The Smugglers (band)

Last updated
The Smugglers
Origin Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres
Years active1988 (1988)–2004 (2004) 2017 (2017)-2019 (2019)
Labels PopLlama, Radiation, Nardwuar, Mint, Lookout
Members Grant Lawrence
Nick Thomas
David Carswell
Kevin "Beez" Beesley
Graham Watson
Past membersPaul Preminger
Adam Woodall
Bryce Dunn
Danny Fazio
John Collins

The Smugglers are a Canadian indie rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. The band consists of vocalist Grant Lawrence, guitarists Nick Thomas and David Carswell, bassist Kevin "Beez" Beesley and drummer Graham Watson. [1] Past members include Paul Preminger (drums, 1988-1991), Adam Woodall (harmonica and guitar, 1988-1990), Bryce Dunn (drums, 1991-1998), Danny Fazio (drums, 1997) and John Collins (bass, 1997).

Contents

History

The Smugglers formed in 1988 when Lawrence, Carswell, Thomas, Woodall and Preminger were students at Vancouver's Hillside Secondary School. [2] [3] They started by playing covers of then popular songs at local events and venues, [4] and went on a short tour to Alberta and Saskatchewan during March Break week. [5] The band's name was suggested by their friend and high school classmate Nardwuar the Human Serviette.

Over the course of their career, the band released material on a variety of record labels, including Nardwuar Records, PopLlama, Radiation, Mint and Lookout.

In 1996, the Smugglers released their most successful album, Selling the Sizzle! , recorded at Sonic Iguana in Lafayette, Indiana, and produced by Mass Giorgini. It was the Smugglers first full-length release on Lookout Records.

In 1998 the band released a 10th anniversary album of live recordings, Growing Up Smuggler. Soon after, Dunn left the band, and was replaced as drummer by Watson. [3]

In 1999 the band performed in Toronto in support of their album Rosie. [6] A world tour for "Rosie" followed, taking the Smugglers across the USA with the Donnas, and then on their own tours to Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Lawrence was also a frequent contributor to the CBC Radio 2 programs Night Lines and RadioSonic , recording audio diaries of his experiences on tour with the band; [7] [8] he became the host of RadioSonic in 2001. [7]

The band continued performing their high energy live shows, [1] and in 2004 released a CD, Mutiny in Stereo. [9]

After 2004 the band went into hiatus. Lawrence remains with the CBC as a host on CBC Radio, [7] Beesley was a co-owner of Mint Records, and Carswell and Collins are partners in JCDC, a recording studio in Vancouver. Carswell is a current member of Destroyer, and Thomas has gone on to play in similarly minded Vancouver garage-punk bands like the Vicious Cycles and the Tranzmitors.

In 2017, Lawrence published an award-winning memoir, Dirty Windshields, based on the diaries he kept of the band's activities. [10] The Smugglers reformed for a series of reunion shows in Berkeley, Toronto, Ottawa, Seattle, and Vancouver, including one in Saskatoon at the Amigos, where they performed on their first tour. [5]

The Smugglers reunion show in Vancouver in May 2017 was also notably the final live performance of the Muffs.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Tracks on compilations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric's Trip</span> Canadian indie rock band

Eric's Trip is a Canadian indie rock band from Moncton, New Brunswick. Eric's Trip achieved prominence as the first Canadian band to be signed to Seattle's flagship grunge label Sub Pop in the early 1990s. The band had a minor hit in alternative circles with the single "View Master", from the 1994 album Forever Again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nardwuar</span> Canadian radio personality and musician

John Ruskin, better known as Nardwuar or Nardwuar the Human Serviette, is a Canadian celebrity journalist and musician. He is the lead singer and keyboardist for the Evaporators.

Cub was an indie pop band from Vancouver, British Columbia, that formed in 1992 and disbanded in 1997. They played a melodic, jangly form of pop punk they called "cuddlecore".

Maow was a Canadian indie rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A pop punk combo, the band was part of the "cuddlecore" scene led by cub.

The Lillingtons were a pop-punk band formed in 1995 in Newcastle, Wyoming. The band is composed of its original members, vocalist and lead guitarist Kody Templeman, drummer Tim O’Hara, bassist Cory Laurence, and later added rhythm guitarist Alex Volonino.

Grifters is an indie rock/alternative rock band based in Memphis who have released albums on Darla Records, Doink, Sonic Noise, Shangri-La Records, and Sub Pop Records. The band released five studio albums from 1992 to 1997. In the years following 1997, the band had breaks in activity with some members pursuing other musical projects and with the band sporadically touring in the years after. However, in recent years they have continued to tour on a consistent basis and have stated interest in recording new material. The band has released and reissued some of their material on Bandcamp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Bomb Turks</span> American punk rock band

The New Bomb Turks are an American punk rock band formed at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, United States, in 1990. The founding members are Jim Weber, Eric Davidson, Bill Randt, and Matt Reber. Sam Brown replaced Bill Randt on drums in 1999. Early on their inspiration came from the Devil Dogs, Lazy Cowgirls, Union Carbide Productions, Didjits, and the Fluid. Music magazine Alternative Press has described their musical style, saying, "Not only have both prole-threat punk bashery and destructo-rock found fresh voices, they've been melded into a seamless new terror all its own." The New Bomb Turks have released ten full-length LPs, two EPs, and over twenty singles, some of which contain songs not available elsewhere. Their early recordings appear on the Datapanik, Sympathy For The Record Industry, Get Hip and Bag of Hammers labels. Crypt Records signed the band and released !!Destroy-Oh-Boy!!, Information Highway Revisited, and Pissing Out The Poison. Then Epitaph Records signed them and released LPs Scared Straight, At Rope's End and Nightmare Scenario. Gearhead Records released their next album, The Night Before the Day the Earth Stood Still. The band also released three b-side and outtakes compilations: Pissing Out the Poison, The Big Combo, and Switchblade Tongues & Butterknife Brains.

Mint Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based independent record label founded in 1991, by friends and campus radio enthusiasts Randy Iwata and Bill Baker. Mint has put out over 150 releases, several of which have won Juno Awards.

The Evaporators is a Canadian garage rock band formed in 1986 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Nardwuar, its founding member, is also known for interviewing musicians and celebrities. As of 2007, the band consists of vocalist/keyboardist Nardwuar the Human Serviette, guitarist David Carswell, bassist John Collins, and drummer Scott Livingstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Lawrence</span> Musical artist

Grant Lawrence is a Canadian broadcaster, musician and writer based in Vancouver, primarily associated with CBC Music and CBC Radio 3. Lawrence was also the vocalist for the indie rock group The Smugglers.

Night Lines was a Canadian radio series, which aired on CBC Stereo from 1984 to 1997. The show, which aired on Friday and Saturday nights, profiled independent and alternative music. It was a weekend companion to the network's weekday overnight show Brave New Waves, and aspired to revive the freeform style and creative experimentation associated with rock radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Steel</span> American punk rock band

American Steel is an American punk rock band formed in 1995 in Oakland, California. When offered their first show, the group took their name from the block-long sign on the warehouse across the street. After playing at parties and smaller venues around the Bay Area for over a year, and undergoing several lineup changes, the band bought a van and embarked on their first tour of the US, lasting 32 days and covering 12,000 miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Melberg</span> American drummer

Rose Melberg is a musician and songwriter from Sacramento, California, currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has performed both as a solo artist and as a member of Tiger Trap, The Softies, Go Sailor, Gaze, Gigi, Imaginary Pants, Brave Irene, Knife Pleats and Olivia's World.

Huevos Rancheros were a Canadian surf rock band from Calgary, Alberta, active from 1990 to 2000. Huevos Rancheros performed an instrumental blend of rockabilly, surf, garage and punk music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Freeman (musician)</span> American bassist

Chris Freeman is an American bassist, best known as a member of the band Pansy Division.

Duotang is a Canadian indie pop duo from Winnipeg, composed of Rod Slaughter and Sean Allum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pansy Division discography</span>

The discography of Pansy Division, a San Francisco, California-based queercore band, consists of seven studio albums, five compilations and thirteen 7" singles, among other releases.

New Town Animals were a Canadian punk rock band based in Vancouver, British Columbia, best known for their 2001 single "Three Steps Backward".

Lisa Marr is a musician, songwriter, film-maker, photographer, and educator from Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, currently based in Los Angeles, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has performed as a solo artist and as a member of The Evaporators, The Indecisives, The Bombshells, Cub, Buck, The Beards, The Lisa Marr Experiment, The Here + Now, and Soda & His Million Piece Band. She is sometimes known as Miss Marr in her solo work. She has been credited as the originator of a subgenre of music known as cuddlecore.

Selling the Sizzle! is an album by the Canadian punk rock band the Smugglers, released in 1996.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kings of the Party". Soulshine, May 20, 2004.
  2. "R.I.P. Smugglers' Founding Drummer Paul Preminger". Exclaim!, By Keith Carman, Nov 06, 2009
  3. 1 2 "The Smugglers". AllMusic biography by Jason Ankeny
  4. "The Smugglers: Kings of the Party". Exclaim!, By Michael Barclay, Jan 01, 2006
  5. 1 2 "The Smugglers return to Amigos to help celebrate Saskatoon club's 30th anniversary". CBC News, Nov 24, 2018
  6. "Smugglers With Flashlight and Sticky Rice February 12, 2000 The Legendary Horseshoe — Toronto, ON". Chart Attack, review by Tim Melton
  7. 1 2 3 Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995 . ECW Press. ISBN   978-1-55022-992-9.
  8. "Dirty Windshields: The Best and Worst of the Smugglers Tour Diaries By Grant Lawrence". Exclaim!, By Ian Gormely, May 19, 2017.
  9. "The Smugglers". Georgia Straight, by Sarah Rowland on April 29th, 2004
  10. "Smugglers singer Grant Lawrence turned tour diaries into funny and poignant Dirty Windshields". Georgia Straight, by Mike Usinger on May 11th, 2017