Punk and metal music is alive and well in Lethbridge.
While the more popular live music venues bring in punk acts plus garage rock and university punk acts and local concert promoters will bring in more mainstream acts like Gob and punk icons like D.O.A. and The Real McKenzies, there is also a strong independent punk, crust punk, oi punk and street punk scene simmering in Lethbridge over the past dozen years thanks in no small part to Alex Currie and GG Scallywag, drummer for local punk band the Scallywags.
They have been booking regular shows at the Moose Hall and lately Inferno.
They have had shows pretty much every week for the past couple months and recently hosted Edmonton born punk legends SNFU as they celebrated their 30th anniversary of their album And No One Else Wanted To Play.
Currie’s promotions group Deathbridge Disease are hosting a day long all ages show called Burning Bridges FYF at the Moose Hall, July 25 featuring some of their favourite acts Stab.twist.pull, Abuse of Substance, The Press Gang, Kroovy Rookers, Rebuild / Repair and Grizzly Trail, plus The Reckless Heroes, local metal band Lock n’ Load and The Scallywags plus Medicine Hat metal band Born Hero, Iskra and the Rhubarbs.
Right after that, they are bringing in baseball punk band the Isotopes to the Moose Hall, Aug. 1 for another all ages gig.
“We did a few shows in 2003, but we started doing it really seriously a year and a half ago,” said promoter Alex Currie who is excited to present the Burning Bridges Fest FYF, which is an acronym for a pair of unrelated popular songs from Vancouver punk band the Spree Killers and Calgary hardcore punk band Citizen Rage.
Currie has been involved with bring in D.O.A. lots of up and comers, lots of Edmonton and Calgary plus plenty of Vancouver bands like the Rebel Spell, whose lead singer Todd Serious was a huge inspiration for Currie. Calgary Beer Core, a collective of Calgary punk bands and promoters including Citizen Rage are also a big inspiration Currie has begun working with.
“They’re a tight run ship,” he said.
“Bands like Lethbridge shows because they can at least make enough gas money to make it to their next show, Currie said.
“And we put them up and feed them at our house,” added Currie’s wife Tracy.
“Our kids really like being able to meet them,” she said.
They don’t draw huge audiences, but they definitely do draw enthusiastic audiences.
“We get about 30 people at the shows, though we’ve had as many as 60, Currie said. They drew three times that to their presentation of SNFU at Inferno, July 16.
He said all ages shows usually draw the usual crowd but not the younger crowd, so they are planning on working more at the university and college and high schools.
“We don’t really get the all ages crowd out so we’re going to try doing them again,” observed GG Scallywag.
“In September we’ll really be focusing on the high schools, University of Lethbridge and College and CKXU,” Currie continued, adding connecting with younger punks can be a challenge.
“A lot of the older members have stepped aside for families and day jobs. We have to listen to them,” he said.
“Music changes, but rock and roll always finds an audience,” said Scallywag, who has brought in punk veterans like Dayglo Abortions and Bunchofuckingoofs
“A lot of people just have to find it for themselves,” he continued.
The Curries observed they have met a lot of interesting characters while booking punk shows.
“Ken Chin (Chi Pig of SNFU) is a character,” Alex Currie added.
“And Shawna from Artificial Dissemination was wearing a Bill the Cat button,” added Tracy Currie.
Alex Currie said Hooch Parkins from the Matadors is also an interesting character.
They have a busy August coming up as baseball punk band the Isotopes return Aug, 1 this time to play Inferno. There will be a metal show with Montreal Folk punks Hard Up, Surrey, B.C. traditional metal band Iron Kingdom and Medicine Hat death metal band Naraka, Aug. 3.
And another metal show, Aug 6 with Black Earth, NG Graveyard, Lie Among Us and Eternal Prophecy.
An all ages Calgary Beer Core show on Aug. 15 at the Moose Hall will feature Press Gang, Citizen Rage, Citizen Rage and a Total Disappointment. Admission is $10 at the door.
Paint the Damage and Western Death will be playing Aug, 22 and oi punks will love the return of Knuckledown and guests, Aug. 29.
There are also several big shows planned for the fall including Shockload and 88 Mile Trip, and later on veteran Montreal punks the Ripcordz
Probably Lethbridge longest standing punk rockers are the Scallywags who are a prominent face at the shows in different incarnations.
“We’ve been together for about 12 years. We’ve played around Edmonton and Calgary, We mostly play around Alberta because we have to work around everybody’s schedules with work and kids,” said Scallywags drummer GG Scallywag. They’ve opened for some big shows including SNFU, The Dayglo Abortions and D.O.A. plus the Rebel Spell. The current line up also includes bassist Josh Scallywag, Blair Scallywag on rhythm guitar and vocalist/ guitarist Bob Scallywag who often opens up shows with some acoustic punk.
“We’ve had a lot of members,” GG Scallywag said, adding he is impressed by talented Lethbridge metal and punk acts like The Spacewolves, Gender Bender, Penitentz and Lock N’ Load, who play a lot of the shows.
They used to have shows at the Vent in Coaldale, which has had a few ownership changes.
“So it is a shame we don’t have Coaldale anymore,” Scallywag said.
Advance tickets for the Burning Bridges festival at the Moose Hall, July 25. are $20 $25 at the door. Children under 12 $10.
