The Last Pogo Jumps Again

Pogo H.Q. has closed down for the holidays, but we’ll be back at it in January 2010, slowly putting all the pieces together and getting our labour of love, The Last Pogo Jumps Again:  A Biased & Incomplete History Of Toronto Punk Rock Circa September 24 1976 To December 1 1978 ready for public consumption.

Hey ho ho ho!

Everyone’s getting busy with the Kwanza/Hannukuh/Christmas (pick-your-own-pagan-holiday) season getting started, so we won’t be posting very often over the next few weeks.   But it’s not like we’re not doing anything.  Far from it, dear blog readers.  Far fucking from it.

Left Coast Second Unit Director (L.A. Division) Amy Bellings is on the case, getting ready to chat with graphic artist/photographer Rodney Bowes on the beach in Los Angeles, and find out all about Rodney’s take on the original punk scene in Toronto for our epically titled multi-platform feature film extravaganza The Last Pogo Jumps Again:  A Biased & Incomplete History Of Toronto Punk Rock Circa September 24 1976 To December 1 1978.

The Last Pogo Jumps Again Christmas party, 2009

Co-director Aldo Erdic is putting the finishing touches on his nifty half-hour Diodes documentary circa 1977:  The Diodes, and needs to put that to bed before diving back into the 900+ minutes of footage from 2008′s Last Pogo 30th Anniversary show, certain to be one of the many DVD extras on our project, the tortuously tongue-tied project titled The Last Pogo Jumps Again:  A Biased & Incomplete History Of Toronto Punk Rock Circa September 24 1976 To December 1 1978, scheduled for release next year.

We love the fact that Santa gave up undressing halfway through taking his right sock off.  That and the nutsack peeking out.

Producer/co-director Colin Brunton is busy working on a kids TV show and killing time between shots and meetings collecting more jpgs (thanks Imants, Gail, Robert, Patrick, etc.) and pondering ways to release the cumbersomely yet very accurately titled multi-media monster The Last Pogo Jumps Again:  A Biased & Incomplete History Of Toronto Punk Rock Circa September 24 1976 To December 1 1978 and reminding people that the DVD of The Last Pogo is still available, and it’s only twelve bucks.  $12.00! The Last Pogo Jumps Again Shipping & Receiving Department awaits your orders.  Just click on the “Store” link on the left.

Co-director/editor Kire Paputts continues to upload the interview footage of late (Tibor Takacs, Lucasta Ross, Joe Keithley) and tinker with our four and a half-hour cut, and is excitedly getting prepped to shoot his new half-hour short film — working title Roadkill (WTF?!) — with local talents Julian Richings, David Huband and Amy Rutherford.

Julian Richings, actor.   Really, who else would you cast to play John Cale in a movie?  One of Canada’s best.

Cue the creepy music sting as Julian’s silent and sullen lead character cuts open and prepares to exact his taxidermy skills on a dead animal.   Then get your hankies out for the ending (and not in a Pee-Wee Herman type way, if you know what I mean, and I think that you do. )

John Cale, musician.  Really, who else would you cast to play Julian Richings in a movie?  One of Wales’ best.

Wheeee!

But maybe most exciting music-wise over the next while is the show next Tuesday the 15th at the Cameron Tavern.

Steven Leckie at the Last Pogo 30th party;  photo by Edie Stiener.

Original Toronto punk/artist/provocateur Steven Leckie will hit the stage with new band Fleur de Mal, featuring keyboardist Alex Topp and guitarist/percussionist Blair Richard Martin (late of 80′s band The Raving Mojos) at a show at the soon-to-be-missing, never-to-be-forgetting Queen Street West landmark Cameron Tavern.

Alex Topp with Steven Leckie & The Solutions! at The Last Pogo 30th, 2008; photo Edie Stiener.

With arrangements by the talented Ms. Topp, the eight-piece band Alex has assembled (WTF?!) for this one-time-only show will be performing crazily inventive covers of two Velvet Undergound songs.   And we’re guessing that this is a show That Should Not Be Missed.

L – R: Somebody’s arm, Alex Topp, somebody, Andrew Haughton (Major Grey) and Gary Topp.

Also playing that night are catchy tunesters Major Grey and Lorraine Leckie, (who amongst other things happens to be Steven Leckie’s ex.)  A winter’s evening of history in a building doomed to a duller fate.  $10.  Be there, and dress nice ’cause we’ll probably shoot it.

And speaking of the soon-to-be potentially Disney-fied version of it’s former self Cameron Tavern, veteran punk, killer bass player and infamous coxman Sam Ferrara is displaying his metal sculpture wares there at his annual holiday show.  Opening night is Thursday, December 9th.  Get there fast and stick a red dot on something, ’cause Sam’s stuff goes fast.

Google artist Teppo Manninen for more neat drawings like this.