Who: Slaveco
What: The Punk Night
Where: Boot Pub
When: Sunday, Jan. 18
Tickets: $5
With the Dayglo Abortions show two weeks ago, and D.O.A. slated to play on Jan. 25, The Punk Night has had a Canadian legends of the ’80s theme lately, and this Sunday’s show fits right in.
While Slaveco is fairly new to the Vancouver indie punk scene, frontman Mr. Chi Pig of legendary prairie punk band SNFU is most definitely not new. He goes way back to the early ’80s, starting out playing shows at the legendary Bronx nightclub in Edmonton, moving out west, seeing Epitaph record deals won and lost, and recording nine, going on 10, seven-word-titled albums.
In Slaveco, Chi joins guitarist Jay Black, drummer Shane Smith and bassist Matt Warhurst, formerly of Vancouver band OCEAN3. The band is currently in the middle of recording their debut album, slated for release this spring. But also slated for release is a new SNFU album, promising more of the classic driving raw punk for long-time fans and a fresh crop of kids just tuning into the sound.
Pique Newsmagazine caught up with Chi in Vancouver for a little past and present punk chat.
Pique:
Where does SNFU end and Slaveco begin?Mr. Chi Pig:
The only similarity is that I’m going to be playing in both bands. Slaveco has been going for about 14 months now.Slaveco is my full time project and SNFU is going to be my side project. For the last four years Marc (Belke) and I have been finishing the 10th SNFU album and it’s finally done. Since it’s going to come out in March or April, we kind of decided that it would be good to do a show around that time and then we’re just taking it from there.
I’m sure it’s going to grow an ugly head of its own. SNFU is an ongoing entity and the fun thing about that is you never know if the last show is going to be the last show or not.
But as long as I’m still alive there’s going to be an SNFU show somewhere.
Pique:
What’s the new SNFU album called?MCP:
It’s called In The Meantime And In Between Time . (Yup, seven words.)Pique:
You and whatever band you’ve been involved with have always been associated with a skatepunk counterculture. Now that skateboarding’s become really mainstream, where does that leave you in that regard?MCP:
We had that connection with the old-schoolers, and we still have that. But newer skaters listen to it because that kind of music fits skateboarding. It’s aggressive and loud.Pique:
Do you still skate?MCP:
I skate transportation-wise. But it’s different when you get in your 30s. You fall and your body doesn’t bounce back like it did before. You’re not as resilient. You’ve got to look at the reality of things; you might break a bone.Pique:
Growing up in Edmonton, the Open Up Your Mouth And Say SNFU shirt is one of the most punk images from the ’80s. Are kids still snapping that shirt up?MCP:
Actually, the shirt is available on the Internet and it’s there for nostalgia purposes I guess. I think we’re going to bring out new T-shirts for the new album and then have that old staple because it’s classic.Pique:
Is punk rock the fountain of youth?MCP:
For me it is. It’s the music I related to most when I was growing up.Pique:
What are you listening to now?MCP:
I have an old tape collection. I like Lou Reed, David Bowie, The Smiths. The Cocteau Twins. I listen to things I don’t play. Johnny Cash. There’s this really cool Cole Porter CD. The guy was a really great lyric writer. He did a lot of really cool stuff in the ’40s and ’50s for soundtracks that was sung by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. They’re great songs and they still sound great to this day.Regardless of what’s in his CD player, you can bet Mr. Chi Pig will not be singing Cole Porter songs when he comes to Whistler. Catch him with Slaveco at The Punk Night this Sunday at the Boot. Tickets $5 at the door. Call 604-932-3338 for information.
