Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet are a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

-winning

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 rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instru ...

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 Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

to the Canadian

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

TV show ''

The Kids in the Hall The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, ...

''."Shadowy Men offer punk-influenced surf music for the '90s". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', November 2, 1991. Although commonly classified as a surf rock band they rejected the label, going so far as to release a track called "We're Not a Fucking Surf Band","Sly Shadowy Men . . . and women in jale". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', May 6, 1993. although they also later released a compilation

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

titled ''Oh, I Guess We Were a Fucking Surf Band After All''."Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet get the box set treatment"
''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'', April 13, 2016.

History

The band's origins are in Calgary, where founding members Reid Diamond and Brian Connelly were members of the punk rock band Buick McKane in the 1970s."Shadowy Men return at Sled Island". ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'', March 20, 2012. After that band broke up, Diamond, Connelly and drummer Alex Koch moved to

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 ...

, where they joined with Don Pyle to form a new punk band, Crash Kills Five. That band released one EP, ''What Do You Do At Night?'', in 1980 before breaking up in 1981, and the members briefly pursued other projects before Diamond, Connelly and Pyle reunited in 1984 as Shadowy Men. Signed to Cargo Records, they released a string of EPs and

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. The group also appeared on many compilation albums, and played on some tracks of Fred Schneider's solo album, '' Just Fred''."Heatseekers: all action, no talk". ''

'', February 1, 1996. The band won a

for Instrumental Artist of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 1992 The Juno Awards of 1992, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 29 March 1992 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Rick Moranis was the host for the ceremonies, which were broadcast on ...

. Their 1993 album '' Sport Fishin': The Lure of the Bait, The Luck of the Hook'' was engineered by

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 ...

, who was such a fan of the band that he offered to work with them for free. The group disbanded in 1996, in part because Pyle and Diamond wanted to record an album 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 ...

while Connelly did not. Pyle and Diamond instead joined with 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 form

Phono-Comb Phono-Comb was a Canadian instrumental/modern surf rock group that formed in 1993 in Toronto. History Phono-Comb first materialized when Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet played with Jad Fair when he was performing in Toronto to promote a film a ...

, and collaborated with Fair on the 1996 album ''Monsters, Lullabies...and the Occasional Flying Saucer''.

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 ...

from

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 ...

also later joined the Phono-Comb lineup. After the breakup, Connelly was in a short-lived trio called Heatseekers, and toured and recorded with Neko Case and Her Boyfriends. He currently leads his own instrumental trio, Atomic 7. Diamond later started Danny & Reid's Motion Machine, and Pyle teamed up with Andrew Zealley to form

Greek Buck Greek Buck were a Canadian musical duo, consisting of Don Pyle (formerly of Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet and Phono-Comb) and Andrew Zealley. They are best known for "Spunk", the theme song to the American television series ''Queer as Folk''.

. 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 ...

on February 17, 2001. In March 2012, it was announced that the band would be reuniting for a pair of live performances, in Calgary on June 20 and Toronto on July 14, to mark the beginning of a series of reissues of all of their albums on Mammoth Cave Recording Co. Dallas Good replaced Diamond on bass. The reissues included the Crash Kills Five EP. Following Mammoth Cave's closure in 2015, the albums were again reissued on

Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Paul W ...

in 2016 as the box set ''Oh, I Guess We Were a Fucking Surf Band After All''. The band have continued to perform occasional shows since the 2012 reunion, including the 2017 Gateway Festival and the 2018

Northern Lights Festival Boréal Northern Lights Festival Boréal is an annual summer music festival in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It is one of Canada's oldest music festivals in continuous operation, having been staged every year since 1972 until the Covid-19 pandemic.

. Dallas Good died of natural causes on February 17, 2022."Dallas Good, Co-Founder of Canadian Band the Sadies, Dies at 48"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', February 18, 2022.

Members

;Present * Don Pyle –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(1984–1996, 2012–present) *Brian Connelly –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(1984–1996, 2012–present) ;Former *Reid Diamond (deceased) – bass (1984–1996) *Dallas Good (deceased) – bass (2012–2022)

Discography

Albums

*'' Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham'' (1991) *'' Sport Fishin': The Lure of the Bait, The Luck of the Hook'' (1993)

Compilations

*'' Savvy Show Stoppers'' (1988 Glass Records K 1993 Cargo

orth America Orth can refer to: Places * Orth, Minnesota, an unincorporated community in Nore Township, Minnesota, United States * Orth an der Donau, a town in Gänserndorf, Lower Austria, Austria * Orth House, a historic house in Winnetka, Illinois, United St ...

*''Oh, I Guess We Were A Fucking Surf Band After All...'' (2016 Yep Roc Records)

EPs

*''Love Without Words'' (1985) *''Wow Flutter Hiss '86'' (1986) *''Schlagers!'' (1987) *''Live Record with Extra Bread and Cheese'' (1987) *''Explosion of Taste'' (1988) *''Reid Does Neil'' (1988) *''Music for Pets'' (1991) *''Tired of Waking Up Tired'' (1991 split single with Change of Heart) *''Just Married'' (1991) *''Dog & Squeegie'' (1992) *''Sport Fishin' Accessories'' (1993 promo-only CD single) *''Take Outs'' (1993) *''It's a Wonderful Record!'' (1994)

Soundtracks

*'' Double Happiness'' (1995) *'' Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy'' (1996)

Compilation appearances

*'' It Came from Canada, Vol. 2'' (1986) *''

International Pop Underground Convention The International Pop Underground Convention (or IPU) was a 1991 punk and alternative rock music festival in Olympia, Washington. The six-day convention centered on a series of performances at the Capitol Theater. Throughout August 20–25, ...

'' (1992) *''

International Hip Swing ''International Hip Swing'' is a compilation CD released by the label K Records in 1993. It is centered on the alternative rock, indie pop and twee pop genres. ''International Hip Swing'' gathered together a selection of recordings previously rel ...

'' (1993)

References

External links

The Shadowy Site On A Shadowy Web (Unofficial Home Page)
{{Authority control Surf music groups Canadian alternative rock groups K Records artists Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian musical trios Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year winners Canadian instrumental musical groups 1984 establishments in Ontario 1996 disestablishments in Ontario Glass Records artists