System Overload

System Overload were a hardcore/punk band from Halifax, NS during the mid to late 80′s. They were also the first punk band I ever saw live at a free outdoor show in downtown Halifax. As well, I got to see their last show in 1989. I recently got a hold of their singer John Vine for this brief interview that will hopefully give you a little peak into this under rated band that remains one of my local faves to this day!!

 

 

What years was the band around and who was in it?
System Overload was founded in Dartmouth, NS in the summer of 1984. Bjarni (Dave) Schandall and I founded the band (originally called Forced Submission) when we were in Ellenvale Junior High School. We were blown away by Black Flag, specifically the “Everything Went Black” record that had all the different Black Flag singers and all the ads for Flag shows in the early 80′s. That was a huge inspiration for us to form a band. The original lineup was Bjarni (drums), myself (screaming) and a guitarist named Billy Coulter. Billy’s two favourite bands at the time were Black Sabbath and the Forgotten Rebels, so he was in. Soon Johnny MacKenzie, formally of False Security, joined us on bass and System Overload was born. We played our first show at Veith House, a woman’s shelter in Halifax, during the winter of ’85/86. Unfortunately, after this gig, Billy and System Overload parted ways, but not long afterwards Leonard Woolley left STD and joined us. In 1987 Todd Calder joined SOL as a second guitarist to beef up the sound. This line up played together for several years. We played our last show in May 1989 at the Dalhousie SUB with a great Montreal band called Bliss.

Did you only have the one demo? I know there is a live set with songs not on the demo but were they ever recorded? Was there ever any talk of doing a 7″ or LP?
Yes, the only official recorded document of System Overload’s time together is the 1986 “Rocks Off” cassette. There is also a 1988 live recording of us playing at the CKDU TUNS festival. It’s actually a decent recording and it captures most of the songs that we had written at the time which would never have been recorded otherwise. No, we never seriously discussed recording or releasing records. We were a gigging live band throughout the 80′s, into playing shows and the tape trading scene, so records were not a big deal to us.

Did you tour much and if so where??
We did a fair amount of touring, playing all over Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. We had one (semi) serious tour that included NS, NB, Quebec and Ontario. Thankfully, we had the chance to play or tour with several great bands: Warzone (NYC), SCUM (Mtl), Problem Children (Hamilton), SNFU (Edmonton), Mallethead (ex-Gang Green, Boston), Neighbourhood Watch (Fredericton), Moral Support (Hfx), False Security (Hfx), Black Forest Cake Trade (Saint John), Killing Time/Burnt Offerings (Moncton) and many more.

Could you tell me about the show you played with Warzone! That is amazing!
We actually played a few shows with Warzone on their debut Canadian tour for “Don’t Forget the Struggle, Don’t Forget the Streets” in Aug./Sept. 1988 throughout Ontario and Quebec. Raybeez was very serious and supportive of what we were doing and was enthusiastic about us coming to NYC, which never happened. The rest of the guys in Warzone at that time were younger then Raybeez. They were having a blast being on the road. They were a riot! I remember they just tore it up at les Foufounes Electriques in Montreal, bloody great show.

What caused the band to end? What are the members doing now? I hear you are still doing music and have a band!
System Overload, like most bands, just ran its natural course. We were together for five years and accomplished everything we hoped to. By ’89 we were all older, listening to different music and moving in different directions. I do believe it’s important to recognize when something is over, although it can be difficult when all individuals involved are not on the same page. Thankfully that wasn’t the case with SOL. In the 90′s Johnny, Leonard and Todd had a great band called the Quahogs, with the late, great Scott Tappen singing. Bjarni became heavily involved in sailing after the band and has sailed all over the globe. I’ve been playing in bands across Canada for the last 20+ years, although I have slowed down over the last two years.

How would you compare the music scene back the to the way it is now?
This is a difficult question because technology has transformed everything. I think there are as many incredible bands out there today as there were back then. Networking is definitely easier for bands today. It’s still nice to see a band piling into a van to venture into the unknown to bring their music to the people. Thankfully that hasn’t changed over the last 25+ years.

 

And as usual…download this:

SYSTEM OVERLOAD DISCOGRAPHY

 

 

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

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?zbvdst6k6lufhp6

http://www.myspace.com/thechitz
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Chitz/156379871087468

Three Fine Days

This Halifax band was formed in October of 2000. They released a 3 song demo and a 4 song CD-ep in their short career, before disbanding in March of 2002. Drawing influence from bands such as Grade and Boysetsfire (and also covering both those bands), they created their own version of melodic hardcore. The band was comprised of Matt Hemeon and Wayne Rowcliffe of hardcore punk band Falling Short, PEI transplant Ryan Greeley, Mark Bachinski and singer Oke (who would eventually put his anger issues to better use in band Bus Pass). They only played a handful of shows in Halifax and in Charlottetown, PEI but made a name for themselves in the area. They received some national exposure when they appeared on the True Until Death 2 Compilation on United Edge Records. Eventually Oke quit the band suddenly and there were some lineup changes in an attempt to keep the band going, but the band soon after fizzled out. Members went on to bands such as Flesh Made To Suffer, Envision, Bus Pass, She Kills, and The Full Blast.

Check out the demo and CD-ep here:
Three Fine Days
and a random interview i found online:
HERE

She Kills

She Kills was a metal hardcore band from Halifax, Nova Scotia that was formed in the summer of 2003 after the break up of the bands Flesh Made To Suffer and Tomorrows Demise. The band played a style of metal and hardcore that now has been coined metalcore but the best comparisons would be to bands like At the Gates, Unearth and Darkest Hour. The bands first show was in December of 2003. She Kills became a big draw through out the Maritime provinces and ended up being the token local band for support of most international tours that would come through the area. The band self released 3 song CD to support a Canadian tour with Bleeding Through in the spring of 2004, as well as a the 5 song EP titled ‘The Beginning EP’ in the fall of 2005 before their attempt at a first full North American Tour that ended half way due to reoccurring van problems. The band played their final show on New Years day 2006 and a reunion show in December of 2006.

The band had many member changes, which left only two original members Andrew Waite (guitar) and Ryan Greeley (vocals) at the end. The band has featured over 11 members from pretty much every band from the area during that time which included prominent Halifax bands Risky Business, Envision, and Useless Solution.

Members:

Adam Hawkins - Bass - 2005 – 2007
Andrew Waite – Guitar - 2003 – 2007
Ian Hart - Bass - 2003 – 2004
Jesse Resk – Guitar / Bass - 2004 – 2005
Jd Gaudet – Bass - 2004
Julien St-Pierre – Bass - 2000
Ryan Blakeney – Bass – 2004
Keith Macloed – Guitar - 2005 – 2007
Keith Porter – Guitar / Bass - 2005
Matt Hemeon – Guitar - 2003 – 2004
Phil Lemieux – Drums - 2005 – 2007
Ryan Greeley - Vocals - 2003 – 2007
Thomas Vaughan - Drums - 2003 – 2005

The discography includes 3 demos, their self-titled 3 song CD and The Beginning EP.

She Kills on Myspace
She Kills Discography