Raised Fist was coming to Brandon....again.
Every music scene has an ebb and flow to it. From what I am told, Brandon had a huge punk..that turned somewhat metal..scene in the mid to late 90's. I can't attest to that. I can however attest to a punk/metalcore scene in the early to mid 2000's that was anchored by 1 band from Winnipeg (that consisted of a few Brandonites), Volition. I was lucky in high school that there was a local all ages scene for me to take part in and learn from. I can't remember the frequency of shows but I do remember that whenever I heard of a Volition show there was bound to be a packed house. Crowd surfing, a respectably sized pit (more often that not void of those dick swinging, spin kicking, windmilling, slam dance douchebags) and electricity in the air. Park Community Centre (primarily, along with other community centres around Brandon) was alive with youthful indiscretion. It was after a Volition show in 2003 that myself, along with my friends Dustin, Mitch (who is the younger brother of Volition drummer Ryan) and Joel decided to form a band. Dustin and Joel played guitar, Mitch had started playing drums and I didn't own or play bass. A few weeks later I got a bass. If it wasn't for Volition, and the scene they were surrounded by, I can say that there's a good chance I would have never picked up an instrument and in turn I may have never written a song about my cat being bad, ha.
As with the vast majority of independent punk/metal bands Volition eventually had to come to an end. Their last show in Brandon however was lined up to be a banger. Volition was to open for Raised Fist. The first Raised Fist show ending in a riot before they could even hit the stage, this was to be their first time actually playing in Brandon. It was sad to see Volition go but what a send off. Fast forward to the day of the show. Tickets were sold, however, the promoter failed to inform ticket buyers that if you didn't have a Brandon University student sign you into SUDS (the campus bar) you weren't able to go to the show. Being that not everyone who bought a ticket could get in, Raised Fist refused to play..or allow any of the opening bands to play (if ANY bands played then refunds would not be issued to people who bought tickets but were refused entry). Without warning Volition was gone, no last show. It was about as satisfying as an oxygen popsicle. This event marked the beginning of the end. Volition members formed other bands that kept the Brandon all ages scene alive for a few more years but it wasn't the same. Enthusiasm waned, everyone slowly faded away.
Extra Salt and Vinegar, Buffalo Wings, Jalapeno Cheddar, Roasted Chicken, Outback Smokey BBQ. OLD DUTCH RAVE POTATO CHIPS. If you ever had a chance to taste any of these beautiful creations from Old Dutch you are one of the lucky ones. I can't tell you exactly when they were introduced, my guess is sometime in the mid 2000's...2004ish? But gee golly they left a lasting impression. To this day whenever someone mentions salt and vinegar or buffalo wing chips my mouth starts watering and longing for Rave potato chips. Sure, other companies have put their own twist on those flavours but nobody and I mean NOBODY has even come close to the perfection that was Old Dutch Rave. I was personally an Extra S&V/Buffalo Wing guy. I remember crushing a full sized bag of the S&V to myself in one sitting then waking up the next day dry as hell with a sore mouth, and no regrets. Then all of a sudden one day, without warning, the line was gone. Poof. I was left, once again, with an oxygen popsicle. There was no way to mentally prepare for the loss, I wasn't even given the chance to stockpile. I have a theory that the removal of the Rave chip line had something to do with the economic crisis of 2008 because I place their disappearance sometime in the late aughts, that's just my theory however.
If this ever gets out to anyone associated with Old Dutch please, please, please lay off with bullshit like Double Dutch and other attempts to make something 'weird' and 'interesting'. Just bring back Rave (at least Buffalo Wing and Extra Salt & Vinegar) and stop dicking around.
Stay hydrated,
Marc
p.s. I'm not sure if there's any music from Volition on the internet however some bands that featured ex-Volition members you may want to check out are:
- Jealous Gods (hardcore punk outta the GTA, just released an 8 song ep, I highly recommend you check em on bandcamp) [I planned this blog before finding out of this release, serendipity I guess]
- Legion of Liquor (80's style metal outta Winnipeg)
- Evil Survives (Maiden-esque metal outta Winnipeg, releases on War on Music)
- Port Amoral (metal band that signed to Roadrunner, broke up in 2009)
Every music scene has an ebb and flow to it. From what I am told, Brandon had a huge punk..that turned somewhat metal..scene in the mid to late 90's. I can't attest to that. I can however attest to a punk/metalcore scene in the early to mid 2000's that was anchored by 1 band from Winnipeg (that consisted of a few Brandonites), Volition. I was lucky in high school that there was a local all ages scene for me to take part in and learn from. I can't remember the frequency of shows but I do remember that whenever I heard of a Volition show there was bound to be a packed house. Crowd surfing, a respectably sized pit (more often that not void of those dick swinging, spin kicking, windmilling, slam dance douchebags) and electricity in the air. Park Community Centre (primarily, along with other community centres around Brandon) was alive with youthful indiscretion. It was after a Volition show in 2003 that myself, along with my friends Dustin, Mitch (who is the younger brother of Volition drummer Ryan) and Joel decided to form a band. Dustin and Joel played guitar, Mitch had started playing drums and I didn't own or play bass. A few weeks later I got a bass. If it wasn't for Volition, and the scene they were surrounded by, I can say that there's a good chance I would have never picked up an instrument and in turn I may have never written a song about my cat being bad, ha.
As with the vast majority of independent punk/metal bands Volition eventually had to come to an end. Their last show in Brandon however was lined up to be a banger. Volition was to open for Raised Fist. The first Raised Fist show ending in a riot before they could even hit the stage, this was to be their first time actually playing in Brandon. It was sad to see Volition go but what a send off. Fast forward to the day of the show. Tickets were sold, however, the promoter failed to inform ticket buyers that if you didn't have a Brandon University student sign you into SUDS (the campus bar) you weren't able to go to the show. Being that not everyone who bought a ticket could get in, Raised Fist refused to play..or allow any of the opening bands to play (if ANY bands played then refunds would not be issued to people who bought tickets but were refused entry). Without warning Volition was gone, no last show. It was about as satisfying as an oxygen popsicle. This event marked the beginning of the end. Volition members formed other bands that kept the Brandon all ages scene alive for a few more years but it wasn't the same. Enthusiasm waned, everyone slowly faded away.
Extra Salt and Vinegar, Buffalo Wings, Jalapeno Cheddar, Roasted Chicken, Outback Smokey BBQ. OLD DUTCH RAVE POTATO CHIPS. If you ever had a chance to taste any of these beautiful creations from Old Dutch you are one of the lucky ones. I can't tell you exactly when they were introduced, my guess is sometime in the mid 2000's...2004ish? But gee golly they left a lasting impression. To this day whenever someone mentions salt and vinegar or buffalo wing chips my mouth starts watering and longing for Rave potato chips. Sure, other companies have put their own twist on those flavours but nobody and I mean NOBODY has even come close to the perfection that was Old Dutch Rave. I was personally an Extra S&V/Buffalo Wing guy. I remember crushing a full sized bag of the S&V to myself in one sitting then waking up the next day dry as hell with a sore mouth, and no regrets. Then all of a sudden one day, without warning, the line was gone. Poof. I was left, once again, with an oxygen popsicle. There was no way to mentally prepare for the loss, I wasn't even given the chance to stockpile. I have a theory that the removal of the Rave chip line had something to do with the economic crisis of 2008 because I place their disappearance sometime in the late aughts, that's just my theory however.
If this ever gets out to anyone associated with Old Dutch please, please, please lay off with bullshit like Double Dutch and other attempts to make something 'weird' and 'interesting'. Just bring back Rave (at least Buffalo Wing and Extra Salt & Vinegar) and stop dicking around.
Stay hydrated,
Marc
p.s. I'm not sure if there's any music from Volition on the internet however some bands that featured ex-Volition members you may want to check out are:
- Jealous Gods (hardcore punk outta the GTA, just released an 8 song ep, I highly recommend you check em on bandcamp) [I planned this blog before finding out of this release, serendipity I guess]
- Legion of Liquor (80's style metal outta Winnipeg)
- Evil Survives (Maiden-esque metal outta Winnipeg, releases on War on Music)
- Port Amoral (metal band that signed to Roadrunner, broke up in 2009)
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