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Not Dead Yet 2018: five Toronto musicians tell us what punk means to them

NOT DEAD YET featuring Turnstile, Sheer Mag, Swearin’, Rotten Column, Piper Maru, Tomb Mold, Digest, Sour Key and others at various venues, Wednesday to Sunday (October 10 to 14). (Mostly) all ages. $10-$23.50. notdeadyettoronto.tumblr.com/NDY2018.


Now in its eighth year, the annual DIY punk and hardcore music festival Not Dead Yet is an important pillar in Toronto’s music scene. By putting an ethic before a sound, organizers Greg Benedetto and Sarde Hardie have cultivated a community that thrives on inclusivity and sounds wildly different than any other fest this city has to offer, punk or otherwise. 

This year’s lineup includes returning garage rock rising stars Sheer Mag, the posi-mosh stylings of Turnstile, Santa Ana hard-hitters Tozcos and indie crossovers Swearin’. 

The programming also includes a retrospective art show on Bogotá, Colombia’s DIY print house, workshop and rehearsal space Casa Rat Trap a book launch for Tomorrow’s Too Late, an 80s Toronto hardcore retrospective, which will feature performances from storied locals like Negative Gain, Sudden Impact, Chronic Submission and Creative Zero the return of No Outros Karaoke and a talk from Halifax’s Chris Murdoch (Outtacontroller, Word on the Street, Envision) on the Black roots of punk rock. (Find the whole schedule here.)

With so much happening in one week, and some names that might be unfamiliar to those outside the punk and hardcore scenes, we met up at festival venues and around the city with participating local musicians to ask: what does punk mean to you, and why is it important for Toronto to have a showcase for DIY music like Not Dead Yet?

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Amanda Fotes

Penny, Rotten Column

(in Kensington Market)

I like punk because anyone can make it. It doesn’t have to be technically good to still be good. It has to express how you feel. I know some people might not agree with that, but that’s what it means to me. 

People view Toronto as a kind of commercial music scene, a place where people go to “make it,” whatever that means in Canada. All the awards and a lot of the music publications are here. So I think it’s good to remind people that you can also just make music for yourself and for your friends and it doesn’t have to be about a bigger career aspiration. 

Rotten Column play the Monarch (12 Clinton) on Wednesday (October 10).

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Amanda Fotes

Andie, Piper Maru

(in front of Owls Club)

Community. It’s definitely nice to see bands and friends come to play from out of town each year. I’m really excited to see Therapy (San Diego) and Luxe (Philadelphia) because I have friends in those bands.

There’s all this bad shit in the world, like abusive people, racists, transmisogynists. A lot of punk is about combatting that and it’s an outlet for people to be angry about oppression and problems around the world. Punk is part of the resistance. 

Piper Maru play Owls Club (847 Dovercourt) on October 12.

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Amanda Fotes

Derrick, Tomb Mold

(In front of Coalition) 

DIY done right is the best thing on the earth. On our last tour we did with a band called Feather and Bone, we played a place in Santa Fe called The Cave, which is a DIY garage with just a backline. It was small, it was packed and we were on the floor and all we could hear was whatever was behind us. With DIY you feel more connected to everything in the room and there’s an unpredictability to it that I like.  

I guess [the kind of show you like] depends on why you play music. Do you do it because it’s a job? Do you do it to flex because you think you’re good? Or do you do it to experience something on a higher level? Which is why I play. I can’t speak for the other guys, but they definitely get off more from shows that are wild and maybe that’s from being in punk for so long and knowing what a show can look like. 

Tomb Mold play Coalition (282 Augusta) on October 12.

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Amanda Fotes

Vanessa, Digest

(in front of Hard Luck)

Punk is a great way to share politics and stories with people and in some ways to relieve stress. Not Dead Yet creates a hub where people can come together and share what they’re making and feel safe. People from all over the world can come and it feels like home. I’ll see friends from Vancouver, Victoria or people from the States, and it’s about just coming together and having that community feeling that you don’t get to normally have with those people because they live in different places. So even though it’s such a large community, it’s actually quite small.

Digest play Hard Luck Bar (772a Dundas West) on October 12.

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Amanda Fotes

Noah, Sour Key

(at Faith/Void)

For one thing, it gives us local musicians the opportunity to see all of these amazing bands from around the world. It’s sick that bands who come to the fest say that Not Dead Yet is like “Canada’s treat.” That reputation also helps us locals, because I’m sure people outside of Toronto have heard of Not Dead Yet more than they’ve heard about any one specific band that’s been around in the scene. It’s good exposure for people in the city and it’s exposure for our scene to the world. To be a part of something that’s so vast yet so specific feels like the best thing ever. 

Sour Key play the Velvet Underground (508 Queen West) on October 13.

music@nowtoronto.com | @therewasnosound

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