Of Nomeansno: shows in Japan and Vancouver (for starters)

The perfect opportunity for me to get published in Japan finally arose: my favourite punk band, Vancouver's own Nomeansno, are touring there in late March. With invaluable help from the promoter, Bingo of Contrarede (whose great poster for the event is viewable here), a smidgen of assistance from Toshio of Record Base, and much invaluable help from Japanese NMN fan Burekas, of the Nomeanswhatever discussion forum, I managed to get a piece in Doll Magazine - an interview with John, Rob, and Tom about their next planned album (tentatively titled Codename: Old), their recreation plans for the tour (a whiskey distillery figured prominently, and they won't be going to a sento if Tom has anything to say about it), and their associations with Japanese culture. It's in the current issue of Doll, though you'll only be able to read it if you can read Japanese! (Doll, of course, also did a big thing on the Pointed Sticks a few years ago, which included what seemed a decent retrospective of the early Vancouver punk scene, bearing in mind that I can't read Japanese either). Since I had lots of material leftover, and the promoter wanted the extra press, we put something in Disk Union's free mag to boot, using different quotes and pics, which we hope won't annoy Doll too much. Here's wishing Nomeansno a happy Japanese tour! And remember, guys: no one says "o-tearai" any more - just ask for the "toire."

As for those of us here in Vancouver, apparently there are still a couple of tickets left for Nomeansno's April 3rd show at the Anza club, though it's mostly sold out. You can try Bonerattle Music, or - more reliably, it sounds - go through Low Down Dirty Productions and buy your tickets online. The band then plan to tour across Canada, as Nomeansno going east and then turning into the Hanson Brothers coming west (no Vancouver Hanson Brothers shows are thus far planned). The new album is being written on ProTools by Rob, and one demo from it, "Old," can be heard on Nomeansno's Myspace page; a few new songs, which will be debuting in Japan, will probably also be in the Vancouver show, including "No Fun 2010" (which, Rob says, is not about the Olympics) and "Jubilation" -- which, Rob explained, is about the joys of losing everything, finding oneself unencumbered. You're going to have to learn some Japanese if you want to know more, though, folks - I won't be reprinting this material in English, at least not in the forseeable future...

Oh: Hanson Brothers fans might also be interested to note that Slap Shot, the film from whence they take their name, is screening theatrically at the Vancity Theatre this week, as part of their Hockey Nights in Film series...