Down the Hatch & Zero Cool

-Trevor “Foxstatic” Schmidt-

Saturday night. The crowd slowly trickles into the downtown Edmonton venue as I await the evening’s punk tilt. The venue itself was covered in a decor that was a cut above what you’d expect for a punk venue... and the bartenders were awesome.
The 100 capacity room began to fill up by 10pm and a half hour after that, “Down the Hatch” took stage.

I’d been missing in the “Punk” ,“Metal”, “Alternative” scene in Edmonton for a handful of years and wasn’t sure what to expect. Long gone were the days of “Drool”, “The Smalls”, “12th House” & “Virtual Reality”. The halls of Jasper ave. were a stranger; but the sound coming from its heart was “awesome” and I was pleased to say well received.

“Down the Hatch”

When you see three guys take the stage with nothing more than a pair of shorts each and their instruments, you get a sense of jovial humour to come....t’was not the case. What you were met with was talent, a good sense of humour, and more talent.

From the first riff of Joey Woods guitar, and his guttural scream that followed; the room knew this was going to be a kick ass show. If you’re unfamiliar with “DTH”, imagine “Lemmy” from “Motorhead” sh*t kicking a “The Damned” album with a pair of nunchucks and a 9mm. Their sound was very refined for such a raw concussion of sound. The distortion from “Joeys” guitar, the crisp sound of “Bobby’s” bass and “Keelans” rich drumming got your ears burning for more.

The openers on their set were not just simple “3 chord punk” by any stretch. The musical influences in these performers’ lives poured from the music in a very rich way that married well with punk music. Bobby’s bass playing is a mixture of heavy “funk”, “slap and pop” and finger picking to be likened to that of Cliff Burton in spots. I had not seen a bass player hit the strings like that in any punk ensemble, and to say it’s inspiring in an understatement. This rich tone bass playing was an immaculate compliment to the fantastic tones pouring from the guitar amps, and fast paced yet, “in time” drumming.

Lyrics running the gambit of “personal image” to the more “political minded”, you get a sense these guys know what the hell they’re talking about when it comes to being “true to yourself”. Non judgmental songs about the everyday person riding the bus (ETS blues) to the “be yourself” campaign of “Rock N’ Roll High School dropout”. This is content anyone can relate to and rock out to.

“DTH” is presently recording and mastering their efforts to cd over the next couple months and you’d be a fool not to pick it up. If you see a billet for their show, by a ticket and bring your friends. Grab a sampler disc of theirs too while you’re at it. You won’t be let down!

“Zero Cool”

Whilst waiting for the musical arrangement of these “anti neo-con’s”, I was pleasantly surprised to see them selling a T-shirt and a Patch for only five bucks (it’s a great shirt b.t.w).

Now, what to expect when you go to a “Zero Cool” show. First, crowd interaction. KP is an amazing front man with a wicked sense of humour. His “take it or leave it” attitude compliments his very energized stage presence.

This 4 piece punk band is very liberal with singing duties as well. “Nowhereman” (J. RALNYK) and “Filldo” make a hell of an effort fronting songs and backing the vocals in many of the compositions.

Opening with “Red Shovel Rocket” and “Popcorn”; the entire 2 minutes that it took to sing those songs left you wanting more of their catchy licks, and I found myself anticipating the next creation from the 4 talented fellas. Was it going to be a hard, fast and addictive 40 seconds or a 2 minute song?

Bass playing from “Filldo” was meaty, fresh, and still very punk. Guitars were loud, on time, and punching your face in with a meat cleaver made from “Henry Rollins” bones. This mixture of “black flag”, “DOA” and hits of metal that run through the songs were terribly catchy and all too inviting.

As is with most punk bands, you expect some sort of political message with what is being sung. Edgy, yet catchy choruses like “Red, White, No Blue! Red, White, F*CK YOU!” had even the first timers like myself singing along.

KP : “Who here loves Stephen Harper?”
Crowd: (crickets chirping) but I dropped a “WOO!” anyhow.
Nowhereman: “This one’s for Fox”.
KP: “This one’s called “I shot Stephen”.”
Crowd: “WHOO!”
Me: “oh poop”....

Now, in a 40 minute set, you’d never expect to hear more than 15 songs from a band, but as is with “Zero Cool”; they make it happen and sound good, too. KP’s “rock star quality” and “shine” on stage light up a crowd. Mixed with his playing and the equally awesome additions by “Filldo” and “Nowhere”, you felt a part of the production taking place on the stage.

The lad of “Zero Cool” are presently recording a vinyl pressing of their latest collaborations and is sure to be a hit with anyone that has a political opinion and a smart taste for well written and addictive music’s. Not to say all of their music is political by any stretch. They sing pretty much about anything they’re thinking of when getting out of the tub that day. “Rick Astley”,” Pawn shops”, “The Tar Sands” and all of the above. If you can think it, they’ve written a song about it...and most assuredly, it’s catchy.

My first show back to the sounds of E-town was well worth the time. This scene that was so important to the 90’s flavour of the capital city, is still very much intact and growing rich in sound and quality. The attitude of the musician is very much alive with its individuality and commitment to their respective craft.

I’ll be looking forward to seeing both of these bands again in the future and would highly recommend anyone looking for a good time should as well.