Slow (band)
Encyclopedia
Slow is a Canadian
punk rock
band that started in the mid-1980's. Based in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, the band consisted of vocalist Thomas Anselmi
, guitar
ist Christian Thorvaldson, bassist
Stephen Hamm and drum
mer Terry Russell. Additional guitarists were Ziggy Sigmund and Russ Davies.
Hamm and Russell had previously been in a West Point Grey punk band called Chuck & the Fucks, playing an infamous concert at Queen Mary Elementary in the spring of 1980 where many of the teachers forced the children to leave.
They recorded and released their debut single, "I Broke the Circle", in 1985 on Zulu Records
, and followed up with the EP
Against the Glass in 1986. The band's style was also cited as an influence on the nascent grunge rock movement in the nearby Seattle music scene, especially on its adoption of clothing styles such as flannel shirts, ripped jeans and heavy boots.
festivities and effectively ended the band's career, when the band were invited to play at the event's Festival of Independent Recording Artists. According to Anselmi, the band's original idea was to simply appear on stage naked, run through the crowd to a boat on False Creek
and then simply disappear without playing a note; however, the band ultimately chose to put on a more typical performance. Typical, that is, for Slow – the show included Anselmi pitching several two-by-fours into the audience, and both Anselmi and Hamm followed through on the original idea to strip naked. Expo officials cut the power to the pavilion, ending the band's set.
The band were detained by the Vancouver police, who considered charging them with indecent exposure. Expo officials cancelled the evening's concert, citing security concerns.
Some of the fans in attendance got onstage and refused to leave the venue, others began to riot, and yet another group stormed BCTV
's onsite studios, where they protested the concert's cancellation so loudly and persistently that the station had to pull its 11:00 pm newscast.
The band subsequently embarked on a cross-Canada tour, although the negative publicity they received as a result of the riot led them to split up by the time they returned to Vancouver. Anselmi and Thorvaldson formed the band Copyright
, while Hamm and Russell launched Tankhog.
, Against the Glass was named the 17th best Canadian album of all time, and their single "Have Not Been the Same" ranked as the 10th greatest Canadian song. Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995, a 2001 book by music journalists Michael Barclay, Ian Jack and Jason Schneider about the rise of alternative rock
in Canada in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also took its title from the latter song.
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 that started in the mid-1980's. Based in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, 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...
, the band consisted of vocalist Thomas Anselmi
Thomas Anselmi
Thomas Anselmi was the lead singer with Canadian bands Slow and Copyright . He is currently the creative force behind the multi-media project MIRROR.-Slow:...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Christian Thorvaldson, bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Stephen Hamm and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
mer Terry Russell. Additional guitarists were Ziggy Sigmund and Russ Davies.
Hamm and Russell had previously been in a West Point Grey punk band called Chuck & the Fucks, playing an infamous concert at Queen Mary Elementary in the spring of 1980 where many of the teachers forced the children to leave.
They recorded and released their debut single, "I Broke the Circle", in 1985 on Zulu Records
Zulu Records
Zulu Records is a Canadian record store, based in Vancouver, British Columbia that sells new and used CDs and vinyl and is currently located at 1972 and 1976 West 4th Avenue...
, and followed up with the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Against the Glass in 1986. The band's style was also cited as an influence on the nascent grunge rock movement in the nearby Seattle music scene, especially on its adoption of clothing styles such as flannel shirts, ripped jeans and heavy boots.
Expo 86 riot
Slow are most famous for a controversial incident which both marred the Expo 86Expo 86
The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986...
festivities and effectively ended the band's career, when the band were invited to play at the event's Festival of Independent Recording Artists. According to Anselmi, the band's original idea was to simply appear on stage naked, run through the crowd to a boat on False Creek
False Creek
False Creek is a short inlet in the heart of Vancouver. It separates downtown from the rest of the city. It was named by George Henry Richards during his Hydrographic survey of 1856-63. Science World is located at its eastern end and the Burrard Street Bridge crosses its western end. False Creek is...
and then simply disappear without playing a note; however, the band ultimately chose to put on a more typical performance. Typical, that is, for Slow – the show included Anselmi pitching several two-by-fours into the audience, and both Anselmi and Hamm followed through on the original idea to strip naked. Expo officials cut the power to the pavilion, ending the band's set.
The band were detained by the Vancouver police, who considered charging them with indecent exposure. Expo officials cancelled the evening's concert, citing security concerns.
Some of the fans in attendance got onstage and refused to leave the venue, others began to riot, and yet another group stormed BCTV
CHAN-TV
CHAN-DT is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, broadcasting over-the-air on digital channel 22, and available via cable providers in the area on channel 11. Owned by Shaw Communications as a part of its Shaw Media division, it is the West Coast flagship station of the...
's onsite studios, where they protested the concert's cancellation so loudly and persistently that the station had to pull its 11:00 pm newscast.
The band subsequently embarked on a cross-Canada tour, although the negative publicity they received as a result of the riot led them to split up by the time they returned to Vancouver. Anselmi and Thorvaldson formed the band Copyright
Copyright (band)
Copyright was a Canadian alternative rock band, active in the 1990s. The band was launched by vocalist Thomas Anselmi and guitarist Christian Thorvaldson, former members of the short-lived and controversial punk rock band Slow, with new bassist Eric Marxsen and drummer Pete Bourne.Initially, the...
, while Hamm and Russell launched Tankhog.
Legacy
In a 1996 reader poll conducted by ChartChart (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....
, Against the Glass was named the 17th best Canadian album of all time, and their single "Have Not Been the Same" ranked as the 10th greatest Canadian song. Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995, a 2001 book by music journalists Michael Barclay, Ian Jack and Jason Schneider about the rise of alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
in Canada in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also took its title from the latter song.