The Asexuals

The Asexuals (or Asexuals) is a hardcore punk band from Beaconsfield that was a mainstay of the Montreal punk scene in the 1980s before changing into an alternative band following the departure of singer John Kastner. Kastner left to form the Doughboys and later, All Systems Go!.

History

The Asexuals formed in 1983 when Sean Friesen, T.J. Collins and Paul Remington, all Beaconsfield High students, decided to start a punk rock band. Another Beaconsfield native, future actor Al Goulem, was in the band as second guitarist for a few months with Collins singing. Their friend John Kastner quickly joined and became the singer.

After briefly using the names "Commonwealth", "Dead Dog", "Johnny Jew and the Holocaust" and "VD Teens", they finally chose the name "Asexuals" because none of the band members had girlfriends at the time. Their music mixed elements of hardcore as well as more melodic punk rock à la The Nils or Hüsker Dü.

1984–1985: ''Be What You Want'', ''Contemporary World''

The band played gigs in Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto, opening for touring Canadian and American punk bands before releasing their first EP, ''Featuring: The Asexuals'' on Og Music in 1984. They quickly released their second EP, ''B.F.D.'' and, the same year, contributed the song "Contra Rebels" to the Montreal punk compilation ''Primitive Air-Raid'' on Psyche Industry Records. In December 1984, they released their first LP ''Be What You Want'' on First Strike Records.

By the following year, Psyche Industry Records had received much positive feedback about the song, "Contra Rebels", (the opening track from the ''Primitive Air-Raid'' compilation), so they re-released the band's ''Be What You Want'' LP after First Strike Records refused to do so, having stopped answering the band's letters and phone calls. Also in 1985, Psyche Industry released the Asexuals' second LP, ''Contemporary World'', which featured a hardcore treatment of Bob Dylan's classic song, " The Times They Are a-Changin'", and generally flirted with a more alternative rock sound. The band went on a two-month, 69-date tour across the U.S.A. and Canada to promote that album.

The Asexuals were reviled in many punk fanzines because of "Contra Rebels". The lyrics were a little ambiguous, particularly the lines "Contra-rebels, trained by the CIA, Contra-rebels, will blow your Reds away". Tim Yohannon of Maximumrocknroll didn't get the irony, calling the band "the mouthpieces of the new right" before apologizing a few months later.

In 1987, Kastner clashed with the other members about the band's evolving musical direction, and was kicked out. Kastner went on to form the Doughboys, while the Asexuals reconfigured themselves, with Collins and Freisen both playing electric guitar and sharing lead-vocal duties, and bringing in then- Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra bassist Blake Cheetah (now better known as Bangkok-based writer Jim Algie) to take over bass guitar from Collins. They toured across North America continuously, opening for fellow Canadian punk bands like D.O.A. and SNFU, as well as such American hardcore greats as Hüsker Dü, the Minutemen, the Dicks and Youth Brigade.

1988–1992: ''Dish'', ''Exile from Floontown''

In 1988, the band released their third full-length LP, ''Dish'', on Cargo Records. Under the direction of Producer Steve Kravac, ''Dish'' was an artistic and sonic departure from their previous recordings, not only because of the noticeable absence of Kastner's sneering vocals, but because of a more college-radio friendly sound. For the first time, the band departed from the standard arrangement of distorted electric guitars, bass, and drums—the opening track featured acoustic guitars and horns. While this less brash sound alienated many long-time fans, the songs generally remained punchy and hard-rocking, and the band retained a tougher sound when performing live.

The band was on the verge of breaking up when a German promoter offered them a contract to tour Europe. Cheetah quit the band after this tour and was replaced by Dom Pompeo, with whom they recorded their fourth LP ''Exile from Floontown''. Released in 1991 (on CD, unlike previous recordings), the album went a long way towards restoring the band's original distorted electric guitar sound, while remaining melodic and college-radio friendly. In 1992, they released the ''Walt's Wish'' EP on Cargo.

1993–1996: ''Fitzjoy''

Dom Pompeo quit in 1993 and was replaced by Yuri Mohacsi. That line-up released the EP ''Love Goes Plaid'' on RPN Records in Europe and Boss Tuneage in America. In 1996, they recorded and released what would be their last studio album, ''Fitzjoy'', on Hypnotic Records

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