NEGATIVE TREND

• Negative Trend were a hardcore/punk band from Truro, Nova Scotia in the late 1990's. Not to be confused with an early LA punk band of the same name. I got in touch with their guitar player Scott for this highly informative interview. So grab a cool glass of Dr. Pepper, sit back, read and relax to max.
• Band Members: Martin (vocals), Scott (guitar), Josh (drums), and Richard (bass)
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• About the band's humble beginnings: We had been in other bands previously but in a small town like Truro it can be a bit difficult to really find like-minded people to play with. So we were all in a situation where we were in bands we didn't really like because the alternative was 'do nothing'. And when the weird small town phenomenon of in-congruent popularity began to take effect (i.e. becoming very popular locally because there are only like, 3 bands to choose from, it started to get a bit uncomfortable and/or embarrassing to be playing stuff we weren't interested in and thought was pretty lame in general. Anyway, before practices with the lame band began, three of us started playing stuff we actually liked just for fun. Then met Martin who said he was in a similar predicament so he joined as the singer and we formed NT shortly thereafter.
• Band name: I had no idea about the LA band at the time, it was just a general phrase that sounded good for a band name. No grief about it outside of some website comments by confused altavista users.
• Scott's take on their muzak and demo tape: Musically most of it was put together by myself and the drummer Josh, as we were both into similar stuff at the time, ie spazzy fast hardcore...like older stuff spanning from Void to euro or japanese stuff or whatever. The songs on the demo were our first batch of songs as a band and were put together quite quickly then the demo was recorded in like, less than 2 hours by J. Lapointe in his bedroom. It was actually recorded before we had a full time bass player so I had to do all that too, but then Richard joined despite having to play upside down as a lefty. The demo was really basic but I guess we were happy with it? the fact that it was mostly one-take helped the energy level I think. The guitar tone was actually mostly a DOD GRUNGE pedal of all things, played through a hefty Yamaha bass amp with the mids scooped. And a set of hot pickups. The pedal was surprisingly great tho.
• Punk rock gigz: Memorable shows were many even though it was a relatively short lived band we were just out of high school and had a band VAN and everything so took shows anywhere. We played in Cape Breton a lot at a time when shows were drawing really big crowds of kids from all walks of life, and played some crazy shows in the Valley of all places. And of course punkfests and the usual Halifax shows. Our focus was generally Halifax though for obvious reasons. Condon (from Cafe Ole) really gave us some nice spots and I should also thank D.rock for being the first person to really take an interest when the band was brand new and doing a zine write-up. And of course that sexy Ian (*blush*) fellow who invited us to play in his room on his birthday ;( which was one of the most fun shows I've been to before or since.
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• The end: I think the band broke up just due to life moving on and members all moving away to different locations physically. As for what everyone is up to now I'm not sure. I am studying at Dalhousie after having lived in the US for several years. I know Josh/drummer is in Truro married with a bunch of kids. Richard and Martin I'm not sure about at all.
• Final thoughts: With Negative Trend we just wanted to do something that wasn't too serious but wasn't outright lamesauce too, and it was a good experience that let me meet a lot of good folks as a result just the one demo, although a follow up was partially recorded but never finished. I hadn't thought about that band for a loooong time so thanks for the trip down memory lane~.
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DOWNLOAD THE DEMO HERE: http://www.mediafire.com/download/d8mkgk61e1fcabk/negative+trend+-+demo.rar

or Listen on the youtube:

And if you are really adventurous, check out this archived Negative Trend Geocities page: http://web.archive.org/web/20021130195222/http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/venue/5424/

TETRUS

I wish I had more to tell you about Tetrus - Halifax punk circa 1990. I can't seem to find anyone from the band, or any information about them really. I can tell you the band comprised of Sean Kirby on bass and vocals, Andy Kim on drums and Paul Basket on guitar. As far as I know they only released one demo tape in 1990. I do recall seeing them a bunch "back in the day" especially at Pub Flamingo and they were a good, tight live band. Luckily I do have their demo and can now share it with all of you! If anyone has any more info on the band feel free to get in touch - youthcrew@gmail.com

Download the MP3s for the "Change In Mentality" demo:
TETRUS DOWNLOAD!!!

And have a listen to the full demo on Youtube!

VARIOUS - COD CAN'T HEAR

Here's a compilation of Halifax bands circa 1992 recorded live at The Double Deuce as part of The Halifax Independent Music Festival (whatever that was). It was released on CD and cassette in 1993 on DTK Records. There's some pretty good stuff on here and some stuff I really hate. An interesting mix of punk, metal, rock, grunge and who knows what the fuck Weasel Faced Judge gets classified as. Pretty good recording quality on here as well.

 DOWNLOAD THE FUCKING THING RIGHT HERE!

Cod Can't Hear cassette cover

THE CHITZ

The Chitz were a punk/hardcore band from Halifax, Nova Scotia and were around from 1994-1998. Drawing influence from a wide range of bands such as The Exploited, Agnostic Front and even Ramones-y pop punk, the band released an LP, split LP, 2 split 7″s and appeared on many compilations. They were considered one of the premier bands from Atlantic Canada at the time. As with most bands from that area, touring was difficult and they never received too much international exposure. Here is their story.

In the far off time of 1994, Derrick Hiltz and Mike Brygyder wanted to start a new band after the break up of their previous band The Shitheads. They enlisted the help of Cara Macdonald who had been in a band called Gorgonzola. They rounded up the lineup with Richard Lafortune who had never been in a band before but had done a zine and accompanying cassette compilation called Mass Turbulence. The band existed in this form for a year with Derrick on drums, Cara on vocals, Mike on bass and Richard on guitar. Richard was known for never having a D string on guitar which forced him to slide up and down the fretboard more the usual which you can hear on the recordings. Stubbornness can be seen as the main reason for this!

With this lineup, they recorded a 15 song demo tape which they self released. Playing mostly in Halifax, particularly at the new all ages venue, Cafe Ole. They started to gain popularity with their back to basics punk sound and strong female vocals. Then Mike quit the band to be replaced with Ian Hart who was also in a band called No Offense at the time.

After playing shows in Halifax with Submission Hold from Vancouver, they met Jason Flower (who was touring with Submission Hold) who did a record label. He liked what he heard and offered to do a split LP with The Chitz and a ska/punk band from Oregon called The Readymen. This split LP had re-recorded demo tracks on it, plus several new songs. Around the same time En Guarde records from Montreal agreed to put out a split 7″. Richard had worked with En Gaurde before in releasing a Shitheads/No Offense split 7″ (which is perhaps the first Nova Scotian punk 7″). This split would be with The Moaning Lisas – an all female band from Hampton, New Brunswick.

After having some vinyl releases under their belt the band expanded their touring to include other near by provinces such as New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. There was also the only “tour” they ever embarked on which was basically just Montreal and Toronto. There was also a show in Burlington, Ontario where the band played with suburban emo bands that were popular at the time. Needless to say, the band did not go over so well at that show. The other shows went much better. Also, around this time Ian moved out west and Louis Roberts filled in on bass. During this time, the band was featured as a cover story on local weekly mag The Coast.

They also put out an LP entitled Break The Cycle, this time on Richard’s own label Sub Profit. 11 songs that showcased their evolving sound with a little more hardcore influence to it. A better recording also helped this to be what many would say is their best work. After some memorable shows around Halifax, including the final show at Cafe Ole, the band decided to call it quits, but not before putting out a final 7″…this time a split with Halifax’s grind/crust band Existench. 3 songs, recorded on a 4 track were definitely the most intense and abrasive songs the band recorded. The Chitz “last” show was in May of 1998 and was quite an event for the local scene.

It took a few years but in 2001 the band played a reunion…basically at the request of their friend Meghan who was moving away. They actually wrote 2 new songs for this show but alas they were never recorded (except on the video of the show). Richard did not play this show as he pretty much quit playing guitar after the last show in 1998, so Ian switched over to guitar and Louie played bass. And then nothing for 10 years. But on May 21st, 2011…yet another reunion show in Halifax, this time with friend Greg Hatt on bass. So with that in mind check out their entire discography:

Demo – Feb. 94Split 7″ with Moaning Lisas – Oct. 95Split LP with The Readymen – Oct. 95Break The Cycle LP – March 97Split 7″ w/ Existench – sept. 98

Download their DISCOGRAPHY HERE!!

Listen to the LP here:

http://www.myspace.com/thechitz
http://www.facebook.com/thechitz