Cows

Growing up during grade school and middle school, it was almost as if time stood still, or moved slower than molasses in January. The days felt like they took forever to pass by, and the 6+ hours in school each day felt more like 12 hours minimum. 

When I first got to high school I was a bit concerned because the length of classes were going to be longer, but much to my amazement they seemed to go by quickly. I finally came to the conclusion that being in a different classroom for each class as opposed to spending an entire day in one classroom must of had something to do with it. When I stepped back to take a look at my life, it seemed as if high school was passing by in a flash, and grade 12 was no exception. The snow was on the ground, exams were underway, and the first semester was coming to a close....OH! AND the Epileptic Brain Surgeons video was finally complete! 

For the life of me I can't even remember where I was when I saw it for my first time, which is fairly shocking given my track record with memories. I honestly can't remember if there was a viewing party, or if I saw it on much music, or perhaps one of the guys simply showed it to me on a VHS tape. Never the less, it was amazing in my eyes.

Although the Surgeons had now released 3 different demos, a lot of the same songs were on each of those demos. For the video however, they decided to go with one of their new songs "Cows" which to even the un trained ear, was clearly one of the stand out tracks on the tape.

The video kicks off with some footage of a creepy abandoned house/barn which I believe was in Streetsville, or Caledon if I remember correctly, followed by footage of goats hopping around in a pen. I always found it hilarious that they threw goats in there, one just assumed they couldn't find any cows to film. Or perhaps it was just older stock footage that Owen had kicking around.

The rest of the video is a potpourri of imagery that still brings a smile to my face over 20 years later. Some of the high points being: Pooh playing guitar in oversize shades resembling a muppet version of Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder, Waller singing with drumsticks coming out of his ears, footage of the boys dancing from the infamous "Club 2000" (now known as Nashville North and coincidentally in the town I happen to live in currently), Steve shredding the 12 foot half pipe at the legendary Grassroots, the only indoor skatepark Brampton ever had (R.I.P.), cameos from Ronnie Rowbottom and Al Nolan, our favourite pool hall we used to hang out at, the scenes in front of the old K-Mart in Brampton, which were my old stomping grounds as a kid....shall I go on? 

I've pretty much just described the entire video with the exception of the ever classic hot rocks footage, which could be a blog post in itself. Since I'm on a roll here though I'll give you the gist of it. There was a battle of the bands held in Brampton once upon a time at a bar known as "Hot Rocks" which any true metal historian can tell you about if you've never heard of it. 

Old sketch I did slandering Hot Rocks

E.B.S. signed up, showed up, and battled it out against an array of "hair bands" essentially. Waller was dressed like he was straight out of Motley Crüe or Poison, and there was a lot of tension in the air between the hardcore kids and the "glam fags" as we used to call them. 

An all out brawl almost ensued in which Mike Myre was the ring leader of, and a certain....ummmm.....humble narrator was at his side. The crowd was predominantly people who came to see the Surgeons, so naturally the glam rock guys backed down. Every time I watch the video I can remember that night like it was yesterday. It was really incredible seeing my friends in a video on television, I felt as if they were somewhat famous now, or at least a step closer to fame.

Here is the video, it will also be added to the videos page for easy access should you feel the need to watch it again in the future. Mad props still after all these years, go out to Owen S.Roberts. Film maker extraordinaire.