Artist: The Viletones, Album: A Taste Of Honey, Song: Never Feel Sad

The Viletones were a punk band from Toronto, Ontario.  They were Steven "Nazi Dog" Leckie, Freddy Pompeii, Chris Haight and Motor X.  The Viletones didn't have a very long run; a couple of years at best, but they are probably the most notorious of all the Canadian punk bands to come out during the late seventies.  They were formed by front man, Steven Leckie, in 1976.  He was 17 years old.  In 1977, they played CBGB's in New York with fellow Canadian punk bands, Teenage Head (see blog 10/3/10) and The Diodes (see blog 12/8/11).  You can watch a segment of a Canadian Punk Documentary featuring Leckie called, Crash 'n' Burn, on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j88zsWjmB-A&feature=related).  Their shows were violent and chaotic, often leaving Leckie wounded.  There isn't a band in Canadian history that could be as closely compared to the Sex Pistols as these guys.  The band released their first single, Screaming Fist, in 1977 and in 1978, their one and only release entitled, Look Back In Anger.  Look Back In Anger was produced by legendary Toronto musician, Roger Mayne, of the Ugly Ducklings (see blog 6/26/11).  That same year, Pompeii, Haight and Motor X all left the band and started The Secrets with former Diode, John Hamilton.  In 1983, a live full length album was released before this retrospective of the band's work entitled, A Taste Of Honey, in 1994.  According to the liner notes, all the tunes were recorded on a 2 track in 2 hours during the spring of 1977.  Never Feel Sad, is one of many cool tracks on this disc and you can check it out on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHwDc53A19k).  Leckie has released some solo material and has also resurrected the band on occasion over the past decade.  You can read about The Viletones at http://www.viletonesofficial.com/.  A Taste Of Honey, is a rare find today.  At the time of this blog, there was one copy trading on Discogs for $10.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!