Oct. 28, 2009 - Issue #732: Dan Mangan

1, 2, ‘SNFU’

Local musicians play hometown punk legends for Halloween

Halloween is here again and with it comes one of this city's more interesting traditions, the Bands as Bands night at Starlite. A chance for local groups to emulate other artists speaks to the reason that musicians get into the game in the first place: something moves you enough that you feel you've got something to say as well.

Such is the case for some of the members of "back in the day" favourites Hippychick, Unsound and Blindside who will be getting together to play as SNFU this Halloween. According to Unsound's Bob Prodor, who will be singing as Chi Pig, SNFU may not have been everyone in the band's first choice—the group was originally going to be the Descendents—but this choice certainly means a lot more to them.

"When SNFU came along and you saw in Flipside Magazine that they beat out the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fugazi and Bad Brains for best live band, it made us think that it doesn't matter that we live in Edmonton, that we don't live in Vancouver, California or New York, our band is better than all of their bands. We can do something on a global scale," he says. "That's what SNFU did for us—it made us think that what we do could be important and I think we still believe that and we're still thankful that they came along when they did."

While the band isn't sure whether or not the members will be bringing out the puffed wheat, puppets and squirt guns from SNFU's heyday—Prodor admits that the group has been considering it, but is concentrating right now on playing a tight set—Prodor's disbelief and nervousness that the group was actually going to play at all has turned into excitement.

"I can't believe I'm doing it. I haven't played a gig in 12 years or something like that and I really got timid over the years and just wanted to blend in. The fact that we're doing this is just ridiculous, it's quite hilarious and silly," he says. "When SNFU got back together [in 1991] we were like, 'Are they still gonna be as good?' and they didn't miss a beat. That's kinda how it is with this—I haven't sang in years and years and years and it just came back." V

Sat, Oct 31 (8 pm)
Bands as Bands 2009
Featuring local bands playing SNFU, Misfits, REM, Blondie, the Rolling Stones, the White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age, Guided by Voices, the B-52s, Queen, Nirvana, Dire Straits
Starlite Room, $10 – $20

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