Chris Walter (August 16, 1959) is a Canadian punk rock historian, novelist and founder of the independent publishing company GFY Press. [1] His work generally champions the rights of the oppressed while rejecting mainstream consumerism. Founded in 1998, GFY Press is privately funded and operates separately from the established literary industry.
Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Chris was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He became involved with drugs at a very early age and was kicked out of school before leaving home at fifteen, working a succession of menial jobs and collecting welfare for long stretches. [2] Forming his first punk rock band in 1980, Chris soon realized that he was never going to be a musician and began publishing a punk fanzine, Pages of Rage, which gave him his first taste of creative writing, [3] although he wouldn't complete his first novel, Beer, until he was almost forty. [4] His drug addiction raged out of control after moving to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1991, [5] [6] where he completed several novels but overdosed on heroin and eventually became homeless. [7] Upon rehabilitation in January 2001, he devoted himself to work and to his family. [8] Chris Walter resides in New Westminster BC with his long-time girlfriend and their son.
Focusing mostly on music biographies and novels for and about the underclasses, GFY Press has published more than thirty-five titles to date. This includes twenty novels by Walter, his autobiographical trilogy, two collections of short stories, novels authored by Simon Snotface, Drew Gates, and Stewart Black, several non-fiction books, and biographies of Canadian punk groups Personality Crisis, SNFU, the Real McKenzies, Randy Rampage, and the Dayglo Abortions. Despite their dark subject matter, Walter's books are known for black humour, presented in prose described by critics as "convincing, lively, real, accessible, and wildly entertaining." [9]
Walter has also contributed to a number of publications, including The Nerve , Mass Movement, Razorcake , The Big Takeover , The Georgia Straight , Vice , Loud Fast Rules, The Republic , and Absolute Underground. He was featured in Prairie Coast Films' 2010 documentary Open Your Mouth And Say... Mr. Chi Pig , a film that looks at the life of SNFU singer Mr. Chi Pig.
SNFU was a Canadian hardcore punk band formed in Edmonton in 1981, relocated to Vancouver in 1992, and disbanded in 2018. They released eight albums, two live records, and one compilation amid many lineup changes and several temporary breakups. Vocalist Ken Chinn led the group, which included twin-brother guitarists Brent and Marc Belke for much of its career.
FYULABA is the sixth studio album by Canadian hardcore punk band SNFU. The album was released in 1996 by Epitaph Records. Its name is an acronym for Fuck You Up Like a Bad Accident. The album was the last of three albums released by SNFU on Epitaph. Eight years would pass before the proper followup, In the Meantime and In Between Time, was issued in 2004.
If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish is the second full-length album by the Canadian hardcore punk band SNFU. It was recorded in April 1986 at Power Zone Studio in Edmonton, Alberta—although the album's liner notes claim the studio is located in Istanbul, Turkey—and was released on BYO Records in 1986. More diverse than their debut album, If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish helped solidify SNFU's status in the North American hardcore punk community and influenced the formation of the skate punk subgenre.
The One Voted Most Likely to Succeed is the fifth studio album by Canadian hardcore punk band SNFU. The album was released in 1995 on Epitaph Records, their second of three albums for Epitaph. The band and label had high expectations for the album, which was released at the height of the third wave of punk rock. Ultimately the record did not chart as well as did contemporaneous albums by label mates such as The Offspring and Rancid, despite selling modestly well by punk rock standards. It nevertheless became a favorite among critics and fans.
Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes is the fourth studio album by Canadian hardcore punk band SNFU. It was released in 1993 on Epitaph Records, the first of three SNFU releases on this label. Despite being released during the height of the third wave of punk rock by the revival's best-selling independent label and selling modestly well, the album was not commercially successful.
The Last of the Big Time Suspenders is a compilation album by the Canadian hardcore punk band SNFU. The album is composed of live recordings, demos, compilation and EP tracks, and studio outtakes. It was released in 1991, two years after SNFU's first breakup, to satisfy the band's two-album contract with Cargo Records. The group reformed to tour behind the album, leading to a full reunion.
Better Than a Stick in the Eye is the third album by Canadian hardcore punk band SNFU. The album was released in 1988 by Cargo Records. It marked a return to a direct and unadorned sound following its comparatively experimental predecessor, If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish. It would also be the group's last studio album for five years, as they disbanded months after the record's release before again reforming in 1991.
The Ping Pong EP is an EP by Canadian punk rock band SNFU. Its tracks were taken from the 1996 recording sessions for the band's FYULABA album. It was released in 2000 on Alternative Tentacles.
Let's Get It Right the First Time is a live album by Vancouver, British Columbia hardcore punk band SNFU. The album was released in 1998. Although the record was billed as a live album and reportedly recorded at The Starfish Room in Vancouver in late 1997, SNFU biographer Chris Walter notes that the album was tracked almost entirely in the recording studio.
In the Meantime and In Between Time is the seventh studio album by Canadian hardcore punk band SNFU, released in 2004. The record was the band's first full-length studio album since FYULABA in 1996, and would be the last to feature founding guitarist Marc Belke. The band released the album on Belke's own Rake Records imprint.
Kendall Steven Chinn, known under the stage name Mr. Chi Pig, was a Canadian punk rock vocalist and artist born in Edmonton and long residing in Vancouver. He fronted the hardcore punk band SNFU from 1981 until their hiatus in 2018. Other, short-lived groups that he led included The Wongs, Little Joe, and Slaveco.
Jon Card was a German-born Canadian drummer. He played in the punk rock bands Personality Crisis, SNFU, D.O.A., and The Subhumans.
Ken Fleming is a Canadian punk rock musician. He has played in the early Canadian hardcore punk band The Unwanted, the skate punk band SNFU, and the industrial alternative rock band Econoline Crush.
Slaveco. was a Canadian alternative rock band active from 2002 to 2003. The group was composed of three former members of the group OCEAN3, joined by Ken Chinn, the lead singer of the influential skate punk band SNFU.
Beautiful, Unlike You and I is an EP by Vancouver punk rock band SNFU. It was recorded in 1993 while the band was recording demo material for their Something Green and Leafy This Way Comes album. It was released on the Hom Wreckerds Music label.
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 1986. The EP contains a 1986 studio re-recording of a song from the band's debut album on Side A and two demo tracks originally recorded in 1982 on Side B.
Never Trouble Trouble Until Trouble Troubles You is the eighth and final studio album by Vancouver hardcore punk band SNFU. It was released in 2013 by Cruzar Media.
Kurt Robertson, also known as "Dirty Kurt", is a Canadian punk rock guitarist and musician. Robertson was a member of Vancouver-based Celtic punk band The Real McKenzies from 1993 to 2013, appearing on their first seven full-length studio albums. In 2014, he joined the skate punk band SNFU.
Randall "Randy" Steffes is a Canadian musician and manager. As a musician, he has played with Bif Naked's early band Gorilla Gorilla and the skate punk band SNFU. He has also worked as manager, tour manager, guitar technician, sound engineer, and additional musician for Green Day, Good Riddance, and The Real McKenzies.
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