Street Trash

Back when I was 14 or so, there was a splatter flick I learned of in the pages of  Fangoria Magazine, an independent, low budget film that screamed cult classic. The name of the film was "Street Trash" 

Judging by the still photos in Fangoria, this movie looked like it was chock full of gore, mainly in bright day-glo colours. The gore looked more like paint as opposed to blood and guts. Never the less something about this flick really appealed to me, I had to get my hands on it!

After scouring every video store within the four corners of my home town, it was safe to say I wasn't going to find this film anywhere. I gave up on my quest, and as the years passed by Street Trash became nothing more but a faded memory in the dark corners of my mind.

20 years passed by and I found myself joining millions in the craze of downloading movies from the Internet. After running out of things to download, I started searching the pages of my old Fangoria Magazines looking for rare and obscure films I could download. I stumbled upon Street Trash once again! Much to my amazement I was able to find it online and download it! I was so stoked to finally watch the movie for my first time. The plot was pretty basic, a liquor store owner finds a very old case of booze known as "Tenafly Viper" which he sells to the winos and hobos for a buck a bottle. Little does he know, anyone who drinks the stuff will melt into a colourful pile of ooze. 

The flick had became a cult classic by this time and it was easy to see why. I absolutely loved the film and have probably watched it a dozen times or more in the last 6 years. Recently the flick was re-released on DVD and blue-ray as a two disc set, which also boasts a two hour documentary about the making of the film entitled "Meltdown Memoirs" I immediately ordered it online and have been thoroughly enjoying it since.

So you may be asking yourself "What in the hell does this have to do with music?" Good question. I am starting a new project with my good friend and former roommate Cory McCallum, who some of you may know as Guy Bowler, Pant City, PZA Cutta, Mach Spitz, or simply the singer from Five Knuckle Chuckle. Cory and I are collaborating on a super fresh old school throwback two man duo in the vein of the classics such as Schoolly D, UTFO, Audio Two, etc. 

The name of the project will be.....

STREET TRASH!!!!

Be sure to keep your eyes and ears open...

Soccer Hooligans

As I was trying to turn my life around and disassociate myself from the trouble makers, somewhat of a blessing entered my life. Two new friends, Mike "Stinky" Stewart and Danny Henry, both of whom transferred to North Park from Aquinas. They started hanging around with Myre, McCuish and Chapman from E.B.S., so naturally I met them right from the get go and we all hit it off. 

So how did we stay out of trouble exactly? Soccer! I wasn't a fan of soccer by any means, my father signed me up once when I was five, and I was so disinterested in it that I spent most my time on the field pulling my socks up and picking dandelions. Now however I was actually enjoying it. Everyday after school we would head over to one of the local parks and get a game going. Some of the guys were Scottish, and were either fans of the "Rangers" or the "Celtic" so it was easy to establish teams. Myre and I were both Greek so usually we would play goal. I loved playing goalie, it was the position I played in hockey, and now on the fields I was a force to be reckoned with. 

The games were tons of fun. Nobody was overly competitive, we were all there to have a good time. The fact that we generally partook in some Mary Jane before game time probably had something to do with the lack of competitiveness within us and the over abundance of fun and laughs we were having.

After a few weeks of games it seemed like the teams were getting bigger, and they were, as friends of ours were catching on to our extra curricular activities. We now had full blown games going and it was more fun than ever. Some games, it seemed like my team would keep the ball and the pressure on the other end of the field, leaving me to bask and bake in the sun. I'd lie in the grass, within the crease of my net, and stare up at the beautiful blue sky and fluffy clouds, thinking to myself "this is the life"... And wondering what life had in store for me next...

Straight Outta E.R.

As the spring kept warming up in the prelude to summer, things were also warming up in the scene. Mainly, the release of the Epileptic Brain Surgeons new cassette tape. Even though it was their third release, they went with a self titled tape, a fashion which most bands usually do with their first release. Mind you their previous two releases were d.i.y. demo tapes, even though "Hell's Big Apple" was recorded in a studio, the cassette cover was still a homemade photocopy. 

So now the boys had a real release that was recorded at a real studio. it had a real cover and it was on a real independent record label, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. When the day finally arrived I was ecstatic, and needless to say, happier than a pig in shit. The cover looked very slick and it was a play on N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton" but instead of a victim lying on the ground looking up at the "Niggaz With Attitude" this cover depicted you as a patient looking up from your bed at the surgeons surrounding you. All the boys were dressed in surgical gear. I later found out Ron Sumners took the photo while lying on John McCuish's bed. Genius. 

The inside of the cassette had a very cool photo collage, which was what a lot of hardcore bands were doing for their inner sleeves. I was happy to see a snap of Waller wearing my old dreadlock wig, a little piece of me made it to the tape I thought to myself. The lyrics were even printed inside the sleeve as well as a small special thanks section. There was also a special "welcome aboard" announcement, congratulating Mike Chapman, who was now the new bassist for the band. Although Mike Myre actually played the bass parts on the recording, they still have Chapman full credit which I thought was a solid, yet modest thing to do.

As far as the music went, all of the classics were on here, as well as some new songs, there was even a reggae song! James from Mal Havoc actually produced the demo along with a fellow named Serge, at a studio known as Cabin Fever. Al Nolan from "Deep End" another local punk band, even made a cameo on the release.

All in all I was stoked over the tape and I was loving the new songs, but something didn't sit right with me and I couldn't put my finger on it at first. After awhile I finally figured out what the issue was, the sound! It was almost to clean and perfect for a hardcore record. I had become so accustomed to ghetto 4 track recordings and even worse, that this just didn't sound proper to me, it was too polished. I actually preferred the original demo that was recorded on a shitty boom box in a basement. Never the less I still loved the tape and rocked it non stop. I was curious to see what new heights this new recording might carry my friends to...

Stream/download the album for free:

http://epilepticbrainsurgeons.bandcamp.com/album/epileptic-brain-surgeons

Back To Work

Well, two weeks have passed, my holidays are officially over, and it is now Monday and I'm back to work...unfortunately.

I did however, enjoy a glorious 16 days of  vacation with my son Gabriel. It was very nice just being a father son team ready to take on the world!

We got up to quite a lot of fun over our two weeks. We did some shopping at various malls around the gta, went to the movies, spent a day at centre island, went to the beach, Gabe had a sleepover at his friends house, we went thrift shopping in Kensington Market, we hit up lego land at Vaughn mills, visited my grandparents, and went and stayed a weekend with my parents. 

On top of that we had various visits to the park, play land at McDonalds, Wal-Mart, and our small local pond to catch frogs and fish. In our down time there was plenty of video games, YouTube, and movies. 

I even managed to compose and record a new song that will be featured on an upcoming benefit cd of various artists, I'll have more info for you on that next week.

I was sad to see the little guy go and definitely not thrilled to be back to work, but it is what it is. I had a blast and wouldn't change it for the world. I hope you are all enjoying your summer vacations as much as I did.

Join me Wednesday as I continue on with the story of Heavy Ghetto...

Vacation update 2013

I hate to do this to my readers, especially as the story is starting to pick up once again and is getting back on the musical track, but that magical time of the year has come again....holidays! 

Just as things were starting to get interesting I've got to put this blog on hold for awhile. I will have my son Gabe with me for the next 16 days of vacation bliss, so I will be taking a break from the blog until the end of July.

Fear not, I shall be writing as many entries as I can over the next 2 weeks so there will be lots of material waiting in the wing for your reading pleasure. Who knows, I may even post a few of them over the next two weeks if given the chance. It all depends on what we decide to do and where we decide to go over the next 16 days. If I happen to be in wifi territory than I just may post a blog entry. 

Worst case scenario, Heavy Ghetto will be back Monday, July 29th, 2013. I just wanted to forewarn my readers about this situation so you weren't all like wtf? Have a safe and happy July and I shall post something ASAP! Cheers!

- Kabal

An epic Epidemic

It was nice indeed to be back in the loop and back in the swing of things, as far as the hardcore world went. Not long after the show at Pizza Pino's, I was informed by E.B.S. member Mike Myre, that the boys would be heading back into the studio for yet another recording session to produce a new release. They had also been picked up by a local independent label, Epidemic Records, which was owned by a fellow named Ron Sumners, who I had nothing but respect for despite any tales I'd heard of him. I was very impressed that someone in our area put their money where their mouth was and tried getting something off the ground. The roster was small but it boasted some great local acts such as Overthrow, Deep End, Mal Havoc, Beyond, and now Epileptic Brain Surgeons.   

Speaking of which, it didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that these guys weren't going to be millionaires, but it was nice to see them being represented, getting opening slots for bigger bands, making new contacts, and gaining exposure in general. You had to admire Ron for that, wether he was out for his own personal gain, I don't really know, but I admired and respected him for what he did and I still do this very day. I was happy and stoked to see my friends be on an independent record label. I was happy to see my friends start getting bigger shows. I was happy to see my friends start getting more appreciation and admiration from people, which I felt they rightfully deserved the whole time. I guess Ron believed in them as much as I had for years now. 

Ended up that Ron was also a drummer, more specifically for a local death/thrash band called Slaughter, from 1984-1986. Their album "Strappado" is classic and legendary, if you don't own it or know of it, you're not metal, your a puss-bag! The E.B.S. boys started referring to Ron as "The Incinerator" one of the song titles from Strappado. I believe Slaughter had some legal issues when the glam fag band from Vegas came out on the scene in 1988 using the same name, but I could be wrong so don't quote me on that.

Another big deal was the fact that after years of not having a full time bassist, the Epileptics had found one in none other than Mike Chapman. With all these new happenings within E.B.S. it was hard for one not to be excited, and be filled with wonder of just how far this local band could go. I for one couldn't wait for the new demo to drop, and that's what was consuming my thoughts most of the time....until the day finally arrived...

For more information on Ron Sumners & the history of Epidemic Records, check out this article compliments of BW&BK: http://www.bravewords.com/features/1001269

Pizza Pino's

After being confined to my room for the majority of the winter & spring, my folks had finally eased up on the reigns a bit and I was now allowed back to the world outside of my spare bedroom. The trials and tribulations that took place during this time could be a blog of its own, but I'm not going to delve into the endless stories of shit disturbing and trouble making, as they have nothing to do with music in my life, which is the whole point of this blog, so I shall spare you from all the stories of nonsensical behaviour. I was just happy to be a free man again and be able to go out and do stuff. I still had my curfew by law which dictated I had to be inside my home by 10:00 pm on weekdays and 12:30am on weekends. 

I was definitely looking to get away from the troublesome crowd I had gravitated towards this year, and what better way to do it then to go back to my musical roots, and my group of friends that I related to the most, the thrashers! It was time to start going to see shows again and get with the times. E.B.S. was playing a pizza joint called "Pizza Pino's" in the Ajax area, with this band called Mal Havoc, who we had heard interesting things about. We actually caught them once at an all ages gig E.B.S. played at The Apocalypse Club in Toronto, but they had changed things up a bit since. Apparently they had a video screen present when they performed now,displaying all types of intense and shocking footage.

We made it out to the show and it was pretty killer. We all hung around the parking lot burning and shooting the breeze, this was actually the first time I EVER stepped foot inside the big white legendary van that belonged to Pooh's brother Steve. As we sat there cooking b.t.s I couldn't help but feel that this was were I truly belonged and these were the people I was meant to be with.

I remember E.B.S. having somewhat of a different vibe that night, I believe it was because a couple of the guys, who normally didn't blaze, had partaken in a bit of the old "devil's weed" none the less my friends and I were stoked to be seeing them again and we expressed that fact all over the "dance floor" of the pizzeria. After the set, it was right back out to the parking lot for more tailgating until Mal Havoc was ready to play.

They were different to say the least, more of an Industrial metal sound, they had no drummer, just samplers, synths, guitars and drum machines...but they were heavy as hell! As promised the video screen was projecting disturbing images of violence, death, lab animals being tested on, etc. I sat there mesmerized by this as I had never seen anything like it, except perhaps the horrors I had witnessed in "Faces of Death" Although the footage was dark, negative imagery, I believe the band was trying to get some form of positive message across, or they were at least trying to raise people's awareness levels. 

None the less I really dug these guys and I had no qualms about spending $10 to buy their newest cd entitled "The Release" All the bands I knew only had demo tapes but these guys actually had a cd! That was a big fucking deal! Or so it seemed to me at the time anyway...

I rocked that disc religiously and it grew on me more and more by the minute.

It was nice to be out of my world of shit and back in the pit...