Found Travel Diary in a Ghost Town

Intro text and photos © Robert Barry Francos

Recently, I went on a two-day road trip through southern Saskatchewan in search of ghost towns of photograph, with my friend John Penner. There will be more on this, including tons of pictures, to come in future blogs.

In one town, I found a vacation diary that I have transcribed below. This is a family of four: the mom (unnamed author), dad (Maynard), two daughters (Trina, Sam), and a son (Ben). They lived at that time (still?), gathered from the information within, in Brandon, Manitoba. In early July of 1995, the family headed to the Rockies in Alberta on a camping trip, and to visit friends and family along the way.

At the beginning of the book, there is an accounting of both cash and credit spending on the trip, which I have not included as tables and tabs are apparently not a blog feature (as far as I know).

Please note that I transcribed the handwritten text as it is (with the exception of some capitalization), including spelling errors (e.g., quit = quite) and mistakes in grammar (e.g., than = then). After the entry, my comments will be bracketed, and in italics. Also, I put the entry date as the mom has it for each notation. – RBF, 2010

July 3, 1995
We left Brandon this morning, the drive was pretty good. We stopped at Binscarth for lunch. We had hamburgers and hotdogs over an open fire.
The kids played at the park, than we continued on to Yorkton.
We went to K-mart, bought some fishing hooks and swimming suits for the girls.
For supper, we went to McDonald’s, spent the night at the Holiday Inn.
We went swimming and the kids, even Trina enjoyed the water slide.
[Binscarth, Manitoba, is 167 Km/104 miles from Brandon. Yorkton, SK, is an additional 120 Km/76 miles]

July 4/95
This morning we left Yorkton going to Shell Lake. It was fairly cold this morning. But the afternoon has turned out to be quit nice.
We stopped in Lanigan, Sask for lunch and groceries. We picnicked at the Lion’s park. And it costed 2.00 just for stopping for lunch.
We got to Shell Lake around 5:00 pm Saskatchewan time. The kids were excited at seeing Grandpa and Grandma.
Trina was scared of poor old Husky. It’s kind of was hard to tell which one was more scared of who? Husky or Trina?
After supper the kids went down to the barn. Each had a ride on the new mare that Grandpa has. The mare sure has a nice foal.
Benny is in seventh heaven being out here! So much so, he doesn’t want to continue on.
[Yorkton to Lanigan is 204 Km/127 miles; then from there to Shell Lake is 270/168 miles Km]

July 5 1995
Well we had breakfast, cooked by hand (Maynard) and we packed the car to continue on to Alberta.
Well we got as far as Mundare, and we camped over night. The campgrounds were clean and nice complete with really nice showers.
Maynard so far has been taking quit a few videos, with his baby (the camcorder).
I forgot to write about the ferry crossing yesterday afternoon. It was a first for me and the kids. It actually spooked me! But the kids and Mayn enjoyed it.
[Shell Lake, SK to Mundare, AB is 460 km/286 miles]

July 6, 1995
We had breakfast and packed up, to continue on to Lorna’s.
We got to Lorna’s without getting lost. Now you can drive thru Edmonton on a main through road.
Lorna wasn’t home at first, so we had lunch down at Alberta beach. It seemed to be nice and kept up. But they charged 5.00 for an armful of wood.
When we got back to Lorna’s, Lorna and the kids were back. Lorna and Brenda had taken three kids camping for two days.
We’re going to be spending tonite and tomorrow nite, at Pat and Lorna’s.
Lorna’s house is a 3 level split. It’s a nice open layout for a home. The bathrooms and the bedrooms are just huge.
[Lorna’s address in the back of the diary is listed as Carvel, which is on the west side of Edmonton, which means they will need to back-track some. Mundare to Carvel is 125 Km/78 miles.]

July 7, 1995
Well this morning Maynard went into town. He went to buy a car topper.
Well it sure is a nice thing. All the blankets and the foam mattress fits up on it.
Brenda and her kids and Uncle Buddy, Kevin came out for supper. Rayne and Tam were inseparatable. They’re quit a pair. One as opposite as the other.
But they played so well together.
Kevin is all grown up. It sure makes a person feel their own age.
Well tomorrow we start out again and it will be much nicer driving now. That was a good idea, to buy the car topper, it holds so much and so now there is a lot more room in the car. Much more comfortable to ride in.
[“Into town” most likely Edmonton; the “car topper” is a an large sealed rectangular case, usually plastic, that fits on top of the car. They paid $160 for it.]

Saturday, July 8/95
We left Lorna’s this morning around 10:30 am. It was quit nice having more room in the car. The topper holds so much.
We stopped at Sylvan Lake and we brought lunch at Cobbs groceries, made a nice lunch in one of the parks and then took the kids swimming. The beach was awesome and so many people!
The kids had a ball and so did Maynard. They were playing tag in the water. It was a perfect afternoon. We stopped at the Diary Queen after for ice cream, and then back on the road. We’re stopped just outside of Calgary.
The girls fell asleep during the rest of the drive, and Ben was good company. But the camp site at Balzac is the pits. No fees, the wood is 2.00 plus tax for an arm load, but at least the bathroom and showers look good.
Mayn’s been trying to get hold of Karen and Lee, but so far no luck. We’ll have to try again tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow we are off to the zoo at Calgary. The kids should get a real kick out of that. I am really looking forward to it. I have never seen or been to a real zoo that I can remember.
[Carvel to Sylvan Lake is 200 Km/124 miles. Sylvan Lake to Balzac is 146 Km/91 miles.]

July 9, Sunday
This morning we went to Calgary, and went to the zoo. I’m not sure why any one would want to live in Calgary. From a distance, it looks like a bunch of rocks on hills, there are so many houses and complexes. And they’re so close together.
But going to the zoo was exciting. We saw animals from Austrail, some were pretty creepy looking. We saw elephants, tigers, monkeys, apes, bears, horses, polar bear. It was great. But there’s so much we missed, its takes much more than one day!
We then went onward to Banff. We stopped at the campgrounds by Canmore (Bow Valley Prov. Park). And it’s really nice. The campsite we have is beside the river with spectacular view of the river and the mountains.
We had to buy wood at 3.00 a bundle but the bundle is a nice size. I think the camp fees were 12.00 a nite.
Tomorrow we are onto Banff. We’re roughly ~17 km away.
[Balzac to Calgary is 21 Km/13 miles. Calgary to Canmore – where I got married, FYI – is 100 Km/62 miles.]

July 10, 1995
This morning we left our tent at the campsite at Bow Valley Prov Park and drove to Banff. The scenery is unbelievable and so are the prices. 8.00 to go into Banff a day.
We went up the Norquey Mountain road and could only go so far, because the road was blocked off. But the view was great.
We then went to a museum, which displayed animals that were trapped for the museum, back between 1890 to 1930. They had bufflo, lynx, wolves, mountain sheep, fish, birds. It was quit interesting. It was well worth seeing. It costed 5.00 for the family rate. We than went to see the falls. The Bow River Falls. Now that was different. The water was going at a real speed.
The whole town of Banff is something to see. It completely aimed at the tourist but what an experience. Even the playground for the kids are grand scale. I think the kids gave it a 10. So we know it was impressive. We had lunch by the playground and then we tried to go see the Indian Museum. But it was getting to be too long of a day for the kids.
So we came back to our campsite. Trina and I took a nap and Maynard took Ben and Sam to the park again. This morning Mayn took all three to the playground while I was sleeping. Trina and Sam went off the slide the wrong way and Trina’s teeth went into her bottom lip and she has some scraps on her chin. But so far that’s our only incident. Well tonight we showered up the kids. The showers here are excellent. Well that’s all for tonight the kids are in bed, and no asleep, but time for coffee.
[Canmore to Banff is 25 Km/15.5 miles. The fee for a family to enter Banff is now $19.60. Norquey is spelled Norquay. The museum is most likely the Banff Park Museum and National Historic Site, which is now $9.80 per family. That is the way she spelled buffalo.]

July 11, 1995
This morning we packed up camp and drove thru the Banff Park. The view of the mountains are something that you really appreciate their beauty is amazing and the lakes in the mountains are so clear the water is a brilliant green, instead of blue.
This morning in the park we saw some young mountain goats. They were the only real wild life we saw.
Then as we continued our driving we stopped at Lake Louise Mountain lifts Gradola Lifts. We were up to the tips of the trees. An experience never to be forgotten, being on top of a mountain. The kids enjoyed it. I was some shakey. When we got to the top, down at the bottom they had captured hawks and owls out on perches to view.
It started raining when we were coming down the lifts, and during our drive thru the mountains.
We had lunch in the car. We drove to Crimson Lake prov park. The fees were 15.00 a night. And the playground rates more likely an 8 on the kids’ scale and the wood rates a 7 on Dad’s scale.
Well tomorrow we continue homeward. We’ll hopefully enjoy the beach, before we leave, weather pending!
[Banff to Lake Louise is 59 Km/37 miles of some of the most stunning scenery imaginable. Gradola = Gondola. Lake Louise to Crimson Lake is 250 Km/155 miles. The camping fees for Crimson Lake are now $22 to $28 per night.]

July 12, 1995
Well this morning after a gourmae breakfast cooked by Dad, we then we took the kids down to the Beach. Well, the water was on the nice side. Would have been nicer to have been there in the afternoon with more heat. Benny really enjoyed the water. The girls found it too cold.
Dad stayed at the picnic table and I did the water thing with the kids. We than went back to camp and had a quick lunch and packed up to go to Lorna’s and Pat’s.
It was a nice drive to Lorna’s and we got there around supper time. Spending the night and going back to Shell Lake in the morning.
* * *
I won a free pick on the plus number tonight.
[Crimson Lake Provincial Park to Carvel, AB is 195 Km/121 miles.]

July 13, 1995
Well the drive to Shell Lake was alright. We seen baffolo along side the road. We stopped and took some pictures of them. One was hidden pretty good in the bush.
We stopped in Lloydminster for groceries and we ran into my cousin Helda, cousin of mine on my Moms’ side.
We had a catch up coffee at Smittys and than continued on to Shell Lake.
We got to Shell Lake around 6:30-7:00 and the kids were happy being back at Grandma, Grandpas’.
We’re going to camp in the yard and stay for a couple of days.
[Carvel, AB to Lloydminster, SK is 290 Km/180 miles, and then to Shell Lake, SK, is another 290 Km, for a total of 580 Km/360 miles. Yes, that is the way she spelled buffalo]

July 14, 1995
This morning Benny was up quit early. In the trailer with Grandma and Grandpa. It’s a nice morning. Grandpa has to ready the horses for Haydays tomorrow in Shell Lake.
Benny, Tammy, Trina, Grandpa, and Maynard went for a buggy ride this morning, the kids especially the older two loved it.
Well it rained most of the afternoon. The tent the girls and I are in didn’t get wet. But Ben and Mayn’s did.
Brenda and the kids got out here at 9:00ish. Tammy was excitted to see Ryne and Dianne and Keylo came down around 5:00ish.
Tomorrow is Haydays.
[Shell Lake Homesteader Hey Days: www.shelllake.info/heydays.html]

July 15, 1995
Well today is the parade in Shell Lake. Haydays. They kids are all excited about going. Grandpa will be taking a team in.
* * *
The kids had a great time riding on the wagon with Grandpa in the parade.
We came back to the house put the kids down for a nap. Then we went to the supper. Just as we got our plates it rained. So it was a quick scramble into the hall.
We came back and celebrated Debbie’s birthday.

July 16, 1995
Maynard, Grandpa, Keylow, Allan, Damien, Ben went fishing. I took Tom, and Trina with me, up to Meeting Lake, to the Thiessien’s family get together.
We all had a full day. The kids are sure wound up.

July 17, 1995
This morning my tooth and jaw was giving me great grief, so I ended up going to Stoon to have it removed. The oral surgeon had to put me to sleep.
Maynard drove me in and the kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa.
The kids went swimming. Had a blast.
It was Brenda’s 33rd birthday today. We have cake and ice cream.
[Stoon = Saskatoon. Shell Lake to Saskatoon is 145 Km/90 miles each way.]

July 18, 1995
Karen, Lee, Chrissy, and Allan left at noon. Brenda had left around 10:30 am Dianne left at around 1:00 oclock and Grandma and I went to P.A. to play Bingo.
Grandma won 9.50 and I won 100.00.
[P.A. = Prince Albert, SK. Shell Lake to Prince Albert is 96 Km/60 miles.]

July 19, 1995
Maynard, Grandpa, Ben and Tom went fishing today. They had a great time.
Trina, Grandma and I went into town, and then when we got home we puttered around in the garden while Trina napped. We had a good talk!
It rained off and on all day.
But it was a good day all around.
[This is where the diary ends.]

ED DANKY: FFanzeen on a Powertrip

Transcribed by Julia Masi and liberally edited by FFanzeen staff, 1983
Intro by Robert Barry Francos, 2010
© FFanzeen 1983, 2010
Images from the Internet

The following interview with California punk metal musician, Ed Danky, appeared in FFanzeen, Number 10, which was published in 1983.

Ed Danky was with the near-metal band Powertrip, from Los Angeles. He was also in two other bands at the same time, Würm and Reign of Terror. He was invited by or Managing Editor, Julia Masi, to come over to her house for dinner, along with two friends, Paul Sass and Susan Weisband, and myself. Also present was one of the people helping with our publicity, Laura Allgeier, and Julia’s parents, who were solid Brooklyn Italian. Both the Masi parents were sweet, but very different personalities. Her mom, Frances, took care of the house, hung out with the neighbors, and was friendly, yet reticent. She was open to what her daughter was into, but didn’t really have a deep comprehension to something so alien to her world. Her dad, Ralph, on the other hand, was solid smart-ass. He was a huge and intimidating man, both in height and girth, but I truly liked him. On one hand he kept Julia’s dates in line, yet he also baked some wicked cheesecake.

Getting back to Ed Danky, despite the metal accoutrement, inside he was solid surfer dude and flowerchild-like, totally unaware into what he was walking. Between Julia’s exceedingly sharp humor filled with highly sexually playful overtones, my own sarcastic life view, and her parents floating about, in addition to Susan and Paul, all Ed could do was try and hold on to the kitchen chair until the ride was over. And a rough one it was, too. But it was also incredibly funny. Poor boy never saw it coming.

Note that there are two postscripts following this interview. Enjoy. – RBF, 2010

I think I was asleep when he called, or maybe my brain had shorted out, but I don’t remember anything about our phone conversation except that I wrote down the address of where he was staying and… “Würm… Reign of Terror… Powertrip.”

With this cryptic message crumpled in my hand, I fell asleep until my illustrious editor, Robert Barry Francos, called to see what time he was coming for dinner, and where to pick up our friends, Paul Sass and Susan Weisband. I gave him their address and told him to pick up “somebody’s friend” on East 14th Street (in Midwood, Brooklyn). I stuffed the note in my pocket and went back to sleep.

I had a dream that the phantom voice on the phone was a psycho. And when Robert went to pick him up, he kidnapped Robert and dragged him off to some unknown territory of California.

FFanzeen Promotional Manager, Laura Allgeier, came over with her suitcase, adding to my paranoia (I forgot she was spending the night). We sat around trying to figure out who this “phantom” was. So just to be on the safe side, I decided to set up my tape recorder and bug the room. This way, if he was a musician, I’d have a story for FFanzeen. If he was psycho, I had a story for The Post.

What follows is the New York adventure of guitarist / singer / songwriter, Ed Danky.

Julia Masi: First question: what did you say your name was?
Ed Danky: Ed Danky.

Julia: Okay, that sounds good. Now, tell me the truth, did you get my number off a men’s room wall?
Ed: No, Gerry gave it to me.

Julia: Oh, that’s just as good! Gerry who?
Ed: You know Gerry [Lambe, bass player]! From Cheetah Chrome’s band [The Skels, whom Julia had interviewed].

Julia: Oh, nice guy. I think he told me about you. You’re in a band, right?
Ed: I’m in three bands: Würm, my original band with the bass player from Black Flag [Chuck Dukowski], Reign of Terror, which is my band, and Powertrip, who I came to New York with.

Julia: Well, so as long as you’re here, do you mind if I do an interview with you right now?
Ed: [Pointing at the tape recorder on the table] Is that on now?

Julia: Of course it is. Isn’t it very difficult playing in three bands at once?
Ed: I practice all the time; I try to play a lot, but we really don’t have a lot of gigs. I hope to get more when we get back (to California), but there aren’t many places to play. A lot of clubs are being shut down. The Whiskey just closed on the 18th (of September) or something. I only played there twice, but it was a great club. And this summer, four or five other clubs closed.

Julia: We’ve experienced that here, too. Why is it happening in Los Angeles?
Ed: In LA, it’s because of the police, ‘cause the gigs are really good. But the punks are either too young or too broke to get in, so they just hang out outside on the street.

Julia: You mean they stand outside the club and listen to the band?
Ed: Yeah, with the Whiskey, that’s why it closed. To get into gigs in LA, you’ve got to be 21. It’s different. It’s an earlier town. It closes at 2 AM.

Julia: Where do kids, say 18 or 19, go to listen to music?
Ed: Well, the Whiskey was the last all-ages club. There’s always parties.

Julia: Do the kids really cause so much trouble, or…
Ed: [Laughs] Cops just don’t understand punks. It’s a natural consequence. Look at what happened to Black Flag. They got so much notoriety from their gigs being shut down. Them and all their equipment, and their fans, being taken off to jail. It worked for them.

Robert Barry Francos: But how do you arrest a guitar? Do you read it its rights and put handcuffs around its neck?
Julia: Tell me about Reign of Terror. Who’s in the band?
Ed: Some guys from LA.

Julia: What are their names?
Ed: I don’t know their last names.

Julia: What do you call them?
Ed: Ed and Jessie.

Julia: I won’t ask who’s who.
Ed: The bass player is a crazed Mexican skinhead.

Robert: Always good! Always good!
Ed: He’s like Jack Bruce or something. A real three piece player. And the drummer’s Japanese. He wants to play that kind of fun power-pop or something. We actually end up playing the most with hardcore groups. There really isn't much rock’n’roll going on. Reign of Terror is a little bit behind Powertrip as far as organization goes. The other two guys don’t drive. They don’t even have a van.

Julia: What do you expect, if they don’t have last names?
Ed: We made a record, but our record’s not out yet. I wanted to come here to New York so I could get everything together.

Julia: You’ve played on records with everyone. How many labels are you on?
Ed: Würm and Reign of Terror are on Black Flag’s label, SST. And Powertrip is on Jeff Dahl’s label, Mystic. Mystic has my favorite band on it, the Mentors. They’re hooded. It’s hard to explain.

Julia: What do you mean, “hooded”? Like, they walk around in shrouds? That kind of hooded?
Robert: Sounds like the Residents.
Ed. Yeah, oh yeah. It’s a great band. [Note: Ed would briefly join the Mentors as bassist under the clever name of Poppa Sneaky Spermshooter – RBF, 2010]

Julia: There’s a guy on the “N” train like that. You should take him back to LA with you and introduce him to the band. I think he plays chess.
Ed: No. They’ll be coming here soon [he stares at Julia strangely].

Julia: How long have you been in New York?
Ed: Since Monday. We (Powertrip) played a few places: R.T. Firefly’s, and a hardcore place, A7. Cheetah jammed with us that night. It was fun.

Julia: Do you like Cheetah’s band, the Skels?
Ed: Yeah. They’re great. I’m really into that. I like what I call Detroit rock. That’s all I ever talk about when I get together with bands, that kind of really heavy bass, like the Stooges, MC5, or New York bands like the Dolls.

Julia: Do you write music like that?
Ed: Sometimes, I guess.

Julia: Too fast to be heavy metal?
Ed: Something like that. It’s like the crossover that Motörhead had. But it's cleaner than that, like Judas Priest at 45 (rpm).

Julia: How many songs have you contributed to each band?
Ed: Two for Powertrip. Reign of Terror and Würm are all my songs.

[A little blonde-haired lady, otherwise known as Frances Masi, bursts into the room]
Frances Masi: You’ve got five minutes (till dinner is ready). [To Ed] Have you got anything to say in the next five minutes?
Ed: [Looking confused] Nothing that I couldn’t say in the next five days.

Frances: Well, I’ve got to explain something: Robert, remember when I threw out my chairs?
Robert: I remember. The table went with them.
Frances: Well, I only have four chairs. So we’re going to have to try to balance.
Paul Sass: There’s no problem. Susan can sit on my lap.
Laura Allgeier: Since I think I weigh the most of anybody here, I should have my own chair. [Note: Laura is not heavy, but the rest of us are near emaciated.]
[Ed stares blankly.]
Julia: It’s okay. Robert and I can fit on one chair.
Robert: I don’t want to sit next to you.
Julia: We won’t touch.
Frances: Is anybody short? We have a step stool.
Julia: Three of us can sit on that.
Ed: You’re eating now?

Julia: Yeah. So are you. Didn’t you come for dinner?
Ed: [Staring at Julia] What?

Julia: Oh, I’m sorry. Did I inflict a traumatic experience on you or something? I mean, sending this strange guy [Robert] to pick you up and everything? That’s almost like being kidnapped.
Ed: I went along with it. I had nothing else to do.

Robert: He was just sitting in this little basement room looking at pictures of Iggy Pop and Marilyn Monroe. They were all over the wall.
Julia: [To Laura] Take the tape recorder in the kitchen. [Looks at Ed] You can talk with your mouth full, right? We do it all the time.
Ed: What?

[We move to the kitchen. Laura plugs the tape recorder into the wall. A huge chair floats to the door frame with a pair of legs sticking out from underneath and a voice behind it.]
Francs: Is anybody tall? They can sit on this
Robert: It won’t fit through the (kitchen) door [which it didn’t].
Julia: Where are the Seven Santini Brothers [a New York moving company] when you need them?
Robert: I sit at the end of the table. I’m the publisher!

[We try to shift four chairs around a very small table with six people, in a kitchen designed to seat three munchkins.]
Frances: Julia can stand.
Paul: Actually, it’s healthier if you eat while standing.
Robert: Then everything falls to your feet.
Julia: Would it stop along the way? Like at the hips?
Laura: [Mumbling to Julia] Nothing gets past your chest.

[A stout, white-haired man, known as Ralph Masi, comes in with a lop-sided stool.]
Ralph Masi: Here, somebody can sit on this. Just don’t touch the bottom. There are pins in it.
Julia: Give it to Laura. She never leans back.

[We keep shifting chairs. I get the step-stool, the rest of the crowd are sitting on chairs of various sizes.]
Laura: [Leans back on the stool and hits her head on the sink] Oh, God! I can’t sue! They have no money!
Julia: [Standing by the stove and staring at it as if it were an alien] I need help. I’m not domestic. Laura, you’re German, you should be good with ovens.
Laura: I’m good at putting things in, not taking them out.
Robert: Why do we have two plates?
Julia: The little one is for the antipasto.
Paul: Why is it anti-? Why does it have to be anti-anything?
Julia: Don’t get political! It’s just a salad. You eat it before the pasta, which is in the oven – indefinitely. I’m afraid to take it out.

[We all start eating the antipasto. Laura graciously explains its ingredients to Ed, advising him against the provolone cheese.]
Laura: Every time I come here he gives me some weird cheese. Don’t eat it. And don’t eat the Tuscany peppers.
Julia: Don’t listen to her. These things are great.

[Julia proceeds to stuff about three peppers in her mouth. Susan tries one and very politely lets out a shriek.]
Laura: She bit it! I did that the first time I was here, too.
Julia: You should have sucked it first.
Susan Weisband: Why didn’t you tell me it was hot?!
Julia: I forgot. If you kiss Paul right now, you can pass along the heat.

[Julia starts collecting everyone’s plates for the main course.]
Julia: [Pointing inside the oven] Robert, see inside there.
Robert: You’re pushing it.
Julia: I just want you to get something out.

[She opens the oven and points to a five pound pan of baked rigatoni. Robert pulls it out and puts it on top of the stove. Julia overloads everyone’s plate. We all start eating again and telling tasteless ethnic jokes for the next half hour.]
Julia: [Staring at Ed’s half-empty plate] If you don’t like that, just reach into the refrigerator and grab something. There must be something you like.
Ed: I like this. Really. I’m just not used to eating so much.

Julia: Well, it doesn’t matter. We didn’t make it for you. It’s just left over from when my parents ate.
Ed: You mean they gave up eating, too?

Julia: No, they just don’t do it in front of me.
Robert: In case you haven’t noticed, they’re Italian.
Julia: So we always cook extra, in case all of Naples should drop by. Tell me about the bands.
Ed: Würm is a little heavy metal. We’d have Würm together now if everyone wasn’t so busy. The drummer is in Slam, and the bass player is in Black Flag. Reign of terror is a little bit poppier. The other guys aren’t in any other bands.

Julia: What are some of Reign of Terror’s songs?
Ed: “Don’t Blame Me,” “Dead of Night,” “Price of Fame,” “Some Came Running”; Reign of Terror is really a funny band.

Julia: Tell me something that you do that is funny.
Ed: [Laughs] It’s just such a refreshing band. We laugh all the time. Powertrip worries too much. They’ll worry for no reason. They’ll worry that nothing is right. “We’ve gotta do this.” Really sour people. I can’t stand grumps. They don’t like me very much. That’s why they left me. They don’t understand that we’re already getting the big shaft on this tour. We’re not in a respected position. We’re getting treated like shit on this tour.

Julia: Tell me about the tour. What has happened so far?
Ed: We were on our way to Chicago for our first date and I broke the van. Accidently. It wouldn’t have made it anyway.

Julia [Laughing] How do you break a van? Did you drop it or something?
Ed: I didn’t do it on purpose, but it was an old van. It just couldn’t make it. We were supposed to go over a 12,000 pass and we only made it to 11,000 feet when the gear slipped, or something. So we got towed down to Silver Thorn [Colorado], which was about 3,000 feet, and we were gonna have to stay there for two days.

[Ralph walks in and looks at Ed’s half-empty plate.]
Ralph: If you don’t like that, look in the refrigerator. You want a beer?
Ed: I’ve got a glass of wine.

Ralph. It doesn’t matter. Have a beer [he says, as Ralph hands Ed one]. Make yourself a sandwich. [Ralph exits.]
Julia: That’s gonna keep happening. God forbid you should starve. Did you make it to Chicago on time?
Ed: We were going to Chicago a few days early. We had a few friends we wanted to see first. But anyway, we got towed into town and we were gonna have to stay in town for two days. And me and our tour manager – he’s great. We’re the only ones who are having any fun on this tour. We call the rest of the band “Misery.” They’re real frowners. Nobody else in the band gets stoned –

Julia: Watch it! Don’t tell us drug stories or Robert won’t print this.
Robert: Nothing about drugs in my magazine. No one on my staff does extraneous drugs of any kind.
Ed: [Looking shocked] Really? Nobody?

Julia: But don’t let that intimidate you. You’re the only one here that’s acting normal.
Robert: That’s the scary part.
Julia: Back to the tour –
Ed: Well, we got stuck in this hillbilly town and me and the tour manager met this guy in front of the liquor store. And he asked us to play at this party. It was in a big, old barn. So we got a gig. The next day was awful. We were stuck in hotels. We got to Chicago just about an hour before we had to play. We got poisoned in Philadelphia. We had unlimited beer. They had this ice chest – this is what we figured out the next day – and the ice and the beer were floating in this scummy water, and each day they’d throw in more ice to the old water. We all got really sick on the way to New York. Well, they got really sick. I just got a stomach ache.

Julia: Uh-huh. What’s the philosophy of the band?
Robert: “Rene Descartes is on an airplane. The stewardess comes over and says, ‘Would you like something to drink?’ Descartes says, ‘I think not,’ and disappears.”
[Susan instantly bursts out in a fit of laughter, her face turns red, and her eyes get misty.]
Robert: [Laughing] That’s great. Most people don’t get it that quickly. Took me half a second, the first time I heard it. I never got that reaction before.
Julia: And you never will again. Have you got anything relevant to say?
Robert: If you want me to leave, I will. But we’re all going to the club [Dr. B’s] in 15 minutes.

[He and Susan go into the living room, to join Paul (who had left a few minutes before) and the Masi’s.]
Julia: Okay, I’ll wrap it up. Very quickly, tell me your life story! Everything! And your theory on the end of the world!

[Frances comes in and starts making a pot of coffee. She examines Ed’s half-empty plate.]
Frances: What’s the matter? Don’t you eat? [To Julia] You’re some hostess. Half your friends are in the living room. You don’t make coffee. When are you going to get around to desert? [To Ed and Laura] I didn’t even know anybody was coming over today. Until you walked in the door.
Laura: Did you know I was staying over?
Frances: I caught on when I saw your suitcase. [To Julia] Is anybody else staying over?
Julia: Can I tell you in the morning?
Frances: Can I kill you in the morning?
Julia: [To Ed] Do you need a place to sleep?
Frances: What about the rest of his band?
Ed: They’re in Philadelphia.

Frances. Of course. [She starts to walk out the door, but turns back.] Philadelphia! If they’re in Philadelphia, how did you get here?
Ed: A girl drove me to Brooklyn.

Julia: Didn’t she like you?
Ed: Yeah, she likes me. They (the band) ditched me without my jacket. Without my phone numbers. Or money. Gerry is the only friend I’ve made here. What happened was, these girls were really cool. They spent everything they had to get to Philadelphia to see us; every cent. And this girl drove us to Philadelphia and then stayed in Philadelphia. And I called her and she drove me back to Brooklyn. The train is, like, 17 bucks [Today it costs between $80-150 – RBF, 2010]. I was spending a lot of money when I had it.

Julia: So, is the general attitude of the band a lot of ego clashing?
Ed: We have a theme song in Powertrip: [he sings] “Everything’s got be my way / Don’t wanna hear what you have to say / I’m living on a Powertrip.”

Julia: Does Würm have a theme song?
Ed: No. I forget. It’s a pretty old band, since ’76 or ’77. I can’t sing it. I just waned to come to New York and get everything set up to bring my band [Reign of Terror] here before the weather gets cold.

Julia: You don’t have much time.
Robert: [Reappearing at the kitchen door] Are we ready to go?
Julia: [To Ed] You’re coming with us, right?
Robert: Will you stop intimidating the man?
Ed: No, really, I have to get back.

[Back to where he didn’t exactly say. When we left Ed Danky, he was standing before a dark BMT subway entrance, looking like a confused version of The Little Prince, going back to his home planet holding a copy of FFanzeen in one hand and a single subway token in the other.]
* * *
Postscript 1: Powertrip Press Release from 1983: “Upon arrival back in L.A., Powertrip’s guitarist and roadie were promptly given their walking papers for unprofessional conduct both on and off stage – and for being complete pigs hygienically speaking. Powertrip wishes each of them the very best of luck for the future, but hopes to never see their ugly moronic asses again.”

Postscript 2: Ex-band mate Jeff Dahl, of Powertrip, sent me the following email after the turn of the century: “Sorry to say but Ed Danky died some years ago. OD'd, actually [in 1991, via cocaine – RBF, 2010]. The Powertrip album has been re-released on CD (Triple X Records) for the first time and has some of the demo tracks from when Ed was still in the band. (If you remember our ‘road manager’ from that tour, English Frank, or our drummer, John Bliss, they're both gone also.)”

Listen to Reign of Terror:
http://www.box.net/shared/6ijs6s39xm#/shared/6ijs6s39xm/1/6005678/55265838/1

Ode to a Mixed Tape – Traditional Folk, 2001

Text © Robert Barry Francos
Images from the Internet

This tape was one I made as a traditional folk sampler. Rather than using the top-10 Peter Paul & Mary, Kingston Trio, (New) Christy Minstrels kind of thing (and I don’t believe I own any [N]CM), I went for the songs. Traditional folk music is largely based on a history of orality (unlike, say, classical or opera, which are literary), so the content is more fluid as it was passed down through time. That is why there is more than one version of many of the songs on the first side, to show different versions of essentially the same tune. The songs I chose range from early Madrigals through Americana and, of course, Woody (albeit indirectly). As always, I have tried to find videos where available, but folk music is not highly sought in a YouTube world. Even the images of the covers were hard to come by on many. Hopefully that will change. Some of the bands below are kind of obscure, most of them I bought in used stores from the Sally Ann (Salvation Army to you uninitiated), to used furniture stores, to garage sales. I will take my music as passed down, as well.

SIDE ONE

Smith Sisters – Sunnyside
These two songs are off the Bluebird album (all three of their releases are named in relation to aviary), on Flying Fish Records in 1984, which I picked up at Tower for $0.99. This song was most notably done earlier by the Carter Family way back when, though it had a resurgence after it appeared on the soundtrack of O! Brother Where Art Thou?. This version, which ends the album, is suitably cheerful, with Debi Smith’s yodel-style vocals focused and strong, yet playful, with sister Megan keeping up harmony as usual (i.e., very well). Their sound is a bit chirpy, so the album titles make sense. It’s a very warm version of the song.
Smith Sisters – Leatherwing Bat
This is a classic song, covered by just about everyone from the early ‘60s folk movement, such as PP&M. It takes different birds (there’s that association again), and uses them to look at relationships, such as infidelity, courtship, etc., to explain things such as the color of the birds. What’s interesting to me is that in this ‘80s retelling, they subtly adapt some of the wording, such as changing the meaning of bow from bow-and-arrow to hair ribbons. The original song is a little bitter, and they make it a bit more, er, modern.

Allen-Ward Trio – Leather Winged Bat
I picked up this 1965 self-titled album for $1.00 during the late ‘80s, at a used furniture store in Ontario. There is a sticker on the cover (on the plastic wrap) that says, “The #1 Folk Act From Canada.” As far as I know, this is their own release, which is a shame because they are amazingly good. Along with some originals (such as the truly beautiful “I Need a Friend,” hauntingly sung by Lynn Ward, supported by her brother Robin and Craig Allen). In their version of “LWB,” it starts off with a Celtic guitar lift that transforms into the flow of the melody of the song. They do the more classic version, filled with luscious three-part harmony.
Allen-Ward Trio – The Cuckoo
This is another traditional song that was widely covered during the ‘60s. It was totally rewritten in the ‘80s by NYC’s Washington Squares who use the chorus of “On the fourth day of July” and turn it into a U.S. political statement, rather than the original British one about poverty and the desire for beauty: “Oh the cuckoo is a pretty bird / And I wish she were mine / I would never give her water / I would only give her wine.” What’s interesting about the A-WT version is they do it a capella, relying only on three-part harmonies. They sound great together.
Allen-Ward Trio – No More Auction Block
Robin Ward takes the lead vocals in this (with Lynn and Craig backing up) powerful spiritual. Many times when a white group does spirituals, it has a sense of disingenuousness, but not here. Robin has a mournful tone that works with both passion and prayerful of freedom. I’ve heard other versions of this song, but this one remains my favorite.
Check out: thewhitsuntidesingers.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-favorite-folk-album-of-all-time.html

Ramblers Three – Charlottetown Is Burning Down
Don’t know what the hell I did with this record, but I can’t seem to find it on my shelf, nor much info on the net. Oh, well. The Ramblers Three are definitely in the mode of the Kingston Trio (there were a lot of them). This version of “Charlottetown” is a bit vanilla, but has some interesting harmonies. It’s a nicely-done sing-a-long chorus of a kiss-off to Liza-Jane.
Ramblers Three – Oh, Let Me Fly
In a similarly straightforward way, they cover this spiritual. It’s smooth and solid harmony in, again, Kingston Trio mode. It’s pretty rich even in its classic way.

Brown & Dana – Oh, Let Me Fly
These songs come from Garrett Brown and Al Dana’s album, It Was a Very Good Year,” on MGM in 1963. Their version of this spiritual is, as Joe Goldberg says in the liner notes, “One minute and 37 seconds of pure swing!” It does too. The arrangement is very upbeat and a totally different rhythm than the Ramblers Three, with a bop beat rather than a smooth folkie.
Brown & Dana – Sinner Man
This is another standard, but I have to say this is among my fave versions. The background laugh during the “Satan said Sinner man, come right in,” is a perfect touch. Songs that are rounds like this have a tendency to be a bit too circular and wearying (e.g., just about anyone’s version of “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”), but this one remains interesting all the way through, even on repeated listening. There is an excitement level that comes through in the rhythmic strum and emotion they put behind it.

Steeleye Span – Cold, Haily, Rainy Night
Here are three cuts come from their 1971 Big Tree record, Please to See the King (their second release). As when I saw Steeleye Span play at the Bottom Line in NYC during the ‘80s, they have an interesting mix of olde English sound with electric instruments, giving these songs a cold, static-electricity feel that is sharp as a needle, an aural version of a metallic taste in the mouth; and yet, it works. Back in the Renaissance period, soldiers were sort of like rock stars, and were just as fickle. Here is a story of an innkeeper’s daughter who makes the mistake of “opening up her window,” and what becomes of it.
Steeleye Span – Jigs: Bryan O’Lynn/ The Hag with the Money
An instrumental mix of two different jigs with that same blue electric feel to them, this song is a fine mixture of the old and the new. Its use of sharp and flat notes with the electric guitar makes it sound as jolly as it does ominous.
Steeleye Span – The King
This song was reportedly (on their liner notes) sung by itinerants who brought a dead wren door to door just past Christmas, and asked for money to see “the king.” Because it’s done a capella, it has more of a madrigal (and nasal) tone that is more traditional than most of the other SS electrified material. It’s a beautiful piece (as is their electric stuff, as well).




Pete Seeger – Deportee
This cut is from Pete Seeger Sings Woody Guthrie, a 1967 Folkways release. It’s amusing to me how Pete has spent so much of his life singing the songs of Woody Guthrie, and now people are singing songs of and about him (e.g., Harry Chapin’s “Old Folkie”). Pete’s probably not long for this world, considering his age, but his music will last a lot longer. Even in this case where he sings one of Woody’s power songs, when people cover it, they do Pete doing Woody, rather than just Woody (though it should be noted that Woody penned the words, and Martin Hoffman wrote the tune). This song is based on a true event of a plane going down in Los Gatos Canyon where everyone was killed, but the news reports just referred to the people on the plane as deportees, not even bothering to publish the names. The song is long and simple, with Pete on vocal and banjo, but it is very powerful. While Pete should not be forgotten for his amazing music (even the minor point of changing “We Will Overcome” to “We Shall Overcome,” making the song so much stronger), he was a good interpreter of other’s songs as well. I was fortunate to see him play a couple of times in large settings, including singing with Arlo Guthrie and Bob Dylan in 1973 at the Friends of Chile Concert at the Felt Forum (which became the Theater at MSG) in NYC; I also got to stand next to him – he’s freakin’ tall, man – a couple of years ago in Central Park during a Toshi Regon soundcheck. There are lots of videos of this song on the ‘Net, just none of Pete doing it.

Sweet Honey in the Rock – Deportee
Ah, Sweet Honey in the Rock. They are magical on record and even more so live, and I’ve seen them four times (at Queens College, twice at Carnegie Hall, and their annual February children’s concert in the school across the street from Irving Plaza). Mostly a capella (with some minor instrumentation such as shakers), these women based in Washington, DC, have one of the deepest harmonies you are ever likely to hear. Their version of this song, from 1985’s, The Other Side, released on Flying Fish, is sung at almost a whisper, with a cry out here and there, but is still full of power. These use the echo to just the right level to make it haunting. Just gorgeous.

Len & Judy – The Land of Odin
This song is arguably “traditional,” and comes across as sort of psychedelic folk. Off the Folk Songs / Sweet & Bittersweet album on Prestige in 1965 (bought it for $1.00 at the same time as the Allen-Ward Trio, above), it discusses an island in the sky 10,000 miles high that is 10,000 miles long by 10,000 miles wide. Yeah, it’s kinda off-kilter. Siblings Len and Judy Novy have a sweet harmony, but this song has since become a bit tiresome for me. When I made this tape, I knew I was going to give a copy of it to someone of Norwegian heritage, and had just enough room at the end to add this one. Now I wish I had put a different song on, because L&J are fine, it’s the song that’s kind of lost its appeal to me.

SIDE TWO


Most of the songs on this side, with two exceptions, are either from two live compilations, Folk Era’s Live Sampler on Folk Era in 1988 (from earlier recordings), and Greatest Folksingers of the ‘Sixties a comp made “from the Vanguard folk catalogue” and “highlights of the Newport Folk Festivals” (got it at a Sally Ann for $7.99). This latter collection is from 1987 on Vanguard Records. The notation FE and GF will state from which it originates.

Northeast Winds – Martin Greigh
An Irish group from New England, the NEW is a foursome that has a really nice traditional sound, and lush harmonies. This is clearly shown in the song (pronounced “Martin Gray”), about a sailing family whose matriarch leaves to live inland, and the father, at some point, just takes off in the ship and doesn’t return (“Four boats in the harbor / Where’s the Martin Greigh / She was due to fetch the cutty lights / By 3 o’clock today / No sail on the horizon / No vessel by the cay…” I fell in love with song (and this version) the first time I heard it, especially on the penultimate chorus where they sing it a capella, thick with their Irish lilt (think the Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B”). [FE]

Judy Collins / Theodore Bikel – Greenland Whale Fisheries
There are two different versions of this song; one is where the captain of the ship is sorrowful for losing some of the crew, and the other where he is sadder about losing the whale than his men. This one falls to the latter, as Theodore Bikel, who does the harmony to Collin’s straightforward singing, states in one of his solo moments, “O the losing of these gallant men / It grieves my heart so / but the losing of this great sperm whale / It grieves me 10 times more.” Still, it’s a great, blustery, sad whaling song that has been covered umpteen times, but this live at the Newport version remains my fave one (the video is the same cut). [GF]


Figgy Duff – Yankee Clipper
For those who don’t know, as they apparently do not have a wide knowledge base, Figgy Duff is a folk band from New Foundland who, for a while (before the death of its founder), had an lush Celtic sound, as so many great groups from the Maritimes do (e.g., the Rankin Family). I first heard Figgy Duff on the CBC while driving to Ontario, and was blown away by them. I given the then-recently released Weather Out the Storm (nominated for a Juno award) in 1989 as a present. This cut is actually a medley of the song mixed with some jigs between stanzas. The core of the song is a married woman’s fling with the captain of said ship, and its implications. Definitely upbeat melody and the jigs are worked in quite smoothly.

Ian & Sylvia – You Were on My Mind
This Canadian duo had a few hits, most notably this and “Four Strong Winds,” though most Yanks know the We Five version (link to the video is below), which was on pop radio. This is more country than folk, I guess, but it’s a great song in the tradition. Ian went on to greater country fame as a solo, but they still perform together occasionally. I got this off their two-volume greatest hits package that is wonderful from beginning to end. It’s understandable why they are considered a national treasure up north.

Bonus: The We Five version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=29uNvGHsRlc

Odetta – John Henry
The late Odetta was a strong woman who sang of freedom, and was the forerunner of so many powerful women of color. I had the fortune to see her play at the Calgary Folk Festival a decade or so back, and even at that stage, she was a force to be reckoned with. Her version of the John Henry tall tale of man-vs.-machine is, as far as I’m concerned, the definitive one. She whoops at the right moments (when “John Henry whoops the steel on down”). This song, under her tutelage, builds to a climax of JH’s death of exhaustion by making the audience feel that drain, as she chugs the song with a steam engine rhythm. [GF]

Bob Gibson & Hamilton Camp – Well, Well, Well
Both are well-known folkies from the ‘60s, with Camp having a big hit in his native Canada with a cover of Dylan’s “Girl From the North County”; he was also a sit-com actor during the ‘70s, usually playing bizarre boyfriends (The Marry Tyler Moore Show in the famous “Toulouse Lautrec is my favorite artist” episode), or deranged bosses or dads of dates; you’d know him if you saw him. What I like especially about their coverage of this spiritual, other than (but including) the way their voices blend together so well, well, well, is that they sing it heartfelt, rather than trying to show how cool they are being white singing a spiritual. They have a Joe and Eddy kind of appeal to them. [GF]


Staple Singers – I Wish I Had Answered
The Staple Singers were definitely known for their gospel recordings, such as “I’ll Take You There” and the uplifiting “Respect Yourself.” This live song is solid R&B gospel at its finest, with hands clapping, and a cry for redemption. The song’s protagonist has an ever increasing fever through the song, and is now realizing, as his end is nigh, that he wished he had answered the Lord’s call sooner. What’s also great about the song is that some of the Staples get solos, such as Mavis, and show their gifts. It’s a fun song, with a message. [GF]

Flatt & Scruggs – Salty Dog Blues
Yeah, they were known for doing a little theme that starts off, “Lemme tell you all a story ‘bout a man named Jed…” However, the songs I like them for are “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” and this one. Bluegrass central, F&S knew not only how pick ‘em, they knew how to pick ‘em. Almost an answer to Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog,” from the man’s perspective, but as a total rave-up. The clip below is short, but it sounds just like the recording on the CD. [GF]


The Weavers – Erie Canal
This is arguably the best known recording of the tape. It has that great tongue-twister line (sung by Pete), “We mighta gotten floundered on a chunk o’ Lackawanna coal.” The lyrics were pretty salty for the time, including drinking, hoisting of panties up the flagpole (“as a sig-a-n’l of distress”), and general partying on the boat (hence the almost floundering). Even after all these years, it still has a memorable, catchy chorus. [GF]


Clancy Brothers – Sweet Thames Flow Softly
A lovely ballad by those Irish lads, the Clancy Brothers, who in this case join with Robbie O’Connell, as opposed to Tommy Makem. It is a wistful remembrance of the girl the singer loves as they stood by the Thames River, with the lilt of the evening meeting the lilt of the brogue. Sort of an Irish version of “Sunday Will Never Be the Same,” I guess. If I had more room on the tape, I would have added the live versions of “Finnegan’s Wake” and their powerful “Risin’ of the Moon” from this CD. [FE]

Northeast Winds – Leaving of Liverpool
This is similar to “Sweet Thames,” but a bit more upbeat, as the singer / sailor is about to sail off to places unknown (“Tis not the leavin’ of Liverpool that grieves me / But my darlin’ when I think of thee”). NEW may have been from New England, but they had the Irish sound down so perfect (hardly surprising considering the large Irish population in that town). This is just a beautiful song full of expectant desire. [FE]

Northeast Winds – The Orange and the Green
I know the Irish Rovers are more famous for this song, but (a) I don’t have theirs, and (b) I really like this live version. For those who don’t know it, the song is about a man who grew up with a Catholic father and a Protestant mother (“And it is the biggest mix-up that you have ever seen / My father he was Orange and me mother she was Green”). It’s a funny, tragic-sorta, upbeat tune about difference in the culture clash. [FE]

Tommy Makem – The Whistling Gypsy
Tommy Makem made a notch in the folk idiom in the U.S. with this number. It’s a jolly, loving song about a father who chases his daughter who has run off with what he believes to be a Gypsy, but is in for a surprise. The song’s catchy “La-de-do La-de-do-da-day / La-de-do La-de-day-hee” chorus stays in the brain well past the song being done. The video is not the same version as the recording, but it is the correct artist from the right period of time, so there, deal with it. Don’t get me (non)-Irish up!

Book Review: “Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond, 1977-88”, by Liz Worth

Text © Robert Barry Francos/FFanzeen, 2010
Images are alphabetical, and from the Internet
Text previously published at jerseybeat.com

Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond, 1977-88
By Liz Worth; Edited by Gary Pig Gold
Bongo Beat Books (Montreal), 2009
383 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9813694-0-2
www.bongobeat.com

This will be, what, the third punk oral history I have read? And like Please Kill Me (N.Y.) and We Got the Neutron Bomb (L.A.), it is also named after a song (from the chorus of Simply Saucer’s “Bullet Proof Nothing”). And, also like the other two, this one is excellent.

Treat Me Like Dirt is extensively detailed by those who lived through the scene, either directly day-to-day, or sometimes in spurts, such as Dead Boys’ Cheetah Chrome or Lydia Lunch. Told generally chronologically, jumping sections broken up from band to band and back, the handy reference of people - listed alphabetically - explains who they are and their association to the scene, in a very handy reference right up front. I’m happy to say I personally know a few, some of whom I call friend.

Liz, who was born the year after the period this book technically ends, has done an above-and-beyond, exemplary job taking a complex multi-character / band situation and made it possible to follow the story of each of the bands covered, in almost a narration. Sure, I had to go back and forth to remember who some of the huge cast was, but as the book progressed, that needed to happen less and less, as the people became so familiar. This is especially important for those who are not very familiar with the inhabitants who were involved with the scene.

As with any scene, there are the “big boys” and the “second tier” bands (my quotes); for example, in New York, every history seems to be about the Patti, the Ramones, the Dictators, the Heartbreakers, Television, and Blondie, but there were many other groups just bubbling under, such as the Mumps, the Marbles, and tons of others who were also important, but still never went anywhere. This is also true of the Toronto / Hamilton scene, where the first level is discussed, such as (in no particular order) Teenage Head, the Viletones, Simply Saucer, Forgotten Rebels, the B-Girls, the Ugly, the Demics, plus others, and she also delves into the secondary level with the Secrets, the Curse, the Androids, and the Poles (though I’m surprised there isn’t more about Johnny and the G-Rays), etc.. There are a number of tertiary bands that get mentioned, but not really covered, such as the Loved Ones (editor Gary Pig Gold’s band), the Eels, the Shakers (who were on the pop side), and some great band names like Crash Kills Five, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, and my favorite name listed in the book, Dick Duck and the Dorks (perhaps some of these were later than the 1981 cut-off, I’m not sure).

The presence of Liz’s voice in the book is among (or, for the Canadian readers, amongst) the least, with but page-long preface about her undertaking to write and publish this tome, and another page of acknowledgements / thank yous that is mostly the names of those quoted.

As Bruce Mowat (whom I had sort of expected, and I say this bemusedly, would write his own history of at least the Hamilton phase, as he did for FFanzeen many years ago) rightfully says in his review of this book at his gmole.blogspot.com, “A couple of pages of historical context from the author, a discography and a time line might have helped.” [As I’m wont to digress, please permit me to do so here: on a dark and gloomy day in 2006, Bruce led me on a tour of Hamilton, and many of the places he took me are mentioned here, such as the Lanois Brothers’ house in Ancaster, the spot on Hillview Street where the Teenage Head first played, the place in the Jackson Square Mall where Simply Saucer had their noted performance, and he even brought me to meet Simply Saucer’s Edgar Breau at Edgar’s house.] This is the only close-to quibble I have about the book, as well.

You may ask, “Why Toronto of all places?” Well, if you don’t know (in which case you really need to get this book), Toronto (in this review, when I say Toronto, I’m including Hamilton because even though they are separate cities, they have overlapping and cross-pollinating scenes) is arguably one of the four concurrent places where punk really started on its own at the same time, including New York, Boston, and London (UK)., even while New York was considered the “leader” thanks to the early signing of bands).

One aspect interests me is that while comparing the New York and Toronto scenes, as presented in this book, they pretty much followed a similar path, where it started insular with a few bands, and then it exploded with crowds from the surrounding areas (and the increasing gentrification of those slum areas since); likewise, the early bands came from nowhere and most of them burned out pretty fast, be it from infighting, lack of label attention, or substance abuse (as is chronicled in Treat, there was lots of booze, and eventually heroin). As Ralph Alfonso wisely points out in the book, at the time, “you’re dealing with bands and a genre of music which is completely based and derived from, and owes all of its existence to, music by bands who had failed. So when you’re talking about the MC5, Stooges, Flamin’ Groovies, Dictators, Velvet Underground even, these are all bands that, in their time, were commercial failures. None of them sold records and they all got dropped. But they were so influential that they were responsible for punk. So, ergo, the cycle will repeat itself” [p. 344]. In other words, in most scenes there is the initial bands that come out that are mostly ignored by their contemporaries and they pass quickly, but are still the artistic foundation of the bigger bands to follow. Some groups do survive on some level (e.g., Teenage Head have more than a dozen albums), but many more schism.

A theme that runs throughout the book is that at some point, after the first year covered (1977), there is sure to be someone who says, “This is the moment that punk rock ended in Toronto.” That sentiment comes up often by numerous people, nearly from the beginning. I certainly remember that happening in New York, as well. “Oh, the Ramones signed to Sire; the scene is dead!” “Blondie has a disco song that’s a hit; the scene is dead!” Here it’s the end of the Crash ‘n Burn club, the signing of bands, a riot at a public concert, the entrance of a gang of bullies, the introduction of rockabilly (to North America what reggae was to the U.K.), what-have-you. Another theme is that it seems that no band was happy with their first album for whatever reason. Yet these records today are considered classics.

Also, as with most scenes in the four cities, in the Toronto area there was a division between the art students and the, well, not. Here in New York, it was the experimental Talking Heads and Theoretical Girls types vs. the Ramones and Dead Boys anti-intellectuals. In Toronto, it was the arty and experimental Diodes and the Dishes, vs. the Viletones and the Ugly. Similarly, even though they both resented each other and there was strong jealousy, they often shared bills and, on some level, supported one another because they needed each other.

One of the outstanding elements of Treat is that the quotes are thorough enough that the personalities definitely shine through. You can feel the excitement of when the members talk about their bands starting up and the early scene, and the tiredness of when they are held back by circumstances (e.g., label indifference, car accidents, squabbling). But there are more subtle nuances that one can “read,” such as how in-the-moment some were, such as Mickey DeSadist and Freddy Pompeii, and how self-promoting and pretentious are others, so in love with their image, such as Steve Leckie (Nazi Dog, of the Viletones) and Michaele Jordana (of the Poles). Leckie has jumped image a number of times, from Bowie-clone to punk to rockabilly, and even though he pushes the envelope in each phase, it’s more calculation and self-promotion than living in the moment and being. This is evident in some of the earlier pictures, where he consistently refuses to look at the camera during group shots; he’s too cool, I guess. I believe, in the context of this book, he comes across as the person most widely disliked for his manipulation of people. That being said, I cannot underscore enough how much of a seminal work their first EP was, especially “Screaming Fist,” which may be the first hardcore punk record on this continent. With Jordana, well, it’s just pretention and self-glorification all the way: “We created the look and the sound and the language of new wave, which survived…I am an artist. I’m not really meant to be totally commercial. I’m more of a seer.” If you watch the very last video below, you can see the artiste overshadow the artist.

What turned me on to oral histories, and what keeps me enticed, is certainly present in Treat Me Like Dirt, and that is since it is first-person histories, there are contradictions of stories from person to person. This goes from the mundane, such as who started a food fight with stale buns (and how it began), to the question of how the Ugly’s singer, Mike Nightmare died (everything from heart attack to being shot by the police).

In case I haven’t been clear, this is a thorough and excellent must read that will keep the reader involved. It is also well-edited by scene chronicler (and also one of my favorite music writers, as well as a damn fine musician) Gary Pig Gold (www.garypiggold.com), who ran the Pig Paper fanzine (past issues can be found here: www.archive.org/search.php?query=%22Pig%20Paper%22). Lastly, and it really does deserve mention, the book layout and design by ex-Diodes manager / Crash N Burn doorman / musician and poet / Bongo Beat publisher Ralph Alfonso, is a beaut. With two columns of text per page at (if I’m not correct, Ralph, let me know) 10 pt. Ariel Condensed type, there is a lot to read without having to trail all the way across the page, making this book an ergonomic ease on the eyes. Plus, there’s tons of pictures (quite a few by Ralph, himself).

Reading this made me think of two things specifically: one is that I would love to hear a clear CD collection of this music (below there is a smattering of some of the bands), and I wish there was some indication of what some of these people are doing now. Perhaps on a Web-site? On the other hand, I was impressed by how many of the people interviewed here mentioned Marshall McLuhan (who taught at the University of Toronto).

Now I’d like to see an oral history on some of the other important punk sites, such as Boston, Vancouver, Ohio (Akron/Cleveland),

P.S., Get well soon, Imants Krumins.

Reply from publisher Ralph Alfonso to this review:
Hahaha. The font is not Arial, and the type size is 8pt. A lot of work went into the layout and trying to make it all fit in 384 pages (that's a standard book size - price goes up after that). Discographies & etc. would have ballooned the book up to 500 pages or more. The way the story line worked out, there was no real room for everyone; that can all be the subject for a follow-up, I guess. Once people actually read the book (and not count their pictures or index instances), it makes a lot of sense as a unified storyline that moves chronologically in the continuous present. We did try to insert some mentions of tertiary bands but it just didn't work and looked like it was inserted for no real reason, since they had no relationships with the main players. The public agrees - we're about to go into a third printing! Crazy! I had no idea this would happen.
- Ralph

News Report ’77


Simply Saucer:


Viletones:


Diodes:
“Tired of Waking Up Tired”:

Demics:
“New York City”:

Teenage Head:


Forgotten Rebels:
“Bomb the Boats”:

The Curse:
“Shoeshine Boy”:

B-Girls (v.2):


Later perspective:
[This whole series is worth watching, starting at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvxI-xOAH_M&feature=related]

Photo Essay: Street Scenes - June 2007

Text and photos (c) Robert Barry Francos, 2010

I enjoy taking photos of people and places, usually unposed to catch them at their most real. Here are some I took in New York. The main locations were out my office window, and on Fifth Avenue, in the high 40s and low 50s, and finally in Bensonhurst. Photos can be made larger by double clicking them.

[Wonder where they're rushing off to]

[A tool toolin' around]

[Wathced too many rom-coms]

[Nuff said]


[More...food...]

[Bike flowers]

[It's all a numbers game]

[Yes, he is]

[Too hip for his own good]

[Colin Farrell wannabe?]

[Why SLRs are much cooler]

[Balloon stampede!]

[You know what she needs? More sugar!]

[Yeah, right]

[Moving truck being towed (in front of St. Patricks Cathederal): Oh, the irony (and without a prayer)]

[Check the graffiti behind the head of the person in the center (from my window in Brooklyn)]

[Fixing the roof on the building across the street from my Broolkyn apt]