A punked-up history of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Local photographer Paolo Colasacco is set to host a book signing this Saturday (January 22) at the Rad Zone in Wellington Square Mall from 1 to 4 p.m.

His book, Going Underground; A Brief History of Punk Rock in Small Town Canada, chronicles the Sault punk scene from the mid-80s through to the year 2000.

Going Underground features images captured by Colasacco, a self-taught photographer who enjoyed a brief stint as a sessional professor of photography at Sault College after graduating from the graphic design program.

"It was my favourite job ever," Colasacco told Sootoday.com.

Images and stories compiled in Going Underground include those of local legends the Reggulars, the Vox, Waldo Pepper and the Shakes, the Spigots (shown), Kite Eating Maples, Final Option, Room 206, Blend, Suckerpunch and the Late Nite Weirdoes.

Going Underground; A Brief History of Punk Rock in Small Town Canada will be available for purchase at the Rad Zone book-signing for $30 plus HST.

The following is an excerpt from the book.

******************************* The next day, I gathered a few photo albums and brought them to the coffee shop for Nez to see.

He was there as usual piecing together the events that had shut down the show the night before.

Nez had been too young to go to the Centennial Lanes shows, so having someone from the first wave with pictures and stories was the next best thing.

We talked for a long time about the bands, and what had made the whole thing work.

I learned the Spigots were the remnants of a previous band called Jane’s Rehab.

While I was away in London, there had been a small, active scene.

Hardcore bands were playing anywhere they could to a small loyal crowd.

We agreed that finding a place to rent on a regular basis was the most important thing.

Not too long after, Nez phoned me to tell me the Spigots had secured a location, and I should come to photograph them.

The second wave took place in the ballroom at the Windsor Park Hotel on Queen Street.

The hotel had a huge lobby and a bar across from the front desk.

The bar ran independent from the rest.

It was a bit posh, but I liked the set up.

The Windsor Park Hotel was easy to find as it has a central location on Queen Street.

That worried me.

I was thinking about the friction between the “in crowd” and the others out there.

I thought the police would come and break up the show again.

I worried for no reason – there was never any trouble at any of the Windsor Park shows.

That was different from the Centennial Lanes days.

I remember in the early days, when people paid for admittance, they were told to go into the dance hall, or hang around the main foyer, but not to stand around outside.

Having a bunch of people hanging around the front of the building would attract unwanted attention.

Toward the later days of the Centennial Lanes, the police often broke up the show when that discipline was relaxed.

I think that having the main lobby in the Windsor Park prevented that.

The new crowd had a place to wander away from the live show into the quiet, business-like environment of the front lobby.

I enjoyed the bar.

I could have a quick drink and look over my camera equipment in between sets.

I could reload my cameras, label my film canisters and scribble hasty notes in the light of the bar. Now and again a bar patron saw my equipment and would try engage in some sort of conversation.

“No, I don’t work for the newspaper.”

“Yes, I know Freddy and GT at Camera Craft.”

“No, I don’t want to shoot your wedding.”

“Yes, I think Ansel Adams is quite fascinating.”

I was saved from these conversations many a time as Nez would page me through the P.A. system.

I always paid for my drink up front knowing I would have to run at a moment’s notice.

I had just enough time to have one.

The new bands that played at the Windsor Park had better shows.

They had more of a structure than the bands in the Centennial Lanes days.

There was a definite start time, and each band had at least two sets of songs.

They would play sixty or ninety minutes depending on who put on the show.

The band that rented the ballroom had the longest time on stage or it would be shared equally if there was a guest band from out-of-town.

Very professional, very tight, nothing sloppy, all of the songs learned and rehearsed.

They did not play the old punk standards but a newer mix with more original songs.

It may sound corny but if there was that proverbial talent scout lost in Northern Ontario, there could have been two, maybe three easily signable bands.

Trevor Harding, the singer for the Spigots, had networked with other bands from Toronto and Montreal.

These special guest bands came into town and played a show with the Spigots so the home crowd would have a different band in the roster.

I’ve heard Paul Gott of the Ripcordz say that he was very impressed with the underground scene in the Sault Ste. Marie.

To this day, the Ripcordz still come from Montreal to play here.

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