On the Origin of the Species - Rockstar Canadianus!

Not sure if the BSS gathering at Harbourfront last Friday was a stich 'n bitch or a circle of jerks putting the BS back in but I did find it curiously smug. Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Stuart Berman, host Ben Rayner from The Star, producer Dave Newfeld and A& C founder Jeffery Remedios spoke and argued about the relevance of Berman's biography of Broken Social Scene...and it was noted that the Canadian scene is under-documented so that regardless of the value of the book as bio the fact that things were recorded in print was enough although Newfeld felt differently as he wasn't particularly happy with how he came across in its pages.
I have an issue with the idea that Canada's past music scenes are not documented. They are. Perhaps not in some corporate commercial manner which validates the work for some at some levels but there are hundreds of fanzines from the punk era and before all ably written and produced by folks who spent a whole lot of their own time and their own money turning folks onto what they believed folks should be turned onto.
Today blogging is all but free but back in the day one had to leave one's basement, buy records, go to shows, take photographs, talk to bands, type, cut and paste, print and stitch each individual element that went into those lost labours of love and then drive or walk or cycle to the few places that would take them including covering Toronto. And those folks will never be thanked and yes I speak of myself here and others from the ShwaRock scene who have contributed quite a lot to Toronto's present position as King Of The Hill.
Its become so easy today to be a fan that folks have chosen to forget what an investment being a fan of an unknown or indie band was even just a decade ago. Yeah it was work and while a lot of older bands are being thankfully re-issued and rediscovered musicians shouldn't forget the folks who were there when they started out. They owe them nothing but acknowledgement would be nice.
But its the way of the word that the backwaters of this country get slighted even as we continue to produce major talents. As I sat watching the proceedings I wrangled together how few degrees actually separated BSS from SHWA yet it's light years in physical terms as those who moved on from Durham Region rarely look back and visit less.
While there are many personal connections with the BSS crew and others on that stage lets just look at Remedios' Arts & Crafts label... Timber Timbre, Evening Hymns, Forest City Lovers. D'Urbervilles are distributed or signed by the label.
Fans get shortchanged enough by the music industry but I think its a bit rich that we get written out of the official story too. Each and every word ever written about a band is yet another step towards the goal of greater exposure for musicians, greater access and a greater piece of the pie. Berman's book is another document but its not the only one and even authorised by the band tag its not the most important one. The most important one will be the one written by the fans.

Comments

[al cole]

I agree.

[Poor Pelly]

Very well said Will. Very well said.