Support
the Scene February
20.10
It's a good old fashioned get together and make things better show
ladies and gentlemen; on the 20th of February Get Bodied & JUNNNktank.com
will be putting on a show to do just that. The BIS has been a supportive
& stable show space for the all ages community in a city where
stable all ages show spaces are few and far between. We owe this place
a real debt of gratitude. We have lined up a bunch of rad Charlottetown
acts as well as the Great Sabatini from Ontario to rock our socks
off. Make sure you come out and tell your friends too! The show is
happening at the BIS which is located at 582 North River Rd. Charlottetown).The
cost of the show will be $5. Things will get things going at 5pm and
will be finished early by 10pm. We'll be starting promptly at five
o'clock so get there early and on time or you'll be missing out! Unfortunately
I'll be out of the province and unable to make it but Al Douglas &
the Get Bodied boys will be running everything. They have our total
faith! ::FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION:
Shotgun
Jimmie March 02.10
On March 2nd 2010 our pal Shotgun Jimmie will be rolling back into
town and this time he won't be alone. Jimmie will be bringing a few
friends along for the ride; The Burning Hell from Peterborough, Ontario
and Construction & Destruction from Port Greville, Nova Scotia.
Jimmie is Sackville New Brunswick's song bird. The Burning Hell are
charming folks playing charming folk music and they hail from Peterborough
Ontario. Finally, Construction & Destruction come from Nova Scotia
and play delicate indie folk tunes. There will be one Charlottetown
band playing as well and we will announce who it is a little later
on. ::FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION:
Partial
List of Past Shows
Putting
on shows isn't rocket science, and you certainly don't have to be
perfect at it. I find the most important thing is within those lessons
I learned at the House of Rock; honesty and sincerity. All shows are
$5, donation only, or free. These shows are not for profit; all cash
(what little there is) goes to the touring bands to help them along
their way. This is a partial list of past shows.
Barnkats
& Columns April 20.06
The first show I ever put on featuring The Barnkats, Columns, Jeremy
Richard Experiment, Bob Deziel, and Hacksaw Jim Thuggin at The Reading
Well Bookstore (87A Water St Charlottetown). The show was free and
there was root beer for the kids who showed up early.
Vista
Interna May 20.06
Visa Interna came from New Brunswick; unfortunately the band broke
up the day before the show; so my pal Brennan just played the songs
solo with a drummer backing him up. It was really awesome. The show
happened at The Reading Well and we just passed around a hat for donations.
Columns, Lucas Diamond and Hacksaw Jim Thuggin also played.
Chara
& Syracuse Me July 22.06
We filled the Reading Well Bookstore to the brim and Chara unleashed
their brand of raw metalcore and Syracuse Me cranked out the so poppy
it'll make you puke beats. There was also an inspirational set by
a group of Spoken Word kids (past/current members of TSROI, Boxer
The Horse) who stood on chairs and did a compelling reading. Hair
Everywhere aka Todd Stanley debuted his acoustic stylings and did
some GG Allen covers.
Barnkats
& Wolfspeed September 16.06
Wolfspeed was a previous incarnation of Boxer the Horse (before Isaac
joined the band). The show went down at the Reading Well Bookstore
and Rob Diamond Presents played too, as well as Hair Everywhere. I
remember it was a really warm day.
Hacksaw Helloween Show October
28.06
Daniel (HJT) and I turned his garage into
a haunted house. We coated the walls with black garbage bags, hung
skeletons, put out candy and got ready to party. It took us all day
to get the room ready. In the end I think about four people showed
up. Chara played, Henry Gale (ex members of Chara, Enraged Entity
playing grindcore songs about the television show Lost) played...
I remember Kenny dressing up as a penis. Daniel and I dressed up as
dinosaurs and played some vicious noise as Hacksaw Jim Thuggin, and
the Barnkats played. I later made a live tape of the Barnkats set
that was limited to 20 copies and sold out really quickly. I think
I charged a buck for the tapes. I painted the actual tapes with a
thick heavy paint and I hear it destroyed a few tape players; sorry.
After the show I camped out with the Chara boys in their van in Victoria
park for some reason. In the morning we went for breakfast.
Joey
Only & Cap' N Kops November
23.06
Joey Only came from British Columbia and
Cap N Kops came from the Trans Canada Highway. This was an intimiate
crusty little show at the Reading Well Bookstore. Columns and Rob
Diamond Presents played. Dana F's noise project BRZRK also "played"
(the set consisted of a tape player and a strobe light in the back
room). It was pretty rad.
One
Day Late January
4.07
This was by far my favourite Reading Well
show. One Day Late came from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The barely
squeezed into the tiny little bookstore and truely rocked out. There
was some hysterics prior and even during the show which led to me
running around Charlottetown desperately searching for a PA. There
is a scrapbook entry about this show.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
AV
& The Kettle Black January
25.07
This little freak out happened at Back Alley
Music. I had been a fan of AV for years so this was a real treat for
me. The Kettle Black came from Halifax, Nova Scotia by way of British
Columbia. Boxer the Horse also played. This was the show that temporarily
renamed the back room (where the bands played in Back Alley) to The
Bandit Lounge. For the next couple of shows the show space would just
be referred to as The Bandit Lounge.
Syracuse
Me February
24.07
This show was a bit of a nightmare. I had
about ten bands set to play and one by one they all seemed to drop
out for one reason or another. When the dust settled Syracuse Me played,
my grindcore band Aww Yeahhhh played, Hackaw Jim Thuggin played, and
Daniel (of HJT and Aww Yeahhhh) played a solo set as Winter Silence.
The show took place at my friend Kelly's cabin in Stratford. I posted
the completely wrong directions on all of the posters and the internet
but somehow a good number people still found the place; I never understood
how they found it... the directions weren't even close.
Fuck
The Facts March
25.07
Fuck The Facts came from Quebec. I put the
show on with my pal Kenny. Enraged Entity, Barnkats, and Aww Yeahhh
played. It was also Braindead (Charlottetown tough guy HC)'s first
show. I had a huge beard at this time and handed out lyric sheets
for the Aww Yeahhhh set, which didn't make a lot of sense because
most of the song lyrics were simply "Yeahhhhh!!" and "Awww
Yeahhhhh!" and "Are you serious???". It took place
at Back Alley Music and no one seemed to be able to uncross their
arms. Fuck The Facts later played a 19+ show at Baba's and told everyone
how lame we were. It was also the first and last time I ever put on
a show with a cash guarantee.
The
Superfantastics March
31.07
March 31st 2007 marked the first time I ever
put on a show for the lovely Superfantastics from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The Reading Well Bookstore was packed with people on this warm almost-srping
afternoon. The Barnkats, Andrew Murray, and Morgan Palmer also played.
You had better believe there was free root beer for the kids who showed
up early; actually now that I think about it there may have been free
pins as well.
Think
About Life & Clyffs April
14.07
Back Alley Music was transformed into a mad
house. Finally we uncrossed our arms and enjoyed ourselves by busting
out some dance moves on the Bandit Lounge dance floor. The Barnkats
and The Robots also played. Actually, everyone almost died a firey
death. I have a scrapbook dedicated to the incident.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
D/A
A/D May
5.07
Alex aka D/A A/D came from Halifax, Nova
Scotia to play an intimidate little noise show at Back Alley Music.
Hacksaw Jim Thuggin and TSROI also played. Afterwards we all went
out for falafels.
Dog
Day & Husband/Knife May
12.07
Now this was a real treat. My friend Aimee
had turned me onto Dog Day and I was instantly hooked. When the opportunity
arose to put on a show for them I jumped at it. We filled the Reading
Well Bookstore to the brim. Charlottetown's own Boxer The Horse and
the Barnkats played as well. This was the very definition of a cozy
show.
Windom
Earle Mustache Party May
12.07
After the Dog Day show at the Reading Well
I put on a secret house show at my friend Danny C's place in Cornwall,
Prince Edward Island. Things got going around 11pm and ran well into
the wee hours of the morning. Chara and Syracuse Me both brought the
house down as well. This was a secret mustache party which meant anyone
who wanted to come had to get in touch with me for directions as well
as draw a mustache on their face to get in. Dan was also putting on
a party with some car dudes upstairs so it was even more ridiculous
and fun. I've dedicated a scrapbook to this show.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
Defect
Defect May
16.07
Defect Defect were some cool DIY kids from
Portland Oregon. They were really rad and their singer was so tall.
They had a lot of heart and were the nicest people to put a show on
for. Charlottetown's Syracuse Me, The Barnkats, and CJJ played too.
It all took place at Back Alley Music.
Stolen
Minks & The Guest Bedroom May
19.07
May had been a really great month with really
great bands. This show right here topped it all off. The Stolen Minks
came from Halifax, Nova Scotia and they just blew everyone away. The
Guest Bedroom were on tour with them from Toronto, Ontario and they
put the cherry on top for the evening with a fantastic set. The Barnkats
and I believe Smothered In Hugs also played. It was absolutely pooring
rain outside the Reading Well on this night.
Sleepless
Nights & The Peter Parkers June
2.07
I remember this show turning mostly into
a major jam session. I think only the bands themselves showed up for
this one at Back Alley Music. It was really neat to put on a show
for the Peter Parkers. The Barnkats also played.
Sober
Dawn & Syracuse Me June
5.07
This show was a part of the Sober Dawn /
Syracuse Me summer tour. It took place at Back Alley Music. I remember
the Maple Grill next to Back Alley being really upset with how loud
everything was. The Sober Dawn had some of the biggest amps I ever
saw.
The
Evens June
19.07
I remember I got home one sunny afternoon
and I played my messages "Hi, this is Ian Mackaye from Washington,
DC. I was wondering if you could help me with a show." A few
phone calls later I eagerly booked the Haviland Gentilmen's Club,
a month later I was watching the Evens play a mesmerizing set. There
will be a scrapbook coming soon with photos and stories and such.
Laura
Barrett & The Boy From ET June
23.07
This one took place at the Reading Well Bookstore.
Laura Barrett played the thumb piano, The Boy from ET blew everyones
minds with his awesome in character set. The Barnkats added some quirky
folk pop and Tristan Gray showed off some photographs on a 4x4 plank
of wood. There were less than ten people there; it was amazing.
Play
Guitar & Husband/Knife July
6.07
Dress up as an animal themed house show my
friends Kate & Laura's place! This was my first chance to see
and book a show for the masterful Play Guitar. The tiny little 306
Grafton had bad wiring so the bands would sometimes get shocks from
the mics; but dammit the place had character. I remember this show
being especially well attended and everyone was into it. Unfortunately
later in the night someone broke into Play Guitar's van and stole
a guitar and some personal things. God bless'm that didn't keep them
away and I had the chance to put on a few shows for them later on.
I put together a scrapbook for this one.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
A
History Of & Medium Mood August
18.07
Two in your face bands from Halifax/Truro,
Nova Scotia. Label mates A History Of and the Medium Mood were on
tour together; actually a week earlier I was in Montreal and I had
seen a few posters out and about but wasn't around for their Montreal
shows. Syracuse Me and Columns also played.
Windom
Earle & Maynards & Mark Little August
31.07
End of the summer bash at 306. An angry drunk
neighbour threw a table leg through a window while Windom Earle was
playing. The drummer got cut by the broken glass. Mark Little of Halifax's
Picnicface fame did some hip hop and Halifax's the Maynards kicked
all our asses.
The
Superfantastics September
29.07
The first show at Aimee & Cory's house
known as The Hutch. It was the first house located on Hutchinson Cres,
thus "The Hutch" was born. This was a groovy little show
and included Charlottetown's The Danks and Andrew Murray
Museum
Pieces & Play Guitar October
4.07
This show was an absolute blast. The Museum
Pieces were spellbinding while Play Guitar knocked us out and didn't
get their gear stolen. Boxer The Horse cranked out their dark country
tunes and Back Alley was rocking on this night.
The
Death Set & Windom Earle November
23.07
The show that The Death Set told Exclaim
Magazine was one of their best ever. This was the stuff I had hoop
dreams about when I first began putting on shows; it all came together.
It took place at The Hutch. The Death Set came from Baltimore, MD
and utterly destroyed everything in sight. It was New Royalty's first
show, The Robots closed things out, and Windom Earle wore a cape.
You had better believe I prepared a scrapbook for this one.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
Dog
Day & Husband/Knife December
7.07
In the middle of a snow storm Halifax's Dog
Day and Husband/Knife aka KC Spidle made their way to the Robot House
in Charlottetown, PEI. They were just returning from their European
Tour and this was a sort of last stop before home. The Right Crowd
played as did the home owners The Robots. I made a scrapbook for this
show.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
Play
Guitar & Special Noise January
18.08
The brothers Simmons Jef (Special Noise)
and Christian (Play Guitar) descended upon Back Alley. Play Guitar
reverted to their original form and played a really cool experimental
set. Greg (Special Noise) brought me some books from the amazing Stacey
Ho to sell in my distro.
First
Show at JFK House February
1.08
The very first show at the infamous JFK House
featured an all local try-out show to see if things would work out
or not. Aww Yeahhhh flailed around in the living room, Boxer The Horse
played country in the basement and Party On!, well, partied. I made
a little scrapbook.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
The
Superfantastics & Shotgun Jimmie February
22.08
The wonderful Superfans pleased the crowd
with their cute pop hooks before running off to play a 19+ show. It
was sure nice of them to drop by and bring alongtheir friend Shotgun
Jimmie from Sackville, New Brunswick. The Barnkats and New Royalty
partied into the cool February air. The energy could not be contained.
I made a scrapbook for this one.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
Hands
of Death & ???? March
28.08
Four Question Marks came all the way from
France and Hands of Death came from Montreal. When these two insano
bands converged on the house it was like a bomb going off. The mighty
mighty JFK House stood its ground. Charlottetown metalheads Uigg and
Unhallowed Existence rocked out as well.
Forest
City Lovers & D'Urbs March
29.08
The day after hell was unleashed on JFK
House; two sweetheart Toronto bands came by and helped us back up.
The previous nights show happened in the basement but upon seeing
the blood stains we decided it would be best to hold this indie pop
show upstairs in the living room. Crowd surfing and dance floor freakouts
were to follow as the touring bands gave it their all along with the
Charlottetown party poppers New Royalty, Boxer the Horse, and Andrew
Murray. This was a really good weekend. I made a scrapbook for this
one.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
Ghost
Bees & Fall Horsie April
19.08
Ghost Bees and Fall Horsie came from Halifax,
Nova Scotia. The show took place at Back Alley Music. The Barnkats
also played. This was an art show as well that Andie Bulman was putting
on. It was neat seeing Ghost Bees for the first time.
Lords
April
25.08
This show took place at 361 Kent st formerly
the House of Rock. It was a dream come true to put on a show there.
Lords came from Louisville Kentucky and piled their amps high to the
ceiling. Enraged Entity and Slave Class also played.
Cloak/Dagger
May
6.08
Cloak/Dagger were on tour from Richmond,
VA. The drummer broke his drums during his set so they cut their set
short. Not many people showed up, but afterwards we all went over
to Lyons House and had a barbeque and I did an interview with them.
The Right Crowd also played.
Eviction
Party May
10.08
I had to go to Montreal to sort some things
out with the Korean Consulate about working in Korea in the fall;
so I didn't actually get to see this show. I hear it went well.
VideoHippos
& DD/MM/YYYY May
13.08
Tuesday night freakouts at Lyons House.
The show went well past midnight; it was a blast. Blue Leader from
Baltimore, MD played an unannounced set before VideoHippos. It was
absolutely spellbinding. Baltimore's VideoHippos had their big projector
set up and Toronto's DD/MM/YYYY completely brought the place down
around midnight. I made a scrapbook for this one.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
Stolen
Minks & BA Johnston & Superfans May
13.08
Halifax wild kids the Stolen Minks, and
The Superfantastics descended upon Lyons House with the help of Hamilton/Halifax's
BA Johnston. I was excited to put on another show for the Stolen Minks,
and The Superfantastics are always a treat. It was my first time putting
on a show for BA and he did not disappoint.
Scribbler
& Journalists, Wolf June
14.08
Halifax's Radiator Collective members Scribbler
and Journalists, Wolf ripped up Back Alley Music; or so I hear. I
was again out of the province sorting out consulate details getting
ready for my Korean adventure.
The
Ghost Is Dancing & Koak July
5.08
Crazy masked themed show at Back Alley Music.
I made a bunch of pink polar bear masks and handed them out. This
one was a wild dance party as Back Alley finally came alive. Before
the show I thought Koak (pronounced Co-Ack) was pronounced
like Coke. How embarrassing. I made a scrapbook for this show.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
Ghost
Bees & Katie Stelmanis August
6.08
This one was going to feature Attack In
Black playing a house show before their bar show at Hunters Ale House
until their manager and/or Hunters got in the way of that. Both sides
blamed the other for the mix up and in the end they didn't play Lyons
House. Whatever, we didn't need them; we made this one a mustache
party and Ghost Bees along with Barnkat Katie judged. I put together
a scrapbook for this one.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
HFF
August
15 - 17.08
HFF or High Fives Forever was a fest I put
on as a last hurrah before I left for Korea. The idea came to me on
the train home from Montreal a few months earlier. There were five
shows spread out between Lyons House, Ampersand and Back Alley Music.
The bands who played included Windom Earle, Rich Aucoin, D/A A/D,
Chief Thundercloud, Sleepless Nights, Torso, A.S. Pearson, Glory Glory
Man United, Criminal Intent, XEnvisionX, Last Laugh, Vennt, Slave
Class, Story, The Robots, AV, Smothered In Hugs, The Right Crowd,
New Royalty, Taylor Carver (Comedy), and more. It was a wild long
weekend and I almost had a breakdown because of it.
Shotgun
Jimmie & Bloodsport July
24.09
The
great Shotgun Jimmie stopped by Ampersand to deliver a rocking solo
set. Bloodsport, Construction & Destruction, Barnkats and New
Royalty also rocked out. The dancing got pretty wild as the show went
on and an ill timed dog pile resulted in me suffering a concussion
and not remembering how the rest of the show went. But, I hear it
was a lot of fun! Thanks to everyone.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
Boxer
The Horse & Barnkats & MITBS October
22.09
I
put on a little show last night at Lyon's House. Play Guitar drove
all the way from Montreal but showed up too late so they couldn' play.
It was a real bummer. On the positive side Money in the Banana Stand
blew me away; they were just lovely. Boxer The Horse and The Barnkats
didn't disappoint either! It was a modest turn out and no one seemed
to be that interested in dancing, but I was glad that Josh and I threw
down and started doing summersaults on the dance floor toward the
end of the night. Oh well, the scene is what you make it. Thanks so
much to everyone who came out, the fantastic bands, Andrea and the
Lyon's House folks, Tristan for helping out big time in just about
every area and Calvin for running around Charlottetown in the rain.
A very strange night indeed.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
Syracuse
Me & Bad Vibrations November
28.09
Hmm, let's see. Rad bands? Check. Killer
venue? Check. Totally awesome carpet? Fuck yeah! Saturday night was
a bllllast. I don't think I've stopped smiling ever since --well,
I may have for a moment while talking to the police, but wait, no,
even then I was smiling. --They were just checking in to see what
was up, no big deal. Let me break it down for you. We had four really
great and unique bands packed into a room with all kinds of kids from
first timers to seasoned punx and we shared a night that will be long
remembered as one of the wildest shows Ampersand has ever seen. Thank
you so much to all of you; we did it together hand in hand. We all
deserve thanks and pats on the back. We couldn't do it without each
other. From bands willing to play for super cheap if not free, to
the venue allowing us to use their space for free, to rad kids lending
bands somewhere to sleep, to friends helping friends duct tape up
broken windows, to complete strangers volunteering to help pass out
flyers to you for coming to the show and paying your five dollars
to damn it, you just coming to this site and reading these words and
looking at these photos. This is something we're building together
and we deserve to hold our heads high.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
Holiday
Homecoming December
28.09
Holiday Homecoming sure lived up to its
name. We piled in over one hundred kids into Ampersand last night
for a truly memorable show. Every band was on point and the energy
in the building was absolutely electric. Thank yous all around; to
the Ampersand folks for letting us use their store yet again and being
so damn easy going about it, to the bands for givin' it their all,
and of course to the show goers for rocking out all night long and
respecting each other and the show space. We couldn't do it without
you. The show was a complete success. We raised plenty of money for
the broken Ampersand window and the food donations for the Upper Room
were absolutely overwhelming! I'm so proud to be associated with this
community of ours. Thank you all.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK PT 1
AND CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE SCRAPBOOK
PT 2
