It’s been awhile since anyone has put together a punk rock compilation from this region, let alone one as good as this. Most of the songs are unreleased which means songs from defunct bands like Dead Red and the Dean Malenkos finally see the light of the day. Fear of Lipstick, Tongan Death Grip and […]
Mark Black
Posted inArts + Music
Perfect Youth: The Birth of Canadian Punk
Sam Sutherland had the unenviable task of giving a coherent narrative of the early punk scenes across Canada. The result is Perfect Youth, an almost exhaustive account of the emergence of Canadian punk rock that covers everything from Newfoundland’s the Reaction to Regina’s The Extroverts to Victoria’s Dishrags. Perfect Youth doesn’t purport to be a comprehensive […]
Posted inLifestyle
The spirit of ’72
When it comes to international hockey, Canada has an all-consuming passion for the World Juniors. No country cares about junior hockey quite the same way. While other countries turn their attention to and make their name at the Olympics or the World Hockey Championship, Canadians get twitchy at the thought of the annual World Junior […]
Posted inArts + Music
Henry Rollins’ long march
When it comes to early ’80s hardcore, you’re either a Morris or a Rollins fan—or possibly a Dez Cadena fan. (Is anyone a Ron Reyes fan?) With this year’s eponymous release by the Morris-fronted OFF!, it doesn’t seem so dated to be talking about former Black Flag singers. Not to be outdone, Rollins is bringing this […]
Posted inArts + Music
Jon Epworth
Inexplicably my iTunes went from “Afraid,” the last track on Jon Epworth’s Soul Mange, into GBH’s “Diplomatic Immunity.” For a second I was convinced that this might be the most eclectic Jon Epworth release ever. Alas, there’s no street punk to be found and while that may disappoint the spiky-haired fan contingent, there’s enough on […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Mooseheads are come-from-behind victors
The Halifax Mooseheads became just the fourth team in the forty plus years of the QMJHL to come back from a 3-0 deficit and win a best of seven playoff series on Tuesday night. And they did it with some absolutely mind numbingly great performances. Just like they have all year. First year captain […]
Posted inArts + Music
Liz Worth’s punk poetry
Afrika Bambaataa identified the four pillars of hip-hop culture as MCing, DJing, b-boying and graffiti writing. No one has ever definitively outlined the pillars of punk culture, but poetry would have to be one. Amphetamine Heart is Liz Worth’s first collection of poetry. Visceral and direct, it does much to cement poetry as one of […]
Posted inArts + Music
Giving back to ARK
Benefits Giving back ARK Outreach’s mission can be summed up in the straight to the point message on its website: “ARK is a community shaped by those who are homeless and street-involved. We seek to support those who live with the realities of life without shelter in our country. Together we create a place to […]
Posted inArts + Music
Weekend Dads
A bit of a Maritime pop-punk supergroup featuring members of The Varsity Weirdos, The Hemingways and The Fat Stupids, Weekend Dads deliver four anthems whose seeming bravado and energy belie their middle-aged melancholia. How else can you describe a band that shouts lyrics like “Why don’t we all throw in the towel?” I don’t want […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Universities face three percent budget cuts
The Nova Scotia Department of Education’s new three year Memorandum of Understanding between the province and Nova Scotia’s universities all but ensures that students will see tuition fees, already higher than the national average, increase again. If you read only the first paragraph of the MOU, released last Thursday, you might be tricked into thinking […]
Posted inArts + Music
Eviction Party lives on
Jokingly describing the band as “middle-aged by punk standards” Eviction Party is a pretty awesome indication that punk bands can move apart, grow old and reform and write inspiring songs again. Spread out across three provinces, the members of Eviction Party are back together writing new songs, touring and playing shows for the first time […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Bad Bad Bad tours Halifax
A whirlwind tour of the HRM is a little piece of heaven for many— touring without having to leave the friendly confines of your own city being the unrealized dream of many local musicians. The dearth of live music venues off the peninsula hurts many a band’s chances of pulling off the feat of an […]