Garnet Sweatshirt
Curse of the Canadian Rockstar
AudioMonster.com
According to this new conglomerate of self-proclaimed Canadian rock stars the bane of their existence (and all other touring CRS’s apparently) is the godawful, raggedy, van-stanky, Garnet amplifier sweatshirt with the sleeves cut-off. Or that’s the theme of this nine track disc anyway. The core of this group are fairly well known, but if you exclude Guess Who, Cancon godfather Randy Bachman (Sinclair and Hartford-Garden City, Winnipeg),they are hardly stars. This Vancouver-based group centres around the aforementioned guitar-god Bachman, the always-twisted Chris Houston (Forgotten Rebels, Evil Twang), former DOA/Subhumans shit-disturber and part-time bomb expert Wimpy Roy Goble, monster timekeeper Jon Card (DOA, SNFU, Personality Crisis-yay!) as well as upscale drum guy Adam Drake (Art Bergmann, Grapes of Wrath). The album is a very listenable mixed bag of mostly Goble or Houston penned, mid-tempo rockers that stand up to repeated listenings. Goble seems to be the cat that is the most topical lyrically and doesn’t shy away from revealing his distaste for the current state of the music biz. Houston too, never a shrinking violet, offers many pointed stabs at scene poseurs, sex and drug-a-holics and lead singers! The album is dedicated to “The Musical Genius of Kurt Winter” and that seems wholly appropriate for these maple leaf proud thugs of Canuck rock. Guests include Basil Donovan, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Robbie King, James Gray, Herald Nix and more. This is very old school and is pleasantly unpretentious and smart. Watch for them at a seedy bar near you soon.
Jeff Monk
The Monk 2009 view - I tried contacting this band at the time to check if I could get an interview but even back in 2002 it wasn't possible. They remain an enigma. Of course you can find rich old man Bachman blathering on CBC radio with his wife any Saturday night about how he knew or knows just about EVERYONE in the music business (really, it's true, he knows EVERYONE) as he plays golden oldies for all the yuppies that can't wait for the next piece of shit Stuart McLean book, dvd, cd or recipe blog to be released. Sad really, can u tell I am not a fan of these cats and their ilk? Send me an email if you agree...it would be appreciated. If you DON'T agree and LOVE Randy and Stu well, you need to give yr goddamn head a shake and start looking someplace new for yr entertainment. But what do I know? You'd be surprised....
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