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Burning the vibe >> With Inhale Fig. 2, Grim Skunk stuff the globe in a comp by CHRIS YURKIW
These days, Grim Skunk most certainly are those elder statesmen of Montreal punk. Forget about them having been around for 10 years. Forget about them having their passports stamped into stained and smelly wads. They've just got the sheer life experience. They've had their manager and "sixth member" Simon Galipeault die. Guitarist/vocalist Franz Schuller has recently seen the birth of a first child. And as they push 30 the band members are realizing that there's a little more to life than Grim Skunk, whether it's a political project like bassist Marc "Borris" St-Maurice's Bloc Pot party or the band's burgeoning label, Indica Records, nearly two years old now. The first proper release from Indica was a compilation called Inhale Fig. 1, a 15-song strong collection of punk'n'ska'n'ragga/metal from groups from all over the world, and it sounded the call: no longer would Grim Skunk take it upon themselves alone to carry the weight of being a pan-cultural, multilingual Moulinex of street-rock culture. Now they could release comps of kindred bands on their very own label. Panama punk "A lot of times comps are in the spirit of one type of music," says Schuller. "These are more in the spirit of just indie music and letting the philosophy and the attitude of the indie scene speak through different parts of the world. It's fascinating for me to find out that there's a punk band from Panama." Schuller is referring to just one of the groups on the new Inhale Fig. 2, a punk-calypso trio from Panama City called Los Rabanes who he feels is particularly indicative of the rise of "rebel music" (read: punk) in developing countries. "They look like punks and act like the Beastie Boys," says Franz. "But they're still living it out with this little mariachi horn section behind it, because that's how they can get their message across within the musical confines of Panama. The methods of these international bands are often quite different, but the approach or the initial idea--the attitude--is totally the same from place to place." Inhale Fig. 2 was fried up in the same pan as Fig. 1, featuring old Canadian friends of the Skunk (the Smalls, Nomeansno), samples from Indica's local stable (Vulgaires Machins), recommendations from foreign tour-mates or promoters (like Norway's Punishment Park), and even a bigger U.S. name-act like the Voodoo Glow Skulls. Indica has a tiny staff, but the boys in the band are the ideal, globe-trotting A&R men. "The idea of the label was to give another outlet to the band and to make it much wider and larger," says Schuller. "It's nice to tour with bands--to bring them here and to go there. It's a great exchange and a live show is a great experience, but it's also nice when the music stays. You know, to burn that vibe into a CD." Yeah. For posterity. For the statesman's library. To show his kids. Grim Skunk launch Inhale Fig. 2 this Saturday, February 27 at Metropolis with Raid + MU-330, $1012+t/s
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Remember when Grim Skunk were just five rambunctious punks singing "Mange la marde"? Remember back when you couldn't decide if their progcore fusion was some kind of acid hangover from the '80s (or '70s) or whether it might be the most exciting concoction of the rock styles that have touched Quebec most deeply over the past 25 years? Remember when their first album was released and they were already coming off as elder statesmen of the scene? No? Well, you must've had some better cheeba than them.