As a one-time Edmontonian scenester (1980-1995) and Friend of the Band I can't help but comment on the apparent mis-identification of SNFU's bass personnel. Yes, both Warren and Rob played in the band, but you don't seem to be describing them. Warren never even made it as far as the first LP, refusing to tour as he decided that he'd much rather stay at home with his Mom, collect records and drink his face off. I gather you must be thinking of Jimmy Schmitz (AKA Rimbo), who played on the first LP and for the first couple of tours, after which both he and original drummer Evan C Jones (AKA Tadpole) were replaced by what was IMHO the band's most formidable rhythm section, Dave Bacon and ex Personality Crisis drummer Jon Card. Dave was 6'5" in his bare feet, and played his black '85 Ibanez Musician with the body just above his knees. Being one of the best natural musicians I've ever met, and being a converted guitarist late of one of Edmonton's great lost post-punk bands, Ghost Shirt Society, Dave was not content with playing root notes at high velocity, instead treating us to some of the busiest and most creative "hardcore" bass that any of us had heard prior to NoMeansNo showing everyone up the following year when they first played Edmonton (this would have been 1985 or so). Often his parts were of such an intricacy that even his giant mitts were not long enough to get around with the bass that low so he would pull the neck up at a fairly extreme angle when required, ending up with the neck near vertical in some cases, but usually more like 45 degrees. Both he and Jon played on my personal favourite LP, their second, If You Swear You'll Catch No Fish. Check out "Scarecrow", "I Forget", "Snapping Turtle", "Better Homes and Gardens" and especially "The Ceiling" for exceptionally deft and creative lines executed at top speed and with exemplary feel. He also had a fairly unusual sound in that he went for an almost Entwistle-like brightness, playing with the freshest strings he could get and a Dunlop 1mm black nylon pick. I should also note that as good as that record is, the recording utterly fails to capture the overwhelming ferocity of their live show of the day, especially during their second major tour of the US and Canada that they undertook around then. They practiced like madmen for it, playing two fabulous back to back shows prior to departure, and upon returning they were just ****ing overwhelming: razor sharp from months of playing every toilet in America and pretty much as hot as any punk rock band I'd seen at that point, including the very best of them, which meant DOA, Personality Crisis and Minor Threat. Admittedly I had yet to see the Bad Brains or the Damned or even the Dickies, all of whom are right up there, but I never saw any of them prior to 1988, and none of them were actually any better. After Jon left to join DOA, Dave stayed for the third LP as well, before tiring of hardcore and/or touring and leaving to play guitar in a series of unknown Edmonton bands. His replacement, Curtis Craeger was nearly as tall, but didn't play quite as low (or as well, though he was a decent player for sure). Rob, their longest serving bassist, was with them in the 90's after they relocated to Vancouver. Though well over six feet himself and an excellent musician in his own right he was neither quite as tall, as talented or as original as his most formidable predecessor, Bacon. He did have an extremely long strap though, and powered the band through some of their more creative years, where they bravely but perhaps unwisely tried to grow beyond their original style just as huge numbers of kids finally got their old one, unfortunately in the form of other bands. Still, they were one of the great hardcore bands of the 80's, and deservedly legendary to those who have known their live shows. No matter what their latest record sounded like, you could always rely on them live, as much as you could rely on them to have seven words in the name of the record and feature a gigantic bass player (though Jimmy was only 5'6" or so). Made us proud to be from Edmonton.
