The kids are united

>> Local street punk and hardcore make some noise with two fresh releases

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Montreal has always been quite the hotbed for kiddie-core, having consistently smashed gate records for the Van's Warped tour, Bad Religion and NOFX. Okay, so Montreal likes punk that you can skip around to and use to sell sneakers, but what about the local street-punk and hardcore scene?

On an international level, they're going through a resurgence, and again, Montreal has been involved for years. Our fierce scene may not yet have the merchandise-buying numbers of their Epitaph cousins, but the grassroots support and loyalty is tried and true. Two bands that can boast about giving and receiving this support are hardcore band Akuma and street punks the Generatorz. Both bands are launching highly anticipated CDs this week and are ready to take on the world with releases in Europe.

Akuma's lead singer Safwan handled vocal duties for francophone punks Banlieu Rouge for years. Compared with the old-school sounds of B.R., Akuma play straight-up, NYC-influenced hardcore, with staple breakdown bits where moshers dance to the beat of a double kick-drum. The biggest change of all, though, may be that eight of the 12 songs on their debut CD 100 Demons are sung in (gulp) English. "I guess a lot of people are going to say that we have sold out because we sing songs in English," says Safwan, "but it's what I'm comfortable doing. I have a job where I deal with people in English and French every day, so that's going to happen in the music. It's my identity and I can't fake that."

Street punks the Generatorz also mess up the politics of slamdancing by mixing up anglo-franco lyrics on their debut, Straight Outta Sin City. The sell-out tag doesn't really seem to apply to either of these bands, as they are made up of bilingual punks who were fostered by scenes that don't seem to pay much attention to linguistics. Generatorz bassist/vocalist Fred Offender and guitrarist/vocalist Manic Manon have been mainstays in the street-punk/oi scene since the second wave of punk in the early '80s, and couldn't really give a toss what the punk-rock language police think of them, anyway.

"We're really united by the music," says Mr. Offender. "In our scene we can't afford to have too many other scenes and people seem to get along no matter what language they speak. Like at Bar St-Laurent [watering hole to the Montreal punk scene]--if you are into punk rock of any kind, we'll all hang out and it's still at the level that if you are going to be an asshole we can take care of that quickly."

Mohawked memories

Ironically, it seems that the Epitaph-offshoot Hellcat label, the baby of Rancid's Tim Armstrong, could be one of the main culprits for the resurgence in the street-punk scene. Oi choruses are starting to turn up more and more with new-school bands. "I think a lot of newer bands are starting to pick up on more old-school punk sounds now, and are starting to look a bit more old-school," says the Generatorz's Manon. "We are starting to see people who got into the punk scene through NOFX and are now digging a bit more in the past, and that's only going to help the whole scene."

Both bands are getting the most attention in Europe right now. The Generatorz record has been already out in Europe for three weeks and they have already received tons of e-mails asking when they are touring Europe (plans are under way for next February). Akuma has also generated a lot interest in Europe, mainly with curious Banlieu Rouge fans, but they are also looking into a tour of the States, and a tour of Europe in the fall to coincide with their European release.

"Hardcore and street-punk are still some of the only types of music that haven't been contaminated by the music industry," says Safwan. "There is always going to be a bit of separation between francophones and anglophones, but it's the love of this style of music that really unites people in the punk scene."

Akuma CD launch, with A Death For Every Sin and Blue Jacket Rebellion, at Club Soda tonight, Thursday, March 1, 8pm, $8.

The Generatorz CD launch, with guests Jeunesse Apatrie, at Bar St-Laurent 1 on Saturday, March 3, 10pm, $3 ($8 with CD)