I mentioned on the "What are you listening to" thread that I was listening to some FM...the group, not the radio, btw. These guys were a 3 piece group, originally 2 piece(!), and were around primarily in the mid-late 70s/early 80s when prog rock was quite popular. You can hear several influences in the groups music...perhaps Yes, Rush(esp Cameron Hawkin's bass guitar) and some other groups of the period. A noteable and interesting factoid of the group was that, aside from the bass guitar played by Hawkins(he simultaneously played two synths/pedals/sang), there were no guitars. "Nash the Slash" played an electric Mandolin instead of the group using guitars(expt bass). Anyway, it's a shame these guys lacked a decent promoter(it seems), because imo, "Black Noise" is a brilliant album compared with any of the other well known prog albums of the time. Check them out...

Phasors on Stun

Black Noise

Aldebaran

Slaughter in Robot Village

I've been playing too much Bejeweled 3.

Hey Adrian,

I remember FM, the group, and Nash the Slash was a friend of mine when I lived in Toronto. I've lost touch with him. I also knew the keyboard guy in Rough Trade. Kevin. . .? I think I still have a half-speed mastered LP of Rough Trade somewhere in my vinyl collection.

Cheers,
Alan

That's cool, Alan. I saw FM open for Rush(Moving Pictures Tour) and was amazed at Cameron Hawkins musical talent, playing so many instruments simultaneously. Nash the Slash was quite the character too.

I had an FM cassette back in the day. Haven't listened to them in probably 20 years. Thanks for the refresher!

I always liked the Screaming Blue Messiahs and thought they were about 5-10 years ahead of their time. Too busy to link at the moment. But not to post, I guess.

Carry on.

You think? My sister is at well over 200 hours by now, I bet.

I had about 8 cassettes filled with music I'd recorded off FM radio broadcasts. 97.1 KLSX, back in the 90s.

I, too, have, at times, misplaced my Rough Trade. Always looked in the latex first. Now I'll have to check in the vinyl as well.

Gracias for the suggestion.

LOL!

Memory returns. . .lead singer of Rough Trade was Carole Pope. Keyboard guy whom I knew was Kevin Staples.

Adrian,

Yeah, "Nash" always appeared swathed in bandages. . .

Yup...he was bandaged up like King Tut when I saw FM at MLG. Oh! he had either an electric mandolin or violin with "lasers", too!!

Why are you guys using the past tense? Nash is still performing. He was here in Hamilton last weekend.
Small world Alan... Jeff, er I mean Nash, was my brother's roommate their 1st year at York.

Dundas,

Good to hear he's still performing and thanks for the update. I'd lost touch after my move from Toronto to the US back in '96.

Cheers,
Alan

Yep, Nash is still pretty active. He was mostly working with Rob Vanderhorst (who made all the neat paintings used in the background videos) and touring as "Two Artists".

http://www.nashtheslash.com/news/

FM used to play the Gasworks in Toronto a lot, which was just up the road from where I lived when going to U of T. Nash didn't wear the bandages at the time - that came later. FM was actually a two piece band at first - just Nash and Cam - and I was lucky enough to see them at one of their first performances up at York University. There were some "interesting" concerts after FM added a drummer (Marty Deller) while the band was settling in and learning how to work as a three-piece

"One O'Clock Tomorrow" is still a strong candidate for my "best song ever", although it's really hard to find a good recording of it these days. The best IMO was on a "Night at 11" broadcast (CHUM-FM, I think) that we recorded and played until the cassette wore out.

For a while Nash skipped the double-tracked mandolin solo in One O'Clock Tomorrow - I (and presumably others) complained about it and asked him to go back to playing it again. One day they were performing at the El Mocambo but my car broke down on the way so I arrived late. Nash came by our table between sets - his hand seemed to be bleeding a bit - sat down and asked what I thought of the mandolin solo. Apparently it was "the performance of a lifetime". And I missed it. Auggh !!

The recording on the "Lost In Space" CD (Nash has it on his site) is probably the best available today.

Interesting John. Looks like all the former band members have kept busy one way or another. Cameron Hawkins, Ben Mink(who replaced Nash for a time) and Martin Deller all have their own recording studios apparently and Martin also gives percussion classes. Ben Mink has produced some noteables like KD Lang and the Wilson sisters of Heart and done some work with Rush.

Here's hoping they'll re-release some of FM's material again....

This conversation reminds me of a few other Canadian groups that made off of FM radio and into my cassette player. One was Doug And The Slugs. Another that I saw tour the nightclubs a lot was Chocolate Bunnies From Hell! Always a party when they were around. A more progressive band that I still love to this day is Saga. Always like their drumming for some reason. A real hottie was Alannah Myles. She is sizzling!!! A good drunk'n party was never without some River Boat Fantasy by David Wilcox. Many many memories.

I saw Doug & The Slugs in a club in London. Great live band. Alannah has one sexy voice!

All this 80's talk made me think of Prototype Not really a gem though.

And their other song I could think of.

Great post , FM is one of my all time favorite bands and i have vinyl and cd's .

If you are into vinyl and you do not have this one , buy "Head Room" which is a Direct to Disk they did and its awesome .

If anyone is interested , i was at a record store last sat. on Lake Shore rd. in southern Miss. and he had a copy in very good condition .

Cannot forget Max Webster

I feel so Canadian. These guys were not unknowns here.

Saga was huge in the early 80's, here and in Germany for some reason. Maybe it was that kind of techno/synthesize sound they had. Red Rider is one of our best kept secrets, imo. Oh, and April Wine, Tragcally Hip....

The 'For Hosers Only' essential music collection.

Anyone know what happened to Big Sugar?

I'm sure that I heard Gordie Johnson being interviewed on a local FM station iirc, promoting his work with Grady, but that was maybe over a year ago.

Never saw them play myself, but Big Sugar were known for some great shows around here.

Though I'm sure some of you fellows in the SouthEast know of Jim Byrnes, you shouldn't hide his talent from the rest of us.

12 Questions

I saw Alanna Myles at a tiny little bar on the North Shore back when she was touring her first album. It was a complete party atmosphere and she rocked the place hard. I was sitting up on the low hanging roof rafters (big solid wooden beams as it was an old beach type building.) and the waitresses were handing my beers up to me instead of demanding that I come down, as they would anywhere today.

Although a small venue and just an emerging artist, it still ranks up there as one of my best concerts ever for sheer good times.

Anyone that is into Celtic music, particularly the kind that is fused with a more modern rock sound (electric guitar, etc) should check out Prydein.

My father in law stumbled upon them at a Scottish festival in Maine. Few can match their skill on the pipes. They rarely venture outside the northeastern US, which is a real shame.

There's nothing that stands out about the quality of the recording, but Loud Pipes (Save Lives) and Emi's Jig, among others, will rock your face off.

Prior to these guys my favorite of that genre was Enter the Haggis. They're also worth checking out. And Canadian!

I have one of their CDs home. Can't remember which one. Great mug slammin music for sure.

No bagpipes but The Stanfields are becoming one of the most popular bands around these parts lately and bringing back the Celtic rock sound that went 'just a wee bit bit dormant' over the last few years. Dormant by Maritime standards, that is. Which just means no New big bands lately. It never really goes away here. Pretty much a part of the culture now.

Were you one of the Lost Boys, Murph?

Never saw the movie so I'm sadly missing the reference. But I will admit that if I ever do have to succumb to becoming a evil monster, vampire tops my list.

There are sooooooo many options that I KNOW you've never considered. Call me.

Dick Cheney?