Social Outcasts (band)
social outcasts (vancouver) - band
social outcasts are a Canadian punk rock band that formed in the Vancouver area suburb of Burnaby, British Columbia in January 1981. There were several early versions of the group, the most notable being Todd McCluskie – vocals, Dave Thom – guitar, Mike Usinger – bass and Steve Kravac – drums. The initial phase of the group saw them spending their first year rehearsing and writing original material. Influences included the exploding Vancouver punk scene, LA hardcore bands like Black Flag and English outfits like the Sex Pistols and the Clash.
Early Days
By Febuary 1982 social outcasts began gigging in and around their hometown opening for bands like the legengary D.O.A., U.K.’s Angelic Upstarts and playing the infamous Smilin’ Buddah Cabaret on several occasions. Friend and versatile local musician Don D’Ercole (Headrush) would frequently sit in on guitar, bass and on drums when needed at rehearsals and at shows. Drummer Ossie Rideout was also an unofficial member of the band and called upon when needed.
In March of 1982 the band went into Profile Studios East Vancouver and recorded 10 originals including “Eat the Rich “and “Heavy Metal Freak”. The project was produced by the band and Billy Barker (Scissors) and engineered, mixed by Barker. The recording resulted in a self-titled, self-released 4 song cassette EP. The project and band got mentioned in The Georgia Straight.[1], The Vancouver Sun[2], and local fanzine Idle thoughts, which called the band “a force to be reckoned with” and singled out the McCluskie/Kravac penned “My Brain Hurts” as “fantastic”[3]
The band continued to gig locally and in December 1982 guitarist Dave Thom left the band and in January of 1983 drummer Steve Kravac soon followed. Remaining members McCluskie and Usinger continued and eventually settled with new guitarist Jamie Hendrix and drummer Rob X. Rehearsals ensued at former D.O.A. Bassist Randy Rampage’s practice studio located in downtown Vancouver.
With a new line up intact they played Oddfellows Hall in Vancouver June 17, 1983. It would proove to be their last show.
Reboot
Nothing was heard from social outcasts again until 2004 when McCluskie along with producer Dean Hajum (bob loblaw productions) released an album titled “3 Chord Chaos” featuring the original lineup. The album was based on 10 songs recorded at a live show from 1982 and 4 of the tracks recorded at Profile Studios. The new release was featured on CITR’s Generation Annihilation[4] and later on the Nardwuar the Human Serviette radio program also on CITR[5] In 2019 McCluskie would also feature the band on his own radio show CJSF’s The Blurred Crusade (the best in punk and post-punk)[6]
Current Project
In 2019 a chance meeting between McCluskie and local bassist Dave Laprise (Headrush) would result in a series of rehearsals and a reformation of the group featuring original members Todd McCluskie – vocals, Dave Thom – guitar, as well as Don D’Ercole – guitar, Dave Laprise – bass and Koji Laprise – drums. McCluskie would appear as a guest on Jumbalaya with DJ Medy (CJSF 90.1 FM) December 2, 2020 to discuss his radio show and the early days of the Vancouver punk scene. Late in 2020 three videos were added to YouTube - under the banner social outcasts (vancouver) featuring a couple classic tracks and a recent cover recording of "pretty vacant" by the new social outcasts line up. In February 2021 some new/old stock social outcasts material premiered on YouTube featuring a "Live" version/video of their track "tears of death"(written by McCluskie). The reinvigorated social outcasts have rehearsal / recording dates scheduled for Pandora's Box Studio in Vancouver fall of 2021. Following recording dates at Pandora's Box Studio with engineer Dean Hajum in Oct/Nov 2021, the band released their first single (from the forthcoming EP - beneath the sleeping city / volume one) on YouTube - social outcasts (vancouver). The single "day to night" (written by McCluskie) released January 17, 2022 was the first of the four tracks to premiere with more to follow including "lonesome dogs" (D'Ercole) , "the corporation" (D'Ercole / McCluskie) and the title track "beneath the sleeping city" (McCluskie).
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