Thomas Anselmi
Encyclopedia
Thomas Anselmi was the lead singer with Canadian bands Slow
and Copyright
(a.k.a.©
,). He is currently the creative force behind the multi-media project MIRROR
.
, a Vancouver-based, Canadian
punk rock
band. The band also featured guitar
ists Ziggy Sigmund and Christian Thorvaldson, bassist
Stephen Hamm and drum
mer Terry Russell. 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.
Slow are most famous for a controversial incident which both marred the Expo 86
festivities and effectively ended the band's career. On the opening night of the Festival of Independent Recording Artists, several people who were not attending the concert wandered into the pavilion, witnessed the band's outrageous live show, and rushed out to complain to Expo management. The officials turned off the power, ending the band's set. Anselmi expressed his displeasure by mooning the audience, and Hamm quickly followed suit, also exposing himself frontally.
The band were detained by the Vancouver police, who considered charging them with indecent exposure, however after the police woman arrived on the scene she was very impressed with Mr. Anselmi and later joined the band with the title of 'Director of Comfort'. Expo officials initially 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 p.m. newscast. The following day, Expo announced the cancellation of the whole concert festival.The band subsequently split up.
with new bassist Eric Marxsen and drummer Pete Bourne. Initially, the band spelled its name as the symbol ©, pronounced as "Circle C". Under that name, they released a self-titled debut album on Geffen Records in 1991. That album sold poorly, and the band was dropped from Geffen. After a few years of struggling to continue in the music industry, they were subsequently signed to BMG Music, releasing their second album Love Story in 1996 under the name Copyright. The album The Hidden World followed in 2001.
. He spent three years assembling MIRROR's self-titled debut album, working in tandem on a multi-media live show. The album was produced by former Grapes of Wrath
band member Vincent Jones
and released in 2009. Anselmi says the album was influenced by the soundtracks of David Lynch
films.
Slow (band)
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, guitarist Christian Thorvaldson, bassist Stephen Hamm and drummer Terry Russell...
and 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...
(a.k.a.©
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...
,). He is currently the creative force behind the multi-media project MIRROR
Mirror (multimedia project)
-MIRROR:MIRROR is a music and video performance project created by Thomas Anselmi. Formed in 2003, the project is based in Los Angeles, California and Vancouver, Canada....
.
Slow
Thomas Anselmi was the lead singer of SlowSlow (band)
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, guitarist Christian Thorvaldson, bassist Stephen Hamm and drummer Terry Russell...
, a Vancouver-based, Canadian
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. The band also featured 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...
ists Ziggy Sigmund and 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. 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.
Slow are most famous for a controversial incident which both marred the Expo 86
Expo 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. On the opening night of the Festival of Independent Recording Artists, several people who were not attending the concert wandered into the pavilion, witnessed the band's outrageous live show, and rushed out to complain to Expo management. The officials turned off the power, ending the band's set. Anselmi expressed his displeasure by mooning the audience, and Hamm quickly followed suit, also exposing himself frontally.
The band were detained by the Vancouver police, who considered charging them with indecent exposure, however after the police woman arrived on the scene she was very impressed with Mr. Anselmi and later joined the band with the title of 'Director of Comfort'. Expo officials initially 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 p.m. newscast. The following day, Expo announced the cancellation of the whole concert festival.The band subsequently split up.
Copyright
Following the demise of Slow, Anselmi teamed up with Thorvaldson to form the alt rock band ©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...
with new bassist Eric Marxsen and drummer Pete Bourne. Initially, the band spelled its name as the symbol ©, pronounced as "Circle C". Under that name, they released a self-titled debut album on Geffen Records in 1991. That album sold poorly, and the band was dropped from Geffen. After a few years of struggling to continue in the music industry, they were subsequently signed to BMG Music, releasing their second album Love Story in 1996 under the name Copyright. The album The Hidden World followed in 2001.
MIRROR
After the demise of Copyright, Anselmi spent time in Berlin before settling in Los Angeles. His next project was a self-funded multimedia project called MIRRORMirror (multimedia project)
-MIRROR:MIRROR is a music and video performance project created by Thomas Anselmi. Formed in 2003, the project is based in Los Angeles, California and Vancouver, Canada....
. He spent three years assembling MIRROR's self-titled debut album, working in tandem on a multi-media live show. The album was produced by former Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath (band)
The Grapes of Wrath are a Canadian folk rock band, who were one of Canada's most successful pop bands in the late 1980s and early 1990s before disbanding in 1992. With the band name tied up in litigation, most of the band continued to record through the 1990s as Ginger. The Grapes of Wrath briefly...
band member Vincent Jones
Vincent Jones
Vincent Jones is a Canadian musician. He was a member of The Grapes of Wrath and Ginger, and a frequent collaborator with Lava Hay, a band which included Jones' former wife, Michele Gould....
and released in 2009. Anselmi says the album was influenced by the soundtracks of David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
films.