One Time at Bandcamp...

We put stuff up for sale/download/listening on Bandcamp.com. So much better than myspace, if only because it isn't myspace. Grab some shit, party hard, and go listen to some live music.

Blackfaxes.bandcamp.com - check it out!

Speaking of live music, the show with Mad Men last night was rad. Great sets all around, and an awesome turnout. Note to self: Only plat venues where you can get huge buckets of water for personal consumption.

Heads up!

We're playing this Thursday at the Shop (downstairs at Parts & Labour) with Mad Men, No Problem, and Urban Blight. Show is $7 and doors are at 10pm. You should probably do yourself a favour and show up for this one. Not sure whether or not it will be 19+, but keep your eyes open for that info. I'm going to say it won't be, but I could be wrong.

In other news, Marty kind of digs Fields Of The Nephilim.

HOLY SHIT

Last night was fucking rad. Seriously. Great turnout, great sets all around, positive vibe, and of course, the return of our beloved D'Arcy from Nihon.

It was really something else to see not only a great turnout on a Wednesday night in the middle of December, but that there were so many young people, both guys and girls. Huge props to the kid with the plaid bondage pants. I felt like I was transported to 1997 for a moment, and not because I was an awkward goth kid in pvc pants. But I digress...

So we actually have those new shirts (sorry Greg Ginn and SST, don't sue me). They look great, and I make a fantastic model. Glenn at Hardboiled(82 Nassau) does incredible things at reasonable prices. Go get some shirts printed by him, check his band !Attention!, and bake him some vegan cookies. After that, come say hi at a show and grab one of those shirts. $10, and we have sizes from Small to XL. Also, we have one more of the first shirt in a large, if you want to get street cred down the road.

In other news, we won't be playing that show with Kosmograd, but Graham's other band, Teethmarks, will. If you dig us, but want something a little more southern and rawkin', check 'em out. Featuring the sexual romance of Wellman and Drebit, formerly of Ball Harness. Why no links, you ask? Well, I'm a lazy asshole, mainly. Plus, you probably know how to use google. I believe in you.

Okay, back to songwriting and Scrabble. Life is good.

Concrete plans

We have some shows(look to the right). We have some new shirts (hello inverted crosses, sorry SST -- don't sue us).

Things are pretty good. As mentioned, there was some live recording done at studio three for EqualizingXDistort. It was rad, and Stephe only busted our balls slightly. Looking forward to seeing his Agnostic Front tribute band when they hit the bar 'n grill circuit.

I know we always say we're going to record, and then we don't really get it done the way we intend, but fuck you, we're artists. Well, the other guys are. I'm more of a vampire, myself. Point being, we'll get around to it, but for a band that hasn't actually managed to sit down and do a proper recording, we've got three releases out now. You can download all three from mediafire:

First demo (2010): http://www.mediafire.com/?3yu4myq3dho
Double Happiness/Upon the Vine: http://www.mediafire.com/?druuld0hahjv000
EXD session: http://www.mediafire.com/?nyoi9zabrxeiog6

Now you can become our biggest fan and then put the naked woman shirt on ebay and put the reserve real high!

But seriously, come check out the show this Wednesday. Deathrats will be incredible, we'll(read: me, Peter) try not to fuck up much, and good times will be had by all.

How's things? The kids are good? Good. Me too. Definitely. But anyhow, to the point...

We're not much for blogging, it seems. Here's what you've missed since we've been lazily posting:

- Still searching for that dream of recording. In the meantime, we have the Double Happiness EP(two tracks, 'Upon the vine' & 'Double Happiness') for sale on cassette and CD-R, the first demo for download(tapes are sold the fuck out, bro), and a session from Equalizing-X-Distort that came out sounding fantastic. We may or may not have it for sale, but we definitely have it for free via download.

- Shows. We've got some shit coming up. Deathrats on December 15th. Nothing puts Christ in christmas quite the way this show will. Siesta Nouveaux will be held accountable for this blasphemy. Meanwhile, we've discussed(albeit briefly) hitting some spots up north. Hopefully this time with 100% less white supremacy(but 200% more party with speed metal)!

- Call you mom, she probably misses you.

Rip it

Good news: recording is finally coming about. We are lazy old assholes, but for serious, recording will happen, and you will hear new songs, old favourites, and Graham's A Capella version of the Pretenders' "I'll Stand By You". That one is only available on limited run 8-track, but you get the idea.

What else is up? We went back to being a four-piece. Two guitars just wasn't what we needed at this point, and D'Arcy is owning the punkosphere with Snakepit(probably one of the best bands going right now. Holy fuck go see them), and they are destroying your ideals as I type this. I bet you used to value tranquility -- NOT ANY MORE! Kidding, but they are amazing. We're also playing a show with them(see the sidebar) on August 10th at the Bovine. Come party for my birthday.

That's all for now. Don't give up your personal freedom, mmmmkay?

Fun in the Summit

We're not a political band, and this is probably one of the few times(if not the only time) political matters are addressed on this blog. I feel, personally, that a first-person account of the detainment facilities put in place this weekend is something that should be made available to as many people as possible.

This was written by my friend Gita, who as you will read, was arrested for being peaceful.

CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT AND SHEER POLICE BRUTALITY AT THE G20


On Saturday night, June 26th 2010, I was arrested without cause and forced to spend 18 hours at the G20 detention facility on Eastern Ave. A fairly large group of demonstrators were holding a peaceful gathering on the sidewalk outside the facility to stand in solidarity with other comrades and activists who had been targeted, followed, beaten, and arrested by police earlier in the weekend.* People were chanting, playing music, dancing, and exercising their rights to free speech and dissent within the law. It is worth emphasizing that there was absolutely no violence nor any threat of violence occurring. At about 1AM, our group was approached by hundreds of riot cops on all four sides, in full gear with masks, batons, guns, etc. After completely surrounding us, we were told through a loudspeaker that we were “breaching the peace” and that we had to disperse immediately. However, this order was impossible to fulfill as we were trapped and were not being given a way out. Five minutes later, we were given a second warning to leave the area, or “appropriate force” would be used against us. Once again, everyone in the group was asking the same question- HOW?? At this point, we wanted to leave and understood that we had to, but we couldn’t. Finally, after one of our group members pleaded with an officer, a small gap was created in the heavily fortified wall and we all began to file out, heading westward on Eastern Ave. We stuck closely together, for fear that any one person sticking out or walking alone would be individually targeted, as had happened earlier in the weekend. We quietly all left the surrounded zone and continued to walk down Eastern Ave, as riot cops continued to follow and surround us on either side of our line. Just before reaching Pape Ave, for some reason the cops suddenly cut off our line, trapping about half of the original group inside again. While the people at the front of the line were free to go home, the rest of us were told to put our hands on our heads. While we stood like that for fifteen minutes, I asked the guy standing beside me if we were actually getting arrested- he told me that getting arrested would be the best case scenario under these circumstances.

After being notified of our arrest, we were swarmed by a bunch of cops and each of us was handcuffed. Our bags were thoroughly searched, we were asked to provide ID, and all of our belongings were taken. It was very obvious that I was the first person my arresting officer had ever arrested, as she clearly had no idea what was going on (“Do we actually need to fill out this part of the arrest form?” “How do these handcuffs work?” “I totally forgot to check your pockets, do you have anything in there?” etc.) The only thing she had any confidence in doing was telling me that it’s a good thing I’m self-employed because after this I’ll have no hope of ever getting a job again (which is obviously completely false). Our pictures were taken and they put us in the back of three police wagons, which were essentially stuffy hot cages with metal benches and locks. We were driven to the G20 detention facility, which was literally just down the street as we had just come from it, and held in the wagons for about an hour and a half. While waiting, I could hear both the cries of the other prisoners (who we had just been rallying for) as well as the uproar of the people that had just assembled outside (who were rallying for us).

We were finally led inside the warehouse and locked up inside 3x6m metal cages. There were rows upon rows of these cages in there, bolted to the ground, crammed with people. Inside each cage was a small metal bench and a port-a-potty with no door and no toilet paper. It was freezing cold and they had taken both my sweater and my scarf. I spent the night on the dirty and cold cement floor with nine other women, shivering and huddled together to keep warm. The lights were on the entire time, and people in mine and neighbouring cages were continuously banging and shaking them, demanding to be let out. We begged the guard to bring us sweaters, but they had already run out of them a long time ago. Finally after it was obvious that people were going to get sick, we were given a total of three t-shirts and a couple of pairs of socks. We all took turns creating barriers in front of the bathroom so that we could each use the toilet with some level of privacy from all of the male cops walking around. We were handcuffed the entire time, and some peoples’ handcuffs were on so tightly that their hands were going numb and fingers turning blue, but most of the guards refused to loosen them. We were given a styrofoam cup of water every couple of hours, and two sandwiches with cheese and butter inside them. I asked if I could have just a slice of bread because I’m lactose-intolerant (I’m actually vegan but wasn’t going to get into it) and they said no and told me to shut the fuck up. Most requests for anything, even just basic needs like menstrual pads, blankets, and medication, were either completely ignored or ridiculed. By the morning, after the Novotel mass arrests, 17 more women had been added to our cage, making it a total of 27. They included everyone from university professors to media reps to people who had just been walking down the street and got caught up in the mess.

On Sunday around mid-day, they finally started to process us. At this point, the entire prison was packed full of hundreds of tired, hungry, and understandably frustrated people, some of whom had been there for over twenty four hours. They had absolutely no grounds for holding us that long, and it was clear that we were being detained as political prisoners so that we couldn’t participate in any further actions on Sunday (and also so that they could fill their arrest quotas and justify spending absolutely absurd amounts of money (OUR money) on all of this and look like heroes etc etc.) Probably the most inspiring part of the entire bleak and incredibly dehumanizing process was the solidarity and support I received throughout, especially when walking past all of the other cages full of people while being led in handcuffs to the processing room. That is basically where I got the strength to keep going through this extremely nightmarish ordeal. While being processed, I was asked if I was aware of why I had been arrested (NO), and told that I was going to be released without any charges, but also that if I was to protest again at the G20 I would be criminally charged.

I was then moved to the “catch and release” area of the prison and told that my right to use the telephone was being negated since I was going to be released soon (which didn’t happen, and despite making it very clear in the subsequent hours that I deserved to make a phone call, I was still ignored). The “catch and release” area is where I witnessed the most despicable treatment by fellow human beings that I have ever experienced in my life. The abuse of power on the part of the police and court officers was unlike anything I ever could have imagined. Instances of blatant racist, sexist, and homophobic abuse were severe and ongoing. I do not even wish to repeat some of the demeaning and frankly horrifying things that I heard some officers say to myself and to other people, especially to women. The constant mockery of detainees and systematic downplaying of the pitiful nature of our circumstances made me realize how morally bankrupt and disconnected from reality and from humanity these cops actually are. I kept getting moved around from cage to cage and kept getting lied to about getting released soon. I eventually ended up in a cage by myself across from a cage with about 35 men in it. These particular men had been denied food, water, and answers for many, many hours. When desperate pleas for water were made, the police responded by converging right in front of their cage and chatting while drinking their own bottled water. There was one “juvenile offender” in there, a 14 year-old boy, being treated in the exact same way as everyone else, including being denied a phone call to his parents or to a lawyer. There was also a man in there in critical condition, almost without a pulse, and it took me literally screaming at the top of my lungs to get someone to finally pay any attention to him.

I was also completely appalled at the sheer incompetency and disorganization of the police force. I couldn’t even count the amount of times I heard one officer say to another “I have no idea what is going on.” Nobody had any answers to any questions, whether they were our questions or their own questions to each other. If I ever hear another police officer say “We are working on it” or “We are trying our very best” I think I am going to lose it. This was the standard response to absolutely EVERYTHING. Many police officers even had the nerve to say things to me like “Trust me, I’m equally as frustrated as you are” or “I’ve been on my feet all day too so I know how you feel” or “I got woken up and called in to work in the middle of the night- this situation is unfair for everyone” or “It’s not that cold in here, you just FEEL cold because you’re tired” or “You wouldn’t be here in the first place if you weren’t so fucking violent!” The majority of them were just wasting time walking around trying to figure out what the hell they were supposed to be doing. They had no record of where anyone was in there, so every time they were looking for a specific person, they had to go around to every single cage and ask for them by name. Anytime I said anything to them (eg. “Why is the catch and release process all catch and no release?” “How many times are you going to walk by and pretend like you’re doing something?” “Why do I know more about the law than you do?” “Does your billion dollar budget not include FREE tap water?”), I feel that my release process became slower and slower. I realize these things may have been mildly insulting to them but they are all true and pale in comparison to how incredibly insulted I was to be locked up in that place.

Finally at almost 8pm on Saturday evening, my photo was taken again, my belongings returned, and I was released. At one point they had said that one of the reasons it was taking so long was because there had been a riot outside and the prison had been on lock-down. I think they forgot about the fact that those of us inside actually know a lot of the people who were outside and have now been informed that there was no such riot and no such lock-down, so it was just another lie added to the long list. I am incredibly thankful that I had friends that managed to find out that I was in there and were waiting to take me home when I got out.

It is utterly reprehensible that something of this magnitude and level of injustice could occur in our city. Many peoples’ fundamental rights have been brutally violated and many people experienced much worse things than myself. This is but a microcosm of what occurs on our streets and in our prisons every single day. I will continue to refuse to be criminalized for expressing dissent against criminal and illegitimate institutions.

*A similarly peaceful demonstration had been held outside the holding facility the night before, in support of our friend Emomotimi Azorbo, a deaf black male who had been arrested on Friday for crossing the street at Yonge and College after police had verbally instructed him not to (he is DEAF). On Friday night we were simply trying to convince an ableist and shamefully ignorant police force to allow an ASL interpreter inside the facility so that Emomotimi would be able to communicate with his lawyer and with police investigators, as any hearing person would be able to. The police denied these pleas, effectively denying him of his basic rights under the Canadian Charter. Support is now pouring in from deaf communities and allies around the world.
------------------

Peter

The Curse Of Age

What to say, what to say...

Our shows with Alaskan were fucking great. They treated us like real ladies, as only true gentlemen know how. Hopefully they'll be down here soon(i.e. Canada Day), so we can see how long it takes to get the police called on us.

Oh wait, this isn't about my summer vacation, is it? No? Well, fuck you, here is a video from St. Catherines:

Meet Maggie!


Recording:
We're looking to get into the studio with Scott Sokoloski(Akroid, Smile, Gorgeous Industries, the master of Rippin' Jams) in the next month, and lay to wax some of the finest recordings ever captured by mere mortals. Then again, since it is Scott, maybe mortal isn't the correct term...

Shows:
We've got one coming up. July 25th with Cloud Mouth(from Chicago), and Bandera(from awesome). Maybe someone else? We want to play your show, so book us.

That may be all. New pictures from the tour are up on myspace. We're still without 'press' photos. Does anyone really want to see what the fuck we look like, anyhow? Come see us, and we're likely to get way more visible than you will ever ask for.

-P

New shows!

We're booking shows like some motherfuckers. See the sidebar.

May seems to be our month, so come get heavy.

I'll leave you with this:

Fuck yeah

THIS SATURDAY. STUDIO BLR. FUCK YES. RUINER. BOTTOMFEEDER. BLACK FAXES.

SHIRTS. BUTTONS. TAPES.

GODDAMN.

Blastin' Muthafuckas

Good news, you fucking bastards(I kid! We love you)!


Shirts(see that image?) are on their way to being printed, songs are being written, and we're planning on recording in the very near and real future.

So that leaves you with buttons, tapes, shirts, and who knows, maybe even the potential for a hard copy of a recording that isn't available on obsolete media! Wait. Ahh, fuck it.

Check out the shows coming up. Ruiner on the 8th. That'll be nice and big, and you get to soak it all up, because it'll be nice and warm and in that dank little hole we all love so much, Siesta Nouveaux.

Also, I'm selling some shit:
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/msg/1659641330.html

Go in peace with the lord.

Check it

http://www.mediafire.com/?3yu4myq3dho

I just re-uploaded the demo, with all the tracks separated, for your listening ease and pleasure. Share it around, and if you're interested in buying a copy of the cassette, or talking about shows, contact us at blackfaxes@gmail.com

P

Shit got to get together

News!

D'arcy is on the second guitar. Fuck yeah. He is rad, and loves pizza. You will also love pizza, as a result. He'll also be commandeering the blog, and actually updating it. That's what's up, kids.

Otherwise, March 20th in Belleville, we're playing with some fine bands, including the Bendeccos. We're sure to upset any of the punk elite, but we will also offer hugs to those unsatisfied.

Shirts, records, and other stuff coming up in the near future.

It's here...

Twenty copies available(until we stop being lazy and make the other thirty), $3 each. Makes a great gift for moms, dads, and that hard to buy for uncle in jail. Each copy is hand-numbered, and includes a fantastic fortune for you to behold(but no, seriously)!

I hope the ghost of Jim Jones doesn't come back and lose his shit on me for all those samples. I guess it beats being sued, right?

Oh yeah. We have a little sheet included in the cassette with a download link, but it's also here, to save you from having to steal it otherwise:
http://www.mediafire.com/?2yumojjygut

Love,
Peter

SWEET TIMES.

St. Catherines last night was a blast!

Thanks a ton to all the kids that came out to show their support and to Dylan at The Vegan Police and everyone at 73 for having us. Also thanks to I Refuse and Northern Primitive for being such inspiring bands and awesome dudes to boot.

Come out to the Bovine on Tuesday. We should be on around 10 o'clock.

Finally. It's here.

We're dubbing it asap, and it'll be all yours, for but a piece of gold(or is it still salt?). In the meantime, you can download it and put it on your computer and listen to only this, since it wasn't stolen, and you can feel better knowing this is one of the four things you're listening to that isn't stolen(don't worry, it's just as satisfying as the stolen stuff).

Download here


Also:
Saturday in St. Catherines @ 73 St Paul. Be there, support the cause and eat some rad food.

Tuesday at the Bovine: Faxes + Detroit = massage oil for your eyes and ears

Peace.

Burning in Jager, drowning in flame....

So....that last-minute Toronto show we hinted at? It's happening. Here's the info:

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19TH @ THE BOVINE SEX CLUB (42 Queen St West)

DETROIT
BLACK FAXES

9 PM DOORS

FREE FREE FREE

We are also going to (finally) have our cassette demos available at this show, so bring money and stick that shit in your ghettoblaster. Just don't be a menace.

2010

...is off to a great start.

Demos are almost ready. We put up a couple of the new tracks on MySpace. Many thanks to Veikko for helping us out with recording. We'll likely have them by the end of this week, which will coincide nicely with our first brave foray outside of Toronto to play St Catherines on January 16th. If you happen to be in that beautiful part of the province and think that wine tasting tours are lame (personally, I think they're the shit) you should come down, eat some tasty vegan dishes and check the bands out. We're also looking to play out of town a bit more nowadays (as much as we adore the cold, ineffectual lover we call home) so please get in touch through blackfaxes@gmail.com or our MySpace (linked above) if you can be of any help.






























In related news, a last-minute show in Toronto may also be happening next week with some good friends of ours. Stay tuned.