Fucked Up

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Fucked Up

Background information
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre(s) Hardcore punk, Post-hardcore
Years active 2001–present
Label(s) Jade Tree
Associated acts Alexisonfire
Website Official blog
Members
Pink Eyes
10,000 Marbles
Concentration Camp
Mustard Gas
Mr. Jo

Fucked Up is a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario.

Contents

[edit] History

The band formed and played their first shows in early 2001. The initial practicing lineup consisted of 10,000 Marbles (Guitar), Concentration Camp (Vocals), Mustard Gas (Bass Guitar) and Chris Colohan (of Left For Dead/The Swarm fame, now lead vocalist for Cursed). Just prior to recording their demo tape, Concentration Camp moved to guitar and vocal duties were taken over by Pink Eyes (also known as Mr. Damian). Drums are played by Mr. Jo (also credited as G. Beat or J. Falco).

Following the release of the demo, the band embarked on a long series of 7" records. Unlike many of their contemporaries, the band shunned full length LP or CD formats, preferring to output their music two songs at a time. While some record distributors refused to carry the singles, they were generally released to broad appeal, receiving glowing reviews in many punk fanzines. The artwork and feel of the records was a tribute to the Dangerhouse Records era of punk vinyl and takes cues from the Germs GI album.

The band released the "No Pasaran" 7" in May of 2002. The record's aesthetic and philosophy was greatly influenced by anarchism and the participation of anarchists in the Spanish Civil War in particular. The cover and insert featured anarchist propaganda posters and portraits of Spanish worker and peasant columns. About this time, Fucked Up played at the Toronto Anarchist Bookfair.

The Police 7" was released on March of 2003, quickly followed by what is considered the bands most significant recording, the Baiting the Public 7" in May of 2003. This single was in tribute to the Viennese Actionism a far left art movement during the 1960s, and the Situationist International. The record featured one song spread over two sides, and illegible liner notes, meant to shock and annoy the buyer.

Two more 7"'s followed in 2004, the Dance of Death single, and the Litany 4-song ep. The vinyl releases to this point were collected on 2004s Epics in Minutes CD. The band was the subject of a two-minute 16mm film showing its links to the Toronto hardcore scene, a local infoshop and punk radio show. Ten video copies exist of this unauthorized film.

The bands use of imagery and symbolism (notable the use of Sigils) took a decided turn after the release of Epics in Minutes, as it was followed by two obscure and limited 12"s, the Looking for Gold 12", and the live Let Likes be Cured by Likes 12". Many felt at this point the band's message became esoteric to the point of confusion, while others felt the turn towards a more convoluted approach was ultimately more rewarding. The Looking for Gold 12" contained no liner notes or credits, no song titles, and a hidden track. It was self-released by the band in 2004 in two limited runs of 300 & 400 copies and immediately became one of the most infamous and sought-after modern hardcore punk releases, selling for over $100 on internet auction sites like ebay. The title track was 17 minutes long, used 19 guitar tracks, had a three minute drum solo and contained 4 minutes of whistling, all unconventional by punk rock song-writing standards.

Following a lengthy and rumoured self-written interview in Maximum Rock and Roll, that discussed some of the bands politics and identity, many people became suspicious of the bands intentions, as they often brought up mind control and allusions to fascism and nazi mysticism. The release of a split 7" in 2004 with the band Haymaker did little to allay these concerns as it contained a picture of Hitler addressing a Hitler Youth Rally in 1938.

A public clarification followed in late 2004 after the band was attacked onstage at a concert in Toronto.

In the summer of 2004 the band returned to form with the release of the Generation 7" and 12" eps. The record contained the tuneful yet hard trademark sound the band had developed with their earlier releases. The record would go onto sell more than 6000 copies in that year and would represent the definitive Fucked Up release of the later period. The live performance of "Generation" had at this point become a focal point of most shows and saw hundreds of people dance and mosh in a mad frenzy of violence and aggression, and would result in many injuries.

After touring for most of 2005 the band took on David Eliade as a quasi-full time manager/promoter. In early 2006 Eliade began shopping demos of songs from the planned Hidden World album to labels, ending with the band signing to Jade Tree Records for an early fall 2006 release of the album. Jade Tree is distributed by Touch & Go which in turn has a distribution agreement with ADA (Warner Music Group). Songs on the album average 5 minutes long and use unconventional instrumentation and effects, and the lyrics explore "what lies underneath the immediate, visualized world". Jade Tree licensed the vinyl version to Deranged Records, which released it as a double album in November 2006. Hidden World received critical acclaim, and was even chosen as the best punk album of the year by Canadian music magazine Exclaim!.

Several other records, such as Year of the Dog 12" were released, before the band went on the European tour, visiting England, Germany and Spain, among other places. January 16, 2007 marked the band's debut on MTV Live Canada, where they were introduced as "Effed Up".[1] During the violent show, the props were flying around the place and $2000 of damage was reportedly dealt.[2]

In November of 2007 the band played a show in New York that was filmed for the movie Burn, directed by Richard Roepnack. The performance was reviewed in the New York Times.

[edit] Lawsuit

In January of 2008, Fucked Up, along with Xiu Xiu, filed a lawsuit against Rolling Stone Magazine and Camel Cigarettes for an advertisement that included both bands in an Indie Rock Universe special.[3] The advertisement apparently portrayed the bands as supporters of Camel.


"The fact that Fucked Up was mentioned in there wasn't some great coincidence. This isn't a case of subliminal advertising, where we're claiming that there were penises in the shadows — our name is right there. Maybe they thought we were too stupid to know what was going on."

[edit] Collaborations

Unlike many hardcore punk bands, Fucked Up has collaborated extensively with other artists on record and during live performances. Hidden World features guest instrumentation from Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy, and guest vocals by Ben Cook of No Warning, George Pettit of Alexisonfire, Chris Colohan of Cursed, and Heidi Hazelton. Year of the Pig was written in part with Max Mccabe-Locos of the Deadly Snakes, who plays piano and organ on the record, and a lead vocal by Jennifer Castle of Castlemusic. Most recently the holiday charity single David Christmas purports to have guest vocals from Nelly Furtado, Davey Havok, David Cross, Shenae Grimes of Degrassi: The Next Generation and Faris Badwan of The Horrors, among others.[4]

[edit] Members

10,000 Marbles (Mike Haliechuk) - Lead Guitar. Previously of Ruination, he claimed to work at a lightbulb factory in an interview with Stereogum, but in reality works for a food co-op.[5]

Father Damian aka Pink Eyes (Damian Abraham) - Vocals. Abraham works as a producer in the film industry under his birth name, which he has so far managed to keep secret so that his participation in Fucked Up will not negatively affect his career. He has a wife Lauren. The couple appeared on a realitiy television show called "Newly Wed, Nearly Dead".

Slumpy aka Laundry aka Mustard Gas (Sandy Miranda) - Bass Guitar. Occupation unknown.

Concentration Camp aka Gulag (Josh Zucker) - Rhythm Guitar. Zucker is a transient who was chosen as the original frontman for Fucked Up due to his confrontational manner. Zucker was replaced as frontman after missing several crucial shows while in jail for punching a Toronto police officer who had stolen a ham sandwich from him. In order to remain active in the band after the arrival of new singer Damian, Zucker learned to play the guitar.

Guinea Beat aka Mr. Jo (Jonah Falco) - Drums. Falco splits his time between playing drums for Fucked Up and playing guitar for Career Suicide, as well as being a full time student. He has had to keep the existence of Fucked Up a secret from his family, with whom he lives, after his father declared the band's name "...made him want to vomit."

Young Governor (Ben Cook) During the last half of 2007, Cook played many of Fucked Up's concerts as a third guitar player, and has done some songwriting, contributing to the David Christmas single. His status within the group is unknown.

David Eliade - Visuals, spiritual and political guidance. Eliade is the "fifth Beatle" so to speak, and manages Fucked Up from behind the scenes. He has designed their logo, records, and influenced most of their lyrics. Eliade has coordinated most of their interviews, except for those conducted live on the road. He has begun taking a more visible role, acting as management for the band of late and working with them in the studio on the production of their forthcoming LP. He is the one who taught Haliechuk to garden and Camp to hop trains. He is the only person involved with the band who knows how to tune a guitar. Unfortunately he has never attended one of Fucked Up's live shows. David may be related to the Romanian writer Mircea Eliade, who is mentioned in the Hidden World booklet.

[edit] Discography

  • 2002 Demo tape (self-released)
  • 2002 No Pasaran 7" (Deranged Records)
  • 2003 Police 7" (Deranged Records)
  • 2003 Baiting the Public 7" (Deranged Records)
  • 2004 Dance of Death 7" (Deranged Records)
  • 2004 Litany 7" EP (Test Pattern Records, repressed on Havoc in 2006)
  • 2004 Epics in Minutes CD (Deranged Records)
  • 2004 Let Likes be Cured by Likes 12" (Schizophrenic Records)
  • 2004 Split with Haymaker 7" (Deep Six Records)
  • 2004 Looking for Gold 12" (self-released)
  • 2005 Dangerous Fumes 7" (fake version, self-released)
  • 2005 Generation 7" (Slasher Records)
  • 2005 Generation 12" (Slasher Records)
  • 2005 Mix Tape Volume One cassette tape (Hidden World/Deranged Records)
  • 2005 Litany + 1 12" (Test Pattern)
  • 2005 Black Cross 7" (Burning Sensation)
  • 2005 Black Army 7" (Burning Sensation)
  • 2006 Fucked Up Tape cassette tape (Harsh Brutal Cold Productions - reissued by Trujaca Fala Records in 2007)
  • 2006 Triumph of Life 7" (Peter Bower Records / Vice Records UK)
  • 2006 Triumph of Life 3 song CD (Go Down Fighting Records / Vice Records]] UK)
  • 2006 Dangerous Fumes 7" (Deranged Records)
  • 2006 Hidden World 2xLP (Deranged Records) /CD (Jade Tree Records)
  • 2006 Dangerous Fumes 7" (Hate Records; German Edition)
  • 2006 Mix Tape Volume II cassette tape (Deranged Records)
  • 2006 Year of the Dog 12" (Blocks Recording Club)
  • 2006 Dolly Mixture 7" (Fucked Up Records) - two covers of Dolly Mixture
  • 2006 Shop Assistants 7" (Fucked Up Records) - two covers of The Shop Assistants
  • 2006 Humos Peligrosos 7" (La Vida es un Mus) - actually a different version of Dangerous Fumes 7"
  • 2006 Hoxton Cunts 7" ("A techno 7" that has fake cover and labels on it done to make fun of the band/Vice.")
  • 2006 Two Snakes 7" (Fucked Up Records)
  • 2006 Since You've Been Gone 10" (bootleg)
  • 2007 Hidden World 8 Track (Welfare Records)
  • 2007 Toronto FC 7" Split with Hard Skin (No Future)
  • 2007 Year of the Pig 12" (What's Your Rupture?)
  • 2007 David Christmas 7" (Hidden World Records)
  • 2008 Split with Think I Care 7" (Eating Rat Records)
  • 2008 Year Of The Pig 12" (Vice Records - UK Edition)
  • 2008 2007 halloween weekend dvd


[edit] Upcoming, planned

  • 2008 Crooked Head/I Hate Summer 7" (September 08)
  • 2008 The Chemistry of Common Life LP (October 08, Matador Records)
  • 2008 David Comes to Life LP
  • 2008 Year of the Rat 12"
  • 2008 Split with besnard lakes 12"
  • 2008 year of the pig + extra CD (July 08, Matador Records)
  • 2008 3 Year of the Pig 7 inches (July 08, Matador Records)
  • 2008 Mixtape #3

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sutherland, Sam (2007). “What the Fuck? Curse Word Band Names Challenge the Music Industry". Exclaim! Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
  2. ^ Vice magazine: FUCKED UP BANNED FROM MTV
  3. ^ The Daily Swarm - The Indie Rock Universe Strikes Back: Fucked Up and Xiu Xiu file class action lawsuit against Camel and Rolling Stone
  4. ^ Pitchfork: James Murphy, Nelly Furtado on Fucked Up Holiday 7"
  5. ^ Quit Your Day Job: Fucked Up - Quit Your Day Job - Stereogum

[edit] External links

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