SNFU
Encyclopedia
SNFU is a Canadian
punk rock
band formed in 1981 in Edmonton, Alberta
and later relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia
. They have released nine full-length albums and are cited as a formative influence on the skate punk
sub-genre.
The band came to fruition amid the inchoate Canadian hardcore punk
scene of the early 1980s. Coupling raw and horrific lyrical imagery with a dynamic punk sound, their 1985 debut album, ...And No One Else Wanted to Play, has remained influential. The group expanded its audience and style through two further studio albums, but disbanded in 1989 due to internal tensions.
They reformed two years later, however, and wrote new material that was comparatively refined, while still iconoclastic. The reconstituted group quickly garnered a recording contract with the prominent indie label
Epitaph Records
, which was followed by six-digit record sales and touring alongside of such successful punk rock acts as Green Day
, Bad Religion
and Iggy Pop
. The band became independent in 1997 after a split with Epitaph and endured a second breakup in 2005 before again reforming two years later.
They are fronted by the sardonic singer, lyricist and artist Ken Chinn
(known as Mr. Chi Pig), currently their only original member. The band built its melodic hardcore
punk sound around dual guitar work from twin brothers Brent
and Marc Belke
before their respective departures in 1998 and 2005. The group is presently completed by guitarists Ken Fleming
and Sean Colig
, drummer Jon Card
and bassist Denis Nowoselski.
subculture in the late 1970s. In 1981, their shared interest in the burgeoning punk rock movement led them to form the band Live Sex Show with drummer Ed Dobek and bassist Phil Larson. Live Sex Show broke up later that year, and Chinn and the Belkes began the new group Society's No Fucking Use, whose name was soon shortened to SNFU. The new band's initial lineup was completed by bassist Warren Bidlock and drummer Evan C. Jones.
Jimmy Schmitz replaced Bidlock in 1982, and the band recorded their earliest studio tracks for the It Came From Inner Space compilation LP on Rubber Records. (These recordings were re-released on the Real Men Don't Watch Quincy bootleg 7" in 1990.) They gradually built an audience throughout North America on the strength of their aggressive live set, publicity in Thrasher Magazine
and the inclusion of their track "Womanizer" on the Something to Believe In compilation LP on the American label BYO Records
. Their debut album, ...And No One Else Wanted to Play, was recorded in 1984 and released via BYO the following year. The album is considered a classic in many circuits: it ranked, for example, on Chart Magazine's
Top 100 Greatest Canadian Albums of All Time list in 2000. The band has since maintained the quirk of releasing albums with seven-word titles throughout its career.
Following the success of their debut, they spent the next few years touring extensively. Bassist Dave Bacon and drummer Jon Card (previously of Personality Crisis
, and later of D.O.A
and the Subhumans
) replaced the departing Schmitz and Jones respectively in 1985. The group's second album, If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish
, was recorded the following year and released on BYO. Card left late in 1986; with his replacement, Ted Simm, they self-released the She's Not on the Menu
7" EP, which also included recordings from 1982. Curtis Creager
replaced Bacon soon thereafter.
The band enjoyed steadily-increasing popularity: in 1987, Flipside
fanzine
voted them Best Live Band, beating the Red Hot Chili Peppers
and Fugazi
, and the highly successful thrash metal
band Metallica
included photo inserts of lead singer James Hetfield
wearing SNFU's iconic 'zombie' design t-shirt in their $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited
. SNFU's third record, Better Than a Stick in the Eye
, was released in 1988 by the large Canadian label Cargo Records. After further touring, including their first trip to Europe, the group disbanded in late 1989 due to internal tensions and general exhaustion.
Chinn then relocated to Vancouver and led The Wongs, a short-lived group who released an EP. The Belke brothers began the Wheat Chiefs
, a new melodic rock project who would later go on to release one record, Redeemer, in 1996.
, an album of live material, demos, and studio outtakes from 1986 to 1989 to satisfy their contract with Cargo Records. To support the album, the band reformed around the Belkes, Chinn, Creager and Card, initially planning only to complete a single tour. The tour was successful, however, and they opted to continue their activities upon its completion. The Belke brothers joined Chinn and Card in Vancouver early in 1992 and began a new incarnation of the group with bassist Ken Fleming (formerly of the Winnipeg
-based skate punk band The Unwanted.) Card was ultimately unable to continue performing with the group, and was replaced by Dave Rees
, also the drummer for the Wheat Chiefs. Fleming's tenure as bassist was brief, mainly focusing around an extended European tour, but he would go on to play a major role in SNFU fifteen years later. He was replaced by Wheat Chiefs bassist Rob Johnson
.
After this configuration debuted with a small-run EP, Beautiful, Unlike You and I
, on the Hom Wreckerds Music imprint, they were signed to a three album deal by the high-profile punk label Epitaph Records. They began a five-year period of heavy activity, releasing Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes
in 1993, The One Voted Most Likely to Succeed
in 1995, and FYULABA
(the compromised version of the band's intended title, Fuck You Up Like a Bad Accident) in 1996. This era found them playing increasingly melodic music, displaying bi-conditional influence from the third-wave punk sound of the early '90s that also owed a debt to the band's own previous innovations. Their time with Epitaph marked the most commercially successful activity of their career, as the band shared touring bills with many of the era's punk rock luminaries, performed with opening support from up-and-coming bands like Korn
and Tool
, and sold over 100,000 albums.
Despite this success, Epitaph opted against renewing the band's contract after its expiration in late 1997. Shortly thereafter, the band announced the departure of Brent Belke and Dave Rees, both of whom were leaving to pursue careers in film and television. Let's Get It Right the First Time
, a live album recorded during one of the final shows with this lineup, was co-released by Megaforce Records
and the band's new, self-run label Rake Records the following year.
(of Numb
, Jakalope
, and Bif Naked
's band) to replace Rees, marking the first four-piece lineup in their career. They continued to tour and began sporadic work on a new record, a process that ultimately took six years. As a stopgap between albums, they released The Ping Pong EP
, featuring five songs culled from an aborted 1997 recording session with the Epitaph-era lineup and producer Dave Ogilvie
. The EP was issued in 2000 on CD and 10" vinyl
by the Alternative Tentacles
label.
Stubbs was replaced by Chris Thompson (known as Corporal Ninny) later that year. In 2002, Johnson left the band after a ten-year tenure to pursue new projects, including a solo rap
album under the name Freshbread called Big Boss Battle and the new rock band Air Raid Siren. With Thompson also departing and Marc Belke relocating to Toronto
, the band went on hiatus, discarding the new material they had recorded. Chinn formed the side project Slaveco.
with members of the band Ocean 3.
SNFU resumed activity in 2003 with a new rhythm section composed of drummer Trevor MacGregor (of Treble Charger
) and bassist Matt Warhurst
(of Slaveco. and Jakalope). In the Meantime and In-Between Time
, SNFU's long-awaited ninth album, was completed and released on Rake Records in 2004. MacGregor left shortly thereafter and Shane Smith
(also of Slaveco. and Jakalope) replaced him, playing their 2004 and 2005 tours. In August 2005, the group announced that they had again decided to disband, due to frustrations with the music industry and further exhaustion.
Chinn, Warhurst and Smith continued sporadic activity with Slaveco., but the group was short lived. Belke began working in radio, hosting his own show. During this time, Chinn suffered from ill health and drug-related problems, and became homeless.
There was a mild amount of controversy surrounding the continuation of the band in the absence of founding member and primary songwriter Marc Belke, who initially renounced the new lineup. On the subject, Chinn stated, "As far as I’m concerned it’s SNFU. The band has changed all throughout the years, and this is just another change. That’s exactly how I see it ... Those songs are my life. I’ll fucking play them ‘til I die.” Belke and the band later made peace. In early 2009, Smith returned to the drum kit, replacing Mareels, and the group embarked on extensive Canadian and European tours.
Open Your Mouth and Say...Mr. Chi Pig, a biographical documentary film
about Chinn, was released in March 2010. Produced by the Canadian company Prairie Coast Films, the film focused on Chinn's life, including his drug abuse and schizophrenia
, and featured interview footage with such notables as Jello Biafra
of the Dead Kennedys
, Brendan Canning
of Broken Social Scene
, Corb Lund of the Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans
and The Smalls
, and Joey Keithley of D.O.A. citing SNFU's influence on themselves personally and the rock scene at large.
In April 2010, Jon Card rejoined the band, replacing Smith on good terms in time for further touring. Card thus became the only musician other than Chinn to play in SNFU during all three periods of their career (being before, between and after the two breakups.) Shortly thereafter, the band completed their first five-piece lineup in 12 years with the addition of second guitarist Sean Colig (of Savannah and Minority), who also became responsible for the harmony vocals previously sung by Marc Belke. They announced plans to re-enter the recording studio for the first time in six years to track new material for a possible tenth album. Additionally, punk rock historian and author Ty Stranglehold announced his work on the band's forthcoming official biography.
Former members
Live Albums
Singles and EPs
Compilations
Bootlegs
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band formed in 1981 in Edmonton, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
and later relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. They have released nine full-length albums and are cited as a formative influence on the skate punk
Skate punk
Skate punk is a sub genre of punk rock, originally a derivative of the West Coast hardcore punk scene, that is named after its popularity among skateboarders and association with skateboarding culture. Skate punk most commonly describes the sound of melodic hardcore bands from the 1990s with an...
sub-genre.
The band came to fruition amid the inchoate Canadian hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
scene of the early 1980s. Coupling raw and horrific lyrical imagery with a dynamic punk sound, their 1985 debut album, ...And No One Else Wanted to Play, has remained influential. The group expanded its audience and style through two further studio albums, but disbanded in 1989 due to internal tensions.
They reformed two years later, however, and wrote new material that was comparatively refined, while still iconoclastic. The reconstituted group quickly garnered a recording contract with the prominent indie label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
, which was followed by six-digit record sales and touring alongside of such successful punk rock acts as Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
, Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
and Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
. The band became independent in 1997 after a split with Epitaph and endured a second breakup in 2005 before again reforming two years later.
They are fronted by the sardonic singer, lyricist and artist Ken Chinn
Ken Chinn
Kendall "Ken" Chinn is a Canadian punk rock lead vocalist and artist. He is best known, under the pseudonym Mr. Chi Pig, as the lead singer of the band SNFU. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Early life and career:Born to German and Chinese parents, Chinn was the second...
(known as Mr. Chi Pig), currently their only original member. The band built its melodic hardcore
Melodic hardcore
Melodic hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on vocal melody. The genre is commonly defined with fast hardcore drum beats, complex guitar riffs and melodic singing with occasional screaming and shouting.-History:...
punk sound around dual guitar work from twin brothers Brent
Brent Belke
Brent Belke is a Canadian guitarist and composer. After playing in the punk and alternative rock bands SNFU and The Wheat Chiefs from 1981–1998, Belke began a career composing music for film and television....
and Marc Belke
Marc Belke
Marc Belke is a Canadian musician and radio personality. He played guitar in the punk and alternative rock bands SNFU and The Wheat Chiefs, and also sang lead vocals in the latter...
before their respective departures in 1998 and 2005. The group is presently completed by guitarists Ken Fleming
Ken Fleming (musician)
Ken Fleming is a Canadian punk rock musician. He is the current guitarist in SNFU, and has also played bass in the early Canadian hardcore punk band The Unwanted and the industrial alternative rock band Econoline Crush.-Career:...
and Sean Colig
Sean Colig
Sean Colig is a Canadian musician and record producer who currently serves at the guitarist for the punk rock band SNFU and the heavy metal group Savannah.-Early years :...
, drummer Jon Card
Jon Card
Jon Card is a Canadian punk rock drummer. He is the current drummer in the long-standing punk bands SNFU and The Subhumans.-Career:Card grew up in Calgary, Alberta and formed his first band, Plasticide in his late teens. In 1981 he joined the Winnipeg-based band Personality Crisis, with whom he...
and bassist Denis Nowoselski.
Early years, first four LPs (1981–1989)
Chinn and the Belke brothers met as teenagers in Edmonton through the skateboardingSkateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
subculture in the late 1970s. In 1981, their shared interest in the burgeoning punk rock movement led them to form the band Live Sex Show with drummer Ed Dobek and bassist Phil Larson. Live Sex Show broke up later that year, and Chinn and the Belkes began the new group Society's No Fucking Use, whose name was soon shortened to SNFU. The new band's initial lineup was completed by bassist Warren Bidlock and drummer Evan C. Jones.
Jimmy Schmitz replaced Bidlock in 1982, and the band recorded their earliest studio tracks for the It Came From Inner Space compilation LP on Rubber Records. (These recordings were re-released on the Real Men Don't Watch Quincy bootleg 7" in 1990.) They gradually built an audience throughout North America on the strength of their aggressive live set, publicity in Thrasher Magazine
Thrasher magazine
Thrasher is a monthly skateboarding magazine founded in 1981 by Kevin Thatcher, Eric Swenson, and Fausto Vitello. It regularly publishes articles , skateboard photography, interviews with professional skateboarders, interviews with and reviews of musical groups, skatepark reviews, and miscellaneous...
and the inclusion of their track "Womanizer" on the Something to Believe In compilation LP on the American label BYO Records
BYO Records
BYO Records is a Los Angeles, California based independent punk rock record label created by Shawn and Mark Stern, two of the three brothers of the seminal California punk rock band Youth Brigade . BYO stands for Better Youth Organization and aims to promote punk and other alternative youth...
. Their debut album, ...And No One Else Wanted to Play, was recorded in 1984 and released via BYO the following year. The album is considered a classic in many circuits: it ranked, for example, on Chart Magazine's
Chart (magazine)
ChartAttack is a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine called Chart, which was published from 1991 to 2009, the web version continues operation....
Top 100 Greatest Canadian Albums of All Time list in 2000. The band has since maintained the quirk of releasing albums with seven-word titles throughout its career.
Following the success of their debut, they spent the next few years touring extensively. Bassist Dave Bacon and drummer Jon Card (previously of Personality Crisis
Personality Crisis (band)
Personality Crisis was a punk rock band formed in 1979 in Winnipeg, Canada. Personality Crisis is widely credited with having a more complex sound than most other punk rock bands of the early 1980s while retaining the power of the early 1980s punk sound....
, and later of D.O.A
D.O.A. (band)
D.O.A. is a hardcore punk band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are often referred to as the "founders" of hardcore punk, along with Black Flag, Bad Brains, Teen Idles, and Minor Threat. Their second album Hardcore '81 was thought by many to have been the first actual reference to...
and the Subhumans
Subhumans (Canadian band)
The Subhumans are a punk band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that formed in 1978.Known by pejorative, punk rock nicknames, original members were known simply as "Useless" , "Dimwit" , "Wimpy" and "Normal" .-History:Dimwit quit the band shortly after their first 7" was released to join...
) replaced the departing Schmitz and Jones respectively in 1985. The group's second album, If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish
If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish
If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish was the second full-length album from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada's punk band SNFU. It was released on BYO Records in 1986...
, was recorded the following year and released on BYO. Card left late in 1986; with his replacement, Ted Simm, they self-released the She's Not on the Menu
She's Not on the Menu
She's Not on the Menu is an EP by Edmonton, Alberta-based punk rock band SNFU. It was self-released by the band in 1987. The A side was recorded this year, while tracks 2 and 3 date to 1982.-Musicians:* Mr...
7" EP, which also included recordings from 1982. Curtis Creager
Curtis Creager
Curtis Creager is a Canadian bass guitarist, best known as a former member of the punk rock band SNFU.-Career:Creager joined the influential Edmonton, Alberta-based skate punk band SNFU in 1987, becoming their fourth bassist...
replaced Bacon soon thereafter.
The band enjoyed steadily-increasing popularity: in 1987, Flipside
Flipside (fanzine)
Flipside was a punk rock fanzine published in Los Angeles, California from 1977 to 2000.As one of the first and longest running US punk rock fanzines, this publication extensively chronicled the world of independent and underground music during this era. Known for its highly opinionated cast of...
fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
voted them Best Live Band, beating the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
and Fugazi
Fugazi (band)
Fugazi is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1987. The band's continual members are guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty....
, and the highly successful thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
included photo inserts of lead singer James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
wearing SNFU's iconic 'zombie' design t-shirt in their $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited
At the end of "Last Caress"/"Green Hell" are a few bars of Iron Maiden's song "Run to the Hills", but is played out of key. Iron Maiden responded to this on a b-side cover of the Montrose song titled "Space Station No...
. SNFU's third record, Better Than a Stick in the Eye
Better Than A Stick In The Eye
Better Than a Stick in the Eye is an album by Edmonton punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1988.-Track listing:#Time to Buy a Futon#G.I...
, was released in 1988 by the large Canadian label Cargo Records. After further touring, including their first trip to Europe, the group disbanded in late 1989 due to internal tensions and general exhaustion.
Chinn then relocated to Vancouver and led The Wongs, a short-lived group who released an EP. The Belke brothers began the Wheat Chiefs
Wheat Chiefs
The Wheat Chiefs was a Canadian melodic rock band with punk rock influence formed in 1988 Edmonton, Alberta and later relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia. The group featured several members of SNFU and one from Jr...
, a new melodic rock project who would later go on to release one record, Redeemer, in 1996.
Reformation, Epitaph years (1991–1998)
In 1991, SNFU completed plans to release The Last of the Big Time SuspendersThe Last Of The Big Time Suspenders
The Last of the Big Time Suspenders is an album by Edmonton punk rock band SNFU. The album, a compilation of mostly unreleased studio and live tracks, was released in 1991, two years after SNFU's first breakup, to satisfy their unfulfilled two-album contract with Cargo Records...
, an album of live material, demos, and studio outtakes from 1986 to 1989 to satisfy their contract with Cargo Records. To support the album, the band reformed around the Belkes, Chinn, Creager and Card, initially planning only to complete a single tour. The tour was successful, however, and they opted to continue their activities upon its completion. The Belke brothers joined Chinn and Card in Vancouver early in 1992 and began a new incarnation of the group with bassist Ken Fleming (formerly of the Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
-based skate punk band The Unwanted.) Card was ultimately unable to continue performing with the group, and was replaced by Dave Rees
Dave Rees
David Rees is an American-born musician and television editor currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Rees played drums in the punk rock band SNFU and the alternative rock band Wheat Chiefs...
, also the drummer for the Wheat Chiefs. Fleming's tenure as bassist was brief, mainly focusing around an extended European tour, but he would go on to play a major role in SNFU fifteen years later. He was replaced by Wheat Chiefs bassist Rob Johnson
Rob Johnson (musician)
Rob Johnson is a Canadian musician currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia...
.
After this configuration debuted with a small-run EP, Beautiful, Unlike You and I
Beautiful, Unlike You and I
Beautiful, Unlike You and I is an EP by Vancouver punk rock band SNFU. It was recorded in 1993 and released on the Hom Wreckers Music label. Side A is a re-recording of a song originally featured as a live track on their The Last of the Big Time Suspenders album...
, on the Hom Wreckerds Music imprint, they were signed to a three album deal by the high-profile punk label Epitaph Records. They began a five-year period of heavy activity, releasing Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes
Something Green And Leafy This Way Comes
Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes is an album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1993.-Track listing:# "All Those Opposed"# "Reality Is a Ride on the Bus"# "Joni Mitchell Tapes"# "A Bomb"# "Tin Fish"...
in 1993, The One Voted Most Likely to Succeed
The One Voted Most Likely To Succeed
The One Voted Most Likely to Succeed is an album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1995 on Epitaph Records.-Track listing:#"Rusty Rake" – 1:59 #"Better Place" – 1:45 #"Big Thumbs" – 2:21...
in 1995, and FYULABA
FYULABA
FYULABA is an album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1996 through Epitaph Records. The name is an acronym for "Fuck You Up Like a Bad Accident".-Track listing:* 0...
(the compromised version of the band's intended title, Fuck You Up Like a Bad Accident) in 1996. This era found them playing increasingly melodic music, displaying bi-conditional influence from the third-wave punk sound of the early '90s that also owed a debt to the band's own previous innovations. Their time with Epitaph marked the most commercially successful activity of their career, as the band shared touring bills with many of the era's punk rock luminaries, performed with opening support from up-and-coming bands like Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
and Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
, and sold over 100,000 albums.
Despite this success, Epitaph opted against renewing the band's contract after its expiration in late 1997. Shortly thereafter, the band announced the departure of Brent Belke and Dave Rees, both of whom were leaving to pursue careers in film and television. Let's Get It Right the First Time
Let's Get It Right the First Time
Let's Get It Right the First Time is a live album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1998. The performance was recorded at The Starfish Room in Vancouver in November 1997.-Track listing:#Intro#I Forget...
, a live album recorded during one of the final shows with this lineup, was co-released by Megaforce Records
Megaforce Records
Megaforce Records is an American independent record label which was founded in 1982 by Jon and Marsha Zazula to publish the first works of Metallica. It has offices in New York and Philadelphia. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony Music Entertainment/RED Distribution...
and the band's new, self-run label Rake Records the following year.
As four-piece (1998–2005)
SNFU hired drummer Sean StubbsSean Stubbs
Sean R. Stubbs is a Canadian musician. He has served as the drummer in the industrial rock bands Numb and Jakalope, and the punk rock band SNFU. He has also been a member of alternative rock singer-songwriter Bif Naked's band.-Career:...
(of Numb
Numb (band)
Numb is an electro-industrial band that was based in Vancouver, Canada. It was founded by Don Gordon, David Hall and Sean Stubbs in 1986. Following his Suspended single, Gordon retired the project and moved to Vietnam to live with his wife.-Past members:...
, Jakalope
Jakalope
Jakalope is a Canadian pop/electronica group. They are named for the fictional animal of the same name, although the animal's name is more commonly spelled jackalope. The band was formed in 2003 by noted Canadian industrial musician and producer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie most famous for his studio work...
, and Bif Naked
Bif Naked
Bif Naked is a Juno Award-winning, Indian-born American-Canadian multi-platinum record selling, rock singer, writer, poet, motivational speaker and actress.-Personal life:...
's band) to replace Rees, marking the first four-piece lineup in their career. They continued to tour and began sporadic work on a new record, a process that ultimately took six years. As a stopgap between albums, they released The Ping Pong EP
The Ping Pong EP
The Ping Pong EP is an EP by Vancouver punk rock band SNFU. The EP was recorded in 1997 and released in 2000.-Track listing:#"Questions, Questions, Questions?" – 2:29 #"I'm Your Carpet" – 2:45#"Slavedriver" – 1:47...
, featuring five songs culled from an aborted 1997 recording session with the Epitaph-era lineup and producer Dave Ogilvie
Dave Ogilvie
Dave "Rave" Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer and musician. He is a producer of industrial music and has been associated with bands such as Skinny Puppy , Doughboys, The Birthday Massacre , Marilyn Manson, Jakalope , Killing Joke, Queensrÿche, Alexz Johnson, Fake Shark...
. The EP was issued in 2000 on CD and 10" vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
by the Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
label.
Stubbs was replaced by Chris Thompson (known as Corporal Ninny) later that year. In 2002, Johnson left the band after a ten-year tenure to pursue new projects, including a solo rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
album under the name Freshbread called Big Boss Battle and the new rock band Air Raid Siren. With Thompson also departing and Marc Belke relocating to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, the band went on hiatus, discarding the new material they had recorded. Chinn formed the side project Slaveco.
Slaveco.
Slaveco. was a Canadian alternative rock band primarily active from 2002–2004, and sporadically active until 2006. The group was composed of three former members of the group Ocean 3, joined by Ken Chinn , the lead singer of the influential skate punk band SNFU.-History:The band members first met...
with members of the band Ocean 3.
SNFU resumed activity in 2003 with a new rhythm section composed of drummer Trevor MacGregor (of Treble Charger
Treble Charger
Treble Charger was a Canadian rock group, consisting of vocalist Greig Nori, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Trevor MacGregor. Guitarist Bill Priddle, a founding member of the band, left in 2003. They began with a melodic indie rock style, but evolved into more of a pop punk band after signing to...
) and bassist Matt Warhurst
Matt Warhurst
Matt Warhurst is a Canadian musician and record producer. He has played bass guitar in the punk rock group SNFU and the industrial rock band Jakalope.-Career:...
(of Slaveco. and Jakalope). In the Meantime and In-Between Time
In the Meantime and In Between Time
In the Meantime and In Between Time is an album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU, released in 2004. It reached number six on the Top Ten Metal/Punk chart on ChartAttack's radio charts for the week of December 10, 2004 and charted at various Canadian campus and community radio...
, SNFU's long-awaited ninth album, was completed and released on Rake Records in 2004. MacGregor left shortly thereafter and Shane Smith
Shane Smith
Shane Smith is a Canadian drummer. He has performed with the punk rock bands SNFU and Slaveco., and the alternative industrial rock bands Neurosonic and Jakalope.-Career:...
(also of Slaveco. and Jakalope) replaced him, playing their 2004 and 2005 tours. In August 2005, the group announced that they had again decided to disband, due to frustrations with the music industry and further exhaustion.
Chinn, Warhurst and Smith continued sporadic activity with Slaveco., but the group was short lived. Belke began working in radio, hosting his own show. During this time, Chinn suffered from ill health and drug-related problems, and became homeless.
Second reformation, recent activity (2007–present)
In July 2007, a party for SNFU's 25th anniversary was staged. Chinn and former member Fleming, now playing guitar, were joined by bassist Bryan McCallum and drummer Chad Mareels to play a set "as SNFU" (alternately "asSNFU") to celebrate the occasion. The Belkes, along with all other former members, were invited to participate but declined. The unrehearsed concert was intended as a one-off, but the four musicians also played a set to celebrate Chinn's 45th birthday in October. They eventually decided that they had properly reunited the band and continued as such, embarking on a six-day tour in early 2008. McCallum was replaced thereafter by Denis Nowoselski.There was a mild amount of controversy surrounding the continuation of the band in the absence of founding member and primary songwriter Marc Belke, who initially renounced the new lineup. On the subject, Chinn stated, "As far as I’m concerned it’s SNFU. The band has changed all throughout the years, and this is just another change. That’s exactly how I see it ... Those songs are my life. I’ll fucking play them ‘til I die.” Belke and the band later made peace. In early 2009, Smith returned to the drum kit, replacing Mareels, and the group embarked on extensive Canadian and European tours.
Open Your Mouth and Say...Mr. Chi Pig, a biographical documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about Chinn, was released in March 2010. Produced by the Canadian company Prairie Coast Films, the film focused on Chinn's life, including his drug abuse and schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, and featured interview footage with such notables as Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
of the Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
, Brendan Canning
Brendan Canning
Brendan Canning is a founding member of Broken Social Scene and a veteran indie rock performer who has been a member of various notable bands including By Divine Right, Blurtonia, Valley of the Giants, Len, and hHead....
of Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. Most of its members currently play in various other groups and solo projects, mainly based around the city of Toronto...
, Corb Lund of the Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans
Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans
Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans are a Canadian country music band, formerly known as the Corb Lund Band.-Corb Lund:Corb Lund, the lead singer, grew up in Southern Alberta living on his family's farm and ranches near Taber, Cardston and Rosemary. He is proud of being an Albertan...
and The Smalls
The Smalls
The Smalls were a hard rock/metal band from Edmonton, Alberta, with jazz, hardcore punk, speed metal and country music influences. They were probably the most prominent Alberta band in the second wave of performers coming out of the Canadian west coast DIY scene that was first ushered into Alberta...
, and Joey Keithley of D.O.A. citing SNFU's influence on themselves personally and the rock scene at large.
In April 2010, Jon Card rejoined the band, replacing Smith on good terms in time for further touring. Card thus became the only musician other than Chinn to play in SNFU during all three periods of their career (being before, between and after the two breakups.) Shortly thereafter, the band completed their first five-piece lineup in 12 years with the addition of second guitarist Sean Colig (of Savannah and Minority), who also became responsible for the harmony vocals previously sung by Marc Belke. They announced plans to re-enter the recording studio for the first time in six years to track new material for a possible tenth album. Additionally, punk rock historian and author Ty Stranglehold announced his work on the band's forthcoming official biography.
Band members
Current members- Ken ChinnKen ChinnKendall "Ken" Chinn is a Canadian punk rock lead vocalist and artist. He is best known, under the pseudonym Mr. Chi Pig, as the lead singer of the band SNFU. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Early life and career:Born to German and Chinese parents, Chinn was the second...
(Mr. Chi Pig) – vocals (1981–1989, 1991–2005, 2007–present) - Jon CardJon CardJon Card is a Canadian punk rock drummer. He is the current drummer in the long-standing punk bands SNFU and The Subhumans.-Career:Card grew up in Calgary, Alberta and formed his first band, Plasticide in his late teens. In 1981 he joined the Winnipeg-based band Personality Crisis, with whom he...
– drums (1985–1986, 1991–1992, 2010–present) - Ken FlemingKen Fleming (musician)Ken Fleming is a Canadian punk rock musician. He is the current guitarist in SNFU, and has also played bass in the early Canadian hardcore punk band The Unwanted and the industrial alternative rock band Econoline Crush.-Career:...
– bass (1992); guitar, backing vocals (2007–present) - Denis Nowoselski – bass, backing vocals (2008–present)
- Sean ColigSean ColigSean Colig is a Canadian musician and record producer who currently serves at the guitarist for the punk rock band SNFU and the heavy metal group Savannah.-Early years :...
– guitar, backing vocals (2010–present)
Former members
- Marc BelkeMarc BelkeMarc Belke is a Canadian musician and radio personality. He played guitar in the punk and alternative rock bands SNFU and The Wheat Chiefs, and also sang lead vocals in the latter...
– guitar, backing vocals (1981–1989, 1991–2005) - Brent BelkeBrent BelkeBrent Belke is a Canadian guitarist and composer. After playing in the punk and alternative rock bands SNFU and The Wheat Chiefs from 1981–1998, Belke began a career composing music for film and television....
– guitar, backing vocals (1981–1989, 1991–1998) - Warren Bidlock – bass (1981–1982)
- Evan C. Jones – drums (1981–1985)
- Jimmy Schmitz – bass (1982–1985)
- Dave Bacon – bass (1985–1987)
- Ted Simm – drums, backing vocals (1986–1989)
- Curtis CreagerCurtis CreagerCurtis Creager is a Canadian bass guitarist, best known as a former member of the punk rock band SNFU.-Career:Creager joined the influential Edmonton, Alberta-based skate punk band SNFU in 1987, becoming their fourth bassist...
– bass (1987–1989, 1991–1992) - Dave ReesDave ReesDavid Rees is an American-born musician and television editor currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Rees played drums in the punk rock band SNFU and the alternative rock band Wheat Chiefs...
– drums (1992–1998) - Rob JohnsonRob Johnson (musician)Rob Johnson is a Canadian musician currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia...
– bass, backing vocals (1992–2002) - Sean StubbsSean StubbsSean R. Stubbs is a Canadian musician. He has served as the drummer in the industrial rock bands Numb and Jakalope, and the punk rock band SNFU. He has also been a member of alternative rock singer-songwriter Bif Naked's band.-Career:...
– drums (1998–2000) - Chris Thompson – drums (2000–2002)
- Trevor MacGregor – drums (2003–2004)
- Matt WarhurstMatt WarhurstMatt Warhurst is a Canadian musician and record producer. He has played bass guitar in the punk rock group SNFU and the industrial rock band Jakalope.-Career:...
– bass, backing vocals (2003–2005) - Shane SmithShane SmithShane Smith is a Canadian drummer. He has performed with the punk rock bands SNFU and Slaveco., and the alternative industrial rock bands Neurosonic and Jakalope.-Career:...
– drums (2004–2005, 2009–2010) - Bryan McCallum – bass, backing vocals (2007–2008)
- Chad Mareels – drums, backing vocals (2007–2009)
Discography
Studio Albums- ...And No One Else Wanted to Play (1985)
- If You Swear, You'll Catch No FishIf You Swear, You'll Catch No FishIf You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish was the second full-length album from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada's punk band SNFU. It was released on BYO Records in 1986...
(1986) - Better Than a Stick in the EyeBetter Than A Stick In The EyeBetter Than a Stick in the Eye is an album by Edmonton punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1988.-Track listing:#Time to Buy a Futon#G.I...
(1988) - Something Green and Leafy This Way ComesSomething Green And Leafy This Way ComesSomething Green and Leafy This Way Comes is an album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1993.-Track listing:# "All Those Opposed"# "Reality Is a Ride on the Bus"# "Joni Mitchell Tapes"# "A Bomb"# "Tin Fish"...
(1993) - The One Voted Most Likely to SucceedThe One Voted Most Likely To SucceedThe One Voted Most Likely to Succeed is an album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1995 on Epitaph Records.-Track listing:#"Rusty Rake" – 1:59 #"Better Place" – 1:45 #"Big Thumbs" – 2:21...
(1995) - FYULABAFYULABAFYULABA is an album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1996 through Epitaph Records. The name is an acronym for "Fuck You Up Like a Bad Accident".-Track listing:* 0...
(1996) - In the Meantime and In Between TimeIn the Meantime and In Between TimeIn the Meantime and In Between Time is an album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU, released in 2004. It reached number six on the Top Ten Metal/Punk chart on ChartAttack's radio charts for the week of December 10, 2004 and charted at various Canadian campus and community radio...
(2004)
Live Albums
- Let's Get It Right the First TimeLet's Get It Right the First TimeLet's Get It Right the First Time is a live album by Vancouver, British Columbia punk rock band SNFU. The album was released in 1998. The performance was recorded at The Starfish Room in Vancouver in November 1997.-Track listing:#Intro#I Forget...
(1998)
Singles and EPs
- "She's Not on the MenuShe's Not on the MenuShe's Not on the Menu is an EP by Edmonton, Alberta-based punk rock band SNFU. It was self-released by the band in 1987. The A side was recorded this year, while tracks 2 and 3 date to 1982.-Musicians:* Mr...
" 7" (1987) - "Beautiful, Unlike You and IBeautiful, Unlike You and IBeautiful, Unlike You and I is an EP by Vancouver punk rock band SNFU. It was recorded in 1993 and released on the Hom Wreckers Music label. Side A is a re-recording of a song originally featured as a live track on their The Last of the Big Time Suspenders album...
" 7" (1993) - "Big Thumbs" (1995)
- "Eric's Had a Bad Day" (1995)
- The Ping Pong EPThe Ping Pong EPThe Ping Pong EP is an EP by Vancouver punk rock band SNFU. The EP was recorded in 1997 and released in 2000.-Track listing:#"Questions, Questions, Questions?" – 2:29 #"I'm Your Carpet" – 2:45#"Slavedriver" – 1:47...
(2000) - "I'm Your Carpet" (2000)
Compilations
- The Last of the Big Time SuspendersThe Last Of The Big Time SuspendersThe Last of the Big Time Suspenders is an album by Edmonton punk rock band SNFU. The album, a compilation of mostly unreleased studio and live tracks, was released in 1991, two years after SNFU's first breakup, to satisfy their unfulfilled two-album contract with Cargo Records...
(1992)
Bootlegs
- Live '86 7" (1987)
- Real Men Don't Watch Quincy 7" (1990)
- Via Plastic Surgery (1998)