Saturday, July 10, 2021

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: This Is Your Band On Drugs

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, our monthly spotlight of randomly selected local metal, hard rock, and/or punk bands from the past for current readers! I had originally projected a double profile this month due to what I thought was minimal surviving information on the first band, but it turns out that I underestimated them despite their relatively short presence as a live act! As such, the second band we had picked (mid-2000s all-female hard rock band Apocrytha) will lead off a double band profile next month. That said, this month's selection definitely made a mark on the all ages metal scene while they lasted, buoyed by their very familiar guitarist, so here's what you should know!

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This Is Your Band On Drugs 

Genre: Grindcore/Experimental

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Like other contemporary 1-2 member local extreme metal bands from the early-mid 2010s, This Is Your Band On Drugs did not have a permanent bassist or drummer, and they used a drum machine for percussion in their 2014 live gigs, but guest musicians weren't uncommon.)

Nick Burns, vocals/percussion
Chase Wigmore (Awokest, The Strange Coyotes), guitar/backing vocals

Audio/Video: This Is Your Band On Drugs released a self-titled demo EP featuring over a dozen original death metal songs, and while it has been posted online for free, it was released in physical copies in 2014 through Blood Shed Productions for a paltry $1. The band also posted a very short jam video on their YouTube channel at the time, while I filmed them twice at May 2014 concerts at The Oddfellows Hall that you can see on our Facebook page. Here's Chase & Nick playing "Black Metal Is Too Hard" & "Get Fucked In The Sewage" (they titled it, don't shoot the messenger!)


Info/Analysis: Though Nick & Chase used the This Is Your Band On Drugs name in a busking setting as far back as June 2013, the band as we knew it only debuted in May 2014 via sets at that month's Fuck The Facts show & the fourth annual Swampstravaganza, plus a Moose Lodge gig, notably all being as replacements for an advertised band that dropped out. After a work stint out of town for Chase, a planned return at Blood Shed Productions' annual Devil's Night show that year did not occur, and T.I.Y.B.O.D. are presumed to have fell inactive by 2015. They were advertised to return at a Blood Shed-promoted all-local concert at The New American Pub in February 2019, but they also did not play at that event, and have not been heard from since. This Is Your Band On Drugs fit in perfectly with the minimalist local death metal crowd in the 2010s, and stood out with their freewheeling jam style, intensity, and Chase's strong guitar work, but Nick could often be hard to hear. Follow Chase's prolific solo music to see what he's up to nowadays!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! As promised, we'll finally look at Apocrytha in this series on or around August 10th, but as I know they won't have enough content for a solo installment, I randomly picked a Sault Michigan band to round things out with, namely mid-2010s acoustic hard rock group The Creepy Little Coffee People! Look for that next month as well, plus more news on the site by Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

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