Tales of the Salty Bag

Winnipeg is starting to develop a fairly solid pop punk/beard punk/orgcore (whatever you want to call it) scene. Every once in a while the bands brave the shitty highway for a couple hundred kilometres and play Brandon. This doesn't happen often (and when it does I usually don't hear about the show until it's too late). This past January I saw a poster that billed both Dangercat and Elder Abuse (2 bands that in my opinion slay). I didn't recognize any of the other bands on the bill but just seeing those 2 names on the poster made me want to brave the frigid early January temperatures (it ended up being around -30°C that night). I convinced a few other people to come with me and made sure that I arrived reasonably early so that I didn't miss any of the Winnipeg bands. The first 2 bands happened, didn't leave much of an impression on me. Next up was a band that goes by the name of Mobina Galore. Mobina Galore consists of 2 people; 1 plays guitar and sings lead whi...

The great thing about independent record labels is that they're run by music lovers..and generally don't have very many cooks in the kitchen.The result from this is that the owner usually curates a specific sound or ethos, not because it sells a nutload of units or is popular but because it's what they dig (within reason). When you find a label that jives with your musical taste it's a glorious day. For me one of these labels is It's Alive Records. It's Alive has released some of my favorite albums from the past 10 years (if you want any recommendations hit me up) and hasn't released a single dud. I will purchase anything that they release without even hearing a note, let alone a song. It is because of their track record that this past September I ordered The Capitalist Kids - at a loss. With the name of the band I was expecting something with skatepunk/crusty leanings..nope. The Capitalist Kids, surprisingly, have a mid to late 90's sound somewhere betw...

I like pop punk. Ramonescore..Lookout, Recess, Red Scare, It's Alive records; you know, that ilk. Majority of what I'm exposed to (or expose myself to) is either American or based out of GTA/Ottawa areas. For some reason, it's rare for me to get a record and find out that the band is from the prairies or western Canada. This is not to say that there aren't killer pop punk bands in these regions, it just takes more digging to find them. (I know, you're angry and yelling Chixdiggit! at the screen right now. There's always exceptions). One of these amazing Canadian pop punk bands is based out of Vancouver and go by the name of The Hextalls. I had heard their name before but never really gave them a listen until last January (2014) when I got their LP "Rock You to Sleep". Shit is fantastic. Catchy, cheeky without turning themselves into a joke; straight forward pop punk. With heavy nods to the bruddas, I would be more than surprised if at least a few of th...

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 frie...

I can't remember how I was introduced to Rancid. I think it was either through the X Games Pro Boarder soundtrack or Punk-o-rama vol. 1. Either way, if you were lucky enough to be introduced to Rancid in the late 90's you know one thing, they were amazing. The songs were catchy without sacrificing substance and the bass lines were mind blowing. Rancid had respect and in my opinion made no missteps, that includes Rancid (2000). Since I hadn't fully experienced a new Rancid album when it was in fact, new, I was pretty excited in 2003 when I heard that there was a new album slated for release. I had some apprehension being that they made a deal with Warner Bro's but whatever, they hadn't let me down yet. Finally the first single, Fall Back Down, was released. It wasn't a terrible song..but as the leading single it left something to be desired. I still held onto hope that the album would be good. It wasn't. I tried to give it a chance, I wanted to like it but I ...

April 1, 2001, The day that I attended my first punk rock show. I found out in the spring of 2001 that Gob, one of Canada's biggest punk bands at the time, was actually coming through Brandon. Everyone that I associated with was going to this show, it was going to be huge. Not only was this the best way to cap off spring break but it was the day after my 15th birthday. Happy birthday to me. When I picked up my ticket there were 2 other bands listed that I had never heard of and didn't really care to look into; Big Wig and Bowling for Soup. Excitement was growing leading up to the show, I could hardly wait to hear Soda. Late afternoon on April 1st I met up with a group of friends then headed to the Victoria Inn ready for my introduction to the rest of my life. The opening bands were good, I was in the pit, shit was getting wild but honestly I wasn't paying much attention to the music, I was just waiting for the headliner. Finally Gob took the stage. My hair was blown back,...

From my (limited) research the origin of this rant dates back to the spring/summer of 2009. I was at 7-Eleven, a couple blocks from where I was living at the time, strolling through the chip section looking for something to snack on. All of a sudden something caught my eye. There was a new flavour of Doritos! This bag was white with a question mark in the centre of the bag and no name describing what taste would be found within. I was stoked! Doritos rarely has a dud flavour. I snatched up a full size bag, paid the lady and sprinted home. I don't remember the exact series of events that unfolded when I got to my apartment so I will describe what is the most likely scenario. I opened the door to the apartment, "New Doritos flavour!" I most likely exclaimed to my roommates Mike and/or Adam as I opened the bag with the excitement of a 6 year old on Christmas morning. I darted my hand into the bag and pulled a couple Doritos. As the chips got closer to my mouth a pool of ...