Dayglo Abortions live show review: Vancouver May 6, 2023

All photos from last night are from Allan MacInnis. I was the only one there! Nothing on this blog is to be reused without permission, including these. Thanks. 

Fucking incredible night last night. Murray - who has cancer, if you've somehow missed it - is rallying hard. It's like he's trying to scare the cancer out of his system by playing the fiercest shows ever, and Matt and Marc are right there with him. It was a pretty inspiring subtext for a punk show, really - pretty moving. And I only just noticed last night - thanks to a quip from the singer of Random Killing, as I pestered him to sign vinyl of their new album, Bring Out Your Dead - just how intense the present tour is. There isn't a break, it's 16 days/ 16 gigs - they'll be in Toronto in less than two weeks, if they don't explode entirely before then. I mean, 16 days, 16 shows, driving across Canada: Jeezus! 

Y'all should see the band on this tour - seriously (they play Hope tonight). 

Some fun details: 

The moshpit was one of the most exuberant I've seen and nicely gender-balanced (at times there were more women than men in the pit, especially during Motorama, with Dayglos bassist Matt Fiorito on drums - interview with him here). Starting midway through Random Killing, there was a guy larger than myself (and I'm 310 pounds, these days) who was moshing so hard I felt shame at my inactivity - cool blue Mohawk, too. Someone grabbed my arm and tried to draw me in but no, nooo, I have learned my limits long ago (and was tethered to purchased merch). The singer for Random Killing - a great, thrashy punk band from Toronto who are making me re-evaluate my conception of what the Toronto punk scene sounded like - observed at one point, "You guys are in church, and you don't even know it."

Amen!

Random Killing had a fan who came out with them, I guess, or maybe an earlier Toronto-to-Vancouver transport, because you could see him at the side of the stage, singing along to every song; I happened to catch him in a few photographs - there he is on the right.

There was a loop on the laptop on the Dayglo merch table that had women and, uh, cockatiels and erect penises, but they were surreally edited together so that sometimes the cockatiel was the penis, sometimes the cockatiel seemed to be interacting with the penis, something the woman had the cock and the cockatiel both... It was pretty strange. There was also some vinyl around, earlier on, but it disappeared quickly, though there was an FTW compilation - a tribute to the Dayglos - that lingered longest. I did not buy it. It seems to have been gone by the time I snapped this pic...

One nice gal, seeing that I was standing next to the speakers, offered me earplugs, but... nah (I did eventually put one in my right ear, because I still feel some pain in that ear when things are really loud; the left went numb long ago). No hassles, no fights, people picking each other up when they fell down, that kind of pit; I got a few elbows to the gut from people sent flying but it was all in good fun.  But then about ten songs into the Dayglos' set, someone lit off a smoke bomb or firecrackers or something. It was during "God is Love," which I happened to be documenting... 

...and the fire alarms went off, and we all had to clear the venue. A few jeers were directed at Phil the doorguy (along with wendythirteen, on door for the first time since forever, pre-smoke, and Malcolm, post-; I guess Phil was technically security) as he stopped "Ronald McRaygun" to tell us we had to leave, but smartly let us know that we could all come back in once the fire marshal had inspected the place and made sure everything was safe. We all shuffled out as fast as we could, given the design of the place, with ironic mutterings of "calm and orderly fashion," other security hustling us, and Phil telling us to "muster in the parking lot to the west." Some wit behind me quipped, "smoke break" - no foolin'! No idea who thought it was a good idea to set off smoke. Maybe it was God, trying to smite the show?  

He failed, if so (tho' Murray got a few other licks in against him later in the night: "Here's another God song, this one's called "Religious Bumfucks."). Alas, a few punks who despaired that we would get in left early; one of them, seeing my Two Dogs Fucking shirt on the Skytrain the next day, asked me if I was at the show, and if it started again; he cursed when I told him we were let back in after ten minutes, because he figured it would be longer and gave up! ("Ah well, I've seen them LOTS," he shrugged, grinning). It was in fact all quite chill and orderly: while the Waldorf was inspected, a bunch of punks chatted and milled around and came back in to a very Ramonesy "East Indian."

Which I'm not sure I've heard the Dayglos do live before, so that was fun. 

Note on the photo: Blind Marc got some help on the way out, which I didn't realize I was photographing at the time... you can see that the smoke was already cleared, compared to what you see in the "God is Love" video. 

Adam Kates of the Toronto Punk 'zine Going All The Way; he's reprinted two issues from back in the 1980s, which will eventually (maybe) make it to a record store near you?

There were all sorts of ways to support the band last night - a ton of merch. I got re-united with a Two Dogs Fucking shirt (I, uh, "outgrew" my last one, but this time I went 3X). The fundraiser table was manned in part by a Vancouver Island t-shirt guy with a cool-sounding shop, T-Shirts That Talk - who had a bunch of designs that were not at the official Dayglo's merch table (and apparently has a ton of unique punk fashion in his shop). There were patches, buttons... no matter which table you visited, there was no Hate Speech vinyl, but they apparently HAVE been pressed; it's just a question of when they will be united with the band. 

Is anyone keeping track of the setlist...? The band played more new material than at the FEAR show, kicking off with two songs from Hate Speech, "White People" and "Kill Kill Kill," and later including the aforesaid "God is Love," "Sacks of Meat," and a terrific "Raised on Chest Milk" (video here). We also were treated to the live debut of the song "I Am Woman Hear Me Roar," off the new EP (Murray introduced it by saying something like, "We've never played this before, and we probably shouldn't ever play it again." I can see how Murray might not be able to resist such a topic - I would guess the pressure on him to do so actually helped inspire him in the other direction, if I understand how Murray's mind works - but I do think that song is "punching down," a bit. Still fun to hear it live). 

Cancer came up a couple of times in Murray's between song patter. "I realized the other day if i want to beat cancer, I better start loving myself," he observed at one point, before leading the band into "I Am My Own God." He greeted between-song chants of Dayglos! Dayglos! Dayglos! with a similarly humorous, humble quip - "aw, come on, it's not like I might DIE or somethin'."

I took a bit too long in the bathroom stall, putting on my t-shirt as things were winding down (I snuck out during the first encore, "Dogfarts" - had to make it to the Skytrain). I figured I should dig out my thyroid pills and take them with a handful of water from the sink, until I came out of the stall and saw a giant punk in a studded-and-patched jacket PISSING in the sink, in that unmistakeable raised-on-tippytoes sink pissing pose (I've never done it myself but you gotta get it UP there, you know?). Well, it was my own damn fault for using the one toilet as a changeroom, I guess! 

Note to self: do not drink water from the sinks in punk venue bathrooms.

And like I'm saying, the band plays Hope tonight. Are there punks in Hope? They're gonna get a treat. Show of the year, so far? (Up there with that Residents show, anyhow. And the best of, whatsit, six Dayglos shows I've seen so far in the last year? See links to my other features, including interviews with Murray and Marc, here). 

Time for a new profile photo?

 Taken in the bathroom at the Waldorf, May 6, 2023. 

Dayglo Abortions compendium

Dayglos at Funkys detail by Rebecca Blissett, used with permision! (Not to be reused without).Who is the bald guy?

...So the Dayglo Abortions kicked off their tour yesterday on the island, but for me, the Vancouver kickoff is tonight at the Waldorf. Here is a listing of Dayglos-related things I have written, in case anyone has missed them. My entire history with the band is online.  

I interviewed Chris Walter  for the Straight about the Dayglo Abortions book booklaunch back in 2010. It was my first time seeing the Dayglos. I had been put off back in the 1980s by the band's, uh, "edgier" lyrics and by whispers of a metal influence on Guano (I was very metal-phobic, allergic to traces of it in my punk, back in the 1980s. When crossover happened I turned my nose up further: the headbangers in my high school had done things like THROW ROCKS AT ME for walking around with a shitty Realistic tape recorder to my ear, blaring the Exploited and Crass and the Dead Kennedys, and it took me years to get over it, because I had liked metal just FINE as a younger teen... Motorhead was the only band with a metal edge I listened to until well into the 21st century!). Anyhow, I chatted with the band and asked Murray at the merch table about the hamster on the Guano cover: was it okay? He assured me that it lived to a ripe old age in the Fringe offices. 

They pop up in my interview with the director of Somewhere to Go, the Victoria punk doc.

I spoke briefly with Murray at this 2012 Funky's show, clearly, since I quote him, but mostly it's a show review, my second time seeing the band. You can see my bald pate at the front of the stage. As I recall, I submitted a piece that was too long and paid the price, and some stuff got lost, but it's now lost fer good, I guess. 

From a free show at the Interurban last Halloween, by Allan MacInnis

I think I went to one other trio show at Funkys after that, remember being disappointed at the time that there were only three members; might have been Matt on bass? I had seen them twice with a second guitarist (Mike Jak, I guess?) and really dug it. But it was a fun show. Also, I saw the Frostbacks in Victoria opening on one of those 2013 DOA farewell tours and recall them doing a punk rock cover of McLean and McLean's "Fuck ya," which was pretty fun.  

Then there was a bit of a pause in my Dayglo-gig-going, in 2015, after my editors at the Straight attached a rude title to a Willy Jak piece I wrote. The gag was in-print only (the online version is my title). But noting that I talk in it about a Tesco Vee recipe - I interview Tesco here btw - involving sausage, which he describes as "horse cock," and noting that Willy had eaten everything in the cookbook, they retitled it for print, "Willy Eats Horse Cock." Which really upset Willy! He was PROUD of that cookbook. My editors figured, I guess, that it was in keeping with  Dayglos own rude humour, in their defense; it is also a stone guarantee that ANYONE WHO SAW THAT BOLDED HEADLINE read the fuckin' article (my coworkers at my dayjob sure did). But I like Willy, liked that he did the cookbook, and I was bummed that he was hurt by that re-titling; it felt like they were takin' a poke at him, and maybe they were.  

So it took me awhile until I finally saw the band after that, in part because I was worried there would be bad blood between myself and them, or at least some awkwardness (tho' Willy and I remain Facebook friends). I was sorely tempted by that SBC gig that was, like, the last fucking show before lockdown, and loved how the gig posters for it lingered. I don't think Hate Speech had even come out yet. But THAT WAS THE ALBUM that got me excited. I like Armageddon Survival Guide but I don't love it like I love Hate Speech. It's just wayyy up there in my estimate of favourite punk records; I haven't heard a punk record that sunk its hooks THIS deep into me since the Rebel Spell's Last Run. 

And actually, much as I love Last Run, Hate Speech is wayyy more where-I'm-at; Todd was always morally SOOOO righteous, so serious, so virtuous that I felt like a bit of schlub, a moral inferior, by comparison. I DO NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM WITH THE DAYGLO ABORTIONS. 

And my Dad had the same sort of cancer Murray had. It was not a very pleasant ride. I sure hope they've caught it earlier with Murray than they did with my father. 

Anyhow, since Hate Speech came out I have done the following (plus one magazine article that may not have actually seen print yet?). 

Hate Speech review and interview excerpts: 

https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2022/06/dayglo-abortions-teaser-hate-speech.html

Show review at the Rickshaw, last June: 

https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2022/06/blog-post.html

Show review at the Interurban, last October: 

https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2022/11/from-dayglo-abortions-to-david.html

Show review (where seeing someone drop dead outside the venue and having to breathe some dipshit's vape fumes kinda tainted the night): 

https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2022/11/dayglo-abortions-at-biltmore-vs.html

Show review (the Dayglos outperformed FEAR!):

 https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2023/04/piss-and-bacon-sleaford-mods-and-fear.html 

Pete Campbell (of many Victoria and Vancouver bands) tells a Dayglo Abortions story here: https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2022/06/endocrine-rosaries-and-empty.html

Murray Acton - giant interview (I still don't know if this has run in the magazine I did it for! My editor had me trim it way down. It's unruly, but so is Murray; if you find it overwhelming in places, just skip ahead - maybe you don't want to know about Murray's take on the Syrian gas attack, say, but want to read about his old grow-op? There's SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE in here): 

https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2022/10/dayglo-abortions-murray-action.html

Interview excerpt with thoughts on my four favourite songs on Hate Speech:

https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2023/05/murray-acton-on-smart-food-eating.html 

Matt Fiorito - interview: 

https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-matt-fiorito-interview-of-dayglos.html

Blind Marc - interview. 

https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2023/05/blind-and-proud-blind-marc-on.html

See the Dayglo Abortions on tour, if you haven't, and donate to Murray's cancer Gofundme (and read his updates) here.

SuckerTrap at the Centre of the Universe (but also at the Fox): concert and video shoot this Friday (a Pinto Stiletto interview)

Pinto and, uh, Mr. Smith of SuckerTrap by Patrick Powers; no content on this blog to be used without permission, thanks!

The last time I ran into Pinto - I still think of him as Pinto Stiletto, but to some he may be Pinto Bonito and other people might know his actual last name - I thought I was talking to Rob Matharu. Ouch! 

I'm a bit embarrassed by that, but, like, he doesn't come into town very often and I hadn't seen him for at least a year or so before that (I'm also apparently not the only person who makes that mistake, either, but he looks more like Viggo Mortensen, truth be known). He's a hell of a stage presence - I'd loved the first few Wett Stilettos shows I saw, even wrote a pretty enthusiastic article around the band for Big Takeover online, with some great photos from Bev; but the last time I caught them - at Pats Pub shortly before COVID hit - you could tell it was fading. I haven't seen his newest project, SuckerTrap, with Betty Bathory on board as a vocalist; but there is enough evidence online - bandcamp here, video here - to ask some basic questions. Which I did, via email; the interview is below, with myself in italics and Pinto not. 

SuckerTrap plays this Friday at the Fox Theatre. There will be a video shoot, so you might appear in a crowd scene, I guess! More information on the event page! 

The Wett Stilettos had a ton of potential, but it kind fizzled. Can you give me an internet-friendly sketch - what happened to that band?

It rusted! Sorry. lol There was some issues with lack of interest and work ethics. We came blazing out of the gate with the first album and then things gradually fell apart for many reasons. With me moving four hours away things got increasingly difficult and it was time to call it. Still in contact with most of the members and very good friends.

Well, I'm glad you're back, anyhow. SuckerTrap is a great name - where did it come from?

Thanks. Inspired by an incident at the checkout line at a liquor store. There was some gimmicky bottle of something there and my wife said, "Ooo that looks good! What is it?" And I said, "it's a trap for suckers!! It's a suckertrap!!" And she said, hey that's a good name for a band. The song "Dressed in Black" gets a little bit more into what it came to mean to me after a while. Our public and personal lives are plagued with various manifestations of traps set for suckers. Consumerism happens on many levels. Economic, psychological and spiritual.

For people who have missed your past performances, what do we need to know about SuckerTrap? Who is in the band? Do you have any unifying conception or mission? How did the band form? (Are there any other members of the Wett Stilettos involved?).What's the involvement of Adam Payne?

Ooof. Okay let's just start with Adam Payne. After Wett Stilettos disbanded I still had all these songs I wanted to record. But I had no band. So I got a hold of my good friend Adam (we were in the Bonitos together) and asked him if it was possible to pull this off without a band. Just a studio project. No intentions of ever getting an actual band together. Adam was up for the challenge. We had to do it all. Bass, drums, guitars. Keys. We started recording and it started sounding pretty good, to our surprise. We could do everything but we couldn't sing! And so the search began for a singer. We looked high and low and couldn't find the right fit. So one night, feeling totally defeated, we went to LanaLou's for a drink and guess who was working the bar. I played her one song on my phone. She came in the next day and knocked it out of the park. I literally had tears of joy in my eyes within the first line she sang. Later on we it was more than just me and Adam, we've had Tony Koelwyn on drums and one track and Bob Petterson on bass on two tracks on the release, and we have Dave Troutman on drums on upcoming EP with the rest of the band members contributing on specific tracks.

SuckerTrap by Patrick Powers

So who the heck is "Mr. Smith" exactly - I see the name mentioned on your bandcamp as the singer, but the only singer I see is Betty... so is that Betty's persona, here? (Why regender her?). Or is there someone else called Mr. Smith...?

Who is Betty??? Our singer did not want to start another band since she was already in two (Daddy Issues and Paranoid Romantic, I think he means; she has a few one-offs like she does, too, like Weener Issues, covering Ween at the Railway with Daddy Issues, later this month). I promised her that this would only be a studio project and no one needed to know who was even singing. So we came up with a fake name. She wanted Mr. Smith and I thought MrsMyth would work too. There was never any intention of playing live or putting a band together, so it didn't matter. Until the music started getting some attention and label interest. One of the labels out of U.S expressed a lot of interest but didn't want to sign a studio project. They wanted a live band. So we decided to sort of put a quick band together just to shoot a little footage and send it to them to see if they were serious. Adam flat out refused to get involved LOL. Mr. Smith suggested Jayme Black from Rebel Priest. I've known Jayme a long time and love him dearly so that was easy. I initially got my friend Tony Koelwyn on drums but he quickly backed out as possible permanent drummer due scheduling complications. So I decided to take a chance and call Dave Troutman from our old band Crystal Pistol. I didn't think there was a chance in hell he'd do it but he said yes!!! And that was amazing. So we started jamming and decided to book a show. We didn't have a keyboard player so I went and got a synth pedal and was playing guitar and synth at the same time. Jayme and Mr Smith thought that looked silly. I was so busy pressing buttons and pedals and this and that . . . it was ridiculous. One day I was setting up in rehearsal and in walks this young lady. I thought the room was double booked so I said "oh SuckerTrap is scheduled for this time" and she said, "I know. I'm Melissa, I'm your Keytar player." She plugged in and knew all the songs. I was blown away. Apparently Betty had mentioned to Melissa in passing that we could use a keyboard player and never told me LOL. So that''s Melissa Lee on Keytar and we love her. She's amazing. The talks with labels went back and forth and before our first gig we ended up signing with Sodeh records out of Montreal. Keeping it Canadian Eh?

SuckerTrap by Patrick Powers

Some of the songs on the bandcamp are identified as "by Pinto," others aren't - some are just by the band, and for some ("Blood Alley") there is a co-credit with Betty for lyrics. How are songs written? For "Blood Alley," did you give Betty a demo for her to provide words for, or did she bring lyrics to you to set to music, or...?

Yeah that's all a real mess. I need to go and clean that up. I'm a writer first then a guitar player. I'm always writing. But I think too much attention is wasted on that. At the end of the day no one cares. And it doesn't matter. The song wouldn't be what it is without the performances there. I don't know who Betty is but Mr. Smyth and I did co-write "Blood Alley." The music was there and I had some rough ideas with the lyrics. Mr Smith stepped in and fixed it all up. Normally we don't get a chance to write together. But we are planning on doing more of that in the future. The fact that I live in another town makes collaborating challenging. I consider Mr Smith my primary partner in crime. I couldn't do this without her. She's an inspiration. I couldn't do it without Adam. I can't do it without Dave, Jayme and Melissa. It takes a whole village. Everyone brings something extremely valuable to the table. I love these guys and am honoured to be in a band with them.

SuckerTrap by Patrick Powers

"Celestial Psychos" completely threw me off guard, because the band it brought to mind was Dio-era Rainbow - say, "Tarot Woman," for example. I wouldn't have thought of Rainbow in regard to any of the previous things I've heard of yours, ever. Are you consciously expanding or altering your sound for this project, or have you always been a Rainbow fan, or what?

Thanks! That's a great compliment. We LOVE DIO!! However, I wasn't so much specifically thinking of Dio as I was Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath is a huge influence on this band. Consciously and subconsciously. It really came out obvious in that particular song. But it's always there. It's there in "Apocalypse Now" too and other songs, just not as obvious. A lot of 70's, 80's metal, punk and even some new wave influences dominate the music but Black Sabbath is the most prominent one. I had Duran Duran on mind when writing "Sexbot." But by the time it's all done it usually becomes its own thing. I used the Cure as an inspiration for "Bleed," and there's some new stuff coming out that has a little of Randy Rhoads style of writing (not playing; I could never play as good as him) in mind. Judas Priest is another band that is always present in mind when I write, and Platinum Blonde and Concrete Blonde and sometimes Fleetwood Mac, Sisters of Mercy, Twisted Sister. Oh god the list goes on and on. LOL

Do you have to restrain Betty from some of her more outlandish hijinks onstage, or is she in a different persona, or...? I am assuming YOU are the bandleader here - is she eager to follow your lead, or do you have clashes, or...? Do you also "direct' her performance, costume, etc?

 Who??? LOL no one tells Mr Smith what to do! Definitely not me. She's a performance Goddess. Mr Smith does what Mr Smith wants and we love it. We don't clash. We work extremely well together. We seek each others advice all the time. It's true collaboration. You must understand I have been a long time fan of Mr Smith. I love what she does and who she is. I'm a Daddy Issues Groupie!

It's cool that you have references to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (and Waiting for Godot) on your bandcamp and Nosferatu in the video... are those particularly meaningful to you? I am more surprised by the Beckett reference - figure people might not know him now. Do you have a lit background, or a theatre one, or film, or...? Scrolling for Godot is also a pretty fun title.

I have a degree in philosophy. I was obsessed with Sartre, especially his plays. [Editorial insert: cool, I'm a big fan of "No Exit" myself.] But Beckett is a step beyond as far as I'm concerned. He transcends existentialism and gives us the theatre of the absurd. That's where my heart is. That's my religion. Waiting for Godot will always and forever be relevant to the plight of human existence. [Note: people who do not know Godot should click that link and read it; it won't take long - it's a play, not a novel] Scrolling for Godot just relates to a digital realm that was not present then but is now. But it doesn't change the plot.

[Thanks for giving me an excuse to run the first ever image of Samuel Beckett to appear on this blog, Pinto!]

Do I gather that you have a sort of "rock opera" or something in mind for the Fox performance?

LOL no. Not that I'm aware of. Unless Mr Smith is up to something she hasn't told me about. However, before our first show I dreamed of SuckerTrap not being a live band but a theatrical play incorporating the songs live. I have a manuscript already written and have discussed pursuing this project with some friends in the Theatre Department at UBC. But like everyone else they wanted to see a live band first before we could proceed. So who knows. One day that might happen.

Ah. I must have misunderstood something Dave told me. But I think I have this next question right - that you're shooting a video at the Fox, as part of Friday's show? What song are you shooting a video for? How do you want people to dress for that?

"Centre of the Universe". Release date with video by the amazing R.d Cane on May 8th, three days after the show at the Fox. Wear whatever makes you feel good! That's my policy.

Anything else to say about the gig or the band or upcoming releases?

We are super excited to be playing with some awesome bands Ophelia Falling and the Getmines. Important dates: 2nd Single release May 8th for "Centre of the Universe". And looking ahead past that to July 7th for "Seven Sisters", our third single release off our upcoming EP.

Thanks, Pinto!

Photo by R.d Cane, graphics by Jayme

For more information about the gig, go here! 

SuckerTrap HAS BEEN MOVED one post up

This photo is also by Patrick Powers:

 Hi! It's Allan. I fucked up. I put the word "Saturday" in the original title of this, but the gig is Friday. That was easily fixable, except if you posted the URL into your social media, the preview continued to read Saturday, and WOULD NOT BE FIXED no matter how many goats I sacrificed (only three, but if three didn't do the trick, why kill a fourth?). I didn't want people to miss the gig because of my mistake, so in order to repair the URL, I literally had to REBUILD THE WHOLE FUCKING ARTICLE in another post, so a new URL with a new preview was generated. (I mean, there might have been another way, but not that I knew). Alas, people were already sharing with the original URL, and that must be what you clicked on, which (before I wrote this, anyhow) didn't bring you to any kinda post saying "the thing you are looking for has been moved," it just took you to a blank blog page. No mention of Friday OR Saturday, just me and my picture. WTF? I am sure at least six people were annoyed by this, and four of them probably didn't bother to try to figure out what went wrong.

So, like, sorry: if you ended up here, you prolly clicked the OLD VERSION of the URL. The real article is linked below now. I promise, you won't be redirected when you click to some malicious horseshit website wherein a Nigerian prince takes control of your computer, installs porn on it, and then demands you pay him in bitcoin to be able to see that porn. Or however that shit works. It will take you to the ACTUAL PINTO STILETTO INTERVIEW about the SuckerTrap show. At its new URL, with no mention of the word Saturday. 

Which is good, because on Saturday we are all going to support Murray at the Waldorf, right? We are going to pack that place and spend lots of money, because that guy is NOT GONNA WANNA TOUR MUCH after his surgery, I think. At least not for awhile! So it might get a bit tight for him. I mean, I'm gonna do another post about a different gig happening Saturday, but only because I find it hard to say no to Eddy D., because he's Eddy D. And because Ed Hurrell is a nice guy, and Scott McLeod rocks.

I, myself, will be at the Waldorf on Saturday.

Oh, yeah, here's the new URL. Sorry for the confusion. 

https://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2023/05/suckertrap-at-centre-of-universe-but.html

Murray Acton on "Smart Food," eating animals, and the kills of Tilikum (AKA Shamu)

Haven't heard a punk album as fresh, fun, or potent as the Dayglo Abortions' Hate Speech in a looooong time. In terms of what I love about punk - wit, honesty, incisive perception, and fun, engaging songs - it's right up there with the works of the Rebel Spell, the Subhumans' New Dark Age Parade and that first album Jello Biafra put out with the Melvins... but it's a fair bit funnier than any of those albums (even Jello tends to the earnest at times, and the Subhumans, great as they were, really only have one song that's actually funny). I love this record, love the cover, and it's ultimately risen to the very top of the heap for me in the Dayglos' catalogue, beating out even their "classics," Feed Us a Fetus and Here Today, Guano Tomorrow, neither of which have the depth of commentary on modern society you find on Hate Speech.

Delightful though I find it, however, not every song on the album is created equal. My four favourite songs on it are "White People" (which is one of the wittiest, most timely topical punk songs ever, making fun of the entitled woe-is-me-ism of "the dominant race," which is all the funnier because I have my share of "white person" moments too; there could be a great rock video from this made entirely of Fox News clips. I love this song even more now that Murray has pointed out that he's ironically riffing on "Whole Lotta Love" and "Free Bird" in the solo, as the whitest guitar solo possible - I hadn't clued in that that's what he was doing); "Sacks of Meat" - the albums de rigueur Black Sabbath homage, which nicely, despairingly sums up the feeling you get, trying to see yourself how the wealthy and powerful must surely see us (Sabbath were never this potent, lyrically; also note the South Park reference in how Murray sings "authority"); "Raised on Chest Milk," which is probably the funniest song ever written about the excesses of cancel culture; and "Smart Food." You've all read Swift's "A Modest Proposal" in high school, right? I would highly recommend any high school teachers who have to make their kids read that brilliant, but not very teenager-friendly essay as part of their curriculum supplement it - even introduce it - with the Dayglo song in question, since it is fundamentally the same thing: an ironic invitation to the eating of children, though Swift is using the idea to address the treatment of the poor in Ireland, while Murray is offering the eating of pan-fried human brains as an alternative to the suffering we cause animals.  

This, for me, was the high point of my looooong interview with Murray last year. It's a bit of a demanding read, so let's cut to the high point, here, my favourite moment in the whole conversation. I asked him about his observations on the suffering of animals. I am in italics, below; Murray is not. 

Dayglo Abortions by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

Allan: Are you a vegetarian?

Murray: I’m not, but I don’t eat very much meat, and also, y’see, I live on Vancouver Island, too, which has got some very beautiful things about it. Number one is, there are no corporate farms or slaughterhouses or anything, anywhere on the island, I don’t think. So it’s not difficult to buy food from people who actually raised the animal, gave it a name, treated it with care, and when the time came, they harvested it. It’s a little harsh, but if there were a reason for me to go totally vegan, I would do it because of animals. Not because I thought it was better for me… It would be really difficult.

But I don’t eat much meat, and fuck, I definitely don’t each much pork. That’s one of the worst atrocities. I’m not a big lover of pigs, to be honest, but they’re fuckin’ smarter than the majority of domestic animals, and they’re treated the worst, as bad as the minks in fur farms. It’s such a horror story, I can’t believe anybody could eat them for dinner and not feel like shit. You know the way the Native Indians say, “Thank you for giving me your life force, brother, I will carry you with me forever?” [With pork,] it’s more a feeling of, “I’m so sorry for what you had to go through to get here on this plate. And – my God - how much of your life force is left in this? Ehhh.” But you can’t help but look at it like that.

I mean, when I was a kid, I went down to the Oak Bay Marina, and Tilikum [a killer whale, subject of the documentary Blackfish], I’ve touched his nose multiple times, and he spat water on me one day. And Tilikum’s the one where they changed the name to Shamu, who killed a few people. When the animals fuckin’ win – I was cheering for him so much: I’m like, “fuckin’ get another one, dude! You’re showing them what the fuck’s up!” It started with that little fat German kid on the pool deck [not sure who Murray is talking about but he may know more than I about the kills of Tilikum]. The guy down in San Diego – it’s gorgeous: he’s got the dolphins in the big pool, and the killer whales are supposed to stay in their holding pool. They’re all supposed to know this. So they’re in the holding pool, and he’s holding up a sardine for a dolphin, and the dolphin comes up, and Tilikum – I can’t call him Shamu, it’s a stupid Walt Disney name – comes up sideways and with his lips, just takes the sardine perfectly out of his hand, then goes into the water again and comes around for another lap. And the whale is not supposed to be in the pool right now, so buddy gets the big cattle prod on the end of the pole; and when Tilikum comes up for the sardine, he goes – bzzt! – he fuckin’ shocks him with the thing. And Tilikum goes back into the water, and goes into the holding pool, and he just starts doing lengths – you see this wave in the fuckin’ pool. And then he comes tearing out of the pool, comes ripping around – you just see him suckin’ the water behind him, eh, and he comes up and buddy’s standing there at the end of the board with a fuckin’ sardine in his hand. And Tilikum just comes over the board sideways, bang, and takes his entire body in his mouth, and sploosh, he’s gone. And everybody right in the cheap seats is, like, “Ahh!” And then Tilikum comes up and throws the guy straight up into the air. He goes right to the ceiling, spinning, then, splash! hits the water. And Tilikum jumps up and comes down straight on top of him, bam! And takes him again and comes up a second time, and goes flip! Throws him right up into the cheap seats. There’s this fuckin’ person up there, and he is just absolutely pulverized. Just paste inside the suit. And Tilikum goes, “There, asshole.” Fuck yeah! One for the good guys!

And Tilikum’s a hero, too. Because of that Blackfish documentary, even the Russians got rid of the majority of their killer whales. Almost every one of them has been set free. Some of them can’t be set free, legitimately, but there’s no more demonstrations with them, it’s over.

See my interviews with Dayglo Abortions' bassist Matt Fiorito here and drummer Blind Marc here; see and donate to Murray's cancer Gofundme here; and see the Dayglos on their coming tour! 

Blind and Proud: Blind Marc on skateboarding, Isolated Earthlings, Mutated Earthlings, Dayglo Abortions and more

"He’s honest to the core, one of the most beautiful human beings I have ever known in my life. Also, because he’s blind, he’s really good at organizing everything, because he’s got to keep things carefully where he knows them. And he remembers his routes: if you take him out for a drive somewhere, he remembers every turn, how far we went approximately, and he can pretty well walk his way back. He’s said, 'If I didn’t figure that out, I would obviously already be gone. I would get lost and I’d die,' or whatever. So he had to figure that out. I’ve led him into things and got him in trouble occasionally, but apart from that, he’s the least handicapped guy in the fuckin’ band. His memory is intact, he’s not like me or Matt, we’re like, 'Woo hoo,' we have our heads in the clouds, maybe would be a polite way to say it… no offense Matt..."

- Murray Acton on Blind Marc, Dayglo Abortions drummer

"Blind and Proud" by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

Yay! I'm finally getting around to interviewing Blind Marc.

I've had the Mutated Earthlings CD for quite some time - Blind Marc's first solo project, distro'd by Absolute Underground and not online at present - though there is a clip of Blind Marc on guitar at the Cambie in Nanaimo, fronting the band with Murray on drums, and a studio clip of one song, "Commodore 64," that appeared on a comp (but not the CD). (A bandcamp page for the project is in the works, Marc tells me, but it's going to have to wait awhile - between the current tour and Murray's cancer, the Dayglos have plenty 'nuff to deal with right now). Musically it's straightforward, tuneful punk rock, but the lyrics are funny as hell - especially "Swearwords in Braille," which is a tiny crash course in Braille, with lyrics that describe the position of the dots in a Braille alphabet, which you can compare, as Marc sings, with the chart on the CD insert to spell out words like FUCK. It's the only Braille I've ever learned; I've occasionally worked with blind and visually impaired coworkers and students, but it took a punk drummer with a sense of humour for me to actually learn how to read in that alphabet. Who doesn't want to read FUCK in Braille? 

Plus he's a fellow part-Ukrainian (the closing track on the album is "Ukrainian Christmas." I wonder if David M. - for Matychuk - knows it?). 

Anyhow, I'd wanted to interview Marc for awhile, so I was very happy to learn that he had a new solo album, his lockdown recordings, nicely complimenting Murray's own COVID-19 Nervous Breakdown album, released under the name Isolated Earthlings. It's pretty much all Marc, and unlike that previous CD, is all available on Bandcamp, so I'll let you discover it yourselves; it's even goofier than the Mutated Earthlings CD, has Marc taking spoken word parts that almost approach standup comedy, with an even denser web of pop-culture references. It's also available on vinyl in select record stores (Supreme Echo and Ditch on the island, for example) and will be gracing some Dayglo merch tables sometime soon (as will vinyl of the Dayglo Abortions' fab recent album Hate Speech, though perhaps not for their shows this weekend).

I'm not sure what technology Marc is using to assist him - some sort of text-to-speech/ speech-to-text program, but our email interview worked pretty well! (It works better than the speech-to-text stuff my not-so-visually-impaired friends use, anyhow - mostly I just needed to fix some punctuation and capitalization, whereas some speech-to-text apps seem to be beaming signals from space). I'm in italics, Marc is not. See Marc with the Dayglo Abortions on their current tour!    

Allan: Can I print your last name? Do I assume (from "Ukrainian Christmas") that t's Ukrainian? (I see an Edmonton politician with your name - a relative?). Can you give us a bit of your history?

Hlady is my last name and yeah it is Ukrainian. My dad is half Polish, half Ukrainian and the other Mark Hlady is my dad‘s cousin; he was an MLA in Alberta out of Calgary for years. I don’t think he is doing it anymore though, I think he’s retired.

I was born and raised in a small town outside of Edmonton called Fort Saskatchewan. When I finished high school, I moved to Calgary for a year because I was playing in a band called the Boozehounds. 

[Note, this is the right Boozehounds, but Marc is not on this cassette, he tells me]

Then I moved out to Victoria in 1995 and started a band called Drunktank. [Not a lot online that I can find but Paulina Ortlieb did mention them when I interviewed her about Somewhere To Go, the Victoria punk documentary]. I lived in Victoria until 2016; that’s when I moved out to Sooke. I like it out here, it’s a small town like the one that I grew up in, and if I need to practice or play a show or whatnot I’ll take the bus into Victoria. 

So which came first for you, drumming or punk rock? Who was the first punk band you loved, the first punk album you heard, first punk show you went to? What was the first band you drummed for?

I guess punk rock came first. I had older brothers, so I was introduced to punk/ hardcore when I was nine. I remember hearing a lot of different bands at the same time, the most memorable probably Dead Kennedys' Plastic Surgery Disasters, Black Flag's Damaged and My War, the first Suicidal Tendencies album, the Let Them Eat Jellybeans compilation with all kinds of good bands like Flipper, DOA, the Subhumans, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, MDC etc. The one song off that album "Isotope Soap" always made me laugh. Also the Dead Milkmen and of course the Dayglo Abortions. But like I said I was only nine so I was still a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons and putting Garbage Pail Kids stickers on my skateboard and what not. A couple years later when I was 11, my brothers took me to my first punk show in Edmonton. It was SNFU and Beyond Possession. It was this club called sSudio 82 on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton, there was a video arcade in the front lobby of the building I remember, in between bands, playing Double Dragon, seeing the drummer is playing 100 miles an hour and all the cute little punker girls screaming and yelling, I pretty much started playing the drums the next day. Being an awkward shy blind kid with Coke bottle glasses and a crooked Spock haircut, I figured this might be something I can do. The first band I ever played in was called Malicious Intent; we were a thrash metal band. I was 15 when I joined that band.

Is that online? There seem to be other bands of that name out there, but I can't find recordings of that one.

Malicious Intent pretty much was only around for about a year; we didn’t have any recordings. I think there’s, like, a ghetto blaster basement recording somewhere. I don’t have it though.

Blind Marc with the Dayglo Abortions by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

How do people react to your blindness in band auditions? Are there weird assumptions that have to be overcome? I assume most people actually want to be positive and helpful, but I have heard people say things like, "Wow, thw drummer for the Dayglo Abortions is blind, that is so cool!" - which is pretty positive, but on the other hand, why does it seem unusual or surprising to them? (Tho I guess I don't know of any other blind drummers...)

Well I started playing in bands when I was a teenager and throughout the years pretty much just joined other bands with my friends so it wasn’t like I ever really played in bands with people I didn’t know. I don’t get offended when people are stoked that I am a blind drummer the way the world is these days I guess people need to find inspiration wherever they can. I’m happy to play my part.

Do people ever do things you wish they wouldn't at gigs? Do you have any do's and don't for Dayglos fans?

No I think people can do whatever they want I guess the only thing I would say is stop fucking around with Murray‘s microphone he keeps on getting smashed in the mouth and I know that really pisses him off, so be respectful of his space if you want him to keep on rocking out for you. I’m hiding in the back behind the drums so I’m usually out of harm's way. 

Blind Marc skateboarding (still from a video, courtesy Blind Marc)

I never actually asked Murray about skateboarding. Was that a part of the band culture for the Dayglos? Did you ever actually go "Skateboarding Blind" [a song on the Mutated Earthlings album?] is that really a thing? Did the Jaks or such have a hand in that? Do you take any special precautions? What are your worst wipeouts?

Well, I think skateboarding and punk rock was always kinda tied together for sure. Myself I started skateboarding when I was nine. Me and my brothers got into it back then in the mid 80s. I had a bit more vision when I was a kid. I could see really good at night time, I could never see good enough to play team sports or read the chalkboard or drive a car, but riding a skateboard was something that I could do. I used to love bombing hills and me and my buddies would always skate the curbs at 7-Eleven. Nowadays I just skate bowls and half pipes. I pretty much don’t have any vision anymore, just some light perception, so skateboarding down the street is out of the question these days. I prefer bowls because there’s no edge for me to skate off of. Believe me I have launched off the side of half pipes more than once in my day, drop in, do a kick turn and then head down the other side at full speed and then launch off the side of the ramp and catch 10 feet of air and when you’re blind you can’t see where you’re landing so you basically curl up in a ball and hope for the best. Nowadays I wear kneepads a helmet and wrist guards. I can’t afford to be breaking my wrist, won’t be able to play the drums and that’s my livelihood, so I don’t mess around anymore. 

Setting up at the Biltmore by Allan MacInnis

Probably this is in Chris Walter's book somewhere, but what's your early history with the Dayglo Abortions? (The only reference I can find has you filling in for Bonehead, in the last chapter, but I haven't read the whole thing). I've only ever seen you as their drummer, with the first time being the Chris Walter band bio launch at Funkys - was that close to your permanent starting point?

When I moved to Victoria in 95 we started Drunktank and basically just had parties at our house with bands; we would always open up the shows. We got to know the local bands in town and started getting other gigs. By that point Murray quit the Dayglos for a few years and he had a new band called Lummox. Back then every last Wednesday of the month was welfare day, so there was always a gig in town that night. So one month we would open up for Lummox, next month we would open up for the Dayglos. Then I think in around 1998 Murray join back with the Dayglos and they recorded Death Race 2000. In the fall of 2000 they had a tour lined up with Dr. Know down the West Coast. Bonehead couldn’t get across the border so they asked if I would be able to fill in for the trip. Over the next 10 years, I did about three or four trips down south with them. In the fall of 2010, Bonehead retired so I got a full-time job, have been the drummer ever since.

What are the best and worst things about being the drummer for the Dayglo Abortions? Murray makes it sound like YOU are the responsible level-headed one and he and Matt are dazed and confused. Does that ever get frustrating? Or does Murray exaggerate how dazed he and Matt can be? 

I can’t really think of any bad things about being in the band. In fact every night on stage, I pretty much have to pinch myself in between songs. It’s a dream come true playing in this band getting to travel the world meeting new people all the time and playing music. When I was 12 and just learning how to play the drums in my basement, I used to play along to Feed Us a Fetus on my Walkman, so 35 years later still doing what I’ve always wanted to do so I can’t think of anything bad about that. I think we’re pretty much an unstoppable machine we all do our part to keep things rolling.

Dayglo Abortions L-to-R: Murray, Matt, Marc, by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

Do you have a dayjob?

No playing the drums is pretty much what I do. I was teaching drum lessons on and off for a few years but COVID pretty much shut that down.

Do you ever have input into Dayglo Abortions' songwriting? Does Murray write drum parts for you? Do you get together to practice or play when you don't have shows? (I gather Matt doesn't).

Murray writes all the lyrics and all the music, but I definitely come up with my own drum parts. He lets me know if I’m playing too fast or too slow that kind of thing. We don’t practice that much because Matt lives in Vancouver and me and Murray are on the island but whenever we have an opportunity to practice we take advantage of it for sure.

Honestly the set list that we play nowadays is pretty awesome all kinds of songs from Fetus mixed in with a bunch of our new ones from the past 10 years. I learned how to do my punk beat playing along to Fetus like I said earlier so I like to keep all those old ones pretty similar to the way Bonehead played them for sure.   

Your favourite drummers are...?

Well I’ve always kind of been a four-on-the-floor rock ‘n’ roll drummer. I respect all the jazz guys but it just was never my style. To this day my favourite drummer is Ringo. Bill Ward, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Tommy and Marky Ramone for that good solid eighth note on the hi hat. Then of course a whole slew of different punk rock and thrash metal drummers that would take me about 10 pages to list all their names. 

Blind Marc black and white by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

Murray is just bursting with opinions. Are the two of you mostly in agreement about things, or do you have areas where you differ? (Do his lyrics ever get under your skin? I took a long time coming round to "After this Beer." And I'm not sure that the world needs "I Am Woman Hear Me Roar" right now).

The world needs people like Murray to push the envelope and to talk about things that make people uncomfortable. By the way Murray is the most tolerant accepting person I know, he doesn’t have a racist, homophobic or any-other-phobic bone in his body. I think if he wanted to he could probably get a job writing for South Park those guys are on the ball too. I think the mass awakening is happening. The manipulation, fear and propaganda isn’t working anymore people see through all the lies and deception the politicians and corporate media are trying to push on them. People are sick and tired of all the hatred and outrage amongst each other most people just want to get along and get through life and be happy. It’s the billionaire elites that are in charge and they want us peasants to be fighting with each other distracted and not questioning what’s really going on behind the scenes. They’ve divided us all into different factions, they know if we unite we won’t put up with their bullshit anymore.

There are a bunch of references to movies and TV in your lyrics - slasher movies, SCTV, Spaceballs... What are your favourite comedies and horror movies? Do you "watch" them with descriptive audio? (I've never tried that, actually - have no idea what it's like; but I assume it's not all equal. Are there levels and degrees of descriptive audio - like, what does "good" descriptive audio sound like? What is bad? Do you see movies in theatres? (How does that work?).

Definitely all the movies from the 80s are my favourite, those are the ones I grew up watching. I have a whole bookshelf full of old VHS movies in my garage, unfortunately none of them have audio description though. All the different streaming sites have audio description it is very helpful for sure. I haven’t been to the movies in years but they do have audio description there. Audio description reads the screenplay so it doesn’t talk during the dialogue. You basically just put on a set of headphones that plugs into a little wireless device about the size of a pack of smokes.

On the SCTV track on the bandcamp page for new album, there's a note in the place of the lyrics about how you are not only certified blind, but certified lazy, with some grumbling about transcribing lyrics and carrying drums and such. Do I assume that is Murray?

Yeah that is Murray for sure he helped me put together my bandcamp page. He’s help me do a lot of recordings and anything I need done on the computer over the years.

In regard to the song "Pizza Toppings," what is your favourite KIND of pizza and your favourite pizza chain? (My wife and I, when we are on the island, often go to Ali Baba).

Best pizza shop on the island is Peninsula Pizza out by the airport in Victoria. They got so many different good pizzas there. My favourite one is probably the Maui wowy, it’s a Hawaiian with bacon cheddar and banana peppers added.

I'll try it next time I am on the island! But I have to ask... This seems a high stakes tour for the Dayglos, given Murray's cancer diagnosis. Does it feel different? Are you going to do anything differently, given that it might be your last tour with the band for awhile?

Murray is a trooper if anyone’s gonna make it through it’s gonna be him for sure. We’re gonna play some good shows put out some good vibes and hopefully the universe pays back in tenfold. Humanity was meant to thrive.

Plans for the current tour? 

I guess to close it off here, I’m going to be bringing a box of Isolated Earthlings records on the road to sell at the merch table so come down to the shows and support. You won’t be disappointed. I’m going to be playing some Isolated Earthlings shows in the next few months here so I will keep you all in the loop so check my Isolated Earthlings Facebook page for more details. 

Oh cool! By the way, Murray was telling me about a fellow Mutated Earthling called No Thumbs Dave - is he still around? 

No Thumbs Dave was my bass player in the Mutated Earthlings. In the Isolated Earthlings I’ve got my buddy Big Rick playing the drums and my other buddy Matt on the bass. I am going to play guitar and sing when we play live. Big Rick owns Peninsula Pizza and Matt is a farmer so they’re not really able to leave town, so they are basically my island band. I’ve got a few of my buddies from Edmonton learning all my songs so they are going to be my Prairie band, then I’ve got some other buddies learning all my songs out in Ontario so I’m gonna probably fly out there in the fall and do 10 shows throughout Ontario and Quebec.

That sounds awesome.

And my album is still available digitally on my band camp page, blindmarc.Bandcamp.com! 

Blind Marc's kit by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission