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Bunchofuckingoofs, or the BFGs, was an infamous Canadian
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
band from Toronto's
Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canad ...
neighbourhood, formed in November 1983. From July 1983 to July 1988, they ran a 24/7
boozecan A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...
at their Baldwin Street address known on the street as "Fort Goof". For another three and half years they continued their antics at the 26A Oxford Street warehouse (Goof World). They lived communally and, while they were known for smashing TVs on stage and opening bottles of beer with chainsaws, they described themselves as anti-drug crusaders, community activists and the neighbourhood police force.


History

The band was founded by Crazy Steve Johnston, who was already playing with a loose group of musicians. Ruth Taylor asked him to put together a band to open for her band, United State, at
Larry's Hideaway Larry's Hideaway was a bar in the Prince Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The venue was notable for being one of the first venues in Toronto to open itself to punk and new wave music acts, as well as hard rock. The venue was well know ...
. Johnston and his group wrote seven songs, then brought in a band called Quarantine to fill out a set. At the show, their performance was such that Johnston said ""we better call ourselves a bunch of fucking goofs before everyone else does".The lineup for the first show was Steve on vocals, Scrag on bass, Maddog on drums, and Bambi on guitar. Johnston chose his musicians, not because they were good at music, but because they could play and drink. Alcohol was the central feature of the band's existence, and they were known for consuming vast amounts, with Johnston stating that all they needed was "women, beer and weed". They also maintained an ethical position: Johnson twice ran for Toronto city council, took in many of the city's homeless youth and campaigned against hard drugs. In 1984, their "live like there is no tomorrow, end of the world by nuclear war" attitude and lifestyle was documented in Ruth Taylor and Edward Mowbray's documentary ''Not Dead Yet''. Their music was first recorded in 1985 when three of their songs appeared on the Jonestown Records compilation album ''Questionable'', which also included music from the punk bands Living Proof, Animal Stags, and Madhouse. After hearing the album, Kieran Plunkett of
The Restarts The Restarts are an English street punk band based in London. The Restarts were formed in 1995 in London with Darragh O'Neill on drums, Kieran Plunkett from Armed and Hammered on bass guitar, and Mik Useless on the guitar. They played many ...
, spray-painted the Bunchofuckingoofs logo on the
Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
. After the wall was taken down, that section was placed in art shows in
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
and New York. In 1986, Bunchofuckingoofs released their first EP, ''Theres No Solution So Theres No Problem'' ic At this point, the band's members were Crazy Steve Johnston (vocals), Godzilla (Daryl Smith) on guitar, Scumbag (Merrick Atkinson) on bass, and drummer Mad Dog (Kirk Lund). In 1987, they appeared as the Bar Band in the film ''City of Shadows''. Several EPs and albums followed. The band performed their first cross-Canada tour in 1991. Eventually, they lost the space for Fort Goof, which was a large part of their income, but the group continued, releasing the album ''Totally Unmarketable'' in 1997, undertaking a second cross-canada tour in 2001, and releasing their final album, ''Assaulting Average Asswipes'' in 2008. On November 26, 2008, 25 years to the day after its first show, the group played its final gig, at Toronto's Kathedral. The lineup was Steve on vocals, Katy (al-Qaetor) on bass, Adam (Fetus) and Mike Murderio on guitar, and Greg Goose on drums. In 2011, Jennifer Morton released her book ''Dirty, Drunk, and Punk: The Twisted Crazy Story of the Bunchofuckingoofs''. The band got back together to record one session and play one show. The lineup was Steve on vocals, Kirk (Maddog) on drums, Stompin' Al Miller and Eric (Airock) on guitar, Jamie (King Kong) and Brian on bass. This was recorded at the University of Toronto's
CIUT-FM CIUT-FM is a campus and community radio station owned and operated by the University of Toronto. The station broadcasts live and continuously from Toronto on the 89.5 FM frequency. Programming can also be heard nationally via channel 826 on Shaw ...
on October 25, 2011.


Discography

*''Theres No Solution So Theres No Problem'' (1986, EP), Back Alley Records *''Drunk? Destroyed? Demolished! - The Demo'' (1989, EP), Independent *''Carnival Of Chaos + Carnage'' (1992), Fringe Product *''Totally Unmarketable'' (1997, EP), Back Alley Records *''Barrage of Battery and Brutality'' (Anthology, 2000), God Records *''Assaulting Average Asswipes'' (2008, EP), Back Alley Records Compilation Inclusions *''Questionable: The Compilation'' (1985), Jonestown Records *''A Touch Of Fringe: The Compilation'' (1993), Fringe Product *''Dead On The Road: Songs Without Keyboards'' (1993),
A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
, Raw Energy Records *''The International Punk Rock Box Set'' (2001), Meathead Records *''Canucks Punk Rock'' (2006), Burnout Productions


References

{{Reflist Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian hardcore punk groups 1983 establishments in Ontario