DEREK:
I started photographing them in 1986 as a project to document the
underground Toronto music scene. They needed pics, I needed a portfolio, we
became friends over time. I went to EVERY show of theirs [among many] from
'86 til I moved to BC in '92. Then I'd only see them as a roadie for tours or
on visits back home.
DEREK:
Yes I did all the drum setup / breakdown and hauled Reid and Brian's stuff
too. But I never took out their guitars... only they could do that.
Everyone moreorless pitched in. They worked hard on the road and were very
considerate to those around them. I was very protective of them and their
equipment. I felt responsible for it.
DEREK:
Reid and Brian was a few years ago on my last visit to Toronto. Don and I
still chat long-distance and visit when either are in town.
DEREK:
Probably not. They each moved on. Brian somewhat stayed in the same vein of
music. Reid spent much of his time as a visual artist. He was devoted to
both but visual art held his attention quite a bit. And Don is forever
being innovative in his approach to new music.
DEREK:
They treated me swell... like a friend would treat a friend.
DEREK:
Yeah, everyone argues. When confined in a small space for extensive
periods, you tend to step on others toes and it becomes an irritable thing.
They never fought much and when it happened it wasn't much to talk about.
Don't forget they had a lot of history together. Especially Reid and Brian
go waaaaaaay back 20-25 years.
DEREK:
A van.
DEREK:
What did we do in the van for all those long hours? Brian LOVED to drive,
Reid wrote a book, Don listened to headphones and read and I bought a
Gameboy to annoy the hell out of them.
DEREK:
Don always listened to the most progressive music, always something we'd
never heard of before. Reid loved a lot of trashy old punk rock and 70's
stadium rock anthems [though he'd have my head if he heard me say that] and
Brian wanted NOTHING but oldies from the 50s and 60s.
DEREK:
Well Sean, ya get to a certain age and ya feel like you've heard it all so
new things are far more attractive. By now you should be sick of "Louie
Louie"... image hearing that everyday till yer in yer midlife! It hurts! But
in regards to Don, its almost like he didn't have to listen to punk rock
anymore... he IS punk rock even though he doesnt play it.
DEREK:
While on tour with them I realised how many people they really know and
corresponded with. EVERY city had old friends or folks they'd met before
coming to the shows. Even a few people who travelled to a few cities to see
them play. A lot of musicians respected them, along with a throng of guitar
geeks who'd swarm Brian after every show. His guitars are quite special [I
don't play so I can't be more specific than "special"].
DEREK:
Small dark clubs in Toronto. Local bands never get the attention they
deserve until they prove themselves somewhere else, heh. Through the States
we played at anywhere from 100 seats in Columbus, Ohio to 1200 capacity
halls in Austin, TX. Detroit and Minneapolis were popular too. New Orleans
was a dud though even if we had a great time. I was exhausted the night off
we had there and slept instead. I later found out Brian and Don were out
with the Fleshtones [we were on tour with them] and they all ended up at a
bar jamming with Michael Stipe and Peter Buck from R.E.M. plus some others, I
forget now. I was choked... didn't miss going out whenever I had the chance
after that.
DEREK:
In their heyday of '85-'90 they played ALL the time in Toronto and
surrounding areas. A few times a week wasn't unheard of. Once they started
touring it wasn't as frequent at home. But our touring schedule was great.
About 5-6 shows a week for usually about a month at a time. No one wanted
to be on the road longer than that.
DEREK:
They probably tired of "Having An Average Weekend." It's such an old
song that became very popular about 6-7 yrs after it was written. Keeping
fresh? Play it faster.
DEREK:
In Toronto, they had some great opening slots for some great shows:
Ramones, Feelies, Hoodoo Gurus, Hüsker Dü, and tons more I'm forgetting
right now. Those were all to about a 1000 folks. On tour some they
headlined some they didn't. The one with the Fleshtones, SMen opened. About
1200 in Austin, TX wouldve been the largest on that tour.
DEREK:
Different list every night. They had a lot of material to pick from, so they
took advantage of it by shuffling it around... thankfully. I get bored with
repitition but I had a good time EVERY tourstop.
DEREK:
I think they recorded almost everything but I was never part of the
creative process. There's a bunch that were never released.
In their last years, the medley "16 Encores"
grew by the month with new parts added at their whim.
[ Shadowy Webmaster: See the Unreleased Music page for more info. ]
DEREK:
The last thing Brian ever wanted to do was speak into a microphone.
DEREK:
Brian was generally pretty quiet, but not in the way where you'd think he
was ignoring you. He's very attentive when in conversation. But next to
all of us in the van, he'd be the Silent One [in black].
DEREK:
Brian was a working graphic artist at the time so he had innumerable
drawings, doodles and things. He did all their posters with pen and ink.
Even the letters I got from him were all written to me in the same text as
the album jackets.
DEREK:
Only if he broke a string would he switch. When he was nervous about
playing large halls on elevated stages he'd seem to bust a string in the
first song... heh. But he usually brought 2-3 on a given tour, although
like I said he has a collection of vintage guitars. It's dangerous and
uncomfortable to bring ALL your prize possessions in one van. Break-ins are
not uncommon.
DEREK:
Attempt in Detroit and lost everything in San Francisco once.
DEREK:
Some guys in Detroit were fussin' with the locks on the van door parked
behind the club. Rotten neighbourhood... guys standing round flaming
oil drums and all that.... and folks from the club came out and chased 'em
away. In SF when they lossed stuff. I wasn't with them that tour. It was
the first one to SF [late 80's], dunno what they did.
DEREK:
http://www.openstudio.on.ca/galleries/r_diamo.htm
DEREK:
Apples and oranges, but all fruit. I still listen to them. I LOVED
Phono-Comb and thought when they debuted it was going to be the band that
pushed them to the top. Too bad not. Their music drew the best from the
past combined with a sound that was new and fresh. Instrumental music
doesn't pull in as many listeners... personally I rarely listen to lyrics
and prefer the absence.
DEREK:
In fact, there's a possibility "it", the book, might come out but a better
possibility that a biography on Reid the writer and artist will come out
one day.
His original book he wrote on the road was about what he saw with snippits of conversations he had. He did an art show with cereal boxes at Mercer Union in Toronto [I sent you the link to it many moons ago] which contained large bits of text he'd written replacing the text on the cereal boxes. From afar they looked like an average labelled box, up close all the text was changed to his.
DEREK:
Reid pulled off as many jokes as he could muster, most were on me. I was a
little naive thinking "why would he want to lie to me" but I guess cuz it
was funny. In retrospect it was, but at the time I thought it was the truth
and found myself passing it on the others who thought I was nuts. The big
one being the Dairy Queen story that they put anti-vomit solution in their
products so they can sell all the dairy stuff past-due. I still can't
believe I fell for that AND told everyone I knew.
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