1. From the band’s name to Damian Abraham’s guttural
growls, Toronto sextet F%#@d Up isn’t necessarily to
your taste. But even if you aren’t a fan of punk, you
can appreciate that F%#@d Up has received major
praise both nationally and internationally. They won
the Polaris Music Prize for their album Chemistry of
Common Life. And three years later they were
shortlisted for the same award for their boundary-
pushing rock opera David Comes to Life. Their new
record, Glass Boys, which hits shelves June 3, circles
back to a more ragged sound, more reminiscent of
their early opus. The addition of a second, separate
drum track in half time gives their newest effort a
subtle psychedelic bent.We caught up with frontman
Damian Abraham to chat about growing up in
Toronto, raising kids in Toronto and how that all ties
back into his most personal album to date.
Where’d you go to high school?
I went to St. George’s in the Annex.
If you gave career day–type talk, what would you tell
those kids?
They keep hitting me up to go back and I’m, like,
nope! I guess I would tell them, ‘You are incredibly
privileged; you come from a background of privilege;
and you have been allowed to exist in an incubator of
privilege. As people who have been given a lot of
opportunity, you ought to educate yourselves in how
the real world works because sadly it isn’t a private
school fantasyland for the majority of people.’
When you had spares, where would you go to
escape?
There was an awesome record store called Full Blast.
It was on Bloor just after Markham. It’s closed now
(it’s a nail salon,I think).I credit Full Blast with giving
me an education in music.
You grew up in Riverdale. Where do you live now?
I live at Dufferin and Davenport. Really close to our
practice space [down at Geary Avenue].It was the last
semi-affordable neighbourhood, and we’ll still be in
partnership with the bank for 35 years. It’s a great
neighbourhood with a lot of great restaurants now up
on St. Clair.
Which restaurants are your favourites?
Stockyards is awesome! It’s not up there, but Electric
Mud at Queen and Brock is my new favourite
restaurant in Toronto.
How old are your sons now?
Holden just turned five last week and Dorian is
turning two on June 25.
Your upcoming record, Glass Boys, is your most
personal album to date. Do any of the songs have to
do with fatherhood for you?
All of them absolutely do. “Pay for the House” most
directly. All the songs that I wrote, I should say. Since
I became a parent it changed everything.
Can you share some of the lyrics from “Pay for the
House”?
I’m just trying to remember the lyrics. I swear to you,
once the music kicks in, I know all the lyrics! Until
that time, I’m like “uhh. Aha!” I found the lyrics:
“Praise gone,money spent,just a kid wondering where
his dad went. Old man, life spent, carved a legacy
never made a dent.”
What do you want to do after F#!%d Up?
I’d like to continue doing something creative.I do a lot
of stuff in TV now, hosting work. I’m working on a
documentary with Vice right now about medical
marijuana in Canada.
Do you think there’s another Fucked Up album in
you guys?
I think we’re definitely tapering down to the end of
the career. Whether or not that means we have
another record—I think hopefully, every time you
finish a record it should feel like your last. You’ve said
all that needs to be said up until that point,and I really
do with this record.
MUSIC
From private school to punk
Damian Abraham and his bandmates are the reigning icons of the
city’s thriving underground music scene by Caroline Aksich
Damian Abraham (with the beard) fronts legendary Toronto band F!#%d Up, who release a new album this month
Shoot day in Christie Pits
POST CITY IN THE PARK
Blipp to view a
music video of
this band
1. Download the Blippar app,
available from the App Store
and Google Play.
Rootsy rock quartet Current Swell hit the baseball
diamond in Christie Pits park to kick off our exclusive
summer music video series
Last month,our web and video team
at Post City met up with the four
members of roots-rock band
Current Swell in Christie Pits Park
to enjoy some much-needed warm,
sunny weather and hear the band
play some tunes off of their new
album, Ulysses.
The result: the first instalment of
our Post City in the Park music
video series.
The band — Scott Stanton, Dave
Lang, Ghosty Boy and Chris
Petersen — was in town for
Canadian Music Week where they
were launching Ulysses. Although
the band is known as having a more
folky, beach-rock vibe, similar to
artists such as Jack Johnson and
Xavier Rudd, the new album, the
band’s fourth, showcases its growing
talent by plunging firmly into blues
and even the jam-band territory
characterized by bands such as the
Grateful Dead and Phish.
Current Swell was filmed by
Angelia Hughes and Dan Martin-
Cocher.
Post City will be featuring a
number of videos throughout the
summer showcasing some incredibly
talented local musicians.
2. Open the app on your
phone or tablet and hold it
over the photo in the top
right corner of this page.
3. Enjoy watching Current
Swell perform in Christie Pits
Park.