Resin nationGrime redefine the term "buzz band"by RUPERT BOTTENBERG
"That would be us, the woodies. That's a big part of Chateauguay," chuckles chummy Phil Trotter, the drummer of Grime. "Sportin' Lois jeans and tobacco-brown Gazelles, hanging out in the woods, having campfires. Sometimes, no kidding, there'd be a hundred kids hanging in the clearing by my parents' place. Everyone would be there, all drunk and 'woo-hoo'ing and shit, and then the cops would come and everyone would scatter into the woods." Such appalling adolescent behaviour goes hand in hand with a particular strain of heavy music that's rearing its head again after slumbering through the '80s: stoner rock. While metal and prog find their basis in classical music, stoner rock has more earthy roots. "It's definitely based on blues riffs and progressions," remarks bassist Tom Kitsos. The first step in understanding this dichotomy is accepting the fact that Black Sabbath, at least at the time of their early, worthwhile albums, were not actually a heavy metal band, but rather the heaviest, meanest blues combo ever to creep across a stadium stage. Fast forward through the '70s, past Foghat, Mountain and Black Oak Arkansas and eventually you'll stumble onto the '90s stoner revival. The modern movement is spearheaded by acts like Kyuss, Fu Manchu and New Jersey's favourite sons, Monster Magnet. Grime have since hooked up with Perm, a side project of local SSG-label band Paper Route, for a string of dates. Together, the two bands have devoted this week to a series of hit-and-run engagements in Toronto, Lennoxville and the Montreal region. It's an opportunity for Grime to spread the philosophy of Chateauguay's Buzz Nation, as the band and their entourage refer to themselves. Sustaining that buzz is what keeps Grime tied to their home base. The guys are a bit too old to be found still adolescently lurking around Chateauguay stoner landmarks Dope Slope or Explanation Point, but the essential spirit remains with them. "Wherever there's a river and woods," muses Mulroney, "there are kids drinking, rocking out to Sabbath, eating mushrooms and partying." Grime and Perm rock out (dude) at Monkey House (20 Roy E.) on Tuesday, March 25. 9pm, $5. Grime play Brasserie du Village in Chateauguay on Sunday, March 23. 9pm |
Everyone gets pigeonholed in high school. My alma mater had its punks, preps, jocks, geeks, goths and rockers. That last category can be further broken down into two distinct subspecies: metalheads and woodies. The former could be identified by their flawless manes and $40 Anthrax tour jerseys. Woodies, on the other hand, were those mysterious souls in lumber jackets and unlaced Kodiaks who, at the sound of the three o'clock bell, would disappear into the wooded grottoes indigenous to all suburbs in order to engage in certain weedy horticultural activities, if you catch my drift.