WITCHPOLICE

1th of the Month: January 2012

2012-01-31T17:59:00.000-06:00

Blah blah blah, you know the drill. 1th of the Month is where we highlight the most-downloaded album (and the runners-up) of the past month or so. At the end of the year, there will be an overall winner. This is the first one of 2012.

Topping the list this month is the Naked Midgets' Discography, which compiles all of their self-released albums from the last decade into one mega-collection. This one is a little surprising, as the download was released a while back now and didn't make a huge splash upon its initial release. It's been growing in a huge way, though, and has catapulted itself to ninth all-time.

The list is rounded out by more popular old stuff -- Dale Cooper's collection of Sizzla remixes, the Dead Peasants Revolt's Resistance is Fertile, the Soviet Cities on the Moon EP -- and one recently-posted item, the Barrymores demo from a decade ago.

1. The Naked Midgets - Discography

2. The Dead Peasants Revolt - Resistance is Fertile

3. Dale Cooper - The Good, the Bad & the Remixed

4. The Barrymores - Kill All the Ska Kids

5. Soviet Cities on the Moon - The CCCPEP

Work It Out!

2012-01-28T15:03:00.002-06:00

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you're well aware of my love for all things CKUW.

A few months back, my favourite radio station hired me to do some work for an innovative new series they were developing, called Work It Out Radio, an exercise radio series offering up simple, fun exercises you can do from the comfort of your own home.

Encouraged by the extremely lo-fi Witchpolice music videos (like "Jets Song [on TV]" and "Hey! Hey!"), I was asked to make similarly amateurish exercise videos to accompany the radio program. I also photographed the volunteer exercises, like Dr. Bobo up there, who was the subject of probably my favourite photo I've ever taken.

Check out the site and try the exercises at home. Each video is accompanied by great music provided to CKUW by local labels Balanced and Dublum Records. The whole thing is a lot of fun and might actually be able to help you get in shape.

One Day September - Live at the W.E.C.C. (2003) plus bonus tracks!

2012-01-26T21:38:00.000-06:00

About ten years ago, the one and only Jeff Tetrault was behind the drums for a local alternative folk group called One Day September. They didn't release anything officially during their brief life, but they did record a live album at the West End Cultural Centre, as well as a three-song demo disc.

As we like to do at Witchpolice, we dug it all up and made it available right here.

Since I never actually saw One Day September live, I'll let their now-defunct website (some of which has been salvaged by archive.org's Wayback Machine... yet another reason I love the Internet Archive) do the talking. It's a little lengthy, but it fills in the background of this band much better than I could:

Recording a debut full length album in front of a live audience is a daunting task, not to mention an uncommon one. For Winnipeg band One Day September, picking the bold, unorthodox route seems natural. For nearly two years the quartet have combined studious musical backgrounds with passionate performance skills in a fusion of folk, jazz and rock creating an indefinable genre that continues to breathe new life into a vastly stagnant musical landscape.

Pulling the plug on his electric guitar in February 2001, Russell Chan set out to establish the acoustic project he had wanted for some time. While he maintains his role in well charged Winnipeg quartet Blueprint Gallery, Chan’s love for, and background in, many musical styles kept him from being pigeonholed as a rock guitarist. Six years of classical training with the Royal Conservatory combined with formal guitar and piano training while with the Winnipeg Steel Orchestra as well as a certificate in Audio Engineering contribute to the complex, mature and evolved mindset Chan brings to One Day September.

Fellow Royal Conservatory alumni Patrick J. Farr’s extensive classical training, coupled with his certificate from the Mid-Ocean School of Media Arts made him an obvious addition to One Day September’s lineup. Performing on an upright bass, Farr transcends a classic style into a modern medium. His impressive tour history includes stints with The Farrell Brothers, Dan Frechette and a stage shared with famed Canadian songwriter Ron Sexsmith.

Rounding out the rhythm section is Jeff Tétrault, a Winnipeg name who survived his first of many fifteen minute bouts with fame while drumming for Jet Set Satellite. A pair of top 20 videos, appearances on national television and a slot on the giant EdgeFest tour later, Tétrault brings a wealth of experience to the fold. Only in his early 20’s, Tétrault has studied under such names as Terry Bozzio, Dom Famularo and Horacio Hernandez. He is currently pursuing a musical education through the Canadian Mennonite University.

With instrumentation in place, all that was needed was the voice. Chan found it in Kelly McRae, another astonishingly young, gifted performer. Her voice soars with creative spirit and amazing breadth. McRae is currently studying vocals at the Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts.

With the lineup in place, One Day September took charge of Winnipeg’s live scene, infiltrating coffeehouses, bookstores and neighbourhood pubs. News of their advanced sound and laid-back, earthy vibe swept quickly through the musical community and the band continues to celebrate an ever-increasing fan base.

After recording a single with local producer Lloyd Peterson at Private Ear Studio in Winnipeg, the members’ collective mindset turned to penning an album. Instead of booking studio time, One Day September have decided to book a show in a large Winnipeg venue, invite some award-winning friends along to warm the stage, and record their entire show. The resulting performance will in turn become the band’s debut full length CD, set for release in June 2003.

OK, so obviously the album never came out, but here it is. Enjoy.

Download the whole thing here.

Stream it:

Bonus tracks:

One Day September also recorded a previously-unreleased three-song demo (described in the above bio as a "single"). These three songs were recorded well before the live album, but have been tacked on to the end of the download.

Audio posted with permission.

Brat Attack live set (video, 2002)

2012-01-22T10:47:00.001-06:00

It's a Brat from the past! Man, these puns are getting horrible.

As you may have noticed, I now have the ability to digitize old VHS tapes, and one of the items in Dave Z's massive archive of local music was a video of the 2002 Skalloween show. You've probably already seen the videos of the Grandpa's Army reunion show (and can download that audio free), but I think the rest of the footage is just rotting away on VHS. For now, anyway.

In celebration of the Brat Attack's 10th anniversary (and some glorious other shit we have coming out soon related to that), here's video of their entire 2002 set (with the old-school lineup) at the West End Cultural Centre. Most of these songs are available on the B All You Can B release here on Witchpolice, except for the last two, which are covers of the Afterbeat and Twisted Sister, respectively.

"The Legend, The Legacy" (2003)

2012-01-16T01:04:00.000-06:00

Back when I was in college, I had a video assignment that went all kinds of wrong. The object was to do a "cinema verite"-style short documentary -- basically showing up at an event and documenting everything as an impartial observer... no direct interviews or anything like that.

I had initially arranged to cover some themed audience-participation event at the movie theatre I was working at, but that fell through at the last minute, and I needed to scramble to come up with a subject and get the thing handed in on time. All I could come up with on such short notice was that the Hot Live Guys were playing a show at the Royal Albert, and maybe I could film that.

The resulting project was pretty unsuccessful in the grades department, partially due to the fact that I went way over the time limit and that it's essentially just a video of three guys getting drunk at the Albert (and smoking inside the bar? Remember when you could still do that?)

Even stranger, the band was between bassists at this point, so Julian (normally lead vocals/guitar) was playing bass. I don't know if that happened at any point other than this show. All in all, the video isn't very good by any standards, but the live footage is pretty cool, and the whole thing reminds of how much I miss both the band and the venue.

There are some jump cuts and skippy parts, and it's hard to say whether those actually existed on the original tape or came about as a result of the digitization process.

Anyway, enjoy. Or not.

The Electrics rock to the rhythm

2012-01-11T22:02:00.000-06:00

If you're a regular Witchpolice reader, you are likely familiar with Mr. Greg Arcade.

His current band, The Electrics, recently shot an... um... interesting music video to promote the upcoming Winter Dance Party, a Buddy Holly/Richie Valens/Big Bopper tribute show at the Park Theatre.

The show, Feb. 4, also features The Scarlet Union, who have been hosting this annual gig for years, along with Smokebox, who I am completely unfamiliar with but will apparently be performing Buddy Holly's second album in its entirety.

Check out the "Rockin' to the Rhythm with Ollie VEE!" video by the Electrics here:

While you're at it, you can download Greg Arcade's Hawaii FM and Creature of the Night right here, as well as watching the entire live set from Greg's CD release party (backed by the Electrics) and some live footage we took of the Scarlet Union a few months back.

...and don't worry, there's a whole pile of new and old music coming up here on Witchpolice over the next few weeks!

The Barrymores - Kill All the Ska Kids (2001)

2012-01-08T16:45:00.000-06:00

This is some early shit right here.

The Barrymores were a very successful Winnipeg ska/punk/rock band. They released three full-length albums (The Barrymores, All Nighters and New Invasion), played shows with some of the biggest names in the genre, and ultimately called it quits at the height of their popularity under tragic circumstances.

This demo, however, is well before all of that. As the description below (from the demo's liner notes) explains, these recordings were put together shortly after they had settled on a solid lineup:

The Barrymores are a 7-piece ska band out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Originally the brainchild of two ex-members of Winnipeg's budding ska community (guitar player Dan and Jamie the old dirty Frenchman), they decided to play music that was fun for fun's sake, relatively free of pretensions.

They recruited an enthusiastic young lady to sing for them (vocalist Jolene), as well as a bass player and a drummer. After a long and depressing search, they finally found trombonist extraordinaire the Reverend Rob to fill the chordal void left in the horn section.

But no sooner had they rounded out the lineup, then the bass player departed to pursue a career in gangsta rap and the drummer packed it in hounded by a tragic cough syrup addiction. The band was forced to round up two local boys not old enough to drive, but old enough to bring the rock (bass player Ian and drummer Devin). They filled the void beyond expectation with a talent and drive unbelying their tender ages and pre-pubescent voices.

With that line-up, they began to rock out thusly, until encountering an inexplicably angry young man named Mikel the magic trumpet player. Although the members of the band were on average larger than Mikel, they were all secretly very scared of his magic trumpet playing (and passion for beating people senseless in a ring), so they let him join.

And there has it, the current lineup of Canuck ska supergroup the Barrymores, whose explosively loud performances and overly crude onstage jokes both deafen and offend the normally sedate ska (rest of words cut off).

Full disclosure: I was the bass player who left for a career in "gangsta rap," so while I was there at the beginning when the band was formed by ex-Grandpa's Army and Racketeers members, I didn't even stick around long enough to play a show as a Barrymore, let alone participate in these recordings. Since I was in the band in early 2001, and their debut full-length came out in 2002 (I think), I'm guessing this demo was recorded sometime later in 2001.

Download the whole thing here.

Stream it:

1. The Barrymores Theme

2. The Great Date Skatastrophe

3. S.S.

4. Up the Bum

You can probably still buy some of the Barrymores' albums from Bacteria Buffet Records. The label is no longer releasing new music, but I think they're still filling orders.

The Barrymores also had a song on the Never Retreat/Never Surrender compilation, available free from Witchpolice.

Audio posted with permission.

Lacking Intelligence - demo (2000)

2012-01-04T14:36:00.000-06:00

Lacking Intelligence was a Winnipeg pop-punk band that was part of the whole Broadway scene back around the turn of the millennium, along with Grandpa's Army, the Pookies and all the rest. I think they actually put out a CD (or it may have been a tape) at one point -- and it would be great to get that on here at some point if it's still around -- but these recordings are just a four-song demo (which I had never heard) that turned up in Dave Z's infinite bag o' local music.

There was no album cover or anything like that, so I just threw something together for Witchpolice purposes.

I'm not sure about the other band members, but singer/guitarist (Guy Named) Greg Rekus went on after Lacking Intelligence broke up and started High Five Drive. He's currently a solo artist.

Greg sez: "These songs were recorded at Carsick Studios by Rory Katz sometime in 2000. The band was me (guitar/vox), Doug (bass/vox), Tony (drums) and Krahn (lead guitar)."

Although I must have seen Lacking Intelligence play a dozen times (including multiple shows when we were on the same bill) I don't remember any of these songs. The one Lacking song I do remember well, "Train of Thought," is unfortunately not here. If anyone has a copy of that song lying around, let me know. I'd love to make more of this stuff available.

Download the whole thing here.

Stream it:

1. Everyday

2. Day to Day

3. Dear Diary

4. Waiting at a Bus Stop With My Hand Down My Pants

Audio posted courtesy of Lacking Intelligence.

Videos of the year (2011)

2012-01-02T13:02:00.001-06:00

We generate a lot of videos here at Witchpolice. Most of 'em are of the ultra-lo-fi live footage variety, but every so often, we create full-fledged music videos and video interviews (all of which are also ultra-lo-fi). Here's the top five of the year, in terms of most-viewed:

1. Rob Crooks - "Jets Song (on TV)" video

We actually made this music video a few months before the return of the Winnipeg Jets was officially announced, and while it was a real bummer to see some absolute shit by other people getting mega-popular as a result of the NHL's return to Winnipeg, this video quietly got some attention and word-of-mouth, and is the most-viewed video here to date. For some reason, this actual song never made it to Witchpolice in MP3 form (it's not available anywhere except this video, as far as I know), although we have video of a (radically-different) live version as well.

2. The Noble Thiefs - Live at the Cube pt. I

Although we're not as fond of the Noble Thiefs these days as we were back when our friend Greg Arcade was still a member, they put on an undeniably great rock/reggae/soul show. This video is from their performance at the Cube as part of the Jazz Winnipeg Festival -- probably their biggest opportunity up to that point, and although the sound is utter shit due to the low-quality recording, a lot of people checked it out.

3. JFK and the Conspirators - Bacteria Buffet farewell pt. 3

Longtime Winnipeg ska/reggae label Bacteria Buffet Records called it quits this spring after a decade or so with a big farewell show. This live clip, of JFK and the Conspirators, is from that show. As usual, brutal quality, because I had limited card space and wanted to film the entire show, so I had to shoot on the lowest possible quality.

4. Dynamo interview on CKUW

A pretty distracted interview on CKUW 95.9's Peg City Groove program, including an appearance by our "drummer," who was not yet two years old at that point and proceeded to dismantle a portion of the station's CD library. There's some decent discussion in this interview, though, both about Dynamo and Witchpolice in general.

5. Shoshaku Jushaku (feat. Dynamo) - Icicles video

This is supposed to be a Shoshaku Jushaku video, but aside from an old clip of Jon at the beginning and a photo at the end, it's really a Dynamo video. We did guest singing (if you want to call it that) on this recording months earlier, and since Jon was back in Asia and Shoshaku was clearly not able to make their own video, we just decided to film some incredibly silly nonsense in the snow and call it a "music video" for the song. Motherfucking icicles.

Acoustic hoedown

2011-12-28T15:50:00.000-06:00

If you were reading these glorious pages a week or so ago, you would have heard about the "Acoustic Punk A-Go-Go" show, featuring current/former members of bands like The Brat Attack, High Five Drive, Volition, etc., as well as a couple of solo artists.

The show was at relatively new Winnipeg venue Pop Soda's -- which turned out to be really gnarly on all fronts -- and had a pretty decent turnout for the debut of something that Dave Z wants to make a regular thing (next one is probably in February).

As usual, I had a lo-fi video recording device handy, which turned out to be extra lo-fi, since my camera card was almost full and I had to record on the crappiest possible setting just so it could fit. Anyway, I got some footage of sets by Witchpolice's good pal Steve McBey (GROSS), as well as Chanelle and Dave from the Brats doing a bunch of old tunes. Check 'em out below. They're in YouTube playlist form, so you should be able to just scroll from one song to the next.

Note: the first song (at least the first one I filmed) of Steve's set is of slightly higher quality than the rest. Also, a particular ukulele gangsta rap cover is missing from Steve's playlist. He seemed a little concerned about a song with so much potty mouth being associated with his name forever on the Internet, but if he decides he's cool with it, I'll put it up.

2011 Overlooked

2011-12-27T17:01:00.004-06:00

OK, so you've seen the most-popular downloads of 2011, but what about the least popular?

Well, that's not exactly what this is. The least-popular things on Witchpolice are, inevitably, boring radio interviews and weird little things that are put up randomly and not promoted at all. So instead of a list of shit you probably don't want to listen to, here's some stuff that is actually worthwhile, but for whatever reason didn't get a lot of attention as far as the download count is concerned.

You might have expected some of these to be very popular based on the people involved and/or their prominence on the site when originally posted ..but you'd be wrong. Check these records out and give 'em a chance. They're underheard and could use a little boost:

The Tales From CKUW series
Here's the deal with this stuff: Kent Davies at CKUW was kind enough to give Witchpolice a whole ton of live on-air recordings from local bands. Some of it is absolutely fantastic, and I'll admit I've been a little behind on posting the rest of it, but so far there are three of 'em up there -- JR Hill, High Five Drive and Evil Survives. At this point in time, none of 'em have really made a significant impact on the download counts. It's especially surprising, because a couple of these are really well-known artists here in Winnipeg.

The Eardrums - We're Not From Toronto

Come on, folks. This is a local band doing something other than shitty basement recordings. They play a ton of shows, their songs are catchy, and most importantly, they're separate from the whole incestuous little scene of the same half-dozen people involved in almost every Witchpolice download. Just get the album already.

Friendlyness and the Human Rights - Live at the Royal Albert

If I had my way, this would be the most-downloaded recording on here by far. I love this band, and this is a live recording of the killer set they played here in Winnipeg (at the still-closed Royal Albert, too, so there's that nostalgia factor) a few years back. I'm assuming the reason this doesn't have obscene download numbers is that people just don't know what it is, but it's great and you should check it out immediately.

Johny Jordan - Raw

If you've been following Witchpolice for a while, you would know we're fans of this guy (from Louisiana)'s weirdo electronic experiments under the name Panning Propagation. This record, however, is a huge departure -- a bunch of ultra-lo fi pop-punk tunes performed on an acoustic guitar. I'm assuming it's another situation where people (mostly in Canada) just had no clue what the album was, so never bothered downloading it.

Ian Taylor - Dance Dub

I certainly don't pretend to be, you know, knowledgeable about electronic music or whatever, but this is some of that 'dubstep' stuff the kids these days keep talking about, and it has all kinds of great horror movie samples and beats and shit.

TBA - Pay to the Order Of...

I know, right? It's TBA, goddamnit. Where's your sense of nostalgia? Why haven't you downloaded this thing 700 times already? Yeesh....

1th of the Year (2011)

2011-12-22T16:59:00.000-06:00

As promised, here are the most-downloaded releases on Witchpolice in 2011.

Unlike 2010's year-end wrap-up, these aren't all necessarily records that were released in 2011, but they're the ones that were most popular. If you've followed any of the monthly '1th of the Month' posts, most of these won't come as a surprise to you. The top few, at least, have been habitually near the top of the Witchpolice charts since their initial release.

Like last year, though, we're doing these in reverse order, from #10 to #1:

10. Soviet Cities on the Moon - CCCPEP

I'm so pumped that this record made the list. It's a little project me and Colin Wolfe worked on over a few weeks in the fall, and to see it get so many downloads was great, especially as we're not exactly an active band (we don't even live in the same province at the moment) and it's all word-of-mouth. This is "space music" in its purest form.

9. Guerrillas of Soul - "Lipstick and War"

"Lipstick and War" is pretty cool in that it's a single rather than an album, and it was first released on Witchpolice, which is something that started happening more often this year -- Witchpolice actually releasing exclusive new music. The Guerrillas are still rock 'n soul 'n rolling around town. Catch 'em live.

8. Equanim - Modern Music

This is a surprise addition to the best-of-the-year in that it's only been up on Witchpolice for a few weeks, but in those weeks it has racked up huge download numbers (well, huge for Witchpolice, anyway... we don't get a whole ton of people here). It's no surprise, though. Modern Music is an unreleased album from a guy whose previous work was nominated for music awards.

7. Red River Ramblers

Another record that picked up steam really quickly, this demo by a Winnipeg punk/blues/country ensemble was a really popular download over the summer.

6. GROSS - Incoming Transmission!

Incoming Transmission! was actually taken off Witchpolice for a while, when it was put back on sale by the now-defunct A1 Records as a for-pay digital download. Once it was back as a free thing, it grew and grew in popularity, even though the band -- an outer-space themed skinhead reggae group -- hadn't been around for a few years.

5. Shoshaku Jushaku - Beyond the Zero

Another one I'm really excited about. Shoshaku Jushaku is Jon and Goldwyn from the Mouth-Boat (basically the Mouth-Boat minus me), and it couldn't sound more different from that group. Beyond the Zero is a sprawling, jammy record with a number of recognizable (if you're a follower of the type of shit we release on Witchpolice) guest appearances. Check it out.

4. Dale Cooper - The Good, the Bad & the Remixed

Another repeat customer from last year, this mashup album by the mysterious Dale Cooper continues its reign of popularity, and I suspect it's part of the reason the number of visitors to Witchpolice continues to grow. This record combines spaghetti western theme music with a capella tracks by dancehall mastermind Sizzla Kalonji and the end result is this incredibly recontextualized version of familiar music. Very cool.

3. Various Artists - No Retreat/No Surrender

Despite all the other 3rd Generation Recordz content on here, this 1999 comp continues to get a lot of downloads, which has always surprised me. Of all the 3rd Gen. comps, this one has the least widely-known artists on it. No Retreat/No Surrender is essentially a bunch of lo-fi basement recordings by punk bands from around Manitoba, yet it has never really stopped being popular.

2. The Sketch - demo

If you've been paying any attention to what's been going on here over the past year, you're probably familiar with this record. What seemed like an otherwise unremarkable demo by a defunct (but since reformed) punk band from Newfoundland just grew and grew and grew in popularity, finding a spot (usually #1) on almost every 1th of the Month round-up all year long. Crazy.

1. The Dead Peasants Revolt - Resistance is Fertile

I can't imagine this comes as a surprise to anyone. This record blew up in a huge way and resulted in some of the highest volumes of traffic Witchpolice has ever seen. It's firmly in first-place all-time on our download chart, with no one else anywhere close, and it's getting to the point where, if things keep up the way they are, it might actually threaten Grandpa's Army's Definitive Collection, which was retired from the chart because it seemed unreachable!

...so that's it for the 2011 numbers. I'm not going to start doing download counts again until 2012, and the 1th of the Month feature will be back at the end of January.

There will probably be a few other year-end features coming soon, so stay tuned. I still have a massive bag full of old tapes and CDs from Winnipeg bands circa 1995-2004ish, so all of that will be coming up, as well as some more in the Tales From CKUW series, which I have been sorely neglecting.

Illegal aliens

2011-12-22T14:06:00.000-06:00

OK, so I was planning on posting nothing but year-end stuff from now until the beginning of January, but this is just too gnarly to overlook. It's three members of the 'classic' Brat Attack lineup -- Dave, Johnny and Chanelle, plus whoever the unseen bass player is -- fooling around with a mashup between the Brats' "Breathe" and Sting's "Englishman in New York."

As you might imagine, it's completely bizarre, but seeing as these three (in various combinations) have been working on acoustic stuff over the last little while, maybe this could actually become a thing. My vote is yes.

1th of the Month: December 2011

2011-12-20T14:39:00.000-06:00

This feature highlights the album on Witchpolice that has received the highest number of downloads in a given month. This could be new stuff, it could be old stuff... basically whichever Witchpolice release has been most downloaded over the past 30 days or so. At the end of the year, we'll do a mega-post with all of the "1th of the Month" winners.

It's a little earlier than usual this year, because I'm hoping to cram in a whole bunch of other year-end stuff over the next few days.

No real surprises here... it's pretty cool that Equanim's Modern Music got as many downloads as it did in such a short time, but most of the other stuff is the type of thing that's typically big here on Witchpolice... that ol' 3rd Generation Recordz shit.

1. Equanim - Modern Music

2. The Naked Midgets - Discography

3. The Dead Peasants Revolt - Resistance is Fertile

4. TBA - Pay to the Order Of...

5. The Dead Peasants Revolt - Tear it All Down

A holiday single from Greg Arcade

2011-12-19T13:00:00.002-06:00

Greg Arcade wants to help you celebrate the season with a new single, "Run Run Rudolph."

This isn't a Witchpolice download... you gotta go to Greg's Bandcamp page to get the track. There's some other cool stuff on there, for free and/or for pay, including the "Let's Have Some Fun" single and the In...Hawaii album.

...and since we like to self-promote, here's some of Greg's stuff you can get right here on Witchpolice: Creature of the Night, Hawaii FM, and a video playlist of the In...Hawaii CD release party earlier this year.

Old school acoustic punk show!

2011-12-16T21:54:00.000-06:00

I absolutely loathe the term "wheelhouse." I hate it. I had never heard it until a few years ago, and then it started popping up everywhere, to the point where I wanted to throat-stab anyone who even mentioned it.

...but this show is right in Witchpolice's wheelhouse.

On Dec. 27, a whole bunch of old Winnipeg punk-types are acting their age and playing acoustic sets at local venue Pop Soda's. Some of these guys are our good friends, and almost all of them have appeared on Witchpolice in one form or another.

Chanelle and Dave are from The Brat Attack, whose B All You Can B collection is one of Witchpolice's most popular. We've also made Dave's solo acoustic Songs About Love and Revolution available here, and he is/was in a number of other bands who have appeared here, including The Dead Peasants Revolt, Teenage Terrorists, Kirby and Grandpa's Army.

Dave also hung out in my garage a few weeks back and we filmed a 12-minute long acoustic Brat Attack medley, so check this out for a bit of a preview:

Steve McBey was one of the singers in GROSS as well as Antibiotics, both of which are on Witchpolice, and he has also done some solo stuff, a video of which has been preserved forever by the Internet:

Chuck Midget is, of course, the leader of the pride of Portage la Prairie, The Naked Midgets. We just released a massive 30+-track collection of every Midgets recording ever.

Jared Weiss has been in a whole slew of local punk and metal bands, including 7-Teen, who we'll be posting tapes of in the New Year, and he also produced the vast majority of that Brat Attack stuff we mentioned earlier.

Greg Rekus was in High Five Drive, who appeared here as part of the Tales From CKUW series, and will be appearing again with an old demo and maybe some other stuff when we get around to it. He was also in Lacking Intelligence ('90s demo coming soon to Witchpolice!) back in the day, and has been doing the solo thing for a while:

I'll fully admit that I have no clue who the other performers are, but this is going to be a really cool show. I'm hoping to attend if I'm not too burned out by the holidays. If I'm there, I'll film it and post the results here.

Rob Crooks takes over the Internet

2011-12-12T21:16:00.000-06:00

Rob Crooks has a new website, robcrooks.com.

Check out all the scientificalism and shit. You can also listen to music, watch videos, and get general Rob Crooks-related information.

Rob, as you probably know, is a member of Dynamo. This glorious website you're currently viewing (WITCHPOLICE) was originally created to make Dynamo's music available for your ears. We also have a bunch of Rob's solo stuff (past and present) on here, as well as a live recording he did as half of the Fuckin' Retards.

Check it out:

Equanim - Modern Music (2006)

2011-12-10T14:45:00.001-06:00

This is a previously-unreleased instrumental record by Winnipeg's Steve Boyd, a/k/a Equanim.

Modern Music was originally intended as the follow-up to Equanim's Instrumental Language, a Western Canadian Music Award-nominated album on local electronic label Balanced Records.

This record was originally intended for official release as well, but it never came to fruition. Steve has removed three of the weaker tracks from the original version of Modern Music to make this download a stronger album.

Download the whole thing here.

Download album cover.

Stream it:

1. Acceptance

2. Training

3. Lose Something Gain Something

4. Ego

5. The Truth

6. Nice

7. Confidence

8. Chillin

9. Hit the Beat

10. Rule of the Abstract

11. Suffering

12. Beauty

13. I Like it Now

Audio posted courtesy of Steve Boyd.

Tattoo connection

2011-12-08T21:11:00.001-06:00

While Witchpolice is primarily about music, we occasionally feature other interesting projects our friends are involved with.

Here's a documentary film someone made about Sarah Reed and her life as a heavily-tattooed mom. Sarah wasn't a member of any of the bands who have appeared on Witchpolice, but she was certainly involved in the scene here in Winnipeg and friends with a lot of us, and she created some weirdo art like this Mouth-Boat drawing:

Anyway, check out the doc below. It's about 10 minutes long and pretty pro-looking:

The Naked Midgets - Discography (1999-2005)

2011-12-03T10:01:00.001-06:00

The always-dependable Naked Midgets (1999-2009) were a punk band from Portage la Prairie, who played a ton of shows with whoever made the trek out there from Winnipeg, and were also involved in the Broadway scene in the late '90s/early '00s.

If you remember the collection of early Brat Attack recordings we released here on Witchpolice, this Midgets discography (Midgetography?) does the same kind of thing. It compiles a whole load of music -- 33 tracks covering three albums in this case -- in one easy, free download, along with commentary on each release from head Midget Jeff Darichuk.

These guys always played in shitty little venues, just like the rest of us, but at some point along the line, they got a lot better at their instruments, and ended up opening for the likes of Propagandhi, SNFU and other big names. Their last show, apparently, was a gig in 2009 opening for Trooper, of all bands.

Download the whole thing here

Download album covers: Midgetphobes Don't Bash, Bodyslams & Beer, Midget Revenge...How Sweet

Stream it:

Midgetphobes Don't Bash (1999, 3rd Generation Recordz)

Chuck: This the first Naked Midgets album, recorded at Dave Z's 3rd Generation Records. Production/recording costs were $7 for mic rentals, a cassette tape, and a bag of chips for Dave's sister. Spriggs got us kicked of Wal-Mart the day we recorded this but not before we purchased the tape and chips.

Everything was pretty much recorded live except the vocals. There was a bit of instrument switching in these days so there was a bit of this on the album too. About five of us from Portage packed in a tiny car and went to Winnipeg. We fought the whole way.

We recorded everything in one day. (A weekday so some of us had to skip school). By the time we got back to Portage and listened to the finished product we were high fiving and hugging. This album was heavily influence by '80s DC hardcore and pop-punk. It was a favourite around Portage la Prairie basement parties.

It featured "Stranded" (which appeared on 3rd Generation's 1999 compilation No Retreat/"No Surrender), "Gophe's Cabin," and live show fan favourites "Crack Whore," "Pizza Hut Chick" and "Heppner." Dave Z and our friend from Portage, Vince, helped out with some vocals.

A friend of ours played this album for the singer of Strung Out and he apparently said it sounds like the singer is trying too hard. Dave Z once said this was the best-sounding recording to come out of his studio set-up at the time.

1. Stranded
2. Anarchy In Portage
3. Gophe's Cabin (Bare Skin Inn)
4. Crack Whore
5. 18th Street
6. Sick of it
7. Dirty Old Woman
8. Pizza Hut Chick
9. We Are Deaf
10. Freedom
11. Heppner

Bodyslams & Beer (2001 Broken Strings Records)

Chuck: The Naked Midgets' sophomore album, recorded in the spring of 2001. This was done in two three-day sessions, one in Winnipeg and one in Portage. We rented the recording equipment ourselves and recorded it DIY.

We dealt with adversity during this recording. Spriggs got food poisoning during the Winnipeg session and I got drugged. In Portage, I got sick and Spriggs missed a session due to the AC/DC Stiff Upper Lip Tour. This album was produced by a guy named Howard from the States. I never met the guy as I wasn’t there for the production but I love how it came out.

Highlights of this album were "Blackout" (enjoyed a bit of college radio play) and "Midget Revenge" (about a street fight we were involved in that ended with and ugly incident: A sandwich was thrown at a girl's face. She was unharmed and laughs about it to this day). Also featured was a live favourite, "The Gambler," a Kenny Rogers cover.

"Pink Glow Bracelet" and "Cult Members Are No Fun" both made it to number one on MP3.com. Some critics suggested after this album we change our name, as we had improved significantly since our first record.

Interesting fact: The cover of the album is Brandon puking outside a cab in front of Sociable’s Nightclub in Portage.

12. Blackout

13. Horror Punk Show
14. Pink Glow Bracelet
15. Midget Revenge (How Sweet)
16. As Good as it Gets
17. Rodney vs. The Midgets
18. Cult Members Are No Fun
19. Whisky in the O’Donnell
20. Naked Midgets
21. 3 Day Rental
22. The Gambler

Midget Revenge... How Sweet (2004, Broken Strings Records)

Chuck: In 2002, after about a year of promoting the Bodyslams & Beer album, Brandon and Jonny left the band and the Naked Midgets went into hiatus. In the fall of 2003, me and Spriggs decided we wanted to get the band back together. I was introduced to Bryce and Braden, two teenagers from Portage who split drumming duties. Braden later left the band right before our show with Propagandhi.

The new line-up injected some new life into the band, and our live show. After the Midget machine got rolling again we recorded our third (and final) album, Midget Revenge... How Sweet. It was recorded and Produced by Bryce and Spriggs on a 16-track recording system from the '70s on loan from Bryce’s musician dad. The finished product was a mix of musical tastes that were all over the map, but mostly in line with the punk roots. Reviews from magazines and papers were mixed to say the least. We promoted the heck out of it and played a lot of shows. After a 2005 Manitoba mini-tour, Bryce and Spriggs quit the band.

This album was featured on Power 97’s River City rock show and the track "Fisher and First" got some air play on Power 97 and some college stations. Standouts were the intro (which at the time we used to open live shows), "Drunken Fishing," and "Burn the Toast" (Featured on 3rd Generation Recordz compilation, Never Retreat/Never Surrender). There were also covers of Mac 10 and Tom Cochrane. The album even included a power ballad.

23. Everything I Know About Sex, I've Learned From Porno Movies

24. Fisher and First

25. Drunken Fishing

26. Connected 4 Life

27. Our Captain Says, If You Can't Dazzle Them With Brilliance, Baffle Them With Bullshit

28. Not the Same

29. Car Rollin' Bitch

30. Burn the Toast

31. Old Dirty Woman Behind a Smelly Old Tire in a Back Yard Garage with a BBQ on the Grill.

32. Chances

33. Lizzle Izza Hizzle Wizzle

Players of instruments:

Jeff Darichuk: vocals (Midgetphobes, Bodyslams, Revenge), bass (Bodyslams, Revenge)
Brandon Polson: guitar (Midgetphobes, Bodyslams), vocals (Bodyslams)
Shane Bowley: bass (Midgetphobes)
Jeff Spriggs: drums (Midgetphobes), guitar, vocals (Bodyslams, Revenge)
Jon Sankar: drums (Bodyslams)
Bryce Brennan: drums, vocals (Revenge)

Audio posted courtesy of the Naked Midgets.

1th of the Month: November 2011

2011-11-30T17:27:00.001-06:00

This feature highlights the album on Witchpolice that has received the highest number of downloads in a given month. This could be new stuff, it could be old stuff... basically whichever Witchpolice release has been most downloaded over the past 30 days or so. At the end of the year, we'll do a mega-post with all of the "1th of the Month" winners.

This time around, we're pretty heavy on the 3rd Generation Recordz stuff, with everything aside from Soviet Cities on the Moon (I'm very happy this project is on the top five again this month) being somehow 3rd Gen.-related. (Even Everybody Shimmy!, while not a 3rd Gen. release, was recorded by Dave Z.)

...and how cool is it that Everybody Shimmy! got a bunch of downloads this month? That was totally unexpected for something that has been on the site for two years already. So was the return of The Sketch, who were bumped off the list in October but are now back in a three-way tie for fifth.

1. The Dead Peasants Revolt - Tear it all Down

2. Soviet Cities on the Moon - The CCCPEP

3. The Dead Peasants Revolt - Resistance is Fertile

4. Various Artists - 709 Punk/Hardcore

5. (tie) The Strangled - Straight to Ghost

5. (tie) The Mouth-Boat - Everybody Shimmy!

5. (tie) The Sketch - demo

TBA - Pay to the Order of (2000)

2011-11-26T14:51:00.001-06:00

I have good memories of this one.

TBA was a Winnipeg punk band that had a thing for initials, previously going by the name of -- I'm not making this up -- PRC (for Punkers' Republic of Canada) and eventually transitioning, with a slightly different lineup, into DOI (Den of Iniquity).

This set of initials, though, was the band that played regularly at the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre with all of our other bands back in the day. TBA probably isn't as well-remembered as DOI -- and DOI probably isn't even well-remembered in the first place, but they put out this CD around 2000 on their own "Spock Attack Productions".

The TBA lineup featured Johnny Perrin of Grandpa's Army on drums (possibly the first example of anyone from G*A doing a side project) as well as Kyle Milroy -- who now works for CJOB and interviewed me on-air a few months ago -- on guitar.

Also, you can tell how young these guys were at the time with the dig at our high school science teacher on the first track.

Download the whole thing here.

Download cover art: front /liner/back

Stream it:

1. Mr. Mann's the Devil

2. Come Get Some

3. Try to Live

4. I'm Staying

5. I'll See You Around

6. The Ballad of the Pizza Delivery Boy

Rob Crooks and Mikel Rondeau - "City on the Underground" video

2011-11-23T21:00:00.001-06:00

Winnipeg rappers Rob Crooks and Mikel Rondeau have a new video for the track "City on the Underground" from their Fuckin' Retards album. Check it out below and download the record for free from our good friends at Foultone Records.

You can also download a live Fuckin' Retards performance right here on Witchpolice, as well as a whole bunch of Rob's solo music, including Science is Magical and Misogyny III (#4 and #21, respectively, on the all-time Witchpolice downloads list).

Note: Unlike some of Rob's past videos ("Jets Song [on TV]" and "Hey! Hey!"), Witchpolice had no involvement in this video's production (it was directed by Foultone's DJ Kutdown), but we fully endorse it.

Various Artists- 709 Punk/Hardcore (2010)

2011-11-20T21:04:00.001-06:00

Hey, guess what?

More punk rock from 3rd Generation Recordz. Don't complain. This 3rd Gen shit is unquestionably the most popular (in terms of downloads) stuff on the site, and there's a ton of it still out there. You know you love it.

The good news is that we've unearthed a treasure trove of old Winnipeg music...literally dozens of old CDs and tapes from the '90s to the mid-'00s, and a lot of it is going to find its way onto this site. For now, though, we're heading back to Newfoundland for this compilation of St. John's punk and hardcore.

Dave sez:

As many know, 3rd Generation Recordz has done a few compilations over the years (first one was a cassette release back in 1997) and decided that it was time to do one to reflect the huge, diverse and secluded music scene in St.John's/Newfoundland (as I was living there).

At the time of the release there was about 35-40 active punk/hardcore bands in Newfoundland and Labrador. The population of the province is about half the population of Winnipeg, to put it into perspective. Bands come and go all the time, but there is always a very vibrant punk scene. Most bands don't record, so we went out of the way at 3rd Generation to record about 1/3 of the bands on the comp, just so the music was documented. We wish we got the bands from the west coast and Labrador, but we just ran out of room, we had to cut last minute submissions such as the Cyanides and Options.

Here's an article in St.John's arts/entertainment magazine The Scope about the comp's release.

Download the whole thing here.

Download cover art: front/back

Stream it:

1.Skywalker - Blow

2. De-Mons - Horseshoes and Handgrenades

3. Rumors -The Chain

4. Dead Peasants Revolt - DIY or Die, Fucko! (Download DPR albums here and here)

5. Cider Squadron 666 - Pope of Thrash

6. The Satans - Missionary

7. Dig Up the Dead - DOW

8. Patrick Swayze and the Dirty Dancers - Bleed Tonight

9. Are You Phobic? - I Hate the Kids

10. Daytime Ghost - Zombie Arm

11. Once Loved - Lost and Found

12. First Offence - Cesspools of Filth and Corruption

13. Breakaway - Paralysis Plague (Download Breakaway's demo here)

14. At Ships End - Have You Ever?

15. King Sized Kids - Atomic Chronic

16. The Raycocks - My Dad Beat Up a Bear

17. Frontier - Vulture

18. 3 Chord Revolution - Life's Like an Ass Crack

19. The Fawks - Girl Fright

20. Two Guitars Clash - The Great Escape

21. Regiment - Autumn Rhythm

22. Rocket Rocketship - Lost at Sea

23.Uneeda - Afraid to Fall

24. Weak Link - Nothing There

25. The Bob Parsons Project - The World Needs a Little

26. The Class War Kids - Reflection Rage Rebellion

27. Over the Top - They Must Be Ninjas

28. Icebreaker - Sexes

29. Molotov Smile - Pedestrian

30. Mopey Mumble Mouse - Food Fair

31. Dead of Winter - Alien Song

32. The Black Mask Brigade - Shotguns (Download BMB's album here)

Audio posted courtesy of 3rd Generation Recordz

Brat to the future

2011-11-15T18:04:00.001-06:00

We're kind of on a 3rd Generation Recordz kick anyway since Dave is back town, so a little bit more won't hurt.

Back in 2009, some kind soul posted a 10-minute long video of the Brat Attack playing live in what looks like a basement (Dave's guess is that it's in Victoria on the 2004 tour). While there's a ton of Brats footage floating around the Internet, this is notable because it's with the Dave/Chanel/Matt/Johnny/Ari lineup. It's also notable because I just saw it for the first time, and I run tings (tings nuh run I) around here.

The Brats have had about a million band members over the years, and this particular lineup only existed between the Destruction Sound System and From This Beauty Comes Chaos and Mayhem records, but was by far the best-ever live version of the band. (In my opinion, anyway).

Check it out:

Interview and acoustic performance with Dave Z

2011-11-13T22:37:00.001-06:00

Our good friend Dave Zegarac -- who has probably contributed to more of the recordings here on Witchpolice than anyone else (including me and Rob) -- is back in Winnipeg for a while. He hung out the other day at the garage and talked about the new demo (available for free here) by his current band the Dead Peasants Revolt, the differences between political punk rock in Europe and North America, and being a 32-year-old still playing the same shit he wrote as a teenager.

As usual, my garage is absolutely brutally dark unless it's the daytime, but I always seem to film these things in the middle of the night, so you can't see shit. It still rules, though.

Dave also grabbed my beat-up old acoustic and played some songs for Witchpolice. Unable to decide on which old Brat Attack standards to perform, he did a massive 12-minute medley of songs he's written over the years, with some dating all the way back to the early 90s. Note: Dave also released an acoustic EP on Witchpolice a couple of years back under the name Stitchez.

Track list for this crazy shit. Songs and albums are linked if studio versions (not necessarily the same versions as indicated) are available for free on Witchpolice:

1. From the Front (Brat Attack, Destruction Sound System, 2003)

2. Consumer Riot (Brat Attack, Destruction Sound System, 2003)

3. Dynomite (Dweezil, I Am, 1995)

4. No One Left to Speak Out (Brat Attack, Those Who Sow Sorrow Shall Reap Rage, 2008)

5. This Police State Causes Urban Genocide (Brat Attack, Those Who Sow Sorrow Shall Reap Rage, 2008)

6. The Vegan Avenger (Class War Kids, Reflection, Rage, Rebellion, 2009)

7. Fun (Kirby, Da Brothahood, 1996)

8. Something You Can't Take Away (Brat Attack, One Revolution Per Minute 2002)

9. Prison Slave Labour (Brat Attack, Those Who Sow Sorrow Shall Reap Rage, 2008)

10. Call to Action (Brat Attack, From This Beauty Comes Chaos and Mayhem, 2005)

11. The Crab (Dead Peasants Revolt, Resistance is Fertile, 2011)

12. Gonna Break It (Black Mask Brigade/Subcity Dwellerz, 2003)

13. Red Streets (Brat Attack/Subcity Dwellerz, 2003)

14. Love Triangle (The Pookies, Luck is No Lady, 1998)

15. Beyond My Comprehension (Dweezil/Kirby, Da Brothahood, 1996)

The Strangled - Straight to Ghost (2011)

2011-11-11T11:24:00.001-06:00

Here we have some more music from Newfoundland. The Strangled have a pop-punk kind of sound, but it's less aggressive than a lot of the other stuff on here. They were described to me as sounding kind of like the Smoking Popes, and that's pretty accurate.

That's a good thing, assuming you like the Smoking Popes (and who didn't, back in the day?)

Due to the incestuous nature of most of the albums posted on Witchpolice, it should come as no surprise that this record has connections to people in other bands posted on this site. Dave Z (Dead Peasants Revolt, every other band in the galaxy) recorded these four songs, and one of the other DPR fellas plays on a couple of tracks.

Download the whole thing here.

Download album cover.

Stream it:

1. Disconnected
2. Straight to Ghost
3. The Forgetting
4. Warm Beer and Long Goodbyes

Here's a video with some footage of the recording process:

Audio posted courtesy of the Strangled.

The Dead Peasants Revolt - Tear it all Down demo (2011)

2011-11-06T15:35:00.001-06:00

If you've been paying any attention to this blog recently, you'd be aware that the Resistance is Fertile album by Newfoundland punks the Dead Peasants Revolt has quickly become the #1 most-downloaded Witchpolice release.

Here's a new demo by DPR. Personally, I think these songs are even better than the ones on Resistance is Fertile, especially "Collecting Dust," which is just glorious, but I'll let Dead Peasant Hank give you the details about these recordings:

Hello folks! This is Tear it all Down, our new seven-song demo. It is unmastered and was hastily mixed in the wee hours of the morning before we left for our Canada tour at the end of August. We recorded the drums at CBTGs (a beautiful open wood room that is also our favourite bar in St. John's). The guitars and vocals were recorded at the Golf Avenue house (thank you again Gord and Sarah for being so paitent with the recording process).

On this demo you will hear two covers: "Revolution Radio" and "Dead Fiends." "Revolution Radio" is a cover of the Brat Attack (Davey Z's other band in Winnipeg) and "Dead Fiends" is a song by our pals Minus A Lung (from St. John's, Newfoundland), the original version is called "Your Dead Relatives are My Dead Friends."

We want to thank everybuddy who helped us along our journey this fall tour, catching up with old friends and making new ones is the greatest part of touring!!

We have started working on our new album that is called When Freedom is Outlawed, Only Outlaws are Free. We plan to have it completed early in the new year as we go back to Europe in the spring.

Thanks again to Sam at Witchpolice for all of your help!!

Eat your Veggies!
Hanky xo

Download the whole thing here.

Download cover art: front/back

Stream it:

2. Run

6. Dead Fiends

7. The Shanty Town Uprising

Audio posted courtesy of Dead Peasants Revolt/3rd Generation Recordz

New look!

2011-11-05T15:15:00.000-05:00

Brand new! Good for you!

Unless this is your first time on Witchpolice, you've probably already noticed that things are looking a little different around here.

While I really liked the old template, this new version (one of a series of fancy new design things Blogger has come up with) is a lot better in the sense that it gives you a glimpse into some of the other recent stories, rather than read entire story/scroll down/read next entire story/scroll down, etc. This way you get a better idea of what else is on the blog and you can pick and choose.

Also, I've moved some regular features, like the top 20 (top 40 was just getting too hard to maintain, as the bottom ten or so tended to switch spots almost daily), the links and the about page to the top menu... these new designs don't allow for Blogger "gadgets," like the sidebar of the old layout, so they're all up there. Where it says "Magazine," you can hit the drop-down menu and view Witchpolice in a number of hip new layout styles (although I chose Magazine as the default because it works best with this content.)

There's also a separate page for video interviews, and I'll be making a new one soon for music videos and live video, plus a full list of available downloads.

Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. The new look will be tweaked over the next few weeks.

Greg Arcade gets spooky in new video

2011-10-31T23:36:00.000-05:00

Greg Arcade gets all spooky in this amazing new video for "Creature of the Night." Seriously, it's glorious. Check it out and tell your friends. It rules.

...and don't forget, you can get this song for free right here on Witchpolice as part of the Creature of the Night release, or you can be a Good Samaritan and give Greg some money for it here.

The video was actually first released a few days ago at Cinematheque as part of something put on by the Winnipeg Horror Cinema group. Pretty much everything about this is cool, plus it's a great song.

The poster for the video release

1th of the Month: October 2011

2011-10-28T19:13:00.000-05:00

This feature highlights the album on Witchpolice that has received the highest number of downloads in a given month. This could be new stuff, it could be old stuff... basically whichever Witchpolice release has been most downloaded over the past 30 days or so. At the end of the year, we'll do a mega-post with all of the "1th of the Month" winners.

For the first time since we started doing this feature back in January, the demo by The Sketch isn't on the list! That was an insane nine-month run, but we've obviously got some giant-killers here in October. Once again, the Dead Peasants Revolt are in the number one spot with Resistance is Fertile (no surprise there), but there are a few new entries to October's list, including the just-released CCCPEP by Soviet Cities on the Moon.

1. The Dead Peasants Revolt - Resistance is Fertile

2. Greg Arcade - Creature of the Night!

3. Soviet Cities on the Moon - The CCCPEP

4. (tie) Benj Funk - <3 : MASS AGE

4. (tie) SPRC - The Lost Album

5. Various Artists - Sleep Well Old Friend

Soviet Cities on the Moon - The CCCPEP

2011-10-25T21:24:00.001-05:00

SOVIET CITIES ON THE MOON - The CCCPEP

This is one of the best projects I've been involved with in a while. I've wanted to be in a band with the one Colin Wolfe for a long time, but we always ended up in groups that didn't work out due to members' other commitments (mine, in the case of Melted by Ghost Blood) or in bands where other people wrote all the songs (GROSS).

Soviet Cities on the Moon is some weirdness of our own, with an assist from Colin's brother Brett, who provided us with the lovely beats, and with the estimable Dr. Hankenstein, who assisted on some Bollywood shit for the track "What a Strange Customs Official."

I know I describe everything I do as "space music," but this seriously fits that description. It's all over the place. We both sing, we both play random instruments, there are samples flying all over the joint... it's just crazy. There's heavy stuff, weird bossa-nova-y stuff, space-dancehall, etc. We're very proud of it.

Colin's in BC for the next few months, but even though we're not in the same city, we're hoping to continue the collaboration on a long-distance ting. Expect some heavy versioning of these tunes, as well as some new stuff in the future.

Download the whole thing here.

Download cover art (Tretiak!)

Stream it:

1. Len 'N Grad

2. DCM 1978

3. Buckets

4. Inferior Goods

5. What a Strange Customs Official (feat. Hank)

While we were recording this EP, we also filmed an impromptu live version of "Inferior Goods" in my garage. There are some aspects of the live one that I actually like better than the "studio" version. Check it out:

Manitoba Folkways

2011-10-23T20:52:00.001-05:00

Rob Crooks recording a song for the Manitoba Folkways project
(photo from MB Folkways' Facebook page)

This is just a fantastic idea.

Taking their inspiration from the late, great ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax and his celebrated series of Smithsonian Folkways recordings, a couple of local artists decided to embark on a similar journey here in Manitoba, travelling across the province to record Manitoba musicians playing 'folk music'.

Their wide definition of 'folk' (music of the people) goes way beyond the stereotypical acoustic coffeehouse hippies, incorporating such diverse acts as Smoky Tiger, This Hisses and Witchpolice's own Rob Crooks.

The three-volume Manitoba Folkways collection -- part of a series that will eventually cover all of Canada -- is available for download at the Folkways website, and one volume will be available on limited-edition vinyl at the Oct. 28 launch party at the Lo Pub.

Don't take our word for it, though. Witchpolice conducted a video interview with Kerri-Lynn Reeves, one of the masterminds behind this project, and Rob Crooks was on hand to provide the perspective of a contributing artist.

Kerri-Lynn also provided us with some previously unreleased video footage of Rob Crooks recording a few songs for the Folkways project. He performs three songs live here (it's a YouTube playlist, so you should be able to scroll from song to song) but only the third, "Ghost" (another version of which appears on Rob's Misogyny III record), was included on the second volume of Manitoba Folkways.

Stranded in Ontario

2011-10-23T15:27:00.000-05:00

Found this Dead Peasants pic on Facebook. Presumably that monstrosity with the flames is the van in question.

Do you remember our post a few weeks back about the Dead Peasants Revolt's Canadian tour?

Yeah. That ain't happenin' no more. DPR ran into some van trouble in Barrie, Ontario, which means the last leg of the tour was scrapped, and Witchpolice's very good friends Davey and Hank are hanging around Barrie trying to raise some cash for a new engine.

A little statement Dave posted to their Facebook page:

Hey Everybody, not sure if you have heard, but the van's engine went kaput, the heads cracked and a the pistons rings where all leaking coolant into the engine. Basically..we need a new engine. So Jess (Hank) and I (DaveyBrat) are staying in Barrie to work and save up to get the van a new engine. Hopefully we can get the funds together in the coming month to get a new engine. Dt and Bryan would fly out for more touring to make up for all the shows we lost. Gnarly..love you all and thanks so much for all the support and love:)-daveybrat

Anyway, this latest development doesn't mean you should stop downloading their Resistance is Fertile album (#1 on Witchpolice), but if you happen to be in their neck of the woods, buy some merch and give 'em some cash so they can get back on the road again.

The Eardrums - We're Not From Toronto (2011)

2011-10-22T15:05:00.001-05:00

THE EARDRUMS - We're Not From Toronto

This is the new EP by The Eardrums, who are, indeed, not from Toronto.

The Eardrums are a Winnipeg three-piece who play ...music. As I often do with bands I don't know too well, I went to their website (actually, in this case, a Facebook page, but they do have a website) to see how they describe their sound, and was met with "genres are bunk."

I guess their "bunk" is really solid, polished pop-rock with a lot of dance-y/funk bits. All three of 'em sing. It's very catchy. Check it out.

(We're hopefully going to do a video interview with the Eardrums sometime soon, so they can elaborate on what they do and why they do it.)

If you want to be extra super nice, you can help these fellas out by actually purchasing this record.

Download the whole thing here.
Stream it:

Download front cover/back cover

1. Toronto
2. Don't Know What It Is (Boffo Mix)
3. Can't Say No
4. Mystery Mansion (Live at Budokan)

Audio posted courtesy of the Eardrums.

Solar Powered Rocket Car - The Lost Album (2005)

2011-10-19T00:19:00.000-05:00

I found this picture of SPRC online but decided to black out the eyes to protect the ~~innocent~~ guilty.

Do you like ska-punk? Well, apparently a lot of people did back in 2005, including these clowns right here.

Solar Powered Rocket Car (SPRC) was playing all kinds of local shows back then. They came out at the tail end of that wave of Winnipeg ska bands that all seemed to crop up after most of the bands in the previous incarnation of the scene (Whole Lotta Milka, Grandpa's Army, the Racketeers) had broken up.

I don't know if they ever released a record when they were together, but SPRC was remembered, posthumously, on an extremely short-run "A1 Classics" disc from our pals at the late, great A1 Records. This download is a variation on that release (which, I believe, was called Tougher Than You), but it includes a number of additional tracks.

Download the whole thing here.

Stream it:

1. Cheap and Greedy
2. Cuban Ska Party
3. Maniac
4. Modern Day Pirates
5. Narc
6. No Cash
7. Not Skae
8. Pick it up Village
9. Tony's Barf Idea
10. Tougher Than the Toughest

Audio posted courtesy of A1 Records.

A bird.

2011-10-15T22:52:00.000-05:00

I have a bunch of stuff to put up on here, but I just haven't got around to it. Here's a bird I drew in MS Paint a few years ago.

Caw caw.

Everything is happening with Ed Words

2011-10-09T13:15:00.000-05:00

Ed Words.

Do you remember Ed Words? If you were going to a lot of local rap shows in the early '00s, you might.

The local MC released an album called Sore Back and Stored Raps back in 2003, as well as an unreleased record a year later -- both of which will find their way onto Witchpolice in the very near future.

For now, though, we have an interview with Ed Words alongside Rob Crooks, who produced the majority of his material. Mr. Words talked to Witchpolice about the making of his old records, his new material, and the other rappers using the name "Ed Words" who have appeared online in the years since the Winnipeg version has been under the radar.

"Under the radar," however, doesn't necessarily mean "out of commission. Ed Words has been working on new music pretty consistently despite not playing a lot of shows, and he did an impromptu performance of four tracks in the garage.

You might recognize that "Everything is Happening" banner from the Mouth-Boat, but it was just sitting around collecting dust, so I've decided to resurrect it and use it as a backdrop for future garage shows -- something I'd like to do more often with as many Witchpolice artists as possible. Of course, in future, we'll do it in the daytime or at least bring some more lamps out there so it's not dark as hell.

Check out these four Ed Words tracks. It's a YouTube playlist, so you should be able to scroll between them:

Greg Arcade in... Creature of the Night! (2011)

2011-10-06T22:28:00.000-05:00

GREG ARCADE - Creature of the Night!

This is a new release by the big homie Greg Arcade. Halloween is coming. Fight monsters and shit with the awesome powers of rock n' roll. Word up.

There's a new version of the track "Police State State of Mind" here, which you may have first heard if you were one of the forward-thinkers who picked up a copy of the limited-edition Neanderthal Rock tape Greg released in collaboration with Witchpolice (our first -- and only, so far -- physical release!)

Oh, and Greg is actually selling Creature of the Night too, so if you want to support the cause, give him your three bucks.

Download the whole thing here.

Stream it:

1. Creature of the Night (feat. Cherry Brandy)
2. Nightmare

3. Police State State of Mind

Right near de beach....boy-eeee

Audio posted courtesy of Greg Arcade.

Soviet Cities preview

2011-10-04T20:54:00.001-05:00

Soviet Cities on the Moon is a new band that plays outergalactic cosmo-dancehall with bossa-nova influences.

They will be releasing an EP in the next few weeks on Witchpolice, followed by another EP of versions. Seen?

For now, here is a sneak preview, which consists of a live acoustic butchery of one song and a short snippet of another (with accompanying images.) Video it up and prepare thyself for the glory that awaits.

Benj Funk interview

2011-10-01T09:10:00.000-05:00

Benj Funk.

This is something I'd like to do more of on Witchpolice.

There was a brief little video clip of the Dead Peasants Revolt the other week, but here's an actual video interview (about four minutes long) with Benj Funk, whose album <3 : MASS AGE was the fourth-most-downloaded record on Witchpolice for September.

There's still a bit of time left to see Mr. Funk's current exhibit (to which <3 : MASS AGE is a companion piece). The exhibit, at La Masion des artistes visuels francophones (219 Provencher, Winnipeg), runs until Oct. 5.

Bad news for the Royal Albert?

2011-09-29T19:07:00.000-05:00

Winnipeg's punk rock mecca.

I don't usually post links to stories in the mainstream media (or any media, really), but this one was particularly upsetting to read.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the guy who owns the Royal Albert Arms Hotel (among other local businesses) is in court for not paying provincial sales taxes, staff wages, and a bunch of other shit.

The Albert has been closed down for months, due to a water main break, but most people were under the impression it would be opening up as soon as that got sorted out. Doesn't look like that's the case now, unfortunately.

If you're not from these parts, the Albert is an absolutely iconic Winnipeg venue -- a municipal heritage building built in 1913 -- which was the subject of a documentary film, the site of a notorious murder, and the venue of choice for virtually every touring punk band for decades.

Dynamo at the Albert, 2009.

Husker Du recorded a well-known live track there. A pre-fame Green Day played there. Dave Grohl played there when he was in Scream. Apparently even Harry Houdini visited the Albert when he was in town near the beginning of the last century. The history of the place is phenomenal.

My first bar show ever: at the Albert with Grandpa's Army, 1998

It was the first bar I ever went to (at age 15) and the first bar I ever played at (at age 16). I've been going there half my life. Every band I've ever been in (that has played a show) has played at the Albert. Almost everyone I know -- and that includes a lot of people who have contributed music to Witchpolice -- has a similar story.

The Mouth-Boat (plus giant robot head) at the Albert, 2008.

This might not be the end of the Albert. I hope not. The place has been through some shit in the past and always come out OK... but that's not the kind of news story you want to wake up to.

Get well soon, Albert. We love you.

1th of the Month: September 2011

2011-09-28T19:28:00.000-05:00

September was another beast of a month, with Resistance is Fertile by the Dead Peasants Revolt jumping all the way up to #2 on the Witchpolice chart. There seems to be no end in sight for this record, and I'm sure DPR's constant touring is helping on that front. We're going to be releasing their new demo on here sometime later in October. Can't imagine how many downloads that will get...

The rest of this list is pretty typical, in the sense that new stuff -- namely Benj Funk's album and the A1 Records comp Sleep Well Old Friend -- makes the top five, but it's nice to see Dale Cooper's Sizzla remix album back on the board.

Tied for fifth this month is, of course, The Sketch. They've just barely managed to sneak onto this list after being in the top five every other month of the year so far. Their demo seems to be dropping a spot or two each month, so maybe this'll be the last one... although I kind of doubt it. They're tied this month with the venerable Science is Magical by Rob Crooks, which is arguably the best record available on this site.

Of course, the Sketch is on the list once again. No surprise there... they've been in the top five every month since we started keeping track of this stuff.

The Dead Peasants Revolt - Resistance is Fertile

Various Artists - Sleep Well Old Friend

Dale Cooper - The Good, the Bad and the Remixed

Benj Funk -<3 : MASS AGE

The Sketch - demo (tie)

Rob Crooks - Science is Magical (tie)

Kenji the Kid - "Kid and the Gang" (2011)

2011-09-26T20:53:00.000-05:00

KENJI THE KID - "Kid and the Gang"

Remember Kenji the Kid?

He contacted Witchpolice a few months back about posting his Gone to Mars mixtape (#24 on the Witchpolice chart at the date of this writing), which was one of a series of submissions we received from Louisiana artists. Witchpolice is so Winnipeg-focused that it's nice to get submitted music from people we don't know personally and aren't even in the same country.

Anyway, Kenji dropped us a line again with a new single from his forthcoming mixtape, this one guest starring some other local artists from his neck of the woods, Dante and Taedizzy.

Download "Kid and the Gang" here.
Download cover image.

Stream it:

Dead Peasants on the road

2011-09-22T23:40:00.000-05:00

Our good pals the Dead Peasants Revolt are in the middle of a cross-Canada tour, and while they were in Winnipeg, they filmed a short little interview in my kitchen about their next Winnipeg show -- Oct. 9, same day as the Jets home opener (eep!) -- and their new demo recording, which will be available on Witchpolice soon.

For now, download their super-popular Resistance is Fertile record here (free!) and check them out live at a town near you. Click on the image to get full tour dates.

DPR's fall 2011 tour

Various Artists - Sleep Well Old Friend (2010)

2011-09-19T10:38:00.001-05:00

VARIOUS ARTISTS -Sleep Well Old Friend

When our good pals at Winnipeg's A1 Records ended their run of generating (what seemed like) dozens of ska and reggae albums a week, they offered this compilation up as a retrospective of the A1 sound.

This comp covers most of the high points of the A1 catalogue (although that catalogue is so extensive that many more volumes could have been compiled without a drop in quality), as well as some weird alternate takes, demos and random stuff.

A lot of this material was recorded (and in some cases never actually released) by A1's head honcho, known here as "The Dead King," as he's moved on to other, non-ska musical ventures.

Sleep Well Old Friend was originally available for a limited time (by emailing A1 Records directly), but if you missed out, here it is.

Download the whole thing here.

Download cover art.

Stream it:

1. Graham "The Riddler" Riddle - The Riddler
2. The Dead King - Champion Reggae
3. Thiefs - Ghost in the Bathroom
4. The Dead King - Hey! We Got the Beat!
5. The Dead King - And the Beat Goes on
6. The Dead King - Record W-4
7. The Dead King - Red Hair, Black Underwear
8. The Spades - RamJam (demo)
9. The Dead King - Bass Drop the Bomb
10. GROSS - Warp Speed Love Rocket (demo version)
11. The Dead King - Make it Happen
12. The Dead King - Keep Me Warm
13. Catt Boxx - We Are Not Lions
14. The Dead King - Brand New
15. The Longshots - Magic Carpet Ride
16. The Dead King - Night of Nights
17. The Dead King - Your Mouth Looks Tired
18. The Dead King - Write This About Heartbreak
19. The Dead King - Save a Bread
20. The Dead King - Beach Party
21. Rob "Tha Rev" Goodman - Yank Tha Anchor
22. GROSS - Die Earth Scum!
23. The Dead King - Words of Wisdom (feat. Mike Reis)
24. The Dead King - The Logdriver's Waltz
25. Thiefs - Mama Don't Cry
26. The Interluders - Space Jazz

You must believe that you're a champion!

Audio posted courtesy of A1 Records.

Dead Skin Flakes - Rocketship video (2010/2007)

2011-09-16T08:40:00.000-05:00

Since the Dead Skin Flakes are an interprovincial project (I'm in Manitoba, Doug's in Quebec), the opportunities for new recordings are pretty slim.

Last winter, we shot a video for a new song we were working on, called "They Come Back to Life." Since Doug was only in town for a day or two, we didn't get a lot of recording done, and the song remained unfinished... but we had this finished video lying around.

I liked the video and didn't want it to go to waste ("They Come Back to Life" still remains unfinished, as does another song we started a year or two ago), so I paired it up with a demo version of "Rocketship" we recorded back in 2007. It's very different from the version that appeared on Oblivion..., with a lot of guitar instead of organ, even though I'm playing organ in the video. I think I actually like it better than the more polished version.

Anyway, check it out. It's a bloodclaat big tune, seen?

We like making videos in basements, apparently.

Scheifele!

2011-09-14T21:41:00.000-05:00

Practice jerseys or not, it's still awesome to see the Jets again.

OK OK OK....

Once again, I'm short on time but long on Witchpolice content (does that even make sense?)

Until I get enough time to upload some actual albums, I'm just going to post some video stuff so it doesn't look like I'm slacking on this blog to the casual observer. Most filler pieces from here on out are probably going to be about the Jets, so if you're not interested, a) I hate you and b) stop reading now. The music stuff will be back by the next post.

Jets first-round draft pick Mark Scheifele scored a righteous goal against San Jose in Winnipeg's first game of the Young Stars tournament. Here's the clip:

...and for good measure, here's the "Jets Song (on TV)" video again:

Benj Funk - < 3 : MASS AGE (2011)

2011-09-07T23:30:00.001-05:00

BENJ FUNK - <3 : MASS AGE

Here's an album by Winnipeg electronic musician/visual artist Benj Funk, who last appeared on Witchpolice as part of the Dirty Water Collective's Be Our Friend compilation.

Please download <3 : MASS AGE and view the exhibit that accompanies the album at La Maison des artistes visuels francophones (219 Provencher Boulevard, Winnipeg).

Opening reception: Sept. 8, 5-7 p.m.
Exhibit runs until Oct. 5.
Gallery hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Open during Nuit Blanche 2011.

Benj Funk has a pretty great logo.

Download the whole thing (MP3s)

Download cover art (JPG)

Stream it:

1. INDIVIDUS

2. P2P

3. Thank You

4. Digital Copy

5. Teach Me

6. Medieval Tron

7. 1987

8. written_007 (bonus track)

Audio posted courtesy of Benj Funk.

Jersey city

2011-09-06T15:32:00.000-05:00

OK, so I haven't been around for a few days. I'm sure this blog's five readers are disappointed. Sorry. There's some really great stuff coming up in the very near future (including a ton of free music as usual), but I've still got one day left in my vacation, so I'm not going to post it today.

For now, you get this:

Dustin Byfuglien is not in the shot because they didn't have any jerseys in "fat" size.

That's right. New Jets sweaters, finally revealed. Although this blog is first and foremost about music and other artistic endeavours, the return of the NHL to Winnipeg is important enough that I'm going to figure out some way to incorporate it into Witchpolice, maybe even keeping a running tally on the sidebar of the Jets' record as the season progresses or something. I dunno yet.

Anyway, those new jerseys, to me anyway, look remarkably like the counterfeit ones that were available on the Internet about a month ago, even though True North said the phony design was way off and that the legit ones looked nothing like 'em. Uh....

These are the fakes.

Aside from the striping, I don't notice a whole lot of difference, and almost prefer the counterfeit versions with the more traditional arm bands rather than the oversized ones. Either way, I'm glad the uniforms are finally here, so we can just get on with this season.

The Jets are important to Witchpolice, as you can see in the Jets Song (on TV) video by Rob Crooks. If you like this video and want to share it, here's a quick link: http://bit.ly/rob_crooks.

...and here's a live version of the same song:

1th of the Month: August 2011

2011-08-28T14:24:00.000-05:00

So I'm a few days early again. Sorry. I like doing these 1th of the Month posts, but I also like to get them out of the way so I can post new music on here, so I'm not necessarily going to hit the last day of each month. The right week or so is close enough.

This has been a pretty exciting month, as it was the all-time best month for Witchpolice in terms of number of downloads. The winner, Resistance is Fertile by the Dead Peasants Revolt, jumped way up the Witchpolice chart to #6 all-time, and we also saw a ton of downloads for both GROSS releases.

Of course, the Sketch is on the list once again. No surprise there... they've been in the top five every month since we started keeping track of this stuff.

The Dead Peasants Revolt - Resistance is Fertile

GROSS - Incoming Transmission!

GROSS - Blast Off!

Various Artists - No Retreat/No Surrender

The Sketch - demo

Radionomy

2011-08-22T21:10:00.000-05:00

Educating the youthman dem.

Remember when I was talking about being on CJOB?

Well, the interview aired on Saturday, and you can check it out the podcast on CJOB's site. (Normally I would just grab the audio and throw it on Witchpolice, but CJOB seems to have all kinds of 'you need written permission' disclaimers, so download it from them.) The Witchpolice segment is after a little story on the anniversary of Elvis Presley's death.

Songs in the background of the interview (all free, obviously): Dynamo - Spaceship, Rob Crooks - Why?, Grandpa's Army - Oi Oi Oi, Rob Crooks - Jets Song (on TV).

Extra old school: CJOB's Liner Notes host Kyle Milroy in some incriminating photos at old shows:

Milroy (left) singing with some members of Grandpa's Army at a Pookies show.

Milroy (far right) checking out Grandpa's Army at the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre.

AM radio

2011-08-18T21:25:00.000-05:00

Having conquered campus FM radio on multiple occasions, Witchpolice has now infiltrated the mainstream AM airwaves.

I was interviewed for CJOB's Liner Notes music program, hosted by Witchpolice fan Kyle Milroy, and I rambled on at length about this blog and its awesomeness. Of course, my inability to operate even the simplest equipment means the camera was turned off for part of the time I was "filming" my own interview, but here (above) is an excerpt.

The actual full-length interview will be aired on Saturday evening, and after it's broadcast, we'll give you a link to download a podcast version, should you be interested in hearing me talk nervously at high speeds.

Milroy has a vague connection to Witchpolice himself, as his old band, TBA, eventually became Den of Iniquity (with a different, Milroy-less lineup). I think I still have some photos I took at one of their shows about a decade ago that were intended to go up on the website for Witchpolice's failed predecessor, Guaranteed Fresh Produce.

Here's another clip, where we talk about the "Jets Song (on TV)" video:

GROSS - Blast Off! (2007)

2011-08-14T09:17:00.002-05:00

GROSS - Blast Off!

Ha! I knew this show had been recorded!

A little bit of random luck and some Internet sleuthing led me to the video of the first-ever GROSS performance (Nov. 28, 2007), as filmed by Amped Up TV. As we posted here, the "Galactic Sailors" of GROSS were interviewed for that very program, with a few short performance clips, but it turns out, to our good fortune, the whole thing was documented.

So I grabbed the audio, and it's in surprisingly good quality. Once I can figure out how to convert the video (it was buried on Amped Up's Facebook page, but not on their YouTube or main site, so it's in a weird format), I'll probably put some of that up too.

The sailors in action.

Download the whole thing here.

Stream it:

1. Attack of the GROSS
2. Skinhead Moonstomp
3. Evil Radioactive Beasts From Outer Space That Live off of Human Blood
4. Light of the Moon
5. How Was Your Day?
6. V Rocket
7. Warp Speed Love Rocket

All GROSS audio on this site has the approval of GROSS and A1 Records. No official permission (yet) from the dudes who filmed it, but this was from five years ago and clearly just gathering e-dust, so I'm not sure why anyone would have an issue with it.

Sketchified

2011-08-09T20:09:00.000-05:00

Newfoundland punks The Sketch, whose demo* has been surprisingly popular here on Witchpolice, are reuniting for one show only tomorrow (Wednesday the 10th) in St. John's.

Since I live halfway across the country, I'm obviously not going to be attending the show (sorry Dave), but I am posting the video for "Fighting in the Slum" (above).

Dial 1-900-ZEG-ARAC and tell the god shit's mega real.

*Free download... nudge nudge, wink wink....

Radio Wire Empire Solves A Problem Like Maria (2011)

2011-08-07T14:12:00.001-05:00

RADIO WIRE EMPIRE SOLVES A PROBLEM LIKE MARIA

I recently posted links to the top 40 Witchpolice downloads on my personal Facebook and tagged people in the posts. It was surprising to see just how many of the popular albums here were made by a very, very small circle of people. While I'm always very happy to post music that my friends and I have made, it's nice when Witchpolice ventures out of its comfort zone.

This record is definitely out of our comfort zone. It's a collaboration (done entirely online) between solo artists Radio Wire Empire (from Michigan) and A Problem Like Maria from the Philippines, which makes this the first-ever album on Witchpolice from outside of North America.

A Problem Like Maria

Those links go to their respective Bandcamp pages, where you can hear a lot more stuff. Radio Wire Empire has also released two solo EPs and one full-length, as well as various singles. This collaboration is actually A Problem Like Maria's first formal release, although she put out a hip-hop/R&B EP back in 2004 (under a different name) and has recorded a bunch of singles, covers and random collaborations.

Radio Wire Empire

APLM described this album to me as "twee-pop," which, frankly, is not my favourite genre by a long shot, but it's a lovely little record (including a cover of James Brown's "Try Me,") and definitely worth checking out.

I would like to see Witchpolice go more outernational, so hopefully this is the start of many more releases from outside our own snow-filled backyards.

Download the whole thing here.

Stream it:

1. Sea Legs

2. Pour Toujours

3. Try Me

4. No Me Hagas Dano

5. Somewhere in the Middle

Audio posted courtesy of A Problem Like Maria.

The Pookies - demo (1999?)

2011-08-05T20:56:00.001-05:00

THE POOKIES - demo

First thing's first: these recordings sound like shit. They're from a tape that was well over a decade old, probably recorded on a four-track, and had likely been stored in a dusty basement somewhere for years. There's a definite "wind-tunnel" effect going on here. Pretty bizarre.

Also, none of the band members really remember the song titles. So we don't have those. They had an actually released album (Oh Shit, We're Late Again, or something like that) at one point in the 90s, but that has been lost to the ages. This is just some demo from the late 90s that probably never went anywhere.

Despite all of that...it's THE POOKIES. You pretty much can't go wrong with the Pookies. I probably saw them live on a weekly basis back in the day, and it was very rare for Grandpa's Army to ever play a show without these guys on the bill... not to mention Dave being a member of both bands and Jesse being G*A's all-purpose backup member.

Some West End show in the 90s.

Download the whole thing here.

Stream it:

1. We're Not Gonna Take It

2. Track 2

3. Track 3

4. It's a Punk World After All

5. Track 5

6. Track 6

7. All Your Fault (?)

8. My Grandma

9. Be Like You

10. Track 10

11. Weird skit

Audio posted courtesy of 3rd Generation Recordz.

1th of the Month: July 2011

2011-07-28T21:36:00.000-05:00

This feature highlights the album on Witchpolice that has received the highest number of downloads in a given month. This could be new stuff, it could be old stuff... basically whichever Witchpolice release has been most popular over the past 30 days or so. At the end of the year, we'll do a mega-post with all of the "1th of the Month" winners.

This month's #1 is Resistance is Fertile by The Dead Peasants Revolt, which is particularly cool, because it's a new release, and Witchpolice was the first place you could get it. It's cool to see the reissued Incoming Transmission! by GROSS on this list, as well as the DMCA-contested Shake It Up. As usual, the Sketch are on this list, although this time they're barely squeaking in with a tie for fifth place.

...and yes, I know this is a few days early, but there's a long weekend coming up and I just wanted to get it out of the way.

The Dead Peasants Revolt - Resistance is Fertile

Mo Blak - Untamed

GROSS - Incoming Transmission!

Various Artists - Shake It Up!

Tied for fifth place:

The Sketch - demo

Guerrillas of Soul - "Lipstick and War"

GROSS - Incoming Transmission (back again!) (2009)

2011-07-24T23:38:00.002-05:00

This cover is now even more incredible after I galactified it.

This album, one of the finest releases by the late, great A1 Records, hasn't been available to download here on Witchpolice for a while, but it's back, and with a bonus track ("Die Earth Scum!" which was released as an MP3 single a few years back.) It also includes all of the demos and versions.

Where else are you going to find intergalactic-themed skinhead reggae?

The "Die Earth Scum!" cover.

Download the whole thing here.

Stream it:

1. Incoming Transmission

2. Attack of the GROSS

3. Light of the Moon

4. Evil Radioactive Beasts From Outer Space That Live Off Of Human Blood

5. Lick it Back to Light Speed

6. GROSS is Gonna Eat Your Face

7. Back From Oblivion

8. Warp Speed Love Rocket

9. End Transmission

10. Space Rocksteady (demo)

11. Light of the Moon (demo)

12. Back From Oblivion (version)

13. End Transmission (version)

14. Die Earth Scum!

Oh, GROHOHOSSS, best band in the cosmohohossss...

Audio posted courtesy of GROSS/A1 Records.

High Five Drive - Tales From CKUW (2010)

2011-07-15T09:48:00.003-05:00

HIGH FIVE DRIVE - Tales From CKUW

Here's another installment in the Tales From CKUW series, which features live recordings specially selected by Kent Davies of CKUW 95.9 FM. This recording is of now (I think)-defunct Winnipeg punks High Five Drive, who are well-known for their absolutely ridiculous tours throughout North America and Europe, which didn't earn them much in the way of financial success, but did earn them a lot of respect among fans at home and abroad.

Kent sez:

Following Evil Survives, High Five Drive was less of a mission provided that the setup was already good to go. We had also figured out by planting the pledge phone outside in the fire escape we would be able to take some pledges to recover costs from all the equipment we were destroying. Greg and the boys played two great sets. Unfortunately, Audacity crashed so we only have the one.

Download the whole thing here.

1. Part one
2. Part two
Stream it:

Also, check out this excellent documentary about High Five Drive's non-stop touring:

Audio posted courtesy of CKUW.

Mo Blak - Untamed (2011)

2011-07-13T20:16:00.001-05:00

MO BLAK - Untamed

Louisiana seems to like Witchpolice. With this release, Mo Blak is the fourth artist from down south appearing on this mostly-Canadian blog.

We first heard Mo on Kenji the Kid's track "Blow the Whistle" (from the still-popular Gone to Mars album). Her verse was my favourite part of that record, and I said as much in the post, which led to Mo contacting me about sharing some of her music on Witchpolice.

So here it is. A few of these tracks can be found on her Evolution mixtape, but there's some additional stuff here that you won't find on that release.

More info about Mo Blak can be found here.

Download the whole thing here.

Stream it:

1. Intro (Take Me Away)
2. Lafayette State of Mind
3. Let 'Em Know Wassup
4. Journey to the Top
5. And I'm Comin' (feat. TWhy)
6. 7 Deadly Sins (feat. Proper King)

Audio posted courtesy of Mo Blak.

The Dead Peasants Revolt - Resistance is Fertile (2011)

2011-07-07T11:34:00.004-05:00

THE DEAD PEASANTS REVOLT - Resistance is Fertile

This is very exciting. Witchpolice is (for now at least) the only place you can get Resistance is Fertile, the new record by Newfoundland political punks The Dead Peasants Revolt, who recently came back from a successful European tour. These fine folks will be headed out on a Canadian tour soon, so check 'em out when they're in your town.

A message from Dead Peasant Hank:

Hi folks! We be the Dead Peasants Revolt. We live in St. John's, Newfoundland and sing songs of freedom and equality. We are happy to announce the completion of our first full-length album, Resistance is Fertile! The album was recorded by Davey Zegarac, with the sessions taking place in our local bar CBTGs and in the Golf Ave. house. Through our music we discuss social injustice, homophobia, racism, sexism, fascism, animal liberation, friendship and global awareness. We have returned from a five-week tour in Europe and are finishing the final touches on our tour route for Canada. We leave Newfoundland the first of September and will be making our way to British Columbia!

This is a free download of our entire album, we hope you enjoy the music and art that we have made. We would like to thank Sam from Witchpolice for hooking us up!

We can be contacted via myspace.com/thedeadpeasantsrevolt . Eat your veggies!

Download the whole thing here. (Download includes album liner notes)

Stream it:

1. Broken Windows

2. DIY or Die

3. We are the Anti-Fa

4. Shut Them Down

5. Who Called Retreat

6. The Crab

7. Oil Spills! Deep Drills!

8. Killing Fields

9. Keeping Them Sick

10. Tear Down the Fence

11. Tax-Free Sale at the Mall

12. No Divisions

13. Dear Georgie

14. Wrap it Up

15. Colonial Invasion

16. Always Beside You

17. Fuck You 'Oh Canada'

18. This is our Movement

Update Aug. 28, 2011: Apparently the images (cover, back cover, liner notes/lyric pages) are not part of the download for some reason, so you can get 'em yourself here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Other 3rd Gen. downloads on Witchpolice:

Black Mask Brigade - No Soul

The Brat Attack - B all you can B

Breakaway - demo

Grandpa's Army - 3rd Gen. demo

Kirby - Da Brothahood

Kirby - Da Sistahood (live)

The Pookies - demo

Seventeen - final show

The Sketch - demo

Stitchez - Songs About Love and Revolution

Teenage Terrorists - God is Dead, You're Next