Phono-Comb was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

/modern surf rock group that formed in 1993 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

History

Phono-Comb first materialized when

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet are a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best known for the track "Having an Average Weekend", of which an alternate version was used as the theme to the Canadian sketc ...

played with

Jad Fair Jad Fair (born June 9, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese. Biography Fair was born in Coldwater, Michigan. In 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi ...

when he was performing in

to promote a film about his band

Half Japanese Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair around 1975, sometime after the family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playi ...

. Shadowy Men were planning a hiatus around this time, and guitarist Brian Connelly opted out of the planned follow-up recording project (although he is credited as a co-songwriter on all the songs). Don Pyle and Reid Diamond invited Dallas Good of

The Sadies The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Bria ...

to step in, and 'Jad Fair & Phono-Comb' was born. They recorded a single in 1995 and a full-length album, ''Monsters, Lullabies...and the Occasional Flying Saucer'' in 1996. After this recording, Fair returned to his solo career, and the remaining trio recorded an instrumental single. In 1996, they added

Beverly Breckenridge Beverly Breckenridge is a musician, composer, and actress from Toronto, Ontario. She played bass for the bands Fifth Column and Phono-Comb. In 1986, Beverly Breckenridge joined the post-punk band Fifth Column. Beverly's first appearance on film w ...

(of

Fifth Column A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...

) on bass, and Reid Diamond switched over to guitar. As a quartet, they recorded a CD, ''Fresh Gasoline'' with

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

producing. The band toured throughout North America and one of their songs was featured on the soundtrack of the documentary film '' Pitch''. Reid Diamond died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in February 2001. Dallas Good died from a heart condition in February 2022.

Members

''Jad Fair & Phono-Comb:'' *

- vocals * Dallas Good - guitar, also with

* Don Pyle - drums, formerly with

*Reid Diamond - bass, formerly with Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet ''Phono-Comb:'' * Dallas Good - guitar * Don Pyle - drums *Reid Diamond - bass, switching to guitar when Beverly Breckenridge joined the band. *

- bass, formerly with

Discography

''Jad Fair & Phono-Comb:'' *1995 ''In A Haunted House'' 7" Derivative Records *1996 ''Monsters, Lullabies...and the Occasional Flying Saucer'', CD, Shake the Record ''Phono-Comb:'' *1996 ''The Crass And The Switchblade'' 7" Touch & Go/ Quarterstick *1996 ''Fresh Gasoline'', Touch & Go/Quarterstick

References

External links

Phono-Comb
at

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Phono-Comb
at

Jam! Jam! was a Canadian website which covers entertainment news. It was part of the Canoe.com online portal, formerly owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division, and now owned by Postmedia Network. Jam! was the only media outlet ...

Southern Records' Phono-Comb biography''Fresh Gasoline'' ReviewThe Shadowy Site On A Shadowy Web
(Unofficial Shadowy Men Home Page with a section on Phono-Comb) {{DEFAULTSORT:Phono Comb Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 1999 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian indie rock groups Touch and Go Records artists Canadian instrumental musical groups 1993 establishments in Ontario 1999 disestablishments in Ontario