Slow

BastardofYoung · 05-07-2011, 12:41 PM

Influential band that came out of Vancouver, BC in the mid 80's. Started out as Chuck and the Fu*ks, then became SiSu before changing their name to Slow.

They were known also as a band who were influential on the grunge scene, influencing many. They have slipped under the radar though since, and that is a shame since they were great.

They would co on to become Circle C (copyright)

But they are well worth a listen:

First song they released from the "Undergrowth Vancouver 84" comp.

Their first single:

The "Against the Glass" EP:

That is all of their recorded material as Slow, minus one song from a Christmas EP.

But yeah, deft. one of the best bands to come out of the Vancouver punk scene, and Canada in general in my opinion.

BastardofYoung · 06-12-2011, 02:40 PM

here is a write up from a blog entry somebody did on Slow.

"At the risk of turning this blog into what my previous one started to become ("All Canadian Punk Hits All Time!!!") I'm still going to provide you with some of the lesser-known lights of Canuck Punk Rock.

And then there's Slow.

I must admit, when they were in their heyday (!) I had neither heard them, nor heard of them ('cause I was into mid-80s Hard Rock and Q107 Classic Shlock -- okay...I still like that stuff).

Anyway, my first reference to Slow came when I was doing internet research on the Canadian Punk Rock scene for a possible documentary. I stumbled upon an online version of one of Chart Magazine's Greatest Canadian Something Or The Other lists for 1996. Slow's I Broke The Circle EP was listed as 17th best Canadian album of all time, in a reader poll. The single "Have Not Been The Same" was named 10th greatest song.

"Slow?" I thought; "What an awful name for a group. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but be intrigued by the descriptor given along the entry for "Have Not Been The Same" (it's offline now, so I can no longer refer to it). Still, I found the song when I purchased a copy of the great Last Call compilation.

So not having ever seen the band live or ever met members of the group, I have to rely on my own journalistic research skills to suss out some form of condensed biography here. As such, if my sources lead me astray, I apologize. Any corrections/additions to the story can be left in the Comments section. Okay...here goes:

Semi-legendary and utterly destructive, Slow's claim to dubious fame took place at Expo '86 in Vancouver, British Columbia (more on that later). The group consisted of vocalist Tom Anselmi, guitarists Ziggy Sigmund and Christian Thorvaldson, bassist Stephen Hamm and drummer Terry Russell.

Hamm and Russell reportedly had been in a punk band called Chuck & The F*cks. They are said to have played an elementary school concert (reportedly, at Queen Mary Elementary), where many of the teachers forced the children to leave. Of course, that leads one to wonder why an elementary school would book a band called "Chuck & The F*cks", but hey...

Anyway, apparently the rest of the band were previously in an outfit called Sisu (correct me if I'm wrong about this). The two factions got together and formed Slow, which produced the single, "I Broke The Circle", b/w "Black Is Black" in 1985"

"In 1986, they would release their magnum opus, the legendary Against The Glass; a 6-song EP.
This is the recording they would tour the Pacific Northwest with. It should be noted that the band did this during the mid-to-late-80’s:

They toured Seattle wearing lumberjack shirts and played grungey, 70’s-influenced hard rock infused with punk. S0und familiar? Yes, these guys were the original inspiration for the Seattle Grunge movement of the early 90’s. I once read a story, where Art Bergmann of the K-Tels/Young Canadians (?) was once approached by an American record guy about checking out a new group called Mudhoney. The guy was so excited about this great, brand new music and wanted to know what Bergmann thought about them. Bergmann dismissed the band as poseurs. “So what? We’ve got a group in Vancouver named Slow who are the real thing.” (Or something to that effect, I’m not actually quoting — just typing from memory).

If you should be deserted on a desert island and had to choose just one record to take with you, it probably should be this one."

--

you can find the original article, as well as download links for their stuff on the same page. Just put 'slow against the glass' into google and it will come up.

Zer0 · 06-13-2011, 03:22 PM

I'm liking the sound of the Against The Glass EP, it has a nice mixture of rock and roll groove and high-octane speed.

You wouldn't have any links by any chance?

BastardofYoung · 06-13-2011, 04:24 PM

Model Citizen...Zero Discipline: Slow

here you can download their stuff on here. I am sure it all works, but if there is any problems or any corrupt files, just let me know and I will re-upload them to my mediafire page... this page is not mine, so I am not sure... but i think there should be no problem with them, i got a friend to check em out not that long ago and they all worked.

Zer0 · 06-13-2011, 04:44 PM

I'll try those, cheers man!

BastardofYoung · 06-13-2011, 05:07 PM

No problem, glad you enjoy them. Vancouver had such an amazing punk scene in the early-mid 80's... Slow, DOA, The Pointed Sticks, Subhumans, The Dish Rags, Death Sentence and many others. It is very different from many of the other scenes that were happening at the time in say California and Washington...

Great documentary on it called "Bloodied but Unbowed" is coming out on DVD soon I hope: Bloodied But Unbowed - Vancouver Punk New Wave Music Documentary

trailor (edited):

narrated by my friend Billy Hopeless, formerly from The Black Halos, and now in a band called The Bonitos... I originally heard of Slow from him, and his references to them in this interview... from "Against the Glass" a show named after the album by Slow in I believe Kingston, Ontario.

There is a version of the doc on the site for a network called Knowledge. but I strongly suggest if you look at it on the site DO NOT WATCH IT!.... it is the cut down version, not the full thing... they gave them permission to show it on the actual network, but the version on the site is not authorized by them, and they have been trying to get it taken off so that people do not think it is the final version... but they refuse to do so even when asked by the director... so out of respect for the makers of the documentary and Billy himself, I will not watch it on there... better to wait til the DVD comes out and see it the way it i meant to be seen.

Unknown Soldier · 06-14-2011, 03:02 AM

I`d never heard of this band before but an interesting listen and its a case of a band that should`ve made it but didn`t. The lead singer Tom Anselmi (Surely a distant cousin of Phil Anselmo) sounds like a hybrid of Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop. Listening to this band I can really see the obvious comparisons to Mudhoney.

adryn franklyn · 06-15-2011, 10:10 AM

such an interesting forum, i really got to know more about it.

Unknown Soldier · 06-15-2011, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adryn franklyn

such an interesting forum, i really got to know more about it.

...and if you tell your mates that you know who Slow are, they`ll be real impressed.

BastardofYoung · 07-03-2011, 12:55 AM

Their 2 videos as well.

05-07-2011, 12:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
BastardofYoung Buzz Killjoy Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 2,692	Slow Influential band that came out of Vancouver, BC in the mid 80's. Started out as Chuck and the Fuks, then became SiSu before changing their name to Slow. They were known also as a band who were influential on the grunge scene, influencing many. They have slipped under the radar though since, and that is a shame since they were great. They would co on to become Circle C (copyright) But they are well worth a listen: First song they released from the "Undergrowth Vancouver 84" comp. Their first single: The "Against the Glass" EP: That is all of their recorded material as Slow, minus one song from a Christmas EP. But yeah, deft. one of the best bands to come out of the Vancouver punk scene, and Canada in general in my opinion. __________________ last.fm* ‎"I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people." - Jack Handey. Last edited by BastardofYoung; 06-12-2011 at 02:41 PM.

06-12-2011, 02:40 PM	#2 (permalink)
BastardofYoung Buzz Killjoy Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 2,692	here is a write up from a blog entry somebody did on Slow. "At the risk of turning this blog into what my previous one started to become ("All Canadian Punk Hits All Time!!!") I'm still going to provide you with some of the lesser-known lights of Canuck Punk Rock. And then there's Slow. I must admit, when they were in their heyday (!) I had neither heard them, nor heard of them ('cause I was into mid-80s Hard Rock and Q107 Classic Shlock -- okay...I still like that stuff). Anyway, my first reference to Slow came when I was doing internet research on the Canadian Punk Rock scene for a possible documentary. I stumbled upon an online version of one of Chart Magazine's Greatest Canadian Something Or The Other lists for 1996. Slow's I Broke The Circle EP was listed as 17th best Canadian album of all time, in a reader poll. The single "Have Not Been The Same" was named 10th greatest song. "Slow?" I thought; "What an awful name for a group. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but be intrigued by the descriptor given along the entry for "Have Not Been The Same" (it's offline now, so I can no longer refer to it). Still, I found the song when I purchased a copy of the great Last Call compilation. So not having ever seen the band live or ever met members of the group, I have to rely on my own journalistic research skills to suss out some form of condensed biography here. As such, if my sources lead me astray, I apologize. Any corrections/additions to the story can be left in the Comments section. Okay...here goes: Semi-legendary and utterly destructive, Slow's claim to dubious fame took place at Expo '86 in Vancouver, British Columbia (more on that later). The group consisted of vocalist Tom Anselmi, guitarists Ziggy Sigmund and Christian Thorvaldson, bassist Stephen Hamm and drummer Terry Russell. Hamm and Russell reportedly had been in a punk band called Chuck & The Fcks. They are said to have played an elementary school concert (reportedly, at Queen Mary Elementary), where many of the teachers forced the children to leave. Of course, that leads one to wonder why an elementary school would book a band called "Chuck & The Fcks", but hey... Anyway, apparently the rest of the band were previously in an outfit called Sisu (correct me if I'm wrong about this). The two factions got together and formed Slow, which produced the single, "I Broke The Circle", b/w "Black Is Black" in 1985" "In 1986, they would release their magnum opus, the legendary Against The Glass; a 6-song EP. This is the recording they would tour the Pacific Northwest with. It should be noted that the band did this during the mid-to-late-80’s: They toured Seattle wearing lumberjack shirts and played grungey, 70’s-influenced hard rock infused with punk. S0und familiar? Yes, these guys were the original inspiration for the Seattle Grunge movement of the early 90’s. I once read a story, where Art Bergmann of the K-Tels/Young Canadians (?) was once approached by an American record guy about checking out a new group called Mudhoney. The guy was so excited about this great, brand new music and wanted to know what Bergmann thought about them. Bergmann dismissed the band as poseurs. “So what? We’ve got a group in Vancouver named Slow who are the real thing.” (Or something to that effect, I’m not actually quoting — just typing from memory). If you should be deserted on a desert island and had to choose just one record to take with you, it probably should be this one." -- you can find the original article, as well as download links for their stuff on the same page. Just put 'slow against the glass' into google and it will come up. __________________ last.fm ‎"I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people." - Jack Handey.

06-13-2011, 03:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
Zer0 ∞ Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 3,792	I'm liking the sound of the Against The Glass EP, it has a nice mixture of rock and roll groove and high-octane speed. You wouldn't have any links by any chance? __________________ Last FM \| RYM \| The Final Sound

06-13-2011, 04:24 PM	#4 (permalink)
BastardofYoung Buzz Killjoy Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 2,692	Model Citizen...Zero Discipline: Slow here you can download their stuff on here. I am sure it all works, but if there is any problems or any corrupt files, just let me know and I will re-upload them to my mediafire page... this page is not mine, so I am not sure... but i think there should be no problem with them, i got a friend to check em out not that long ago and they all worked. __________________ last.fm ‎"I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people." - Jack Handey.

06-13-2011, 04:44 PM	#5 (permalink)
Zer0 ∞ Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 3,792	I'll try those, cheers man! __________________ Last FM \| RYM \| The Final Sound

06-13-2011, 05:07 PM	#6 (permalink)
BastardofYoung Buzz Killjoy Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 2,692	No problem, glad you enjoy them. Vancouver had such an amazing punk scene in the early-mid 80's... Slow, DOA, The Pointed Sticks, Subhumans, The Dish Rags, Death Sentence and many others. It is very different from many of the other scenes that were happening at the time in say California and Washington... Great documentary on it called "Bloodied but Unbowed" is coming out on DVD soon I hope: Bloodied But Unbowed - Vancouver Punk New Wave Music Documentary trailor (edited): narrated by my friend Billy Hopeless, formerly from The Black Halos, and now in a band called The Bonitos... I originally heard of Slow from him, and his references to them in this interview... from "Against the Glass" a show named after the album by Slow in I believe Kingston, Ontario. There is a version of the doc on the site for a network called Knowledge. but I strongly suggest if you look at it on the site DO NOT WATCH IT!.... it is the cut down version, not the full thing... they gave them permission to show it on the actual network, but the version on the site is not authorized by them, and they have been trying to get it taken off so that people do not think it is the final version... but they refuse to do so even when asked by the director... so out of respect for the makers of the documentary and Billy himself, I will not watch it on there... better to wait til the DVD comes out and see it the way it i meant to be seen. __________________ last.fm ‎"I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people." - Jack Handey.

06-14-2011, 03:02 AM	#7 (permalink)
Unknown Soldier Horribly Creative Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: London, The Big Smoke Posts: 8,265	I`d never heard of this band before but an interesting listen and its a case of a band that should`ve made it but didn`t. The lead singer Tom Anselmi (Surely a distant cousin of Phil Anselmo) sounds like a hybrid of Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop. Listening to this band I can really see the obvious comparisons to Mudhoney.

06-15-2011, 10:10 AM	#8 (permalink)
adryn franklyn Groupie Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 18	such an interesting forum, i really got to know more about it.

07-03-2011, 12:55 AM	#10 (permalink)
BastardofYoung Buzz Killjoy Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 2,692	Their 2 videos as well. __________________ last.fm ‎"I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people." - Jack Handey.