Andrew James Paterson (guitar, vocals)
Robert Stewart (bass, steel drums, vocals)
Edward Boyd (drums)
Jeremiah Chechik (scratch guitar/percussion)
Billy Bryans (drums; replaced Boyd 1981)
Slightly quirky new wave outfit leaning on the art punk side became legendary on the Toronto Queen Street club circuit playing such venues as The Crash And Burn, The Edge, Larry's Hideaway and The Beverley Tavern and art venues such as the Music Gallery. The "Electric Eye" album was one such performance recorded at the Music Gallery as the soundtrack to a full-length video production. The album is a testament to the live incorporated performance of the video's audio track.
The band was part of the early punk scene which, in Toronto, crossed paths with the art world with regularity. The Government was featured in File magazine, published by General Idea. Singer, guitarist and composer of most of their material was Andrew J. Paterson who is also a writer as well as a performance and video artist. The band was an element of his work in this medium, often incorporating music videos and performances by the group for such work as Electric Eye. Other videos by Paterson include Controlled Environments from 1994 and, more recently, the inter-discipline work Mono Logical from 2005.
Other members of The Government include bass player Robert Stewart, who is deceased: Ed Boyd; and his replacement, drummer Billy Bryans, who recorded How Many Fingers? before going on to play with Parachute Club in the early 1980s. Unfortunately, as of today, it is almost impossible to get hold of any recordings by this outfit.
Discography
SinglesSlightly quirky new wave outfit leaning on the art punk side became legendary on the Toronto Queen Street club circuit playing such venues as The Crash And Burn, The Edge, Larry's Hideaway and The Beverley Tavern and art venues such as the Music Gallery. The "Electric Eye" album was one such performance recorded at the Music Gallery as the soundtrack to a full-length video production. The album is a testament to the live incorporated performance of the video's audio track.
The band was part of the early punk scene which, in Toronto, crossed paths with the art world with regularity. The Government was featured in File magazine, published by General Idea. Singer, guitarist and composer of most of their material was Andrew J. Paterson who is also a writer as well as a performance and video artist. The band was an element of his work in this medium, often incorporating music videos and performances by the group for such work as Electric Eye. Other videos by Paterson include Controlled Environments from 1994 and, more recently, the inter-discipline work Mono Logical from 2005.
Other members of The Government include bass player Robert Stewart, who is deceased: Ed Boyd; and his replacement, drummer Billy Bryans, who recorded How Many Fingers? before going on to play with Parachute Club in the early 1980s. Unfortunately, as of today, it is almost impossible to get hold of any recordings by this outfit.
Discography
1979 Hemingway (Hated Disco Music)/I Only Drive My Car At Night [independent]
1979 Flat Tire/Zippers Of Fire//Get You Sleepin'/Sponge (Modern World) SMW-1
Albums
1979 Electric Eye (original soundtrack) (Voicespondence/Trend)
1980 Guest List (Jackal/Modern World/Trend) WOW-713
1981 How Many Fingers//Plaza Del Pimps/Portrait/Paranoid Downtown Funk Pt.2 (Government) GOV-581
(infos from Wikipedia)
A totally unknown band from Toronto ,playing excelent art-punk.....It seems to be difficult to find their recordings these days!Sorry no pic sleeve scans...any help will be appreciated!
get this gem here
Holy Crap! I believe that I have this LP buried in my vinyl collection. Haven't listened to it in decades, but I seem to recall that I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteWill definitely be downloading this one.
Thanks !!!
PS. and how about some more HNAS ?
:-)
Blow away. Another wishlist item. And, by wishlist, I mean, another on a list I had given up trying to find.
ReplyDeleteIncredible. I had this vinyl 20+ years ago and have been lusting after it recently. Can't tell you how happy I am to finally have it again.
ReplyDeletePeace+Love
thanks fo making this available. My vinyl has seen better days. I can scan the sleeves if anyone wants them. email me as artboyee@yahoo.com
ReplyDeletethanks fo making this available. My vinyl has seen better days. I can scan the sleeves if anyone wants them. email me as artboyee@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't happen to have the Electric Eye LP from 1979 would you?
ReplyDeleteThat was an incredible post!I enjoyed your blog a lot! Keep on sharing more articles like that in your blog, I will be waiting forward!
ReplyDelete