Vancouver Killing Spree

Vancouver Killing Spree, the latest addition to Vancouver’s diverse music scene, puts a new twist on good old punk. A fan put it best when describing VKS’s unique sound: “It’s not punk, it’s not metal, it’s not rock, it’s not roll . . . it sounds like all those things got in a knife fight and punk and roll won.”

VKS is the result of three guys brought up in very different parts of Canada, with very different – yet related – influences. The band was formed in 2008 when lead singer and guitarist Brad Anderson and drummer Jamieson Cleary decided to recruit bassist and old friend Jesse Weymer. The trio lists their mutual influences as Clutch, The Dead Milkmen, SNFU and Bad Religion, among many others.

The group played their first show at Pub 340 in Vancouver in support of local hard-core punk band Third Lit. Shortly thereafter in the summer of 2009 VKS recorded their first EP at Harbourside Studios with Producer/Engineer “Loud” Chris DeMarcus and was featured as Music BC’s band of the week July 29th - Aug 5, 2009.

The EP was released in October 2009 and the song “Poor Impulse Control” debuted at #10 on the Headphonica chart in Issue #13 of Abort Magazine. Abort’s Publisher/Editor-In-Chief: E.S.Day was quoted in the Best of 2009 edition of “Absolute Underground” citing Vancouver Killing spree as the best new local band of 2009.

Anderson, who writes the band’s lyrics, says “I tend to write very metaphorically, focusing on the words that are inspired by the music.” “The lyrics have filled a space somewhere between political and love poetry” (Discorder Magazine, 2010).

Taking inspiration from real-life events has served Anderson well. “Ball-Peen Hammer” was written “after Jesse busted his junk and had to wear a catheter for two months.” A more sobering incident led to the song “Hollinger,” which is named after the culprit who stabbed Brad’s brother to death in Calgary in 2008 outside a karaoke bar.

Weymer is a Port Hardy native who was described by Abort Magazine as putting out “some of the sweetest bass noise to be heard since Rob Wright strapped on a four string, plugged that f**ker in and kicked it with his boots on”.

Cleary’s “wicked-quick drumming” (Abort Magazine, 2009) belies the fact that this daredevil from Antigonish, Nova Scotia has “broke most of my shit: fingers, wrists, arms, ankle, back, feet, jaw, ribs, neck, yup most of it!” and is thankfully still intact.

The band is currently planning a Western Canadian tour, featuring dates in Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Nanaimo and more in May of 2010 so if you are looking for “A band that can step up and play some goddamn punk-metal” (The Aural Kinetic, 2009) keep an ear to the ground for a show in your town and go pick up the EP “It’s not about murder…” through iTunes, Napster, amazonMP3, etc or nag your local indie record store to stock up.