Happy 15th anniversary, TSEP!

So, I don't expect anyone to remember this (even I didn't until Greg reminded me a few weeks ago), but it was exactly 15 years ago today that the first band I was ever in, The Self Esteem Project, played our first show.  And what an excellent show it was. Our friend Meridith was nice enough to lend out her parents basement in Deep Cove and have us, September, Plains of Abraham, and Reserve 34 come over and make noise, take our pants off, and yell and scream for the afternoon. It was awesome. Those sure were the days. So, happy anniversary Greg, Kyle, and Clayton!

Oh yeah, anyone interested in seeing the other bands sets? Let me know!

BMX

This is the other thing I'm into, and this is my all time favourite video. The deeper I get into the box of tapes the more gems I dig up!

We're Plains of Abraham, and this goes out to North Van!

   If you were there, you know, and if you weren't, stop what your doing and clear your schedule for the next 22 minutes. I have quite a few POA sets on tape, but this one goes down as one of the top 3. An intro played on a ghetto blaster, no lights, broken mics, crazy feedback, non stop heckling from some Christians who take offence to Ryan and Marty's non stop anti religious banter, the house music being intermittently turned on throughout the set, and finally having the mics turned off, only to play one more anyways. The icing on the cake however is the girl who gets on stage mid set to tell everyone that "punk is about keeping your opinions to yourself, if you don't have anything nice to say.....". You'll have to watch to see what happens. One of my favourite Vancouver bands ever. Enjoy.

I weigh 170 pounds and 70 kilograms!

Remember when you needed some kind of clunky digital recorder thing to be a solo artist with no band? I thought this was some next level shit when I first heard of Atom and his Package. My, how far we've come. No pop culture reference or band was safe from Atom and his goofy yet catchy songs, from Slayer to the Ghetto Boys to Fugazi and even his friend Ralph, everyone got a shout out. I left a lot of the between song banter in, because not only does it provide a good time stamp, it also reminds us of why we were attracted to this quirky, funny, and slightly strange little guy named Atom.

One! King! Down!

So, I don't know too much about these guys other than they had 2 different lead singers. It always amazes me when bands have different lead singers in different parts of their career. Oh, the other thing I know is they played some hyper active solo filled metallic hardcore, and seemed to do it pretty damn well. Here's their set from the same show as the Strain footage i posted previously. I hope you get a kick out of the drama in the hallway I left in there, it's pretty hilarious. 

Come crash on my shore!

The final road test for the songs that would end up on the album If It Weren't For Venetian Blinds It Would Be Curtains For Us All. Cameo appearances by some memorable local characters. What a show!

thisisthesparkmarkerpost

What can I say about Sparkmarker? Besides maybe Joy Division and Propagandhi, they were probably the most played band in my walkman from grades 10-12, and are to this day one of my top ten all time favourite bands. Below I've scanned all my posters and converted some footage of them playing Punk Strikes Back, which was a yearly affair with this particular installment ( I believe it was the first one) benefiting the BC Persons with Aids Society. I cut the 3rd video long on both ends so you can have an idea of the drama from that night, and at the end hear Jay Clark reference the Town Pump. Actually, with the exception of the two suburban halls, sadly every single venue from these posters is closed. If you have a special Sparkmarker story please share it in the comments. Enjoy!