Monday 8 January 2007

Punk Rock High School - Zeroption (pictured below) is Born!

"Ah-ah-ahh-ah, ah-ah-ahh-ah----- (open wide) "We come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow...!"

So there I was stuck in Canada, shovelling snow from the drive way (how novel), watching endless mind numbing US TV shows and taking long walks on my own. I would wander out dressed in a light beige parka (with a fake fur lined hood) and these enormous kind of yellow fur lined wellies with laces at the top and grooves along the toes. I was beating the girls off. Worse still my girl friend in Northern Ireland dumped me and had shacked up with the bass player of the Co-ordinants. Well water under the bridge and its best to forgive and forget..."Benson you're a dead man!!!!"
With March came a thawing and my opportunity to attend high school, Blakelock High School.
I trundled along (with my Mum) and toned down my dress sense a bit, only the docs gave any hint of my punk credentials and I had also borrowed a lot of my cousin's clothes (these days I only borrow my sister's). My student counsellor advised me that my dress was appropriate (apparently he was a cross dresser too) and that I should fit in, but could I please slow down when I spoke as he didn't understand a word that I said. "Whaddyameanareyousefeckingdeeforwat?"
School was a shock. I mean it was just like high school musical but without the singing. Take the canteen... in one corner there were the football jocks playing with the cheerleader's pom poms, who reciprocated by playing with their helmets (sorry this was just so predictable). In another corner there were geeky kids, usually being bullied by the jocks. The punks in the far corner were not speeding like a jet and the stoners were usually in no corner at all rather outside in the snow...like getting high man and listeningto Led Zepplin. And there were preppies - please.
This was my first experience of these strange sub groupings, who compared to my peers in Northern Ireland, had by the look of things, led pretty sheltered lives...well it was Canada after all. Morever, increasingly I came to realise that Canada was not a classless society but was very class conscious except you tended to be judged on what labels you wore rather than what school you went to. No points scored there for me then, no one had heard of primark in Canada. I remember walking into class on my first real day of school. I had cropped hair, was wearing a white fred perry shirt and a navy v-neck fred perry jumper, a red harrington jacket, bleached levis and ox blood coloured high leg docs. Sarah `pom pom` Montgomery (one of the cheerleaders that I lusted after before I went to spec savers), said, "Oh my Gaaaaaawd, what is that...?" Alas in a sort of distainful-I have just stepped in dogshit-manner, rather than the (breathy sigh) - "Oh my G0D - what is.... that (big boy - meeeow - purrrrrrrrrrr)?"
My natural gravity was to the punks but even here there was evidence of something distrubing. A couple of guys were floating around that looked the part (shallow aren't I), but it was during history class that I was accosted by two others who accused the other guys - that actually did look like punks - of being psuedos, which was ok by me as I didn't know what psuedo meant. It transpires the accosters were Messers Kealan D and Gord F who went onto play drums and bass in zeroption. Kealan (aka Kiki D) had come from Irish farming stock and it showed. The big checked shirt was a dead give away, despite the turned up collar. Gord was a good looking guy. Dark haired, a gay icon even to this day, he dressed in tight jeans, sneakers and cap sleeved t-shirts. He also had the habit of walking in a very erect manner, maybe to make himself look taller, which at times gave the impression that he had once sat on something conical and it was either still stuck up there or that it had come out but had left him in permenant discomfort. He also bore an uncanny resemblance to a teen US heartthrob from a well known US sitcom. Yes Gord had the look of a `Chachi` about him. And so the three of us got together to form what was to become...zeroption, as the long dark Winter turned to the Spring...
"Goodbye grey skies...hello blue - nothing can hold me when I hold you, feels so right it can't be wrong, rocking and rolling all week long!"

3 comments:

gaz70% said...

"One by one, see the mighty now have fallen. One by one, the towns people fight and cry. One by one, bodies laid under tarpaullen there were many more to die."... (Rufrex 1977).
Oh happy days indeed.
Stu and i 1st met whilst in primary (junior) school in the leafy (yawn) suburbs of Bangor in the early 70's. Come the revelation, or revolution, that was to become punk rock we were to become firm friends. Still in touch to this day. We snapped up every record we could afford, (and probably nicked a few we couldnt)playing them as loud as we could from my bedroom, windows open of course, there were people out there who needed educated to this new music, much to the growing despair of my parents, and neighbours!!!. Also now and then from Stu's room, only when we knew his mum would'nt be there.... Remember the ear piercing incident mate? you would have made Ali proud with your "ducking and weaving". Ah. Bless her. Anyway, i digress. We were also running the gauntlet of my older brother and his friend, the aptly named "Big Mac" every night, as they used to wait for us outside my house to indulge in a spot of punk bashing, which was a very popular pastime for the "spider men" of the day. Dressed in their tight fitting denim jackets and boot high wide fitting "paralell" trousers. They hated punks and made life very difficult... Everyone hated punks come to think of it. We were obviously going to subvert the country with our zips and home made T-shirts and jackets... Once introduced to Ska music though, (circa 1980) they calmed down and Mac also remains a firm friend.
I was press-ganged into 70% proof as lead shouter with the promise of loads of women and even more cider...(at least they got the cider part right). I could tell that the guitarist we had at the time did'nt really have his heart in it and was just filling time until a better offer came along. I approached Stu....with the offer of loads of women and even more cider, and the rest is history.
"Their songs were hard driven by a barking vocalist and grinding guitar". That was the quote which appeared in the local press after the gig mentioned by Stu and is still probably the kindest thing that was ever written about me in the press, as the next time I was mentioned it was under the headline. "Fracas at bus depot lands five in court"....
Oh yes mate. Happy days indeed. EH!!!

gaz70% said...

I had kept in touch with Stu after he left, keeping each other updated on the scene on both sides of the pond. He had mentioned being in a band, so in good "old mucker" style I decided to save all my cider money and go and see what all the fuss was about.
When I EVENTUALLY made it through customs. (After al the obligatory questions, what's the purpose of your visit? where are you staying? why are you dressed like a tosser? do you take drugs?,... bend over!!!). I was surprised to find such a vibrant scene. It took me back to the halcyon days of the early scene back home. Very raw and right in your face. Only this being North America, on a bigger scale of course... Religion or race had never been an issue with the punks in Belfast in the early days, until the Oi, right wing thing took off, and I only bumped into a few guys in Canada who had jumped onto that bandwagon, thankfully.
Stu was keen to let me hear the band, as he had nicked one of our best, and my favourite song, No Fame, so I was soon sitting in his mates (Gord I think) basement, beer in hand listening to some of the fastest, rawest punk I had ever heard.
Not wanting to sound too enthusiastic (he had never played like that in the "proof") I said. "Might sound a bit better if you slowed it a bit guys". But I was to learn fairly rapidly that this music was MEANT to be played at 78rpm.
I got to see them playing live in Toronto shortly after. Cant remember where, but remember thinking it was a good live venue. I also remember thinking to myself that for a three piece, they were going to have to be very energetic. I was not to be disappointed. Stu and Kaelen bouncing about in best Strummer and Jones tradition (though I don’t think I'll be thanked for making that comparison) and Gord keeping it tight behind the drums. I could see that Stu was right after all. The WERE a f@*king good band. Playing great music at a fast and furious pace.
I was also lucky enough to take in one of my favourite bands; The Dead Kennedy’s supported by The Young Lions (another great band) and met some fantastic and enthusiastic guys on my trip. I was continually quizzed about new bands still to make across the pond by people keen to soak up as much knowledge as they could (this included members from other bands).
The Canadian scene all seemed a bit frenetic in those days, but it was really refreshing to me, as most of the furore surrounding punk back home had all but died down, so it was a real breath of fresh air.
All in all, that trip opened my eyes to a whole new plethora of groups who had yet to make a ripple in the UK... D.O.A. The Circle jerks. Black Flag. T.S.O.L. To name but a few.
Thanks mate…

GT said...

Brilliant reading lads, love all the old punk stories. Check out 70% Proof and loads of other N. Irish punk bands on my website http://nipunk.weebly.com/