Review

Reprinted for safekeeping without permission from eye weekly: http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_11.02.00/music/rebels.html

eye weekly 11.02.00

The world's forgotten boys
THE FORGOTTEN REBELS
with CJ Sleez, the Vapids, the Class Assassins. Saturday, Nov. 4. Lee's Palace, 529 Bloor W. $10 from Rancho Relaxo, CD Replay, Rotate This.


BY MATT WESLEY
"Oh, so you're just a kid," says Forgotten Rebels vocalist Mickey De Sadist with a bit of surprise. "Cool."

When the Rebels began their notorious career back in 1977 in Hamilton, I wasn't even born yet. However, by the time I eventually got into punk rock, stories of the Rebels' exploits were legion, and I discovered a band whose music could stoke me out, even some 10 years after their classic albums were written.

It was the Rebels' knack for offending vast numbers of people -- both audiences and critics -- that made them so legendary among me and my friends. These guys seemed to not give a shit about what they said, or who they said it to. The majority of fans who got behind the band through the years understood what it was all about: having fun. Being offensive was never the intended plan -- it just happened.

"In the media, bad news travels faster than good news," Mickey figures. "If people don't look any deeper than our album covers, then they deserve to take it the wrong way. The songs are good, and we want to have some fun with them. Like, 'Bomb the Boats, Feed the Fish' was a joke. It came out of a conversation I'd had with some redneck guys I worked with at the time. It's like when you put a bag of shit at someone's door -- you don't want to hurt him, you're just trying to have a laugh."

Mickey chuckles, then breaks into a cough. He has a bit of a cold -- it can get a little chilly working as an underwater welder. Hopefully, he will be in fine form for the Rebels' upcoming show Saturday at Lee's Palace -- it'll give the Rebels a chance to flex their skills in their first Toronto show since their new record, Nobodys Hero's, was released, following a three-year gap since their previous effort, Criminal Zero.

Part of the reason the Rebels haven't been seen in these parts for a while is that they went across the Atlantic for a European tour in support of Nobodys Hero's. It was very successful, thanks to something that most bands right now are really touchy about: bootlegging.

"Our stuff wasn't always available out there legitimately when we put those records out," Mickey says. "The record companies at that time didn't spend the money on promoting us, so that's where the bootleggers came in and helped us by spreading these albums out. We just basically showed up to play, and these people had given us all kinds of publicity at no charge."

Which leads us to Napster.

"I don't think they should shut Napster down," Mickey insists. "The record companies are scared because they have the most to lose. They've been putting out really middle-of-the-road shit, and there's no real choice, so people listen to it. There's a drug cartel and an oil cartel -- that's just a music cartel. I just wish Napster had gas available!

"When choosing artists, record companies don't really look to the punk that came out in the '70s. But that was a really significant time in music and they're missing it. Imagine what would have happened if they had missed the music of the Woodstock generation. The record companies have been ripping people off for so long -- I've seen my CDs in stores for $27. I can't believe that -- I've even asked stores to drop the price. But now the record companies can't choose what they're going to put out there or what people are going to listen to."

Even without record-company help, the Forgotten Rebels have achieved longevity when so many of their peers have either self-destructed, faded into obscurity or just become really, really cheesy. When so many of those old bands are getting back together to cash in on their notoriety, the Rebels have always been around, intact.

"We'll do this forever, or at least as long as we can," Mickey declares. "As long as we have songs to play, we'll use our holidays to go out and play to our fans. The record industry owes me a lot more than I owe it, but I owe a whole lot to the fans. As long as we can keep giving back and people want to see us, we'll be around."