Ottawa-Gatineau is not normally top of mind when talking about heavy metal music. Sean Murphy, whose book, Echoes from the Pit, Ottawa’s Heavy Metal Scene from the 80’s and 90’s, is working to change that perception.
Ottawa Life caught up with Sean to chat about his upcoming book and the release party happening at the Rainbow on April 24.
OLM: What was your connection to the heavy metal scene in Ottawa during the 80’s and 90’s?
SM: I moved to Ottawa in 1981 from Montreal and met two friends from middle school who were into heavier music, specifically my friend Graham MacSkimming. He was very in tune with the whole metal scene, buying import albums, magazines like Kerrang! magazine. We all hit it off and started our very first band, named Evil Sinner, after a song from a local band, Exciter, made it big.
From there, I moved on to a couple of other bands and eventually left the scene while in college, but I still kept in touch with everyone and watched bands perform locally right up until the mid-1990s, when the metal scene began to slow down.
OLM: Why write a book about heavy metal music in Ottawa?
SM: I have always loved writing, and to this day, I still have all my creative writing books from school. I just didn’t know what the topic would be. My neighbour, Jim Hurcomb, wrote two fantastic books about Ottawa rock music in the 1960s and 1970s, titled Rockin’ on the Rideau. For about a year or more, I kept asking him if he was going to do a book on the 1980s. Finally, I decided to start working on the book. I focused on heavy metal for two reasons. One, it was my genre growing up and what I knew best. Two, I wanted to allow Jim the opportunity to do a third book and still leave a tonne of content. The Ottawa music scene was bursting in the 1980s with bands like One to One, Alanis, Eight Seconds, Furnaceface and a host of others. Heavy Metal was popular but so was punk, synth pop, early hip hop, it was just a fantastic music scene.
OLM: Can you describe what the music scene was like in Ottawa during the 80s and early 90s?
SM: Venues were always full across the city on any given night. I write about this a lot in the book, as it was so different from today’s music scene. You could easily have the choice between seeing 8-10 top music acts in any given bar on the same night in Ottawa. And it wasn’t just limited to weekends. Weekdays were vibrant and packed, too!
The specific heavy metal/rock venues were Barrymore’s, Roxanne’s (which was known as Le Papillon in its earlier inception), Hoopers, Buttons, One Step Beyond (which was a cool all-ages, non-alcohol bar), The Chaud (short for Chaudiere) and Zaphod’s.
OLM: What were some memories that really stand out from that time period?
SM: There were so many great memories from that time for me and for many others. There were many times when famous bands playing the Civic Centre would come out to Roxanne’s after to hang out. One time, Metallica dropped in, and it turned out to be one of their birthdays (guitarist Kirk Hammett). So Kirk, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield showed up, and Lars immediately went to the soundboard and started working with the sound guy. Kirk and James wanted food, so somebody introduced them to poutine.
Another story is about a time when the band Anthrax were playing The Chaud. It was situated on a golf course, and the opening band (local legends Shock) were doing their sound check when a member of Anthrax walked in with a golf shirt, shorts and a hat. It was weird to them to see this guy who was always decked out in black clothing with studs in everyday clothing.
The book will be released on April 24, with a special evening at the Rainbow Bistro in the ByWard Market. The event will feature six bands from that era playing their original music. A seventh surprise band has been added. They are called Mad Aleister and feature a blend of musicians from local heavy metal bands, including the bass player from the band Exciter.
Murphy has created a Facebook group featuring all things about the book and the event at the Rainbow on April 24.
