Local musicians tell us why other bands are awesome
Last Halloween, several local groups got their shit together to pay tribute to various punk bands with the proceeds going towards charity. And there were plenty of highlights, including rabid fans singing along to Dead Kennedys songs among others.
Also, there was a guy swinging a canoe paddle around in the middle of the pit.
Check out Ominocity’s videos of each act from last year HERE.
Amazingly enough, Halloween came back again. And so did the punk rock cover rock show.
Promoters are reanimating the beast of Halloween for Humanity, and have brought forth new blood for audiences to gawk at. This year’s tribute acts include:
Hawkwind (members of Shooting Guns)
Danzig (members of Bad Decisions)
The Replacements (members of Ride ‘til Dawn and Pearson)
Bouncing Souls (members of Lady Deathstryke and Weak Ends)
Ominocity caught up some of the musicians who are performing this year to ask them the following question: Why cover your favourite band? And what makes them so special anyway?
Chris Laramee, Shooting Guns:
Hawkwind because they are simply one of the GREATEST GROUPS OF ALL TIME. Secondly, their songs are easy to do. [They] first vaporized my mind and lungs with them around 1996. The biggest noisey fucked punks who’ve ever existed.
Dan Smolinski, Lady Deathstryke:
It’s a pretty standard story but we all got drunk one night and talked about how awesome The Bouncing Souls are and just started playing “Manthem” and “True Believers” in our shared jam space. Their album How I Spent My Summer Vacation is absolutely perfect front to back. We all have so many fond memories of playing that CD on repeat.
Mark Ferguson, Bad Decisions:
When we first talked about playing a set for Halloween our first thought was Misfits, so the Danzig set was kind of a natural choice. We went back and listened to the first self-titled, Rick Rubin-produced Danzig album – it’s awesome: great guitar hooks, a deep bass groove, and tasteful, killer drumming. And of course, Glenn Danzig is like the metal Elvis (so says Dallas). The first time I heard Danzig would have been ages ago, so the Bad Decisions have been discovering them again for the first time. There’s something so simple and so tight about their sound and it lends itself well to the three-piece setup.
Mitch Grier, Ride ‘Til Dawn:
I first heard the Replacements from my good friend and former guitarist in RTD, Ian Potts. We were hanging out in someone’s basement somewhere and he gives me this “your-gonna-dig-this” look out the side of his eyes then pops on Let it Be. And he was right, I dug it. I love the Replacements because of their brand of the “punk” attitude. They’re not about speed as much as they are for swagger. They take the piss out of the classics while reminding you that that’s how to write a rock song (Black Diamond anyone?). There’s a hell of a lot to be learned from a band like that. They let you know that Rock n Roll ain’t a hairstyle it’s a gut feelin’ and a kick in the chest.
Well I’m convinced.
Halloween for Humanity goes down on October 26 at Vangelis, with tickets running $10 in advance or $15 at door.
Tickets at Vangelis and Beaumont Records and ticketedge.ca
All proceeds will be going to the Saskatoon Crisis Nursery and Hiddenstitch (a fledgling business that suffered a break-in a while back).