Yes, I know. Many of you are saying, "What the heck is Spedwok?". Well, it's a "team" of bands based primarily in the Charlottetown area. Spedwok began in the fall of '94 when Nathan Townshend and Ryan Vessey, both solo musicians at the time, decided to start a record label. So far, that "label" has produced one tape, the rhinoscerous afrodeesiac ep (reviewed in this column a few issues back), but three more are in the works and the team is five bands strong. The bands, in no particular order, include:
Superfluous Pretzel (Nathan Townshend and Alex Mazer): a studio-only, one-tape duo. Mostly laid-back acoustic, with the exception of the dreamy, electronic instrumental "Doorknob Lizard" and the groovy rocker "24-hour pharmacy".
ed who (Nathan Townshend, Matt Harper and Chelsea O'Connell): not grunge, punk or metal, but a stew of those styles' by-products. Lots of well-written, original LOWD music. They kick butt live, a tape is in the works and I have the only ed who hat in existence (so far).
Ewoks (Ryan Vessey, Greg Fleming and David Anderson): I haven't heard their stuff, but they're often compared to Sonic Youth (!).
Toothpaste/Dentifrice (Alex Mazer, Jacob Morrow and Jeremy Larter): again, I haven't heard them. Reportedly, they're funky and jazzy with traces of Dinosaur Junior and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.
gavin + worm (?): a somewhat secretive, studio-only duo. I'm told it will be creative "art rock".
ed who, Ewoks and Toothpaste/Dentifrice are fairly active in the Charlottetown live scene and are always looking for gigs. For more information, contact Nathan at 672-2557 or Ryan Vessey at 629-1865.