Ishan People: A Little Jamaica By Way Of Toronto

LINKS REMOVED BY REQUEST

The development and acceptance of reggae in Canada followed the same pattern as that in Britain and United States: when Jamaicans settled into this country in the 50s and 60s, they brought the music of their homeland with them.  Eventually, they began to promote and record their own releases here.

Pioneers in the 60s included Toronto's first ska and rock-steady groups, The Rivals, The Sheiks, The Cougars, and The Cavaliers.  In fact, the city became of hotbed of North American reggae, what with several reggae venues opening up: The West Indian Federation Club, Club Jamaica, Tiger's Den and The Blue Angel.  Jackie Mitoo became the first reggae artist to record a disc in Canada.  He was soon followed by Stranger Cole, Tony Eden, Audley Williams, the Webber Sisters, Leroy Brown, and Joe Issacs.

The First Record

In 1976, Toronto's Ishan People -- featuring vocalist Errol "Johnny" Osbourne (a.k.a. Bumpy Jones), Larry Silvera on bass, drummer Karl Parris Jr., keyboardist David Jones, Glen Daley on percussion and guitarists Michael Murray and Anthony Campbell -- recorded their first album, Roots, for GRT Records.  While Roots was a mélange of Jamaican rhythms, it also reflected the band's Canadian home; in other words, it was nice.

The Followup

But where Roots lacked in production values and ferocity, the followup a year later was an improvement.  While, still not as biting as their brethren back home in Jamaica, the production is better on this one.  And clubs around Toronto took notice: Ishan People performed on many of the same bills as the city's notorious punks of the era.

By 1979, however, Ishan People went their separate ways.  But their influence was immeasurable: the following 15 years would spawn a plethora of Canadian reggae bands such as (in no particular order) Messenjah, Fujahtive, Sattalites, Truths & Rights, 20th Century Rebels, Sonia Colleymore and others.

After the band's demise, Johnny Osbourne returned to Jamaica, where he began a prolific recording careers, where he would record a stunning 18 albums in the space of just 12 years.

Ishan People - Roots (1976):

1

Ishan People

Tough Tight & Dread

4:31

2

Ishan People

I Shall Be Released

4:31

3

Ishan People

One Way Ticket

3:48

4

Ishan People

Lies

4:07

5

Ishan People

Your Money Or Your Life

5:29

6

Ishan People

Talkin' Blues

4:40

7

Ishan People

Situation Vacant

2:51

8

Ishan People

No Ganja

3:21

Ishan People - Ishan People (a.k.a. Reggae Sun) (1977):

1	Ishan People	Come To The Music	4:13
2	Ishan People	Hold On	3:45
3	Ishan People	Inflation	3:32
4	Ishan People	Sweet Chariot	4:33
5	Ishan People	Let The Rhythm Roll	3:18
6	Ishan People	Mighty Warrior	3:48
7	Ishan People	Rainbow	3:13
8	Ishan People	Trenchtown	5:35

The Government (No...Not THAT One)

I'll take this Government over any particular one we've had in the last few years.
At times funky, sometimes angular, oftentimes art-punky and always quirky, witty, sardonic and above all: clever.  By most accounts ,Toronto's The Government  became legendary among the the city's legendary booze-hops and music galleries: The Beverly Tavern, The Edge, The Crash And Burn, Larry Hideaway, and -- quite naturally, The Music Gallery.

In 1979, they recorded a live soundtrack to a full-length video  production.  They released it as Electric Eye.

Anyway, The Government was led by interdisciplinary artist Andrew J. Paterson.  He was the heart and soul of the group, serving as the band's singer, songwriter, composer and guitarist for most of their work.  

Paterson was joined by bassist Robert Stewart, guitarist Jeremiah Chechik and drummer Ed Boyd -- later to be replaced by Billy Bryans, who played on their last recording before co-founding The Parachute Club.

In 1979, Paterson et al recorded the single "Hemingway Hated Disco"/"I Only Drive My Car At Night".

Later that year, they recorded the 33 1/3 RPM EP.

They followed that one in 1980 with the excellent, Guest List LP.  Consisting of 14 songs, this was their magnum opus.

Guest List gave way to How Many Fingers?.  The Government was finally defeated (well, okay...they disbanded.  I was trying to be clever.) in 1982.

[No Cover...Click The Album Name Below]

The Government - Electric Eye (1979):

1	The Government	Greetings From The Gutter	3:22
2	The Government	Letter To Craig/It Must Be God	4:45
3	The Government	Downtown/I Only Drive My Car At Night	2:52
4	The Government	Fumigators	4:27
5	The Government	On The Prowl	4:39
6	The Government	I Don't Really Care	4:04
7	The Government	Following You	2:07
8	The Government	On The Prowl/I Feel Like A Beer	2:36
9	The Government	I'm Somebody	1:36
10	The Government	Gunshot Wound	2:56
11	The Government	Following You/It Must Be God	2:15
12	The Government	Loading Of Gun, Shootout, Escape	1:22
13	The Government	Parking Ticket	4:31
14	The Government	Greetings From The Gutter Reprise	0:50

The Government - Hemingway Hated Disco Music (1979):


1. Hemingway (Hated Disco)     1:41


2. I Only Drive My Car At Night  3:00

The Government - 33^1/3 RPM E.P. (1979):

1		Flat Tire	2:19
2		Get You Sleepin'	4:11
3		Zippers of Fire	4:00
4		Sponge	2:21

The Government - Guest List (1980):

1		(I’d Rather Be A) Real Computer	3:08
2		Basic Motel	2:10
3		Acute Angle	1:36
4		Complications	2:26
5		None Of The Above	3:10
6		White	2:39
7		Nippon Gaki	2:30
8		Information	3:00
9		Exit Line	2:14
10		Telephobia	1:51
11		I Can't Swim	2:17
12		Fire Escape	3:42
13		Jackboots	3:39
14		Thursday	1:44

The Government - How Many Fingers? (1981):

1		How Many Fingers?	7:17
2		Plaza del Pimps	3:07
3		Portrait	2:35
4		Paranoid Downtown Funk Pt. 1	2:31

John Paul Young Uses His Carboard Brains

Vocals:  John Paul Young
Bass:   Patrick Gregory; John Thomas (Replaced Gregory, 1979)
Guitar:  Vincent Carlucci
Drums:  Mickel Keena; Dave Richardson (Replaced Keena, 1979)

Toronto's Cardboard Brains formed in September of 1976.  They played the same Queen Street clubs -- The Edge, The Horseshoe Tavern, etc. -- as the Viletones, Teenage Head, The Ugly and others, defining the strip as the epicenter of a New Music movement.  But unlike the aforementioned groups, Cardboard Brains' musical output was brainier, with a "unique, King Crimson-inspired art-punk" sound: intelligent lyrics, and decidedly Post-Punk before the term even came into being.    Throughout a series of lineup changes, the one constant has been singer and group leader, John Paul Young (and possibly Vince Carlucci). 



In 1977, the band released a four-song EP called simply, 'The White EP'. 

Naturally, when they followed it up in 1979 with another four-song EP of original songs, they called it, 'The Black EP'.    The group was also immortalized in the film and record, “The Last Pogo”, that year. 


However, John Paul Young  (not to be confused with the Scottish “Love Is In The Air” JPY) seemingly wasn't satisfied.  With the official death of Toronto punk, he decided to go solo so he could produce "a more stable and reliable format" for his musical yearnings.  In 1980 he released a new set of semi-autobiographical recordings, which he called “The Life of Ermie Scub”, on which he played all the instruments.  These are the dark tales of a presumably lonely boy, an errant genius who was clearly ahead of his time and lost in his own fantasies. 


The Cardboard Brains reunited on April 26, 1981 for The Edge's brief resurrection and anniversary celebration.  Recordings from this show were released as a live album before the band split up for good. 


Patrick Gregory went on to form Woods Are Full Of Cuckoos as well as The Lawn.  Vincent Carlucci would perform in Station Twang and John Paul Young worked as an actor and has contributed to movie soundtracks.  He has since resurrected the band to coincide with the release of a “Best of” compilation, which is no longer available.  


I once had the pleasure of meeting John Paul Young, in 1998.  I was working towards a documentary on the Canadian Punk Rock scene of 1976-1979 and was doing some research when I found out he was releasing the John Paul Young And Cardboard Brains compilation, which he dedicated to his brother.  I bought it off him for $20.  (In the interests of full disclosure, I've divided up the songs into the original releases, for archival and educational/informational purposes.)


      Interesting sidenote: John Paul Young is a decendant of Brigham Young as well as Dr. Robert Goddard, the father of American rocketry.  

Cardboard Brains - The White EP (1977):

 1. I Want To Be A Yank
2. Can Stress Kill
3. Stepping Stone
4. Living Inside My Head

Cardboard Brains - The Last Pogo (1979):

1. Babies Run My World
2. Jungles

Cardboard Brains - The Black EP (1979): 

1. Caesar Drives A Fast Car
2. Out, Out, Out
3. And So I Hide
4. The Rescue Crew

THANKS TO TONE & WAVE FOR THE UPLOAD! 

John Paul Young - The Life Of Ermie Scub (1980):

1. Ermie Has Feelers
2. All The Sad Goodbyes
3. Have You Seen The Boy In The Gutter With The Broken Mind?
4. Our Time Escapes
5. Summertime!
6. Is That Why?
7. The Monster In Ed
8. The Girl Spells Grief
9. Angels With Dirty Faces
10. Boulevards Of Hope
11. Surrender To The Void




(No Cover Available -- Click On The Link Below)


Cardboard Brains - Live At The Edge (1982):

1. Ermie Has Feelers
2. Have You Seen The Boy In The Gutter With The Broken Mind

John Paul Young and Cardboard Brains (1998):

1. World Within A Dream

The Ugly

Unlike their peers in New York and London, punk bands from Toronto never signed with major record companies (with the exception of The Diodes) . Many of these bands had to record their own songs, either through booking a recording studio or through cheap ass direct microphone-to-tape. The Ugly were one such band.

Sam Ferrare (aka Sam Ugly) and Tony Vincent (aka Tony Torcher or possibly Torture) got together as teens in a group called The Markeys, playing the British sounds of The Yardbirds, Kinks, Animals, Who and the Stones. After hearing the first LP by The Ramones, their new direction becomes clear. They enlist longtime accomplice Michael Mulroney (aka Mike Nightmare). Markeys guitarist Brian Vadders refuses to cut his hippy hair, so they kick him out and bring in Mike’s brother Raymi (aka Ray Gunner).

Unfortunately, when Vadders is replaced, he conveniently forgets to tell the rest of the group that his PA system was leased. They try to borrow it for a while, until Vadders decides to stop payment. The cops come by, take away the equipment and the group lands in jail. It would be their first of many scrapes with the law, leading the gang to describe their music, not as Punk Rock, but as “Hoodlum Rock” (WKRP In Cincinatti alert: You may remember an episode where a British band came to Cinci and the radio station was promoting them. The band said they were not “punk rock”, they were “hoodlum rock”. I wonder who had the nomenclature first). Nonetheless, Mike found Vadders a week a later and punched his lights out.

But it wasn’t just that they were loudest, crassest and most obnoxious band on the Toronto underground scene. They really were rough characters who played tough punk rock (although they were capable of playing sweet, forlorn rock ‘n’ roll. Witness “Stranded In The Laneway (Of Love)” below — although I’m not sure it’s with the original lineup). And because they were always in trouble with the law (Sam says one of the biggest problems with the development of The Ugly was that one of them was always in jail), they were forced to play out-of-the-way joints so the cops had trouble finding them. And Mike Nightmare would wear a disguise. Sometimes, those disguises would consist of a full-face black leather mask, other times, his trademark oversized yellow sunglasses, so authorities wouldn’t be able to identify him.

"Yes, the band really ARE ugly." -Creem, 1978

Anyway, to cut a short story short (read more in the excellent liner notes to The Ugly’s equally excellent retrospective, Disorder ), their last show with the original lineup takes place at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern, where they open for The Cramps. The last song they ever play is “Lust For Life”. When they finish, Raymi pushes over his Marshal Amp and smashes his guitar. He shakes hands with the band and splits.

The Ugly is over.

Mike Nightmare passed away sometime in 1997 or ‘98 (I don’t remember which), during one of his many stints in jail.

The Ugly reformed for their first show in almost thirty years at Toronto's Bovine Sex Club on Saturday July 12th., with all the original band members, save for Greg Dick who's fronting the band.

Download The Ugly Here.