followed by "Home Again", are classic melodic punk albums and both have many songs that trigger memories (especially Home Again). I remember the first time i saw the band was at the Bronx in Edmonton on the Home Again tour. John Kastner was doing these big jumps off the bass drum ala Chi Pig, which i thought was so rad. There's something about the vocals... they have this strained quality that really works for the slightly morose and contemplative lyrics that they are known fore.

Snapcase - "Priceless" (from Progression Through Unlearning)
Man, Snapcase were such a powerhouse on record but live they were even more amazing! The heavy crunch of the guitars was so powerful in a live setting. The first time i saw Snapcase was in Minneapolis, must've been 1996. I had hitchhiked to MPLS for a punk fest, but Snapcase wasn't part of that fest. But some great bands played that weekend; Los Crudos, Dillinger Four, Man Afraid, and more. On day 2 of this fest i ran into an old friend from Edmonton who let me stay at their house, which was appreciated since i had been sleeping outside the past couple nights. Around the corner from their house was a small venue called the Bombshelter. It was a tight, little basement space...about the size of a bombshelter. My memory is slipping on who opened the show, but the 2 main bands that night were Snapcase and Refused. Snapcase were great that night, but Refused were even more explosive!! This was their 1st tour of north America, right around the time "Songs To Fan The Flame" came out. I remember the band were literally running at the concrete walls and bouncing off them. There was little to no air in this little space, and it was a hot July night, so the space became unbearable to be in after a while. But you couldn't walk away when a band this explosive and powerful was happening right in your face. What a show!

Mike Hale - When She Loved Me (from "Lives Like Mine")
I'm still trying to get into Mike's solo work, and it's not because it's bad but because i think i'd rather he record a new Gunmoll record. Gunmoll were from Gainesville... yeah, just another great Gainesville band on No Idea Records. What's with that town? Everything Gunmoll did was great, they had that rough-around-the-edges melodic punk with gruff vocals that i love so much.

Triple Threat - Obliterate (off "Into The Darkness")
Triple Threat never got the respect they deserved, and i think that's because they had so much to live up to because of the band members resumes. I like their records, but live they were even better, just alot stronger. One of the times i saw them was with Insted in New Jersey, fuckin' great show, but the day almost got ruined by the person i was dating at the time. It's a long, and actually quite stupid, story that i won't repeat here. But it was a hellish day spent with that person, but thankfully Insted and Triple Threat set it off. After the show the bullshit started all over again with this person, making for a horrible night.

The Get Up Kids - Anne Arbour (from Red Letter Day 10")
Fuck me... the Get Up Kids are one of my go-to bands when i'm feeling down in the dumps or nostalgic. They just trigger these emotions in me. In 2005 I spent alot of time on tour and i didn't have an ipod yet, just a discman. I brought every GUK recording i had, and i remember after a night of hardcore i would often put one of them on, listening to it on my headphones as we drove thru the night or slept on the floor of some random people's house. Recently me and erin bussed to Seattle to see them play and it was fantastic. So now i have another good memory attached to the Get Up Kids.

Downcast - They Are Not (demo version from the Discography)
Early 90's.... when every band and person involved in punk/hardcore had to be careful of what they said and did due to the extreme political correctness that prevailed the scene. Every action was judged. It was like a witch hunt. The weird thing was that if you were a heavy band but didn't have overtly political lyrics you were called macho, but if you were heavy and had something to say you were ok. So bands like Downcast, Econochrist and Born Against were loved by pretty much everyone. Not alot of the bands from this era stood the test of time, but Downcast did. I remember buying their first 7" from Allan Watermelon, aka Honking Dog, an Edmonton punk guy that ran a distro with his gf Karen. Good people.

Samiam - Hey Brother (from Billy)
I've got alot of memories attached to Samiam, but i think my favorite would be from the 1st time i saw them play, in 1990. My friend Rusty convinced Sven to drive us to Calgary to see Samiam and Snuff. I don't think Sven cared about the bands at all, he was really into stuff like Bolt Thrower and Napalm Death. Sven was also one of the craziest drivers ever. He'd have the metal cranked to 11, yelling french swear words at other drivers and worst of all is when he'd speed up behind a car and then start flashing his lights until they changed lanes. It was scary enough driving across town with Sven, so you can imagine what it felt like to drive 3 hours in the winter. The show was at the Westward hotel, i was underage but got in with no problems. Skin Barn played first, they were a really good Calgary band. Samiam played 2nd, this was right around the time of their 1st full length, and fuck were they good. Lots of energy. Closing the night was Snuff, who at at that point had never toured North America and didn't actually have any records out in this country. That could explain why there was less than 50 people at the show. I had a penpal in the UK who had sent me their records and stuff so i was really into the band by that point. Their set was lots of fun and ended with every single person at the show coming on stage and slam dancing while they covered "Purple Haze". It was a complete mayhem on that stage!! As we left the Westward sweaty and tired we realized it had been snowing all night and the roads were very unsafe. By time we got past Airdrie we realized that visibility was pretty much zero, so we had no choice but to drive really really slow. This pissed Sven off so much! He was cursing in french the whole way. The drive took way longer than normal, so by time i got dropped off at home it was pretty much time for me to head to school. Oh yeah, did i mention i was 16, in high school and had told my parents the night before that i was going to hang out at Rusty's place up the street? I snuck in the house, i think my dad was already up and getting ready for work, laid down on my bed for 5 minutes before dad was "waking me up" to go to school. What an adventure!!


Part 2 at a later date?