July Fourth Toilet
July Fourth Toilet is a Canadian band and a musical collective from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are an experimental act that can be loosely described as rock, although they incorporated elements of several musical styles.[1]
History
July Fourth Toilet was founded in late 1993 by zine publisher and performance artist Robert Dayton (later known for Canned Hamm) and cartoonist Julian Lawrence.[2] Their name was bestowed upon them by their American counterparts Zip Code Rapists from a list that was used to name several bands on the Amarillo Records label. Consisting of a loose cast of dozens of members throughout the years; long-time stalwarts included Stephen Hamm[3] (Slow, Canned Hamm), Andre Lagace (Young and Sexy), Jody Franklin (MungBeing), and Clancy Dennehy.
Each live performance was planned around a specific theme, with no two performances being the same. These included improvised sets, song-poems, various artist/album tributes and conceptual ideas such as the end of the world. They were also known for their outlandish "bargain basement" theatrical costumes, audience confrontation and performance art antics.[4] They have played shows with the Zip Code Rapists, Sun City Girls, Three Day Stubble, Caroliner and Old Time Relijun.
July Fourth Toilet contributed a track, "Hello Rock 'N' Roll Star", to the compilation album Vancouver Special, which was released in 2000 through Mint Records, with the proceeds going to charity.[5] They have also appeared on several other compilations.
In 2004, July Fourth Toilet celebrated their tenth anniversary doing a live stage performance of Rock Fantasy, a K-Tel children's record from the 1970s. In 2006, they performed a tribute set to composer Paul Williams that he attended.
In 2007, MungBeing magazine released their "long-lost" seven-inch record Childhood Will End online. The collective's studio album July Fourth Toilet Presents Balls Boogie Featuring Me And Bobby McGee was released in 2008.[2][6]
Discography
- White (Trash) Album, cassette, Trackshun Industries 1994
- Lovebeads, Turtlenecks and Overalls, cassette, 1995
- Something For Everyone, CD, Pro-Am 2002[7]
- Rock Fantasy Live, CD & DVD, Pro-Am 2004
- Childhood Will End EP, download, MungBeing 2007
- July Fourth Toilet Presents Balls Boogie Featuring Me And Bobby McGee. 2008
References
- "The Twist. The Jerk. The Toad.". Dropd, May 8, 1998 Review by Darren Kerr
- "July Fourth Toilet is serious about its Balls". Georgia Straight, by Adrian Mack on June 25th, 2008
- Stephen Hamm
- "The return of July 4th Toilet". The Snipe News – by Shawn Conner January 8, 2012
- "Vancouver Special". AllMusic Review by Mike DaRonco
- "Flavour of Milk and Honey". The Province, Tom Harrison July 8, 2008
- "Scram #19 record reviews". Scram Magazine,