A Neon Rome
| A Neon Rome | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Years active | 1984–1989, 2008 |
| Labels | Fringe Product, New Rose |
| Associated acts | Change of Heart |
| Past members | Neal Arbic John Borra Ken Burchell Kevin Nizol Ian Blurton Crawford Teasdale Bernard Maiezza |
A Neon Rome was a Canadian alternative rock band, active from 1984 to 1987. Commonly described as a cross between The Sex Pistols, The Doors and The Velvet Underground, the band were prominent on Toronto's Queen Street West music scene. They broke up before achieving mainstream success, however, and are now remembered primarily as the inspiration behind Bruce McDonald's cult film Roadkill.
Neal Arbic, the band's frontman, created the band in 1984 after writing a narrative poem about a rock band whose music was "like heroin" to its fans. The band's sound was reportedly inspired by accidentally playing a Psychic TV record at the wrong speed.
Bassist John Borra, drummer Ken Burchell and guitarist Kevin Nizol rounded out the band's original lineup. The band began to draw attention in the Toronto club scene for its live shows, which blended Arbic's wild, charismatic frontman antics with a loose, improvisational interplay among the band. In fact, the band rarely wrote songs in advance – instead, much of its material was improvised live on stage.
Burchell left the band, who continued without a drummer for a time until Ian Blurton joined to replace him. Keyboardist Bernard Maiezza joined the band at the same time as Blurton. They eventually became the house band of Elvis Mondays, a weekly underground rock night at Toronto's Beverly Hotel, and began developing a wider audience. Eventually Blurton left the band, and Burchell rejoined.
The band released its debut album, New Heroin, in March 1987 on Fringe Product in Canada and New Rose Records in Europe, and garnered strong reviews from influential publications such as Sounds, NME and Melody Maker.
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