Nova Scotia's rock, punk & indie scene has had its ups and downs but on the whole has produced plenty of good bands, many of them extremely short-lived. April Wine and Pepper Tree emerged from the Halifax area in the 1970's, while Cape Breton produced such acts as Matt Minglewood, Sam Moon and Buddy & the Boys.
The 80's saw indie bands like Jellyfishbabies, Deep Woods, Basic English, the Lone Stars, Ridge of Tears, Killer Klamz and Staja/TANZ make an impact, as well as Sarah McLachlan's band, the October Game. The 1986 record "Out of the Fog" compiled tracks by these artists and others. The so-called 'Halifax Pop Explosion' of the early 90's was spearheaded by Sloan, Thrush Hermit, Jale and transplanted Newfoundlanders Hardship Post; the 1992 compilations "Hear and Now" and "Cod Can't Hear" have many bands from this era. The Superfriendz, Plumtree and Rebecca West soon followed.
The scene turned to punk and hardcore in the mid 90's (The Chitz, also compilation "Here Comes the East Coast") and then detoured into mathrock (North of America, the Plan) and alt-country (the Guthries). Today the music community is larger than ever before and the variety of artists and genres is impressive.
History of the Pop Explosion in the 90's
1993 Interview with Greg Clark of the Marquee Club
Sloan look back at their Halifax days
Thanks to everybody who sends information, I try to keep it relatively up-to-date. -Dan
ACTIVE BANDS
The Alewives (Halifax)
The Audients (Halifax)
Beat Material (Halifx)
Blackout 77 (Halifax)
Breaking Point (Truro)
Bucket Truck (Halifax)
The Burdocks (Halifax)
By the Blood of Others (Halifax)
Capital Death (Truro)
Colour TV (Halifax)
Contrived (Halifax)
Controlled Abuse (Halifax)
Thomas Danton (Halifax)
Dead Red (Halifax)
The Dean Malenkos (Halifax)
Death By Nostalgia (Halifax)
The Ditch Pigs (Halifax)
Envision (Halifax)
Jon Epworth (Halifax)
Ermine (Halifax)
Facelift Dirtboys (Halifax)
The Fitness (Halifax)
The GCO (Halifax)
Gilbert Switzer (Halifax)
The Heelwalkers (Halifax)
The Hemingways (Halifax)
High Fiery (Halifax)
Hightower (Halifax)
Highwater (Halifax)
The Hold (Halifax)
The Holy Shroud (Halifax)
Hookerblood (Halifax)
I Was a Spy (Cape Breton)
The Joel Plaskett Emergency (Halifax)
The KNA (Halifax)
Kid Baron (Halifax)
King Konqueror (Halifax)
Kingswood (Nictaux)
The Lampshades (Halifax)
The Mackoids (Halifax)
Mantra (Truro)
The Maughams (Halifax)
The Maynards (Halifax)
The McFaddens (Halifax)
Middle Class Pushovers (Halifax)
Montgomery Moth (Halifax)
The New Breed (Halifax)
North of America (Halifax)
Oh God (Halifax)
Laura Peek and the Winning Hearts (Halifax)
Picture Show (Halifax)
Plague Dogs (Halifax)
Porcelain Gods (Halifax)
Pull's Key (Halifax)
Radar Fame (Halifax)
Brent Randall and His Pinecones (Halifax)
Raygunomics (Halifax)
Robert Goulet (Halifax)
The Search For Alexander (Halifax)
She Kills (Halifax)
Sick of Thought (Valley)
Sidewalk Slutz (Halifax)
60 Watt Vamp (Halifax)
Sloth (Halifax)
Small Town Riot (Truro)
Special Noise (Halifax)
Spin Cycle Squared (Halifax)
Spinoza (Halifax)
The Stolen Minks (Halifax)
The Superfriendz (Halifax)
The Sweet Tenders (Halifax)
The Sycamores (Halifax)
This Message Will Self-Destruct (Halifax)
The Tragedies (Halifax)
Wintersleep (Halifax)
Wrukus (Valley)
The Yellow Jacket Avenger (Halifax)
MOVED-AWAY BANDS
April Wine (Halifax-Montreal)
Flashing Lights (Halifax-Toronto)
Inferno Racket (Halifax-Toronto)
Pepper Tree (Halifax-elsewhere)
Sloan (Halifax-Toronto)
When All's Been Said (Halifax-Calgary)
BROKEN-UP BANDS
Jale (Halifax)
Thrush Hermit (Halifax)
The A-Team (North Sydney)
The Abandoned (Halifax)
Absolutely Nothing (Halifax)
Aimless (Halifax)
All Promises Broken (Wolfville)
Animal Vegetable or Mineral (Middleton)
A.S.B. (Halifax)
Asscribed (Cape Breton)
The Baby Crushers (Halifax)
Backhand (Halifax)
Better Off Dead (Truro)
Black Pool (Halifax)
The Bombscares (Halifax)
The Boners (Halifax)
Bravura (Sydney)
The Briefs (Halifax)
Bubaiskull (Halifax)
Buddy & the Boys (Englishtown)
The Build-Ups (Halifax)
By Any Means (Halifax)
By Envy Driven (Halifax)
The Chaotic Roots (Lunenburg)
The Charismatics (Middleton)
The Chitz (Halifax)
Club Med (Halifax)
The Conformist Party (Halifax)
Coo Coo Head (Wolfville)
Cool Blue Halo (Bridgewater)
Crazy Knees Carbone (Cape Breton)
Crooked Minds (Antigonish)
The Dead Roads (Halifax)
The Deep Throats (Mahone Bay)
Deep Woods (Halifax)
Disgusted With Authority (Glace Bay)
Disorderly Youth (Bridgewater)
Dogbite (Halifax)
Donner Party Reunion (Halifax)
Dry Leaf (Halifax)
Dumbass (Kentville)
The Dumpsters (Dartmouth)
The Dynamics (Halifax)
Eleventeen (Kentville)
Equation of State (Halifax)
Existench (Halifax)
Eye for an Eye (Greenwood)
Falling Out (Halifax)
Falling Short (Halifax)
False Security (Halifax)
Fifty Ahead (Sydney)
Flagship Sinker (Halifax)
Flumen (Greenwood)
F.Y.M. (Halifax)
The Gimps (Lunenburg)
The Gluetones (Halifax)
Grace Babies (Halifax)
H.G.M. (Halifax)
Hectic (Greenwood)
Hell City Love (Halifax)
The Helltown Boot Girls (Halifax)
Herb (New Glasgow)
Holiday Snaps (Liverpool)
Hooked on Chronics (Halifax)
Inbreds (Halifax via Kingston, On)
Inferior Cross (Truro)
Insipid (Halifax)
Inspired (Cape Breton)
Jellyfishbabies (Halifax)
Jester (Middleton)
John of the Trailer Park (Middleton)
Johnny Rocket and the Space Cadets (Cape Breton)
Jokes Over (Halifax)
The Juveniles (Halifax)
Kearney Lake Road (Halifax)
Killer Klamz (Halifax)
King Benny (Halifax)
The Kingpins (Greenwood)
Last Few Years (Bedford)
Last Minute Decision (Sydney Mines)
Last Wave Rockers (Middleton)
Latchkey Kids (Cape Breton)
Led By Regret (Halifax)
Leonard Conan (Halifax)
The Lewinskys (Middleton)
Life Sentence (Sydney Mines)
The Literati (Halifax)
Little People (Halifax)
The Lone Stars (Halifax)
Loose Nut (Halifax)
The Lost Berry Pickers (Greenwood)
Made In the World (Halifax)
Malpractice (Halifax)
Mary Jane Riley (Annapolis Royal)
The Middletons (Middleton)
Misjudged (Cape Breton)
The Mod Squad (Halifax)
Mofazecan Riot (Halifax)
Moral Support (Halifax)
Moronic Plague (Halifax)
The Motes (Truro)
Muht (Bridgewater)
Negative Trend (Truro)
The New Recruits (Halifax)
New Terra (Bedford)
Noggin (Middleton)
Non-Violent Brigade (Sydney Mines)
No Offense (Halifax)
North Patrol (Halifax)
Nothing to Say (Cape Breton)
nUn-4-U (Wolfville)
Obscene Gesture (Halifax)
The October Game (Halifax)
Outlook 88 (Cape Breton)
The Outsiders (Halifax)
Overdrive (Cape Breton)
Peal (Windsor)
The Peytones (Middleton)
The Plan (Halifax)
Plan-9 (Cape Breton)
Plumtree (Halifax)
The Preptones (Bridgewater)
Prison Bound (Middleton)
Prize Pig (Halifax)
Pure H8 (Kentville)
Putz (North Sydney)
The Quahogs (Halifax)
The Quote (Halifax)
Rage Against Charlie Sheen (Middleton)
The Realists
Reason Within (Halifax)
Rebecca West (Halifax)
Registered Vote (Halifax)
Relic (Halifax)
Renfield (Cape Breton)
Rick of the Skins (Halifax)
Ridge of Tears (Halifax)
The Rippers (Middleton)
Ripping Convulsions (Sackville)
Ritlan (Halifax)
Rock Ranger (Sydney)
Sawbelly (Greenwood)
The Scuds (Middleton)
The Sellouts (Glace Bay)
The Setbacks (Halifax)
77 Impala Special (Sydney)
Sh*tbag Parade (Bridgewater)
The Sh*theads (Halifax)
Ska Family Robinson (Halifax)
Sk8 Mafia (Middleton)
Slight Return (Halifax)
Slitch (Halifax)
Slump (Kentville)
The Smashers (Halifax)
Snot Party (Halifax)
Society's Casualties (Halifax)
The Solo Project (Halifax)
Staja/TANZ (Halifax)
The STD's (Middleton)
Staja-Tanz (Halifax)
Stranded (Halifax)
Swifter (Kentville)
System Overload (Halifax)
System Sh*t (Halifax)
Taunted Youth (Glace Bay)
Test Tube Mutants (Halifax)
Throbbin' Problem (Halifax)
Tilted (Sydney)
Toilet Duck (Dartmouth)
The Unwanted Guests (Cape Breton)
The Upchucks (Halifax)
Urban Peasant (Halifax)
Useless Solution (Halifax)
Vegan Death Squad (Halifax)
The Verdicks (Cape Breton)
The Vicious Bastards (Glace Bay)
Vincent Price (Greenwood)
The Wankin Family (Halifax)
Who Killed Laura Palmer? (Halifax)
Who's Bakin' Brownies (Lower Sackville)
Wohedness (Halifax)
The Young Offenders (Middleton)
Fill me in on who I missed at: danclahane@netscape.net
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LINKS!
Halifax "Locals" site
Cape Breton "Locals" site
Halifax 902 Hardcore
Halifax Noise
Rock In Halifax
