UIC (band)
| UIC | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Exeter, Ontario |
| Genres | Punk rock, garage rock |
| Years active | 1982–1995 |
| Labels | Fringe Product, Og Music, DROG |
| Members |
|
U.I.C., which was first an acronym for Unemployment Insurance Commission but was later changed to Up in Canada were a punk and garage rock band from Exeter, Ontario, formed in June 1982 by guitar player Fred "Slack" Robinson, singer John Lindenfield, drummer Murray "Houndog" Heywood, bassman Mike Caldwell and guitar player Ted Treibner.
Heywood had started playing the drums with his brother's band when he was 11, playing dances and banquets, doing mostly country covers. He became frustrated and sold his drums when he was 16 but once Fred Robinson, who was three years older, learned how to play barre chords, he and Heywood discovered that they could play as well as the Ramones and Sex Pistols and decided to start a band. The UIC guys used to sit on a hill near their home in Exeter in Fred's car to get good FM reception and hear the Detroit stations that played Iggy Pop and The Stooges, which became one of their main influences. Heywood was more into Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith but was introduced to the Ramones and punk rock and quickly fell in love with it. Since he was not able to copy John Bonham's drumming style, Heywood happily changed for a Tommy Ramone style.
Fred's brother, Dave "Smokin'" Robinson, became the singer in December 1982. Eventually, Chris Mittelholtz was added as a sax player. Caldwell was replaced by Dan "Hack" Preszcator at the end of 1983. U.I.C were perennial fan-favourites at the aptly named Freakers Ball, an outdoor music festival held in various Exeter-area cornfields throughout the 1980s, and played many gigs in London, Ontario, before making the move to Toronto in 1984. Welcomed into the city's indie scene, the band went on to play with other garage faves like The Gruesomes, and Deja Voodoo, and to open for notable acts like Teenage Head, The Dead Milkmen and The Goo Goo Dolls.
2016 marks the 30th anniversary of U.I.C.'s first recording, Our Garage, released by the Fringe Product record label in 1986. The album was produced by Gemini-nominated sound engineer Michael Edward Jackson. In an interview in the first issue of In Yer Ear fanzine (1987), Dave and Murray acknowledged that Mike Star, owner of Star Records and organizer of Star Club shows in Oshawa, On., was instrumental in getting Our Garage to the American market, helping distribute the vinyl release in New York, Chicago and Boston.
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