Sound Pollution

April Bessey

Over the past couple of decades, punk rock has faded in and out of mainstream culture, much to the dismay of its more loyal followers.  Booming, bursting and tearing at the seams one minute and searching for its last breath on life-support the next.  In the Niagara Region, we haven’t reached the climax of that orgasm in a long time, if ever. In the past there were many small venues, including outdoor shows at city parks that supported punk music and were host to historic moments, like the Ramones at the Hideaway and the English Beat at the Mindbomb, both now defunct venues in St. Catharines. In addition to bars and club venues, Niagara also has a history of popular ‘punk houses’ which help perpetuate punk culture in spite of a lack of support for the scene today.

The Niagara Region is known for getting shows on the day off between Toronto and Buffalo or vice versa, as geographically we’re the half way point between the two big cities. We have also seen the open and close of many great venues. For example, we had the Hideaway, a reformed pool hall and north end watering hole that hosted wicked influential bands such as The Specials, Bad Brains and The Exploited just to name a few talked about bigger shows. The Hideaway was also a great place to see local, up-and- coming punk rock bands and other genres alike; the venue was known for being very diverse and a great place to experience underground music from rock to blues, grunge and more.

“You’d have to say that the Ramones [was the most memorable show], it’s inevitable, because the Hideaway used to be a pool hall, so it was kind of just like ‘the Ramones played at the pool hall.” – Jennifer Anderson – Brock University Press, “Rocking Out in the Garden City” By: Vivian Thomas & Alexander Hryshko 11/16/04

Some local band sure was lucky to play a show with the Ramones, great rock history. Not many people can say they went and saw the Ramones play in their home town, but the Niagara region and St. Catharines specifically was good for that.

Amongst countless other venues such as Gord’s, The Russell, Red Square/the Vault and the Mindbomb, one stands out for most kids of the late 70’s – early 90’s,  Jerry’s Alley, quite commonly known as the Russell lounge. Jerry’s Alley played host to hundreds if not thousands of influential Canadian punk shows including the Forgotten Rebels and DOA and many local heroes such as the Sick Boys, the Unknowns, Carnage Finger and Problem Children.  Niagara is a unique place in southern Ontario, the kind of place where any misfit could go and feel comfortable.  “Jerry used to let me play ANYTHING, as long as we sold a lot of beer….needless to say, I played ANYTHING & EVERYTHING.  Friday and Saturday nights rocked…”, recalls Pam Polecrone, ex Jerry’s Alley bartender and long time patron. Many local music lovers would say Jerry’s Alley was ‘ground zero’ for alternative music from the late 70’s up until the early 90’s, when it was demolished.

Until 9/11 there was minimal boarder control in Southern Ontario so it was much easier for the two Niagara Falls scenes to be more connected with one another, a connection that made for a more diverse scene. Today however, if you have even a youth record you’ll be stopped at the border, alienating our music scene and creating a great divide of Canadian and American independent punk music.

..to be continued
Sound Pollution 2010