I’m just going to come right out and say that I’m not a very patriotic person. I hate maple syrup, I didn’t participate in the Vancouver Olympics hype of 2010, and I can’t remember the last time I watched a game of hockey.
Yep, you heard me.
With that said, I can look to Canada’s musical legacy and feel a sense of pride. It is true that good Canadian music is much harder to find, because the American and British scenes have the tendency of burying our own in their sheer mass; however, there is definitely Canadian music gold to be found.
Recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is Rush, who, in my opinion, are the best Canadian band. Formed in 1968 and still going strong, they are easily the greatest multi-decade band, period. For the uninitiated, the band hails from the Toronto suburb of Willowdale, and began as a group heavily influenced by the hard rockin’ blues music of Led Zeppelin, Cream, and Deep Purple.
Their first album — eponymously titled, and with original drummer John Rutsey — showcases these hard rockin’ influences. When “Working Man” was first played on the radio in Cleveland, Ohio, phone lines went crazy with callers desperate to know when the newest Led Zeppelin album was going to be released.
However, Rush did not remain this way for long before developing the progressive sound they are best known for today. Combining the old with the new, Rush’s sound incorporates elements of old school prog-like King Crimson and Yes, while adding heavier, more driving grooves to the mixture.
This sound enables them to tackle an array of subject matter: classic literature such as Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the debate over science and free will, the music industry, and Greek mythology are just a few examples of how vast Rush’s content spans. For these reasons, members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart set a precedent that later acts like Primus and Porcupine Tree would model themselves after.
Rush is touring this summer and will play at Roger’s Arena July 26. I had the privilege of seeing the boys play two years ago, and I can easily say they put older acts to shame (except maybe Paul McCartney and Roger Hodgson, but that’s a whole ‘nother debate). Going on 60, Geddy, Alex, and Neil never stop moving onstage: Geddy high kicks along to “2112,” Alex traverses the stage in time with his guitar, and Neil astounds on a revolving platform, tossing his drumsticks into the air and catching them just in time to continue playing.
Throughout their career, Rush never fell victim to the boozing and drug abuse their contemporaries did, truly showing these guys were born to keep on rocking as Canada’s greatest musical role models.
If grittier, wilder acts is what you’re after though, turn to the late 70s / early 80s of Vancouver. Our fair city was once home to a plethora of punk groups, and these acts illustrate Vancouver’s roots as a protest city. With disco, consumerism, and commercial development plaguing Vancouver, bands such as D.O.A. and The Dishrags went against the grain by shaking up social and musical conventions.
The Dishrags in particular make me proud as a Canadian. You can think of them as Vancouver’s equivalent of The Runaways, because they were an all female punk group with members Jade Blade, Dale Powers, and Scout being only in their teens. They challenged what it meant to be female by playing on male-dominated stages like the one at the now former Smiling Buddha in Vancouver’s east side.
Being in an all female group and performing at punk venues, they were pitted against the verbal and sexual harassment of male patrons. In Bloodied But Unbowed, a documentary directed by Susanne Tabata chronicling Vancouver’s punk history, clips of The Dishrags show the abuse they endured. Despite insults and taunts, they didn’t back down and fought for their music and their words to be heard.
D.O.A. is a much less underground Vancouver punk act, with their influences still present in our city today. They toured consistently around the Vancouver area, eventually opening for bigger acts like Bachman Turner Overdrive (another Canadian group), and attaining influential status in North America’s punk rock scene.
Henry Rollins of Black Flag cites D.O.A.’s influence to his own musical approach, “Joey Shithead [would be] onstage delivering political diatribes to young people in their name, which is important because these things affect them, and even if they’re not paying taxes yet, it means something because it’s the world they’re walking into.”
Joey “Shithead,” the group’s lead singer, is a politician and activist even today, participating in the Occupy Movement and running for the Green Party in the 1996 and 2001 general elections.
For a political, but less hardcore sound, the music of Neil Young never fails to please. Neil Young is an important Canadian figure because he provides a critical lens of our American neighbours. His song “Ohio” — performed with Crosby, Still, Nash & Young — was written in protest to the Kent State University shootings of May 4, 1970.
It was on that day, 500 unarmed students at the university united together in demonstration against president Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War. The Ohio National Guard opened fire, killing four students and permanently paralyzing another. The question of “why did they die?” and the image of “tin soldiers and Nixon coming” are present in the song. There was a backlash to the song, resulting in its banishment from radio playlists.
While Canadian bands have rarely achieved the international status of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin or The Doors, our musical legacy maintains a stronghold in the English language music scene. Canadian musicians have proven to inspire others, and continually challenge the social and political status quo. Bands like Rush and D.O.A. are not what comes to mind when many think of Canada, but it is groups like them that make me smile when I think of what makes me proud to be Canadian.
