'... And No One Else Wanted to Play' is IMO, one of the 20 best punk/hardcore albums to be released in the 80s. This band is criminally underrated in the scene. If they had come out of So-Cal or NYC, they'd be considered legendary.
Edmonton was and still is 10 years behind, even more, when I went to visit last spring 2023, the downtown core and Whyte ave was absolutely dead on a sunny Saturday afternoon, the city changed so much. Best times I had was the 90's going to the Polish Hall. Sno Jam 3, in 1996 I think, was The Satanic Surfers, Big Naked and SNFU, one of the best live shows I've ever seen in my life.
I can still remember the first SNFU gig I went to at Bonnie Doon hall in Edmonton in the mid-80s - Chi hurled a dead octopus from the stage which ended up getting partially wrapped around my neck as I stood on a chair watching . . . fun times.
@@iainswalker I never shared the stage with them (I played drums in World War III-D, Carnival Cops and a few other bands at the time) - but I did become friends with the Belke bros when they put together the Wheat Chiefs and the band I was in, the Dimestore Hoods, opened for them numerous times. In fact - the guitarist/vocalist for the Dimestore Hoods, Rob Johnson, went on to play bass for SNFU during the 90s . . . the salad days.
D.O.A, S.N.F.U, and Personality Crisis saw them all back in the day hard to say which one was better all 3 could blow your head off at any given time especially back in the early 80s their heyday for sure.
First SN☠️FU show i attended was christmas of 1983 at Spartans hall ( Edmonton) ...those early days were magic And in all honesty it was the whole night that really changed the direction of my young life . Ken and Evan were always approachable and a lot of fun to spend time around on and off the stage . Really a terribly sad thing they they both have passed on in this world . Evan ( tadpole) was one of the most forwardly unique and inspiring people I've ever met and his passion for this band was offered in most conversations. Rest pain free Evan , up in the great beyond i bet evan and ken are sharing some more wild times .
Thanks, I braineater. The videotapes sat unwatched for many years so the quality is not so good. Although it probably wasn't amazing 30 years ago originally! P.S. I used to do a radio show on CJSR (UofA campus radio in Edmonton) and regularly featured I braineater... now you are taking me back....
1992, a 14 year old kid from a town of 4000 people in Northern Saskatchewan moved to the "big city" of Regina. An older kid from his home town took him to the old Channel 1 for a concert. Before the show started he told me to stand in the middle of the dance floor and prepare for war. At the first cord the crown jumped and surged and went wild. I was fighting for my life. Then the older hometown boy Danny Stephenson (R.I.P) found me in the pit and tossed me higher into the air then I had ever been and I experienced crowd surfing for the first time. I got dropped onto my back on the floor and an 80 pound punk chick shit stomped me in the face with her steel toed army boot and broke my nose. I was Hooked!! The next, and last, time I saw them was at The Other Side for their Christmas show. I hung upside down from the Christmas lights for 2 songs before they cut me down and I got smashed again when I landed. Before the show I had the honor to meet the band on the bar side of the club. Best days of my life... Seeing this video made me cry today.
best quote: "simplicity is what music is basically pop music or rock'n'roll is about; simplicity is part of it, if you go too far it's not sane, it's just JAZZ" lol,
Thanks for uploading this. SNFU is hand's down my favorite band of all time. It's great to hear the stuff from their beginnings. I was just 1 or 2 years old when this was filmed, but still love it every time they come play in Toronto. I heard they're working on a new album, can't wait for it to come out.
Also mine. I have hundreds of records, but SNFU and Chis way of singing and words always hit me hard. I was born in 84 and actually kinda ignored them in 90s until I 're-discovered' them in mid 2000s and actually met Chi at one of their EU shows in 2009. Such a special guy... I still have his autograph and pig he drew for me on a 7 inch cover I took with me just for that occasion.
Hey I drove Ken Chinn to his first ever gig when they were called "Live SEX Shows" at Borden Park, must have been 1982(?). Great to see them touring Europe currently, they must be doing something right, eh? Ken Chinn's a true original, he played me "Rock For Light" by Bad brains around that time.
I always liked how they had a sense of humour about the whole thing- I mean - Cannibal cafe - what a hoot! Also, giant paper mache balls filled with popcorn and salad dressing thrown into the audience.
AWESOME! Im reading about this interview in Chris Walter's book about them. As much as I like the book, it doesnt do this interview justice. Great interview by a legendary and often under-appreciated band, SNFU.
That would've been interesting but no my parents never listened to any punk music. I wasn't exposed to SNFU until 94/95 when my oldest brother brought home the punk-o-rama comp on cassette which had reality is a ride on the bus. Probably was around 96/97 when I picked up The One Voted Most Likely to Succeed and really got into them. Been a fan ever since and I try to see them whenever they play toronto (turns out they're playing here again october 10th at the hard luck, can't wait).
SNFU with spiked hair and leather, sounding more like the Clash or Ruts, with quasi-political lyrics to boot. Previous to this, i only knew them from "And No One Else Came Out To Play" and everything they put out after, besides that "Womanizer" joint on that BYO compilation. Amazing stuff.
iain walker Yea in all honesty they pretty much lost me after "If You Swear You'll Catch No Fish", when (at least to me) they became more of a joke band. I think the SNFU you got to experience was the one I was looking for a few years too late.
man you are missing out on good crafted songs. yeah they may of got silly or rather weird but than there are not too many bands who sound like them and schizophrenia was always there remember just dominate so who knows at what point it came. when you look closer that silly gets alot darker and at least for ,me demands i silent awe. but whatever your loss friend but give it another shot someday. Something Green... is gold and very dark. I don't like many of the other Epitaph bands though so I know where you are coming from. Oi.
people give punk rock shit for being sloppy, which is part of it's appeal, but myfuckingchipig these guys got so fucking tight. Not easy to play at all.
Have you ever heard of the whole DIY punk ethic? The whole point was that it wasn't like listening to genesis. Now say something nice before I get upset.
