Same Thoughts Different Day

Yes, I know it’s been a ridiculously long time since I’ve written anything on this blog, but listen, for those of you that are serious Subhumans (Canada) fans, I have some news that may have been worth waiting for. We have a new album coming out in the next few weeks on Alternative Tentacles Records titled Same Thoughts Different Day. It includes re-recorded versions of all of our songs that originally appeared on our album Incorrect Thoughts, plus 6 bonus tracks from our early days that were never before properly recorded.

For many years now, Subhumans fans have been asking us to re-release our album Incorrect Thoughts. It seems that it’s been almost impossible to buy of late and when it is available, either the price is ridiculously high, or it’s a version of the album unauthorized by the band (yes, that does actually matter to some people!). Yet of all of our record releases to date, Incorrect Thoughts, first released in 1980, is probably the best known and seems to be many people’s favourite. It was our first full-length album, it was raw, passionate, reflected the spirit of the times and it was fairly well promoted and distributed in its day.

We wanted to re-release it some time ago, but there was just one little problem: ownership of the master tapes. While we had safety copies of the masters, we didn’t have the actual masters in our possession. Originally, the masters had been the property of Roy Atkinson of Friends Records. He had financed the recording and released it on his label. But several years later (after the original band had broken up in 1982), Incorrect Thoughts was re-released by a guy named Dave Ferguson in San Francisco on his label, CD Presents. As some of the individual tracks seemed to have been remixed on his re-release, clearly, Dave Ferguson had at that point, some how gained possession of the masters.

How exactly this had come about was and continues to be, a mystery. None of the original members of the band had ever been notified that the masters were being sold, given or lent to Dave Ferguson, nor was the band given the chance to buy back the masters at the time. Roy Atkinson swears that he didn’t sell the masters to Dave Ferguson. He actually gave Brian Goble a signed statement to that effect several years ago that we still have.

While we doubted that we had ever signed a document granting Atkinson ownership of the masters in perpetuity (we were young and dumb, but we don’t think we were that dumb!), we couldn’t be completely sure of the fact. We had no documents pertaining specifically to that matter. As a result, we couldn’t be sure that Ferguson hadn’t inherited some sort of document along with the masters that granted him the rights to those masters forever. Without such a document, Ferguson might well possess the masters, but he would have no legal claim to the rights to them (at least in Canadian copyright law). But if he actually did have a valid document in his possession, signed by the members of the band, granting the owner of the masters the rights to them in perpetuity and if he could prove that he was now the legitimate owner of the masters, we would not be able to legally re-release those recordings without his permission.

Consequently, we were initially convinced that there was no way Ferguson could or would make a claim to owning the rights to the masters. In fact, we had always felt that the CD Presents version of Incorrect Thoughts was little more than an unauthorized bootleg of the record. So we began to make plans to re-release the record from the safety copies that we had in our possession and we started to talk to various record labels in the alternative scene to see if anyone was interested in the project.

It was then that a number of people in the business warned us that Ferguson was both an experienced and energetic litigator. They cautioned us against re-releasing the album without checking with him first to see if he intended to claim the rights to the masters. It was pointed out, that while Ferguson may not have any valid claim to them, if he intended to claim that he did, it could be a royal pain in the ass for us and for the record label that released a record derived from those masters. While the odds might be against him actually winning a court case against us, if he had even the flimsiest case and decided to initiate legal proceedings, it could quite possibly be a long, exhausting and costly affair. As well, it might easily hold up the release of the record for years.

It was suggested that we have a lawyer draft and send a letter to Ferguson stating that we were claiming clear ownership to the masters and that we intended to re-release the record. So in March 2007, we did just that. Ferguson’s response to our letter was swift and came via his lawyer Tony Berman. Essentially, he told us that his client claimed sole ownership of the masters and that any re-release of the recording by us could result in legal action against us. He went on to say, “You are hereby ordered to cease and desist from engaging in any reproduction, distribution, use or other exploitation of the Masters”.

At that point, it was clear that Ferguson was indeed claiming ownership of the masters and it seemed likely that he would make trouble for us if we re-released the recording. As well, although our lawyer had requested some sort of proof of ownership from Ferguson should he intend to make a claim of ownership, no such proof was furnished. Nor was any explanation given as to how Ferguson had come to own the masters.

After a good deal of discussion we decided that rather than pushing the issue and potentially entering into a protracted legal battle, maybe the easiest thing to do at that point, was to see what it would take for Ferguson to wave his claim to the masters. We figured that after all, he must know that there wasn’t going to be much money generated from a re-release, so hopefully he wouldn’t ask for that much money to allow us to go ahead with the project unhindered. As well, because he had yet to offer any proof of ownership, we thought that there was a distinct possibility that he was bluffing about that and that he might be only too happy to receive some easy money without having to actually produce documentation to support his claim.

So in September 2007, we asked our lawyer to contact Ferguson’s lawyer and offer $1000 to Ferguson to waive his claim and allow us to re-release the album. We realized that this was a fairly small sum to be offering someone to forgo a legitimate claim to ownership of master tapes, but we still doubted that Ferguson’s claim was legitimate. As well, it was only intended to be an initial offer to start off negotiations.

We received a response the next day from Berman: “Thank you for your call yesterday. I have discussed your clients’ offer of $1000 with my client. The offer is rejected”. He went on to reiterate his warning that if we went ahead and re-released the recording we could face legal action. That was it. There was no counter offer. There wasn’t even any indication given as to whether or not they were willing to negotiate.

It was then that we fully realized that this was Ferguson’s game, he was a skilled player and we weren’t going to win it. It didn’t matter whether he actually had a legitimate claim to ownership or not. He had the power, we didn’t. It seemed obvious that to continue going down this path would be fruitless. The relatively inexpensive, fast and some would argue, more authentic process of re-releasing Incorrect Thoughts using the original masters was no longer an option for us.

It seemed we now had only two options left to us: abandon the project entirely and accept that these songs might never again be available to the public as a package, or re-record all the songs from scratch and release it as a brand new album. The first option would save us from spending a lot more time and money on a project that we weren’t even sure any label would be interested in. But it was a bitter pill to swallow; these songs seemed like too important a part of the band’s history to just turn our backs on and walk away from. As well, we felt that we needed to somehow regain control over these songs as recordings. So, after a few weeks of debate, we decided to go ahead with the second option and Same Thoughts, Different Day was the result.

Actually, we had a lot of fun making this new album and we think it turned out really, really well. In fact, in my opinion, it turned out much better than the original in terms of both performance and production. Re-recording these songs ended up providing us with an opportunity to improve on many of the things that we were never that happy with on the original recordings. As well, it gave us the chance to include some other songs of ours from that era that we’ve always loved and that we felt needed to be re-recorded and made available to our fans.

Anyways, I hope you check get a chance to check it out. Even if you’re a die-hard skeptic when it comes to re-recorded albums, I think there’s a real good chance you’ll dig this one. Enjoy! I should also mention that the opinions expressed here by me on this posting are solely my own and do not necessarily represent either the opinions of the Subhumans Canada or of Alternative Tentacles Records. Oh yeah, and for the record, we have yet to receive a single cent in mechanical royalties from Ferguson for all of the copies of Incorrect Thoughts he has sold. But then again, he’s only had twenty-five years to pay them to us. Maybe he needs a little more time….

New Rules For Rascals

Okay, new rules for posting on this blog:  personal attacks made against me that have nothing to do with current issues being discussed here, that are based on 30 year old information/disinformation and that are posted by anonymous individuals, will no longer be published.  Individuals who wish to engage in such attacks in the future, will have to use their real name and a real contact address (i.e. a blog spot, a website, an emailing address etc.).   Otherwise, your post will be deleted.  And I will be checking to make sure that the names and addresses are for real.

After all, if you are going to scrutinize my life for incongruities (real or imagined) and gleefully submit them as "evidence" that I am a total asshole, then it's only fair that I should be able to do the same to you. Individuals too cowardly to share with us their true identities, will not be permitted to use this blog as a vehicle from which to launch their personal vendettas.

If you still feel the overwhelming need to trash someone from the safety of anonymity, may I suggest that you get a paper bag and cut two eye holes out of it, put it over your head (make sure the eye holes are actually where your eyes are!), face a mirror and tell the person you see in the mirror what a mean-spirited coward they are.  This will serve two very useful purposes:  it will allow you to work out some of that bile that you pack around with you (it can't be very good for your health) and you'll be trashing someone who really deserves it.

Canadian Election: Harper's Power play

I just want to make a quick comment on the recent federal election because I think it begs to be commented on. Can you believe it? Three million dollars later and we’re right back where we were before. After wasting all of this time, energy and a shit load of money for over a month on an election that almost nobody wanted, we once again have a minority Conservative government.

And a piss poor time to be wasting energy and money too as it turned out. Instead of focusing on how we can best deal with the current financial turmoil in the US and how it might effect Canada, we were busy farting around with a federal election, just because Stephen Harper and the Conservatives thought they just might have a chance of getting a majority government if they called it right now. Never mind that they broke their very own new election law designed supposedly to prevent just this sort of partisan opportunism, this was at last a chance for Harper to unleash his own special brand of ultra conservatism on Canadians with no holds barred. He just couldn’t resist the temptation.

Of course, Harper claimed that he called the election because he couldn’t accomplish anything with a minority government and he needed a stronger mandate from the Canadian people to get stuff done. But then when he was asked if he thought the Conservatives were likely to win a majority this time around, he said no. Clearly this explanation makes no sense at all. Now while I’ve always believed Stephen Harper is rather simple, I don’t believe he’s that simple. I believe he thought the time was right to capitalize on Stephan Dion’s unpopularity with the hope of winning a majority. And it seemed perfectly fine to Harper that you (the Canadian taxpayer) should finance his little power play.

Let’s not forget that Harper loves to talk about fiscal responsibility, government accountability and how the taxpayers should ultimately call the shots on how their money is spent. This cynical move on his part proves once again, that this kind of talk is nothing more than that—talk. This is yet another reason to make sure that this man and his party never secures a majority government. (PS. The kitty may be cuddly and innocent Steve, but you're not)

Bighouse For Bush And His Buddies!

Your prayers have been answered. The Subhumans (Canada) are on tour once again and coming to a city near you (if you live in western Canada that is). If you're interested (and I just know you are), you can look up the dates, cities and venues at our website at http://www.subhumans.ca/.

Okay, so slowly, but surely we are moving toward a post president Bush world. Thank god! Many of us will breathe a sigh of relief when we reach that point. But the question of the decade then (if not the century), is what happens to George W. Bush and his cronies. What happens to Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and John Bolton to name a few? Will they go free and be permitted to carry on schmoozing, plotting, and fund raising in the circles of the American power elite as many of them have been since the Reagan years? Or will they be tried, convicted and imprisoned as the criminals they obviously are?

Every day, people in America are thrown in jail for relatively small offences like possessing pot, shoplifting and stealing cars. Bush and his cronies pushed for and engaged in an illegal war that has left close to a million people dead and thousands more disabled and mutilated. They lied to other branches of government and to the American people repeatedly to support their military campaign. They oversaw and implemented programs of unlawful confinement and torture that ruined (and continue to ruin) hundreds of people's lives. They are directly responsible for the slaughter of not just Iraqis, but Americans as well. Are these crimes not vastly more serious than petty crimes such as those mentioned above that can still land you in jail? If so, one would think that these people should go to jail for a long, long time.

One thing is almost for sure, if these guys get off with a mere slap on the wrist (or worse yet, no reprimand at all), they, or people very much like them will be back to bite us in the future. If they get away with this, it will be a clear signal to them and other right-wing war mongers like them that there's no reason not to try this again (once the dust settles and they've managed to install another malleable Republican president in the Whitehouse). If they get away with this, count on another Iraq or Vietnam within the next 10 or 20 years. These people believe in US world domination at all most any cost (if you don't believe me check out their own websites like "Project for a New American Century" or "American Enterprise Institute") and they will continue working towards that goal behind the scenes until they are stopped.

That's why it's crucial that Bush and his cronies are actually brought to justice. These individuals must be made to answer for their criminal arrogance and deceit. Those of us that see this bogus war as the crime it is, need to seriously push toward this goal. We need to make sure that justice is actually done (unlike in Nixon's case) and that it is done swiftly (unlike in Pinochet's case). For the sake of the dead, the living and the unborn, let's nip this malignancy in the bud. And besides, even Paris Hilton had to go to jail.

Hey there Georgy boy, look at all the bullshit you employ!

Here's a good one for you. While loudly trumpeting itself as the world leader of the "War on Terror" and castigating other countries that are supposedly soft on terrorists, the Bush administration itself appears to be funding and/or protecting terrorist groups within Iran and elsewhere in an attempt to destabilize the Iranian government.

According to a number of news reporters including one from the Sunday Telegraph, several guerrilla groups within Iran that have been involved in terrorist type actions against the Iranian government are receiving funding directly from the CIA. Many of these guerilla organizations consist of ethnic minority groups such as the Kurds, the Ahwazi and the Baluchis who oppose the current Iranian government. Some of the actions carried out by these groups include kidnappings, executions and bombings. Most of the attacks have been directed towards Iranian soldiers and government officials, but of course civilians that happen to be in the way are often injured or killed as well. A Baluchi group calling itself Jundallah (Army of God) recently claimed responsibility for the bombing of a bus carrying Revolutionary Guards in Zahedan, Iran which killed 11 people and injured many more.

At the same time, over 3000 members of a guerilla group calling itself Mujahedin-e Khalq (The People's Freedom Fighters) or MEK who are responsible for numerous attacks against Iranian officials (and some Americans), enjoy safe haven in Iraq, courtesy of the US military. Despite repeated requests from the Iranian government for the handing over of MEK members to stand trial in Iran for their actions, the US government has yet to comply. Declared a terrorist organization by the US State Department in 1997, the MEK appear to have more recently become useful allies of Washington in its "cold war" against Iran—particularly since the MEK were the first ones to claim that the current Iranian governments' nuclear ambitions were anything but peaceful.

Now while I have to admit I'm no great lover of the current repressive government of Iran, nor the ultra conservative Ayatollahs, nor the brutal, fanatical Revolutionary Guards and while I do have some sympathy for some of the stated goals of the MEK, I do find this double standard on the part of the Bush administration to be just a tad hypocritical. You can't be truly against terrorism and be supporting it at the same time. But of course, as a true study of history will show, neither Bush nor previous US administrations have actually been against terrorism (state terrorism or otherwise). Despite what they say, they're just against terrorism that is against them or runs counter to their interests. And it's precisely this double standard that successive US administrations feel perfectly comfortable in engaging in, that is one of the main reasons why so many people around the world are fucking furious with the US.

Besides being blatantly hypocritical, this policy of supporting "good" terrorists is dangerous as well; it's backfired on the US more than once in the past with all sorts of nasty consequences for a lot of people. One of the more recent and memorable instances of this is when the Reagan administration provided funds and armaments to a bunch of hardened, Islamist warriors (also calling themselves "Mujahedin") in Afghanistan who were fighting against the Najibullah government and its Soviet backers. The Soviets finally gave up and left the country and the Najibullah government eventually fell. Victory for the USA? Hardly; newly emboldened and armed, many of those same Mujahedin fighters went on to form an extremely conservative, repressive, militant Islamic government in Afghanistan. This same government provided safe haven and moral support to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda while they prepared for the September 11th, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. The name of this government in Afghanistan?

You got it; the Taliban! In other words, the Reagan administration, employing the same type of brilliant foreign policy back then against Afghanistan as the Bush administration is now employing against Iran, inadvertently helped to lay the groundwork for the 9/11 attacks. As well, they helped to create the mess in Afghanistan that NATO countries (including Canada) are now expected to help cleanup at great cost and loss of life.

It's time the Bush administration (and all US administrations to come) stop supporting violent opposition groups (terrorists) in other countries as proxies to destabilize governments they don't like. It's time they start showing real respect (instead of mere lip service) for concepts like sovereignty, multilateralism and democracy. Otherwise they can't expect their enemies (imagined or real) to show respect for such concepts either. The rules have to apply to everyone, otherwise they can't possibly work and the violence will only escalate. Countries that claim to have the moral high ground need to set a good example. Because, as everyone the world over knows (outside of Washington that is), "what's good for the goose is good for the gander".

(For a sort of musical version of this posting, check out the Subhumans song, "Moving Forward" from our new album, New Dark Age Parade. You can hear it at our Myspace site at www.myspace.com/subhumanscanaduh.)

The Subhumans Are Home!

There's no place like home. Finally I'm well enough to write here again. We all got brutally ill on the New Dark Age Parade tour and I'm only just starting to recover. This is gonna be short. I'll talk about the tour and other stuff later. I just wanted to say thanks to all of the excellent people that helped us out on the tour and thanks to all of our dedicated fans that braved all sorts of weather to come out and see us. You people made it worthwhile and are greatly appreciated. We'll talk more soon.

Subhumans (Canada) "New Dark Age Parade" Tour

Well here we are, merely a few days away from heading out on our cross-Canuckistan tour in support of out new CD, New Dark Age Parade. We'll be starting the tour with a show this Friday, October 13th (how fitting) at the Lamplighter in Vancouver. From there, it will be over to Victoria for a show the following night and then it's off to points east, eventually going as far as Montreal. The tour will be 3 weeks long ending on November 4th with a show in Calgary. Jeez, it'll pretty much be winter by then. Good thing we gotten ourselves some good transportation lined up!

Yep, solid, reliable and good on gas too. Of course, we would've liked to have played all of the great urban centers of this vast land, but time constraints just wouldn't allow it (we couldn't pry Jon away from his new job as beer taster for Big Rock Brewery for any longer than 3 weeks). But hopefully we'll be coming to either your town, or a town near you. This will be the first time the Subhumans (Canada) have played Toronto in 25 years and our very first time ever to play Montreal! Needless to say, we'll be playing only the finest rock and roll establishments on our journey, such as this happening joint in Duck Ass Lake, AB.

Looks like a good place to empty out our Stephen Harper porta-potty. It should be pretty near full by then. Yes indeed. For a detailed list of our tour dates, check out our website at www.subhumanscanada.com.

So we're working really hard, getting ready for this tour. We've spent many long and hard hours locked in our dingy, dirty rehearsal space denying ourselves life's little pleasures so that we would be prepared for this tour (and we practised a couple of songs while we were in there as well). Besides playing many of our old favourites, we'll being playing quite a few new tunes from New Dark Age Parade as well. And of course, Brian will be doing his much loved and widely celebrated, fully flatulented rendition of "Having My Baby" while riding unicycle and eating tapioca pudding in the nude. A sight and sound extravaganza not to be missed! So all and all it promises to be a series of delightful shows you simply won't want to miss. And besides, at our age, who knows if we'll make it back to your town again; it gets tougher and tougher to haul around those wheelchairs, I.V. bags and bedpans everytime! So come on out and see the show!!

We're All Subhumans Now

"We're all Americans now." (French magazine Le Monde, September 2001,
in aftermath of 9/11 attacks)






"You're either with us or against us...." (George W. Bush, November 2001)

"We're all subhumans now." (myself, September 2006, in the aftermath of Israel's attacks on Lebanon)

New Dark Age Parade

Well, seeing as how this is my first entry I'd better get right to the important stuff. My name is Gerry Hannah aka "Gerry Useless". I'm the bass player and one of the three song writers for the original Subhumans from Vancouver, Canada. We've just released a new, 14 song CD titled New Dark Age Parade on G7 Welcoming Committee Records in Canada and on Alternative Tentacles Records in the rest of the world. It's the first time the band has released brand new material since 1982!

I think this record is really, really good. Now, of course you'd expect me to say that, me being a member of the band and what not, but the truth is, I don't plug records I don't like. In fact, shortly after our first album, Incorrect Thoughts came out in 1981, I was asked what I thought of the album on a live radio interview in Texas. My response was, "I wouldn't buy it" (of course, that comment was very popular with the rest of the band!). I only really liked about 3/4 of the songs on the album and I was really disappointed with most of the production. I actually like that album now, but back then I didn't and I said so. So when I say that I think New Dark Age Parade is really, really good, I do mean it.

From a musical standpoint, New Dark Age Parade is for the most part, mid tempo with a few faster punk rock forays here and there, as well as a couple of slightly slower tunes too. It's mostly hard driving rock (without the posturing and without trying to be slick) and there's a bit of a garage pop sound in there too. I would say the album draws on influences as diverse as the Clash (circa Complete Control days), to the New York Dolls (circa their first album), to Steppenwolf (Monster), to Bowie (Man Who Sold the World), to Stereolab (circa Refried Ectoplasm, without the keyboards and Latietia Sadier's angelic vocals). Now of course, that's just my opinion. You may disagree and indeed, my bandmates may disagree, but I'm just trying to give you an idea of the sound of the damned thing.

Lyrically, the album speaks on topics ranging from poverty and drug addiction, to alienation from one's self and society, to unity and a sense of belonging, to psychological healing, to macho posturing, to religious fanaticism (both christian and muslim) and last, but not least, to war! (how could there not be songs about war on a Subhumans album, when clearly, we live in a world at war?). I guess you could say that the record from a lyrical standpoint is just a tad "political", which will come as no surprise to those of you that are familiar with our earlier stuff. None of the songs are anti-American in content though (as has been suggested by some reviewers), but a few of them critique American foreign policy, both current and past (how could any sane person not critique 60 years of madness?).

Anyways, if this CD sounds interesting to you, I urge you to go out and buy it from your favourite record store or order it from G7 or Alternative Tentacles. If you like us and/or like the record, please don't pirate the damn thing. Honestly, how do you expect indie bands and labels to keep on going if they can't make any money from record sales? More about that on another posting perhaps.... I guess that's all for now.