The Rumblefish Connection

One crucial step in the evolution of Wiggaz A.D. was acquiring an actual legit jamspot, and we did so through Rumblefish Studios in the Rexdale area. It was pretty exciting to have our own space, as we could now jam whenever we wanted pretty much, with the exception of after hours once the studio was closed.

We had been playing the same handful of original Wiggaz material since 1994, so it was refreshing to now have the means for writing new songs at our own leisure, and write we did. By early summer we had enough new material to start a new demo if we redid a few of the old songs too, with yours truly supplying the vocals this time around.

It was through Rumblefish that we met a few other bands who would essentially be supporting acts in the days to come. The studio was literally a square hallway with doors on both sides of the halls, each door containing a jam space. We met with the owner Dave Carravaggio in his office, which was quite slick and filled with recording equipment. I assumed this would be the next place we recorded, although my assumption would later turn out to be incorrect. Dave seemed like a straight shooter, he was very calm and soft spoken but it was clear he was no pushover.

Rumblefish didn't have much to offer besides a place to practice and a pop machine, but there was a McDonalds within spitting distance if you were hungry. Across the street there was also a strip joint, where we ended up after jams here and there for a relaxing beer or two. 

Asides from the boys in Viciousphere, I didn't really know anyone else in the building. After practice we'd usually head to their room for some smokes and convo... and to watch them jam it out. From what I remember they had the biggest jam space in the building. There was plenty of room for the gear, not to mention enough room for us Wiggaz to pull up some chairs and enjoy the show. The V boys were always chill, friendly, and their generosity extended for miles and miles.

It wasn't long before we made some new friends at "The Fish" through the universal power of music. There was Dirge, a crossover hardcore outfit from the Malton area. They were a straight edge band, but these guys weren't dead serious militants. In fact they were generally a bunch of practical jokers with great attitudes. Their singer Fudd, had one of the biggest voices I had ever heard from a man with such small stature. It was highly impressive.

Next up there was Fence, four young men from the Woodbridge area, all of Italian descent I believe, except their bassist Marshall who was Indian. When I first met them I believe 3/4 of the band were rocking their hair in braids, ala "Korn" who were a "nu metal" band that had recently blown up in the past year. Fence were also on a rap/metal tip, but they delivered their product much differently than us. They were mostly groove oriented, and groove they did. Their songs would get your head bobbing even if you'd never heard them before.

Last but not least, was Fractured. Another crew of young men from the Rexdale area, and they too were somewhat on the same tip as Fence, but they definitely had their own sound and flavour. Their singer Jim was Greek, so naturally him and I hit it off right from the start.

It was a very exciting time, each group frequently dropping in on one another to see what was going on musically. We were each other's biggest fans and supporters, and it was always a treat when any of us got a sneak preview of new material. We all fed off of each other which put us in highly creative states, thus enabling some extra kick ass song writing.

As the weeks passed we met new bands, and new friends through all the different circles in Rumblefish. Any Brampton bands that practiced there were generally people Greg knew from working at musicplex. Through Fence, Dirge, and Fractured, we met more people and more bands including Dr.Liquid. They were on their own page musically with a female vocalist named Rosina, and they definitely had their own unique sound. It wasn't long before Rose set a gig up in Woodbridge for us all to play.

Over the course of the summer we were playing any gigs we could get, usually with the above mentioned bands in the mix. It was a great support system, anytime one of us booked a gig we would make sure to include the others on the bill. In a short course of time we had built a strong family circle that was steamrolling forward with momentum, each scratching the others backs. 

Eventually we ended up looking into recording our demo at Rumblefish, but it just wasn't in our budget unfortunately. We already had to pay a monthly fee for the room, but combined we just didn't have the cash to afford the recording session we needed. Just when it seemed like we weren't going to produce a new demo, an opportunity fell in our laps...

Trailer Park Hip Hop

Black Belt Jones had quit a few gigs under our belts, but we were generally playing with Wiggaz or other bands that catered to the heavy music crowd. As far as Brampton went the only other "rap groups" I knew of were "Endangered Elements" and "Team Scam". 

Elements consisted of two members I believe, but the only one I ever met was Kevin McG who lived on Paul's street. He was white, quiet, and fairly reserved. I belive I only ever got to hear one of their songs, but he did join us for our end of the set freestyle session at the Ivy Bridge. 

Team Scam consisted of two of the best skaters to ever shred the streets of Brampton, Navi Singh & Sheldon Street. Back in the 3 n' Pass days we had them open for us at Tremors in Brampton, but since then they had sort of disappeared. To be honest I didn't even know if they were still making music. 

It was tough trying to win over these metal crowds at shows as most of them were there for just that....metal. People were more open minded now to rap even though many of those people despised rap 5-10 years prior. A lot of guys who liked metal and hardcore seemed to appreciate rap, and perhaps it's because they saw and felt the same parallels between the two that I did. It was always a great feeling to see some longhairs flailing around the dance floor while we played, many whom were friends of ours. I couldn't help but wonder if they actually liked our music or if they were just being courteous as it was the friendly thing to do.

Finally the call came we were waiting for, a new rap group to perform with. "The King" Willie New got in touch with us to see if we'd be interested in playing a gig with a rap group from the east coast of Halifax, and naturally we agreed. It was a breath of fresh air to know other kids across Canada were also making rap music. The group in question was called "Hip Club Groove" and us Black Belt boys were highly anticipating the show so we could see what they were all about.

The day of the show finally arrived and we headed down to The Elmo with our gear. We met up with the Hip Club guys and they were super cool. We chilled in the "backstage" kitchen area and enjoyed a few drinks and puffs while getting acquainted. When show time rolled around we finally got to see them hone their craft, and they did it well. HCG consisted of three members; Mackenzie, ChekLove & DJ Moves. Right from the get go I really enjoyed their energy. Both MCs had skills, stage presence, and great voices. 

Mackenzie always reminded me of MCA from the Beasties. He did not sound like him, but had somewhat of a similar look and personality. ChekLove was of smaller stature but he was larger than life. With his long braids, flashy style, and in your face voice, he demanded your attention while on stage. I didn't know what to make of Moves at first, he was very quiet and hard to get a read on. I assumed he was just a quiet guy, or perhaps shy, but in the end I saw him as a white Terminator X, a man who only "speaks with his hands" through the turntables.

Their set was killer, and all us BBJ boys really enjoyed it. Once again it was just refreshing to see someone else on the same page. We did our usual set then busted into the open mic freestyle jam at the end of our set as we always did. Mackenzie & ChekLove came up to join us and the mics were set ablaze. After the gig it was all good and all love. We had made some new friends, and we let them know that we'd take care of anything they needed during their visit.

Sure enough we got the call that weekend. Hip Club were performing in a record store inside a shopping mall, I can't remember where but I think it was the Woodbine centre. They had no idea where or what it was. Pauly gave them the 411, directions etc. and told them we'd be there. Before long we were in the car and on our way there. We met the guys outside the mall and partook in some herbal activities. From there we headed in to watch their performance, and I was honoured and humbled when the guys asked me to come up and spit some frees with them. These boys were a class act.

We were sad to see them go when the time came, but we knew we'd cherish these memories. Demo tape and cd exchanges went down before the dreaded goodbyes. I honestly didn't know if we'd ever see them or get to play with them again. 

The next time I saw Mackenzie was a year or two later. I randomly bumped into him on the streets of Toronto and he informed me himself and Moves were now apart of a band called "Len" who were getting pretty good exposure. It was cool seeing these guys on tv and getting some recognition that they rightfully deserved. 

I never knew what became of ChekLove until almost a decade later when I watched the tv show Trailer Park Boys for the first time. I was stoked to see him on a tv show as one half of the now infamous "Cory & Trevor". Since then, he's gone on to do choreography, directing and creating independent films of his own.

If you ever by some chance happen to see any Hip Club Groove CDs in the bins at your local record stores I suggest you snatch that shit up, as they are truly an important piece of Canadian hip hop history. 

Barn Bashing 101

Somewhere along the road Greg had hooked up with a Brampton band named "Viciousphere" they were somewhat reminiscent to older Metallica, and they did their thing quite well. They had turned Greg onto a rehearsal space in the Rexdale area called Rumblefish Studios, so we were now looking into possible renting a unit there. The boys in Viciousphere had also invited us to play a big barn bash in Brampton, and of course we said yes. I don't remember much leading up to it, but the day of the party arrived and we were stoked to say the least.

I really didn't know what to expect, but when we arrived it was definitely a barn. It was open on one side and boasted a natural earth floor. There was actually a legit stage in the barn which was very surprising to me. I was accustomed to playing small clubs that sometimes didn't even have a stage, or if they did they were generally very small. It was nice to have some room for a change.

I don't recall much of our performance or Viciousphere's, but majority of the crowd reacted well with the exception of some close minded individuals who couldn't fathom why I was decked out in a costume and rapping over metal. All in all though the vibes were very positive, and we received props from many people, all while meeting new folks and making new friends.

Owen was to start shooting for our music video that night, and for the life of me I can't even remember if he showed up. Part of me feels like he didn't as there is no footage from this night in our music video. Perhaps he was there but the footage was unusable? I honestly can't remember. 

Pooh's brother Steve "Knuckles" Donohoe was there, I can't remember if he worked the soundboard or not, but he had brought his crew with him and it was a pleasure to meet this motley bunch. Much like our circle of friends they all had nicknames such as; Scurvy, Bri the guy, Krustull, The Goat, Kid Ibanez, and Flint Rock. Flint aka Melroy was a brown guy and a thrasher, which was strange to me as I had grown up with a lot of brown folk in Brampton but had never met one who was into metal. Flint for one reason or another fed my some psilocybin and I knew the night would just get crazier from this point on.

Crazy may have been an understatement, as things were absolutely wild. There was a giant pile of wooden warehouse skids that were used as firewood. Needless to say the fire was of epic proportions and some of the nut bars decided to start jumping over it, an impressive feat no doubt due to the height and width of the fire, but clearly not the smartest decision on their parts. You can only tempt fate for so long, and eventually someone ended up falling backwards into the fire after a failed jump attempt.

This was definitely the social event of the summer. Great bands, great people, and pretty much zero drama. We eventually rolled out in the wee hours of the morning and as per usual I invited a bunch of people back to the Slayer house. We drank and smoked while revising the events of the evening, but our roommate Noel and a few other friends were suspiciously AWOL. We had all left at the same time yet their cab never arrived at our house which was starting to worry us all.

I can't remember if Noel called or showed up the next day, but their night had taken a turn for the worst. A conflict had arisen due to a debate on a flare rate fare if I remember correctly. Our pal Mark Fantini got into it with the driver as well, who was now trying to kick them out of the cab while calling for backup. Before long they were surrounded by cab drivers wielding crowbars and lord knows at else. Mark had a small cooler that he swung in circles by the handle to keep the mad cabbies at bay. I honestly don't remember how things resolved themselves, but I believe the boys ended up in the drunk tank facing possible assault charges. 

Talk about a sour ending to what had been the sweetest of days...

Last train to Hooterville

Now that we weren't going to the bars in Toronto as much, we had to resort to the handful of lame bars in Brampton. There wasn't really much at the time, with the exception of Hooterville Station, which was generally inhabited by the college prep/jock type crowd. The place was always packed and we always stuck out like a sore thumb, which generally resulted in us getting kicked out when some pretty boy started shit with us. They did have their own alternative night on Wednesdays, and it was generally the one night of the week the bar wasn't packed. There'd maybe be 40-50 people, but they were at least the type of people I related to and associated with.

A lot of the times when I was going out in Brampton, it was with my newer friend Scott, who I'd met through Shayne when we lived on Homer square. Scott was a typical jock in his high school days, he played football and rugby like most did, but he didn't have the typical jock mentality. He was an open minded guy that had great taste in music and movies. It was through Scott I made another new friend, his name was John McQuaid. Scott had brought John by the Slayer House a few times and we hit it off great. John was also a jock, but there was something honest and real about him. Scott had dubbed him "Pino" because despite his Scottish descent, he looked and somewhat carried himself like an Italian. I generally loathed jocks and wanted no part of them, but these guys were different. I didn't know it at the time, but these two dudes would go on to be my closest friends before the year was through.

For the amount of activity that was happening with Wiggaz, we still didn't have an official jam space. The demo was recorded in the basement at Greg's house, and although we'd have the odd jam there it wasn't a regular happening. We were still playing shows when we could, which kept us from rusting up, but we were going to need a legit rehearsal space if we wanted to grow as a band. In the meantime, Greg's parent's basement and club stages would have to do. 

Black Belt Jones was still playing shows as well, honing our first batch of songs we released on our demo tape. It was the same usual stages mind you, either the El Mocambo or the Ivy Bridge in Brampton. It wasn't much but we were happy to be getting out there and spreading our sound to the masses. Mike and I no longer had our radio show at CHRY, but that didn't stop us from sending them our demo. During pledge week I made the highest pledge possible and in return received a sweet CHRY hockey jersey. I felt the need to support this station, as they were playing our demo and they'd always plug our shows for us. 

As the summer approached, both Wiggaz and Black Belt Jones were rolling with momentum, and nothing could stand in our way. We were looking forward to playing as much as we could and taking any and every opportunity that presented themselves. It wasn't long before some unique offers landed on the table. There was going to be a HUGE barn party in the south end of Brampton, and Wiggaz were invited to play. William New who was still running the El Mo reached out to Black Belt Jones in regards to playing a show with an up and coming rap act out of Halifax called "Hip Club Groove" and we graciously accepted.

Although my relationship with Tara had recently ended, this was indeed going to be a "Summer of love"...

The Wild Ones

The weekend ritual of bar hopping in Toronto had most certainly caused some strain on mine & Tara's relationship, and like the old saying goes "All good things must come to an end". We had been together roughly two years through good times and bad times. Our bond was toxic at times, generally when alcohol came into play. Regardless, our household was down from six to four people now, which meant another increase in rent for us.

One fateful night she showed up drunk to collect whatever belongings she had left at the house. Her and Shayne got into an altercation and she started throwing a barrage of full blown fisticuffs to his face and head. Not one to hit a woman, he opted to go in the garage and proceeded to throw a spare tire through the windshield of her jeep. Tara ran to the neighbours, phone calls were made, and in the blink of an eye the boys in blue showed up and hauled Shayne off to the drunk tank for the night. To this day I'm still dumbfounded how someone who was intoxicated, driving at that, assaulting people, and essentially breaking and entering, got to walk free while Shayne spent the night at the iron bar hotel. 

Speaking of alcohol, Mike C. was partaking from time to time, but generally to the extreme. Over the past 3-4 months I had literally seen Mike blacked out, passed out drunk, yet still standing. It seemed like every time we went drinking now it ended up with Mike asleep on his feet. This also caused him to become a different person, one who was more belligerent towards the people he cared about. One night in particular it sounded like someone was trying to kick the door down at about 3 a.m. I could see it was Michael through the window, so I unlocked the door to let him in. As I opened the door Mike fell right to the ground, the door was the only thing that had been holding him up. As I started helping him up I noticed he had some visible wear and tear on his face. I asked him what happened and he told me John McCuish had done this to him.

I couldn't understand what was happening. These guys were close friends, band mates, and fellow Scottsman. I helped Mike up to his bed and by the time we got there he collapsed into the mattress and immediately threw up between the wall and the bed. I was worried Mike might be concussed so I kept an eye on him, but I also called John in the middle of the night and started freaking out on him. John was super irate and explained everything that had happened between them that night. As it turned out Mike got into one of his belligerent black outs and had caused the whole debacle. A man can only be pushed so far before he snaps, and Mike had clearly pushed John passed the point of no return.

I really hoped Mike would see this as a wake up call now and perhaps slow down a bit on the sauce, and indeed he did. There was no bad blood between these two and they remained "brothers" for many years to come. 

ILLUSTRATION BY MIKE CHAPMAN

I can't recall exactly how, but an old friend resurfaced around this time. It was none other than Indy filmmaker Owen Roberts, the man who was responsible for giving us the Epileptic Brain Surgeons music video for "Cows". I suspect Mike C. was instrumental in Owen resurfacing, as Mike still worked with Owen's audio engineer Stuart. It was cool having Owen back on the scene again 4 years later. He was the same old guy, but now sporting a half sleeve tattoo of an old ghetto scene. We sat around the kitchen table drinking, smoking, and reminiscing. 

As the conversation unfolded we eventually stumbled onto the topic of film making. Owen was still very much wielding his trusted camera, and he was looking for a new project. I do not remember specifics of the who what when wheres and whys, but by the end of the night it was official: Owen was going to shoot a video for Wiggaz...

Horizontal Underground

1995 had kicked off with a real bang. Wiggaz & Black Belt Jones continued to play gigs together when we could, which was always very draining on me psychically. I never let that stop me mind you, as I always wanted to give the best of myself to our audiences, even if it was 20 people or 200. 

We were still going to clubs in the city, but it was becoming quite difficult to get into the bars downtown now after Mike C had rushed some bouncers. When one door closes another door opens, and such was the case... But two doors had opened.

There were two new clubs on Queen street in Toronto that had opened literally across the street from each other. The first one was called "Velvet Underground" and it was very reminiscent of the Boom Boom Room, minus the caged dancers and dual levels. The place did boast a pretty sweet pool table lounge as well as a mysterious old bowling alley. Musically they were playing the same stuff we would typically here at the Boom Boom, but the clientele had changed a bit. There were many more clean cut college kids filling the dance floor, but we still had some great times there.

On the other side of the road there was a small hole in the wall of a club that was strictly catering to rap, hip hop, & r&b. It was called "The Horizontal Boogie Bar" and it's no surprise that this place was right up my alley. Generally we'd go there first for drinks until the place packed up, then we'd cross the street and close out the Velvet. I personally liked the Horizontal much better, and a lot of times I chose to stay there while my posse headed across the road. 

The vibe was awesome there, great music, friendly people, cheap drinks, good looking ladies dancing, and a super nice DJ named Mike Nice, who would ALWAYS play our requests for us. I liked the club so much I even once tried to get a job there as a bus boy. The only catch to me staying behind there was I'd lose my friends at times. Generally I could prowl the club district and find them, but there was one particular time I could not. 

It was 2-3 a.m. and I had no money on me, although I did have another type of green. I decided to start flagging down cabbies, the only problem was majority of them were Indian. When I finally found a Caucasian driver I explained my situation to him and he agreed to drive me back to Brampton. I couldn't believe it. The best part was the driver didn't even really take much green from me. It had restored my faith in humanity to know there was still good people in this world who weren't just out for a buck.

On the Homefront, Shayne & Pauline had decided to part ways, so she moved out and our rent slightly increased. He was civil enough to switch bedrooms with Tara and I, so we now inhabited the master bedroom, which was soon over run with an assortment of reptiles she had been acquiring from her new job at Super Pet. Our room was starting to more so resemble a zoo than sleeping quarters. 

I was still working midnights at the gas station for Shayne's mom, generally Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday nights. The rest of the week I'd be home with the homeboys either slanging, hanging, or banging out music in the basement. We were still congregating in the kitchen quite a bit, where the ghetto blaster was usually playing "Enter The 36 Chambers" by a new hiphop super group called The Wu-Tang Clan. As much as I was digging Wu-Tang, I was slightly disturbed by the fact they were on the Kung-Fu tip just like Black Belt Jones were. Once again a group had unknowingly taken a page from the Brampton books, and I feared most people would assume we ripped off Wu-Tang, but such was not the case I can assure you that.

Mortal Kombat II had been released for Sega Genesis awhile back, so there were many countless smoke filled nights in the basement with Jay Poole, Sanjai, Mike C, Pauly, and everyone else that was on the MKII "Pro Tour" as I used to call it. We'd have tournaments all the time and the fun seemed to never end. I even had a little black book with all the fatalities I had hand written myself. Some of my most fondest memories were forged in that basement and they are still dear and close to my heart in this present time. 

BBJ were still playing the material on our demo, as it was all so fresh and new to us. Wiggaz on the other hand had a demo tape that didn't include their current vocalist, yours truly, so Greg and the boys decided it was time to write some new material and record a new demo...

Clubbing 101

When the deadly duo of Wiggaz and Black Belt Jones weren't ripping up dingy clubs together on weekends, you could usually find our crew at a number of bars in the downtown Toronto area, and we were always rolling deep.

Between the four of us guys who lived together, we had quite the posse of friends. We each had our own friends, we each had some mutual friends, and we each had made new friends through our circle of people. Our house had become the hot spot on weekends where everyone would congregate to "pre-bash" as we used to call it...meaning we would partake in some drinking before heading out to the bars, in order to save money I suppose, although I'd easily spend $50 minimum every time we went to a bar or club. 

Generally when we were going to a club in the city, we'd have a convoy of cars leaving our house simultaneously. We'd also have other friends meet us at said clubs. It wasn't uncommon for us to have a group of 20-30 people at a time on any given night, which meant a nice secure feeling of friendship, safety, and loyalty.

Our bar(s) of choice were mainly The Bovine Sex Club and The Boom Boom Room, both of which were basically in spitting distance of each other. The bovine was cool, but it's a very small club, and when packed tight wth people it could easily make one highly claustrophobic. The Boom Boom Room was definitely the club of choice. It had a cool layout, go go dancers in cages, decent music, and they always had deals on drinks. 

We generally had fun without bringing any negativity to the table, after all we were there to have a good time, not to cause trouble. But of course trouble found us from time to time, which was generally bad news for "trouble".

One night I was grooving on the dance floor with some ladies and I noticed someone kept bumping me from behind. I tried my best to ignore it as I was having a great night, until I unexpectedly went slamming down to the ground. As quickly as I hit the floor I was back on my feet facing the assailant, who ended up being much bigger than myself. I asked him what his fucking problem was and he answered by wrapping one of his oversized mitts around my neck. Not one to be intimidated easily, I latched my grasp onto his Adam's apple and began to squeeze. His friends kept looking back and for between us to see who'd give first. 

What happened next seemed like an illusion. Somehow the big guy magically lifted off his feet and levitated about a foot in the air, then he went flying backwards and slammed into a wall. Through the cigarette smoke and flashing lights I realized it was my boys who had performed this magic trick. As the giant hit the wall and fell, all of his belongings when scattering about, which my friends eagerly retrieved. The bouncer saw the whole ordeal and threw him out, then apologized to me for the inconvenience. After all we were good customers who spent a lot of money there and we never caused trouble, we just ended it. I'll never forget driving home with Gerg that night, who had just so happened to pocket the big boys pager. Greg clipped it onto the sun visor in his car as a souvenir of the nights debauchery. We had laughs for weeks as the chump kept paging himself in an attempt to find his lost belongings. 

Once the clubs let out we would all head somewhere to eat, usually a roti or shawarma place. Although I usually headed to a small Jamaican place that was a hole in the wall, but they had the best damn curry chicken in the city. We'd generally see some ruckus in our journeys too considering there were so many clubs in that area which catered to different crowds. It wasn't uncommon to see fights in the street after the bars let out.

After months of hitting up the Boom Boom, there was an incident that put the kibosh on our fun. Mike C had gone to eat, or check out another club perhaps, and when he returned to the Boom Boom Room the bouncers wouldn't let him back in as he was clearly intoxicated. For some reason Mike decided it would be a good idea to bend over and charge the doormen headfirst like a wild bull. It was a valiant effort by Mike but he was denied entry.

The next weekend we decided to goto the Bovine as we figured Mike wouldn't be let in the Boom Boom, and wouldn't you know it the same bouncer worked at both clubs! As fate would have it he remembered Mike and denied us entry. We headed up to the Boom Boom and managed to get in, as different bouncers were working.

Each weekend now became a crap shoot because we never knew what bar we would go to. It was either one or the other depending on the bouncers, but said bouncer had now informed other bouncers of Mike's antics, which made it more and more difficult to get into a club as the weeks passed. 

One thing was apparent... It was time for us to find a new club...