GrimSkunk | |
---|---|
GrimSkunk (2009)
|
|
Background information | |
Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Genres | Punk |
Years active | 1988–present |
Labels | Indica |
Website | www |
Members | Franz Joe Evil Ben Shatskoff Vincent Peake Peter Edwards |
Past members | Marc Saint-Maurice (1988-1999) Todd Wircham (1999 - 2004) Alain Vadboncoeur (1988-2009) |
GrimSkunk is a rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with punk, rock, progressive and world music influences. Its style is self-described as "world punk" It is regarded as being part of the foundation of the Quebec "alternative" scene, having influenced many young musicians and bands.
The band integrates many languages into its songs, such as French, English, Spanish, Greek and Persian. It has also integrated many styles of music, including punk, hardcore, reggae, progressive and psychedelic rock, ska, rap and world music.
Over the years, the band shared the stage with many established acts such as System Of A Down, Meshuggah, Manu Chao and Suicidal Tendencies, as well as peers Anonymus, Vulgaires Machins, Deadly Apples and The Sainte Catherines.
GrimSkunk was formed in 1988 from a previous hardcore group known as Fatal Illness. GrimSkunk played its first show in April, 1989. The band's first demo album, Autumn Flowers, was released two years later, in April 1991. Along with Groovy Aardvark, the band was among the first "alternative" bands to tour Quebec, thus creating a market for this genre.
In the first years of GrimSkunk's career, cannabis was always very present in the band's image. Hemp leaves were on their CD covers, and references to cannabis could be found in the albums' names (Autumn Flowers, Exotic Blend), in their songs' titles (Zig-Zag), and in their lyrics ("Pourquoi, pourquoi ne pas fumer? / C'est ben légal de boire", Why, why can't we smoke / Isn't it legal to drink?). The band's name itself is an allusion to skunk cannabis.