Photos by Josh Wilkie Photography
Wallet? Check. Cloths I’m not worried about spilling beer on? Check? Thick shoes to protect my toes? Check. Do hair? Ahhh…no time. Check! Alright, ready for the punk show!
Last week was the 4th annual Snowslam a variety punk show and the first punk concert in Whistler, in who knows how long? The event, put together by what’s got to be Whistler’s longest running punk act (21 years now) Slush, featured six bands in about five hours. The lineup included Shockload, Cliffjumper, Raised by Apes, Slush (of course) and Precursor (a super band with members from Daggermouth, The Fullblast and a member from Carpenter.)
As well Edmonton’s Choke was convinced by Slush’s frontman Jamie Weatherbie to deviate from their reunion tour of only major Canadian cities, to play in Whistler. Fitting, considering they were the last band to play in The Boot Pub before the bar/hostel/restaurant closed its doors for good.
For those who haven’t been to Whistler, B.C. before 2006 The Boot Pub was like Whistler’s Moulin Rouge, carefree and unpretentious. With The Boot went two Whistler institutions strippers and a weekly Punk night. While strippers are actually outlawed in the village, Punk music marches on, with difficulty, however.
A classic scene from Punk Night at The Boot
Slush’s bass man Bryce MacDiarmid is part of that battle. “The old punk nights were organized by Lindsay Shedden, who moved away, and although we tried to keep it going, it just wasn't happening. There were several bars with new management, and promotion wasn't great,” says MacDiarmid. “When I first got to Whistler in '05, Punk and Metal could pack the boot pub at any given night. With the turnover in Whistler, bands breaking up, etc. we just don't see the same interest anymore. Jamie's tried extremely hard to get things back on track, but it’s been a struggle to say the least.”
Real die hards would complain that punk belongs to bad city neighbourhoods and anarchy. Such angry music fitting in a beautiful place like Whistler? Why not!? MacDiarmid agrees that we have a different sound and situation in Canada “Surrounded by open skies, lakes, northern lights - we have different influences. A lot of talent comes from rural Canada, whether it's music or photography, etc., and it's a little different.”
Slush
So how do you define a movement that refuses to be put in a box anyway? “It's tough to generalize, and I'm probably not the best spokesperson on the topic,” says clean cut MacDiarmid, “but I don't think that you can definitively say that something is punk rock anymore. It's a natural progression for punk rock to break the stereotypes it was founded on, so it's constantly evolving. Perhaps that's the beauty of it.”
Punk and snowboarding have enjoyed a marriage that has lasted years. Boarding has had a wandering eye towards other styles but the two still get along like fries and gravy. Imagine a video part with a rider backflipping off a cliff to Barry Manilow. Funny, yes, but not the same without the energy that comes from punk. This is what MacDiarmid had to say about the whole thing. “It’s that I don’t give a fuck attitude, it’s not about image it’s a way of life. It’s about having fun.” Right?
The punk scene has now mostly been replaced by glowstick parties and dub step nights but Punk is not dead in Whistler. “Jamie (Weatherbie) has put a huge effort into supporting this scene, and looking at the talent that was onstage last weekend, safe to say that no one’s letting up whatsoever.”
Craiger's clearly stoked
