The WORST (Canada)

LIVE 'N' DEAD +2
-CS
1991 (demo)





Eight snarly 'n' gnarly tracks from The Worst's classic line-up. Bloody raw, fuzzy-drenched primitive sounds, blah blah blah...

A must-have. Did I say raw?



Interview with Greg Johnson
(February 2004)

When did it all start with The Worst?

We started about 1989 if I remember correctly. Grant and I started the band with me playing organ and him on guitar and Jim Bescott of The Young Canadians/K-Tels who played drums and sang. Then I moved to singing and playing with my organ and we picked up a guitar player and a new drummer. I got kicked off organ for I couldn’t play anyways, and it wasn’t any better when I was trying to sing as well.


Who were the members back then and who were till your break up?

Went through too many to name them all. The key ones are Grant Shankaruk who I started the band with and Rieuwert Buitenga who I ended the band with. Brian Olinek who I started the Fiends with also played bass on our last unfinished album. Hope to finish it one day. When we played with the Cynics, Carl Newman from Zumpano/New Pornographers played guitar for us.


Were you involved in any other bands by then?

No I wasn’t. We put out a version of “Jack the Ripper” as the Graverobbers.


What was The Worst’s main inspiration?

The Kinks, Shadows of Knight, Seeds, Wailers and the Painted Ship.
Bill Hay from the Painted Ship (Little White Lies, Chesterfield Kings covered) produced our first single Creepy Thing.


Did you have any inspiration from the 80s garage punk scene?

The Cynics, Gravedigger V, the Gruesomes and Grant's record collection.


You are from Canada but every records release came out from Europe. How come that happened?

We first put some songs out on fanzine compilation tapes. They got over to Europe and Screaming Apple liked what they heard and contacted us. The singles where better distributed I guess there also.


Did you play live outside Canada?

We played with the Undertakers in Tumwater Washington. We were pretty awful. I didn’t have a band at the time. It was a bunch of friends who helped me out. We shouldn’t have drunk so much and we should have practiced more…


Were there enough people in Canada to attend your shows and buy your records?

Yeah, there was a scene going on I think. The Smugglers were just starting around the same time. Nardwuar (Evaporators/Goblins) was promoting a lot of Garage shows. He gave us our first show with the Mighty Squirrels and the Mono Men. We also played in town with the Fastbacks, Marshmallow Overcoat, Mummies, Headcoats, and the Cynics.


Suddenly after three great vinyl releases and while waiting for the second LP to come, The Worst finished their creepy career. What exactly happened?

The band wasn’t going where I wanted to and Brian and I started The Fiends. Our last record wasn’t really in the the Worst vain. Rieuwert and I should have changed the name. We were in a different direction in music styles. I liked FUZZZ and monsters and he liked more pop 60’s. I like that also but it doesn’t really match with the 45’s. Like The Creeps first record and then to the WEA release. The Fiends let me have Fuzz, Organ, and Monsters…


Do you know what the other members of the band do today?

Grant is playing in a surf band next week at a place half a block away. Rieuwert and I are planning on finishing our last efforts. He also re-mixed the last LP and created a CD out of it with some bonus tracks. Just need to finish the cover.
- interview by Thee Cave

The Worst:
Greg Johnson - Vocals
Gord Smithers - guitar
Grant Shankaruk - bass
Karen Edgar - organ
Brad Coates - drums

Tracklist:
1. Writing On The Wall
2. Creepy Thing
3. She's Wrong
4. I Don't Need You (Bonus)
5. Hang Up
6. One Step Closer
7. The Phantom
8. I'm A Rock (Bonus)


Download (256k, 38 Mb)