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Monday,
November
14,
1994
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History
of
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Prince
George
Music
Scene
by
Kevin
Scofield,
staff
writer
YES!
Believe
it
or
not,
Prince
George
does
have
a
healthy
music
scene
with
bands
that
play
ORIGINAL
music.
Everyone
surely
knows
about
the
Generator,
with
its
circuit
COVER
bands,
but
very
few
people
know
about
the
bands
in
town
that
are
using
music
for
creativity
and
expression.
Does
anyone
care?
Well
you
should,
'cause
some
of
the
local
bands
show
potential,
and
one
day
they
might
leave
our
lovely
town
and
be
successful.
Time
for
a
little
history.
Prince
George
has
always
had
an
underground
music
scene,
mostly
made
up
of
'down
in
the
dumps'
musicians
playing
their
heart
out
to
anyone
who
will
listen.
Most
of
these
musicians
were
over
thirty
years
old,
and
weren't
playing
music
as
a
career.
To
them,
it
was
a
good
time
and
nothing
more.
Some
artists
actually
left
town
and
tried
to
make
a
career
out
of
it,
but
didn't
make
it
very
far.
In
1980,
a
foundation
was
formed
called
the
Northern
Society
of
Musicians
and
Artists.
They
opened
up
the
old
liquor
storeprison
on
sixth
avenue
and
provided
an
outlet
for
independent
musicians
to
play
live
every
Sunday
night.
This
was
a
huge
milestone
for
the
music
scene,
and
as
the
months
went
by,
more
and
more
people
showed
up
every
Sunday
night
to
play
a
few
songs.
Most
of
the
musicians
were
still
'adults',
and
folk
music
was
the
most
common
genre
being
played.
In
the
winter
of
1991,
the
Urban
started
to
expand.
The
music
scene
in
the
world
had
changed.
All
of
a
sudden,
Van
Halen
sucked
and
Nirvana
was
god.
You
might
think
they
sucked,
or
weren't
as
in
fluential
as
the
Beatles,
but
Nirvana
and
the
bands
that
followed
have
changed
music
forever.
Just
look
at
what
was
popular
three
years
ago
and
what
is
today.
Best
selling
albums
have
changed
from
ACDC
and
Slaughter
to
Smashing
Pumpkins
and
Pearl
Jam.
What's
happened
is
that
people
between
the
ages
often
and
thirty
have
gotten
sick
of
the
stagnant
rock
of
Tesla
and
looked
to
the
undergroundalternative
scene
for
a
revelation.
Alternative
music
isn't
even
alternative
any
more,
it's
main
stream.
Hell,
when
Lollapalooza
sells
out
over
Great
White
concerts,
you
know
something
has
definitely
changed.
But
I
digress,
so
I'll
get
back
to
the
story.
With
all
the
changes
and
the
growth
of
underground
music
in
the
world,
every
city
in
the
world
changed.
Even
Prince
George.
Kids
were
getting
inspired
to
pick
up
instruments,
or
form
bands
instead
of
playing
in
their
room
by
themselves
(tee-hee).
Teenagers
started
being
proud
of
the
music
being
created
and
suited
hanging
out
at
the
Urban
to
see
some
live
music.
Well,
were
the
adults
ever
freaked
out.
Their
hangout
had
been
taken
over
by
grunglings!
Soon
young
bands
started
surfacing
(members
between
the
ages
of
16
and
25),
more
younger
people
started
going
to
the
Urban,
and
all
the
older
people
gave
up
and
left.
One
of
the
first
bands
to
surface
was
The
Smoking
Pistols.
They
had
been
around
for
a
while,
but
didn't
have
a
venue
other
than
bars.
This
band
deserves
a
lot
of
credit,
because
they
were
the
band
that
inspired
andgave
rise
to
all
the
bands
that
exist
in
P.G.
today.
Other
bands
soon
formed,
such
as
Talon,
Two
Minutes
Hate,
Roll
Mop,
and
The
Dilapidated
Fish.
Some
time
in
1991,
The
Smoking
Pistols
broke
up,
and
Two
Minutes
Hate
went
through
a
bunch
of
weird
changes
and
stuff.
All
that
was
left
was
Roll
Mop.
The
band
wasn't
that
great,
but
had
a
lot
of
fans.
It
started
to
get
really
stupid
around
winterspring
of
1992.
People
were
going
to
the
shows
just
to
mosh
and
feel
cool.
All
these
little
grunglings
started
showing
up
and
swinging
from
the
roof.
It
was
very
lame.
You'd
be
lucky
if
you
could
find.ten
people
in
there
who
were
old
enough
to
drive.
A
few
bands
came
and
went,
and
nothing
significant
occurred
until
summer
of
1992
when
Tinker's
Damn
appeared.
Now,
the
name
sucked,
but
the
band
was
cool.
They
had
a
Tragically
Hip
vibe
to
them
that
really
gave
the
scene
something
fresh.
The
scene
was
finally
getting
out
of
its
rut.
At
this
time,
Roll
Mop,
Talon,
and
Tinker's
Damn
were
the
only
existing
Coffee
House
bands.
Shows
were
played,
and
songs
written
by
the
bands
were
requested
rather
than
covers.
Talon
had
attempted
a
tour
of
B.C.,
but
it
fell
apart
and
they
soon
broke
up.
Tinker's
Damn
had
played
a
few
shows,
including
the
infamous
Hallowe'en
gig
at
Adam
Hamilton's
place,
and
the
members
of
Two
Minutes
Hate
were
nowhere
to
be
found.
During
the
last
few
months
of
1992
tbre
was
a
buzz
that
two
members
of
the
Saoking
Pistols,
bassist
Chris
Thibeau
and
drummer
Dave
Michaud,
had
formed
a
new
band
called
King
Pin.
They
had
recruited
guitar
freak
Jamie
Stroble
and
all-around
freak
Adam
Hamilton
to
sing.
They
weren't
playing
any
shows,
but
were
in
the
works
of
writing
songs.
In
the
spring
of
1993,
Tinker's
Damn
broke
up
and
re
formed
with
two
new
members
from
The
Dilapidated
Fish.
They
appeared
at
the
Urban
sometime
in
June
under
the
name
of
Bliss,
and
received
a
good
response.
The
scene
was
now
fresh
and
enjoyable,
and
everyone
was
having
a
good
time.
In
the
following
months,
Roll
Mop
packed
up
and
moved
to
Victoria,
King
Pin
and
Swirl
(Bliss
changed
their
name
to
Swirl
due
to
legal
conflicts)
continued
to
play,
and
a
new
band
with
Two
Minutes
Hate
bassist
Jeff
Griffiths
called
Lithium
Blues
formed,
giving
Prince
George
three
great
bands.
It
is
now
almost
1
995
and
the
scene
is
in
fair
condition,
but
not
great.
Members
of
the
local
bands
have
become
good
friends,
playing
shows
together
and
helping
each
other
with
recording
projects.
Lithium
Blues
has
broken
up,
with
some
of
its
members
moving
down
south.
King
Pin
is
moving
down
south
as
well,
but
they
don't
know
when.
Swirl
has
changed
its
name
once
again
to
Supercab,
and
are
currently
in
the
works
of
booking
a
tour
of
B.C.
and
Alberta
for
the
spring
of
'95.
Everyone
has
grown
with
their
music,
and
have
reached
the
level
where
Prince
George
can't
do
anything
more
for
them.
Supercab
and
King
Pin
show
great
promise,
and
hopefully
they'll
achieve
success.
What
the
scene
needs
now
are
new
bands.
Two
new
bands
called
Fearful
Symmetry
and
Bitter
have
formed,
but
that's
all.
If
all
goes
well,
new
musicians
will
form
bands
and
keep
the
scene
alive.
So
next
time
you
see
a
poster
for
a
Coffee
House
show,
or
a
gig
somewhere
else
featuring
local
talent,
you
should
check
it
out.
You'll
be
surprised
at
how
good
our
local
bands
are.
fclDGpin
ROD
BACft
HO
BRCfc
-
by
Richard
Krueger,
Staff
Writer
Live
Performance:
Kingpin
&
Back
2
Back,
22
October
1994.
About
two
hours
before
the
KingpinBack
2
Back
double
bill
at
the
Urban
on
October
22nd,
I
knew
this
wouldn't
be
a
normal
show.
There
was
something
in
the
air.
People
were
tense.
This
was
to
be
Kingpin's
first
performance
since
the
University
on
September
9th,
and
first
show
of
any
kind
at
the
Urban
since
August
20th.
As
well,
no
advance
tickets
had
been
made
available
at
the
usual
places
(Tuning
Point,
B&B),
so
there
would
be
a
huge
line-up
of
people
at
the
door.
There
was
no
line-up.
There
was
a
mob.
Ticket
sales
went
on
for
about
two
hours,
as
people
walked
in,
paid
their
money,
and
were
forced
to
go
back
outside
and
wait.
The
crowd
outside
was
cold
and
eager.
When
the
doors
finally
opened,
it
became
ave
quickly
apparent
that
there
would
be
an
extra-large
crowd
for
the
show.
It
was
difficult
to
understand
where
all
the
people
we
let
in
were
going
they
appeared
to
be
merging
into
one
large
Urbanite.
Never
have
I
seen
so
many
bodies
crammed
into
the
small,
dark,
sardine
can
many
of
us
call
our
third
home
(after
the
lawn
at
City
Hall
and,
of
course,
Java
Mugga
Mocha).
I
had
been
informed
that
Kingpin
frontman
Adam
Hamilton
was
having
a
bad
week
(Big
Brother
has
been
watching
him
rather
closely
lately),
so
I
knew
the
show
would
be
extra-special.
Adam
is
at
his
maniacal
best
when
he's
thoroughly
pissed-off.
Bassist
Chris
Thibault
told
me
that
if
we
were
to
have
a
child
together,
I
could
carry
it
in
my
colon
and
deliver
it
Caeserian.
He
seemed
sufficiently
silly
to
hit
the
stage.
I
observed
Jamie
"The
Guitarist"
just
sitting
there,
staring
at
the
wall.
Drummer
Dave
was
no
where
to
be
seen.
They
seemed
ready.
When
the
show
started,
everything
went
according
to
plan.
In
Kingpinspeak,
this
means
that
everything
which
could
possibly
go
wrong
did,
as
did
many
impossible
things.
The
power
to
Adam's
mic
and
Jamie's
guitar
kept
going
out,
due
to
a
three-hundred
year
old
extension
cord.
At
first
this
was
more
annoying
than
someone
in
a
Stone
Temple
Pilots
shirt,
but
as
the
set
progressed
the
crowd
siezed
each
power
outage
as
an
opportunity
to
do
their
best
karaoke
versions
of
Kingpin's
more
popular
songs.
It
was
cool
to
hear
the
whole
mosh
pit
grunting
out,
"I
hate
you!
I
hate
you!
I
hate
you
SO
MUCH!"
Kingpin's
"super
keen
pals"
Back
2
Back
were
visiting
from
Kamloops
and
played
the
second
half
of
the
show.
Not
many
people
knew
what
to
expect,
but
not
many
were
disappointed.
While
during
Kingpin
one
could
wade
through
the
mosh
pit
without
much
difficulty,
Back
2
Back's
pit
required
full
football
gear.
I
was
winded
a
couple
of
times
from
elbows
or
knees
or
SOMETHING
in
the
gut,
but
I
don't
remember
really
caring.
The
whole
set
was
a
blur
of
double-bass
kicks
and
flailing
limbs.
Needless
to
say,
it
was
really
good.
The
next
time
Back
2
Back
comes
to
town,
I'll
be
sure
to
listen
to
the
music.
Maybe.
.
.
Overall,
the
not-quite-legal
beyond
capacity
crowd
was-treated
to
a
swell,
hep,
and
marvy
couple
of
sets.