It's time for the Nightwatch to bid farewell to one of it's most treasured 'friends' - Nomeansno has officially, quietly, called it a day with this post on Facebook late last year: "John here from NMN and with a heavy heart I must announce the retirement of No Means No. A hiatus became a long hiatus and a lingering hiatus has become a permanent one. Thirty-five years and countless miles, a couple thousand shows and many more beers, a bunch of tunes and sweaty hoards of great fans, I can't say thanks enough to everyone." I first heard the band on a cassette recorded from CKCU in 1986, 'Long Days', as I recall, from that year's 'Sex Mad' LP, and first (of many times) saw them live in 1989 at Porter Hall on the Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed' tour which began a fascination with the band that lasts to this day. As a tribute, three hours doesn't seem nearly long enough - what does one exclude when every tune is special? It's impossible for me to pick out a favourite LP - every time they released an album it was exactly what I needed/wanted to hear at the time, each one picture-perfect; it's also very difficult for me to pick the songs (and only 2 from each LP!) that are to go into this feature - every song is worthy, impeccably played, each one with it's own unique place, all the lyrics immaculate. I could have gone the route of 'consensus' for this feature, played what is generally considered their best... but, while some of my picks echo the popular sentiment, sometimes my preference is for the more obscure tunes... so, in the end, my personal preferences rule the day, but keep in mind that every LP is worth having, every song worth listening to, everyone's opinion of what is 'best' is valid. One thing I had to do (and deepest apologies), to save time and be able to play as much of the studio material as possible, is concentrate on the 'official' NMN releases and eschew the collaborations, covers, side-projects, live performances, etc. - I WILL do a second 'Addendum' feature on the next Nightwatch (and less than 3 hours long) that touches on these things.
| Formed in 1979 in Victoria B.C. by two brothers, bassist Rob Wright and drummer John Wright, the group began as a duo, self-releasing 2 7"'s ('Look, Here Come The Wormies' (1980) and 'Fear, Anger, Hatred Betrayal' (1981)) and their debut Mama LP in 1982. After another Victoria band, The Infamous Scientists, disbanded, guitarist and vocalist Andy Kerr joined Nomeansno in 1983 and released the 'You Kill Me' EP in 1985. Then, in 1986, the Montreal punk label Psyche Industry released 'Sex Mad', but they soon signed with the seminal punk rock label Alternative Tentacles and released 'The Day Everything Became Nothing' EP, and 'Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed' album in 1988. In 1989, the band issued their fourth album, Wrong, considered to be their most influential LP and the 'Power of Positive Thinking' EP in 1991. We start this set, however, where they started - the first song on their first single! |
| Look, Here Come The Wormies Nomeansno - Look, Here Come The Wormies 7" - 1980 
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| Approaching Zero Nomeansno - Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred 7" - 1981
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| Red Devil Nomeansno - Mama - 1982
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| Rich Guns Nomeansno - Mama - 1982
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| Stop It Nomeansno - You Kill Me - 1985
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| Long Days Nomeansno - Sex Mad - 1986
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| Dead Bob Nomeansno - Sex Mad - 1986
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| Beauty and the Beast Nomeansno - The Day Everything Became Nothing - 1987
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| Dark Ages Nomeansno - Small Parts, Isolated and Destroyed - 1988
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| Small Parts, Isolated and Destroyed Nomeansno - Small Parts, Isolated and Destroyed - 1988
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| Stocktaking Nomeansno - Wrong - 1989
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| The End of All Things Nomeansno - Wrong - 1989
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| Life in Hell Nomeansno - The Power of Positive Thinking - 1990
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| I reiterate that I'm not playing anything from live and side-project releases - much of what is in this next paragraph will happen on the 'Addendum' NMN feature in next Nightwatch. The band the collaborated with Jello Biafra on 'The Sky Is Falling and I Want My Mommy' LP and released the double live LP, 'Live and Cuddly' and '0 + 2 = 1' in 1991. That year, Andy Kerr departed the band, going on to release two LPs with Hissanol (a collaboration with Scott Henderson of Shovelhed) and a solo album in 1997, and formed the duo Two Pin Din with Wilf Plum of Dog Faced Hermans in 2005. Around '91 NMN also re-invented themselves as The Hanson Brothers (Ramones-style 'puck rock' - so good!), where they were joined by guitarist Tom Holliston of the Showbusiness Giants who went on to become NMN's full-time guitarist in the final phase of their career. Rob Wright began performing as a solo artist under the name Mr. Wrong and John Wright became a member of D.O.A. for several years. The brothers also continued to expand Wrong Records, their own imprint.
Back down to a duo, they released 'Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?' (1993) and the collection 'Mr. Right & Mr. Wrong: One Down & Two to Go' (1994), comprising early demos, studio outtakes, and additional material, which was released on Wrong Records. With Holliston finally on board as guitarist, they released 'The Worldhood of the World (As Such)' was released in 1995, followed up with the EPs 'Would We Be Alive?' and 'In the Fishtank' in 1997. To represent these two EP's on the nightwatch, I am breaking my promise of 'no covers', and will play 'Would We Be Alive' - it saves time, being a common song between the two, and is unique, being a Residents cover. So few bands want to/are able to play the Residents with the right spirit. |
| Valley of the Blind Nomeansno - 0+2=1 - 1991
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| Joyful Reunion Nomeansno - 0+2=1 - 1991
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| The River Nomeansno - Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? - 1993
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| Cats, Sex and Nazis Nomeansno - Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? - 1993
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| Red on Red Nomeansno - Mr. Right & Mr. Wrong: One Down & Two to Go - 1994
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| Ghosts Nomeansno - Mr. Right & Mr. Wrong: One Down & Two to Go - 1994
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| He Learned How to Bleed Nomeansno - The Worldhood of the World (As Such) - 1995
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| My Politics Nomeansno - The Worldhood of the World (As Such) - 1995
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| Would We Be Alive? Nomeansno - In the Fishtank - 1997
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| Their eighth studio album, the double LP 'Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie', was released in 1998 and issued its final Alternative Tentacles album, 'One', in 2000. Three outtakes from the album were also issued as 'Generic Shame' EP on Wrong. (The band left Alternative Tentacles in 2002, and began slowly reissuing their back catalogue through Wrong and distributors Southern Records). Their tenth studio album, 'All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt', was released in, 2006 and then their final releases, two four-track EPs, 'Tour EP 1' (alternately known as 'Old') and 'Tour EP 2' (alternately 'Jubilation') in 2010. They continued performing live through 2013, and, in 2015, Nomeansno was inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame. |
| The World Wasn't Built in a Day Nomeansno - Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie - 1998
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| Give Me The Push Nomeansno - Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie - 1998
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| Our Town Nomeansno - One - 2000
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| Hello/Goodbye Nomeansno - One - 2000
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| Sex Is Philosophy Nomeansno - Generic Shame - 2001
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| I See a Mansion in the Sky Nomeansno - All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt - 2006
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| I'm Dreaming and I Can't Wake Up Nomeansno - All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt - 2006
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| Faceless May Nomeansno - Tour EP 1 ('Old') - 2010
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| Perambulate Nomeansno - Tour EP 2' ('Jubilation') - 2010
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| We finish in the same spirit as we started - the last track of their final release! Just as a final word, I would like to thank the band for their hard work and plying their unique vision for so long - they inspired me personally as drummer, music-maker and radio DJ, and I wish them all the best in their future endeavors. |
| (hidden track) Nomeansno - All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt
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Great choices. Great band. Thanks for all the years Tom, John, Rob, and Andy.
12:06 AM, January 9th, 2017