R – Red Tide, Render Useless, Republic of Freedom Fighters, Roy Gbiv, etc.

Paul Block “The Voice of Reason” – Render Useless (photo: Jay Siska).

R

RAMBLINGS [zine]

Founder: Marissa

THE REAL DEAL [zine]

Founders: David Barclay, Duncan Gidney

RED POP REVENGE [zine]

[A personal zine which was very similar in style to Cometbus. Chad, who played in Mblanket, Ache Hour Credo and Dillinger Mob, put out at least three issues of this zine, which was well written and full of good stories. Issue #3 came out in Spring of ‘95, was half-sized and 40 pages long. Issue #3 included a long story about Chad’s Winter jaunts.]

Founder: Chad Jones

RED TIDE

[1980-1986. This band is included because some of their releases were after 1990. Punk band with some surf overtones, a full discography page, compiled by James Cornell, is here. Some photos of the band can be found on The Royal City Music Project by searching Red Tide. Drummer Ken Jensen, then a member of D.O.A. (Vancouver), died in a house fire in 1995.]

Chris Prohom (guitar/vocals), Jon Craggs (bass/vocals) (replaced Steve McBean, who had replaced Marcus Pollard), Ken Jensen (drums/vocals) (RIP) [Jon played guitar before replacing Steve. Dave Craggs did some background vocals.]

Releases:

“Outta My Way” demo ’83 (cassette, 1983) – Me/Fascist Reign and Human Nature/Outta My Way/Final Question/Incubator Slide/Big Business/False Acceptance/Surf Zone/Scott and Co. (with Reverb)

 

V/A – “Barricaded Suspects” (LP/CD, Toxic Shock, 1983/??) – Mary’s Black Analog Chop (different mix than “Rundown Victoria” and “Outta My Way” demos)

“Kelp and Salal” (7″, 1984, Toxic Shock) – Sata Mari Marushi/Price For Progress/War Criminals/It’s More a Feeling

V/A – “Welcome to 1984” (LP, 1984, Maximumrocknroll) – Incubator Slide

 

“Final Solution” demo (cassette, 1986, Catapult Records) – Kelp and Salal/Uncle Bill/Any System/The Immoralist/Confusion of Voices/Where Sea Meets Sky/For the Good of the Province/Masks/Sysyphus/Descending Dissent/Nothing Left to Talk About/Red/The Return of Jose Wales/Cold War

 

“Rundown Victoria” (cassette, 19??) – I Drink Milk/Mary’s Black Analogy Chop/School Pressure/My Son is a Kuwahara/Spider on My Leg/Cruise Missile (live)/NATO Actionaut/Tomatarama/Reagan Sucks/Kingdome Come/ Coathanger

 

“Outta My Way” – 25-song demo (cassette, ??) – Outta My Way/Sareena D/What’s So Wrong?/Fear to Live/Skayt Song/M.E. 83/Fascist Reign/Outta My Way II/Final Question/Incubator Slide/Big B/Mona Lisa/False Acceptance/Surf Yer Hart/Nightmare (Partial)/Oola/America/Spider Legs/Skool Pressure/A.D.S./Tamatorama/Crooz Missle/Git-R/Reprise/(unknown)

 

V/A – “Random Thoughts Vol. 1 – A Victoria Sampler” (cassette, 1986, Lyle’s Place Cassettes) – Kelp and Salal/Masks

V/A – “Random Thoughts Vol. 2 – A Victoria Sampler (cassette, 1986, Lyle’s Places Cassettes) – Any System

V/A – “Decade of Disaster – The Toxic Shock Years ’83-’93 (CD, 1993, Toxic Shock) – It’s More a Feeling

“Final Solution” re-released as bonus tracks on Gus (Vancouver, BC) – “The Progressive Science of Breeding Idiots for a Dumber Society” (CD, 1995, Wrong Records – Vancouver, BC) – Kelp and Salal/Masks/Nothing Left to Talk About/For the Good of the Province/Sysyphus/Any System/Return of Jose Wales

“Ken Jensen Memorial” (Split 7″ with D.O.A., 1995, Sudden Death Records) – R.E.D./Masks (DOA songs: Knots/Overtime, Ken Jensen sings lead on both songs)

V/A – “4 Old Toxic Shock 7″ EPs ’83-’94” (CD, 2002, Dr. Strange Records) – “Kelp and Salal” 7″

RENDER USELESS

[One of the, if not the, most influential Victoria punk/hardcore band in the ’90s. Brought the scene together with positive lyrics and attitudes. This blog, Generation Gap, is named after one of their songs. Played Goleta Fest in 1996 (see YouTube clip below). Their Last FM page is here. A discography page can be found here at Abridged Pause. An unofficial MySpace page is here. A blog posting with links to their different releases (in Russian!?) is here via Desperate and Lonely.]

Ben Cherry (drums/vocals), Jeremy Riishede (bass) (replaced Wade Swagar, who replaced Jay Beddows), Paul Block (guitar/vocals)

Releases:

Untitled four song demo (cassette, 1994) – Hardline/Cranked/Roving Male/The Weave

V/A – “Fuck the Commonwealth” (cassette/CD, 1995, Fans of Bad Productions) – Hardline

Self-titled (7”, 1996, Slow To Burn Records) – Grow/Waterhead/Compromise/Desperation Days

The Republic of Freedom Fighters/Render Useless (split 7”, ?, Buddy Bomb Records) – The Second Flight Of Icarus. “Deploy the bombs/Nuke the nukes.”

V/A – “Go! 47 Canadian HC Bands” (CD/double LP, 1996/1998, Fans of Bad Productions – Kingston, ON) – Becoming Anti-Human

V/A – “Group Therapy Explosion…” (CD, 1996, Slow To Burn Records) – True Colours

Self-titled demo (cassette, 1997) – The Second Flight of Icarus/Fork in the Road/Attention All Shoppers/Generation Gap/Becoming Anti-Human/Clique/Bravery in a Sea of Cowards/True Colours/Iotosoahpw

V/A – “Hardcore Hillbillies” (cassette, 1997, Jalden Records) – The Second Flight of Icarus

V/A – “Weeds in the Garden” (LP, 1997?, Paco Garden Records – Denver, CO) – True Colours

V/A – “Please Don’t Feed the Pigeons” (CD, 1997?, Skooby Snack Records – Vancouver, BC) – Clique

V/A – “Scene Ventage” (7”, 1997, Break Even Records) – The Second Flight of Icarus

V/A – “Live from the Bowells…” (cassette, 1997, Powell River DIY Youth – Powell River, BC) – Fork in the Road (recorded live in Powell River in Nov.’ 96)

“The Relationship Between a Quarter Note and Eighth Note” (7”, 1997, Mountain Records – Brooklyn, NY) – Bravery in a Sea of Cowards/Iotosoahpw/Fork in the Road/Attention All Shoppers “What’s wrong, Jeremy…/… No slurpee?”

V/A – “Chronic Knot Live Compilation Video” (video, 1998, Chronic Knot)

Render Useless/Miracle of 86 (split 7”, 1998, City Lights Records – Staten Island, NY) – True Colours/Generation Gap (Miracle of 86 – ? – songs not listed)

Self-titled (CD, 1998, Clue #2 Records – Maple Ridge, BC) – 3 a.m. Tuesday/Fork in the Road/The Second Flight of Icarus/True Colours/Generation Gap/Bravery in a Sea of Cowards/Run Away Mr. Fox/Clique/Becoming Anti-Human/Attention All Shoppers/Inside on the Opposite Side of a Hiding Place Window/Typical/The Heads of Ostriches/Grow/Ben’s Song/Roving Male/Compromise/Intimidation/The Weave/Waterhead/Hardline/Cranked/Desperation Days/Intergalactic Transmission

V/A – “Kampai” (CD, 2000, Bifocal Media – Greenville, NC) – ??

THE REPUBLIC OF FREEDOM FIGHTERS

[Emotional hardcore. Their Last FM page is here. A discography can be found here at Abridged Pause. The YouTube video below still gives me shivers.]

Carey Mercer (guitar/vocals), Jode Shortreed (drums), Reg Flech (guitar), Steve Simard (bass/vocals)

Releases:

Third World Planet/The Republic Of Freedom Fighters split (8.5” flexi, 1996, Diminutive Records) – Buddy Bomb

The Republic of Freedom Fighters/Render Useless (split 7”, ?, Buddy Bomb Records) – Year of the Rat “Deploy the bombs/Nuke the nukes.”

Self-titled (LP, 1996, Linkwork/Mountain – Oceanside, NY/Hungtington, NY) – Circle High Blood Sniffer/Calypso Syngenor Method/Face the Wind Joe Fucker Columbus/This Fathers Father/Get Your Motor-Mine Conked Out/Stomach Council

V/A – “Group Therapy Explosion…” (CD, 1996, Slow To Burn Records) – Kranok Attack

REPULVERIZER

[Repulverizer were around from 1998-1999, and played one show that ended up with Noel at the hospital. Grindcore metal. Later reformed with The Cruiser on bass and released an album of songs in 2003.]

Doug MacMinn (drums/ vocals), Aaron MacKenzie? (guitar), Tom ? (bass), Noel Davies (vocals)

Unrecorded songs -??

THE RESISTANCE

Gary Brainless (drums/vocals), John ? (vocals), Mark ? (bass/vocals), Mike Walker (guitar/vocals) (replaced Charlie ?)

Releases:

“Raw Deal” (7”, 1987, Resistance Records) – Raw Deal/Shot Gun/Fucked in the Head/China White/Mr. America

V/A – “Victoria Newlywed Nearlydead” (CD, 199?, Em Tee Head Productions) – Lottery Blues/No More Lies

RETARD

[1992-1994ish, noise.]

Arish Pritchard (morbid puppet show), J.P. Langlois (noise), Maxine Smolkin (morbid puppet show), Mike Wolfe (noise)

Releases:

“Live” demo (cassette, 1994?) – ??

Sacred Cow (live) appeared on Sally Hose Off’s “III” demo (cassette, 1993)

RINSE

[Pop-punk. Played a bunch of all-ages shows. A four-track recorder with a tape featuring a year’s worth of the band’s songs was stolen in a break in. According to his mom, drummer Jim Weileby won a (local?) competition back then called “World’s Fastest Drummer” for foot pedals. Seth Smith is now in the Halifax, NS indie rock band Dog Day.]

Seth Smith (guitar/vocals), Lucas Maher (bass) (replaced Jada Stevens), Jim Weileby (drums)

RIOTSTARTER [zine]

Founder: ?

THE RIOTSTARTERS

[Punk?]

Jason Jeremy Fortin (?), ??

Releases:

V/A – “StandPunkT” (cassette, 1998?) – Living Off Capitalism/Channel 62 ??

ROSA

(1994. Hardcore?)

Gerry Kramer (vocals), Jode Shortreed (drums), Steve Simard (bass), Todd Graham (guitar)

Unrecorded songs – Timber

ROY GBIV

The Cruiser (Jeff Kruys) (noises)

Releases:

Roy Gbiv/Let’s Put the X in Sex split demo (cassette, 1995) – The Meta-Enlightenment of Roy Gbiv, Part 1

“Roy Gbiv’s Willingness to Extend a Helping Hand Will be Missed By All” (7”, 1996?) – Roy Gbiv Discovers Opodeldoc and Puts it to Use/The Meta-Enlightenment of Roy Gbiv, Part I “Foment Chaos/Impel Hylozoism”

“When Will Roy Gbiv Contract Glycosuria?” split with Hermit (7”, 1996?, Hebdomadal Omphaloskepsif Media Productions) – When Will Roy Gbiv Contract Glycosuria? “BMX your ass”

“Dismembered Roy Gbiv in Winter” split with Zarathustra (cassette, 1997, Garbage Society/Hebdomadal Omphaloskepsif Media Productions) – Roy Gbiv Is Rolled Down a Long Hallway in a Wal-Mart Shopping Cart (or “Buggy”)/Roy Gbiv Does “Been Caught Stealing” by Jane’s Addiction (Jane’s Addiction cover)/The Meta-Enlightenment of Roy Gbiv Part 10/Bluebird Cabs Won’t Let Roy Gbiv in the Car With that Elk/Roy Gbiv does “Love Bites” by Judas Priest (Judas Priest cover)/Some Psychiatrist Thought It’d Be a Good Idea for Roy Gbiv to Stop Doing His Own Laundry (Zarathustra – Croatia – Songs not listed)

RUIN [zine]

Founder: “Big” Dan Hayward