BeatRoute Magazine B.C. print e-edition - June 2016

HAVE A GOOD LAUGH FEST
a weekend of unwholesome fun
This June, punk will be descending upon
Vancouver. Expect a ton of studded
black leather, charged hair, doc martins,
bad attitudes, and most importantly, face
melting music. It will be Have a Good Laugh
Fest’s debut year and the ambitious four day
affair is stacked against you! So tighten your
bullet belts and patch your jackets punks, this
party may kill you.
The masterminds behind the fest are Cordie,
Jesse, and Eubey. The three are the founders
of Thought Decay, which along with putting on
Have a Good Laugh also releases records and
tapes, promote gigs, documents punk shows,
screen prints, and makes bad-ass studded gear.
Walking into their East Van home/headquarters
feels like walking into a punk rock factory; their
coffee table is covered in leather and studs
and Cordie is working on the construction of a
bootstrap.
“We had the Thought Decay idea by September,
we started planning the fest last June.
Thought Decay came about because we wanted
to make a bunch of punk shit, like we are
doing, as you can see,” says Cordie, gesturing
to the stud laden table.
“I think we were just talking shit about punk
in Vancouver,” laughs Jesse about the birth of
Thought Decay.
“I think we were just talking shit about
everything, basically. And so we decided to
start Thought Decay, we were all doing the fest
together anyway,” adds Cordie.
The fest is ambitious. Disorder as well as
Screaming Dead will be coming from the UK
and Paranoid is hailing from Sweden. A slew
of bands will be coming up from the states
including Narcoleptics from New York, Isotope
from California, Vacant Life from Seattle, and
Total Abuse from Texas to name a few. Tons of
local and BC bands, including Mass Grave, Six
Brew Bantha, Spectres, Oaf, AHNA, and Weed
will be playing with other bands coming from
across the country: Sex Face from Quebec,
Absolut from Ontario, Genex and Skeleton from
by Alex Molten
Manitoba, and Desgraciados from Alberta.
Despite the fest’s name, these guys aren’t
kidding around. For its first year they are
hitting the ground running. It is being held in six
locations and five venues with multiple shows
a day. Punks from as far as Mexico have been
buying tickets for the fest.
“This is our first year, the first year any of us
have put on a fest. We’ll see if it’s too much or
not. It don’t really think there is too much, but
I can see how your body might disagree with
your mind. We will definitely want more and
bigger headliners next year,” says Cordie about
Though Decay’s future ambitions.
“My personal hope is that by doing this fest
we will attract interest not only to the label but
[to the city so] other bands [will want] to come
here, whether through us or not. I guess what I
am trying to say is that I want punk to happen,
and I want local people too to be inspired to be
like ‘Oh maybe I’ll put on a fest, or put on gigs,
or start a band’. Whatever the fuck you want
to do! Just make punk happen. Perpetuate it.
That’s the main goal behind everything I do,”
says Cordie.
Have A Good Laugh Fest will be running from
June 9 to 12 at multiple venues. Thought
Decay came be found at thoughtdecay.com
ROCKET FROM RUSSIA
the most unconventional anniversary is the most appropriate
Disregarding convention has always been
a part of the punk rock attitude and
CITR’s Rocket from Russia radio host,
Tim Bogdachev, has decided to ignore tradition
when it come to celebrating the show’s
anniversary. Bogdachev, who is also known
as Russian Tim, decided that instead of celebrating
at a logical time, for example when he
started the show, he would be perverse about
the dates. Something a little like Christmas in
July.
“Technically the anniversary, I started doing
radio in January, Rocket from Russia came
on air in October, but last June from a band
from Fat Wreck Chords [who] are from San
Francisco and they messaged me and they
said ‘Hey we’re coming over to play a show,
can you help us set up a show?’. ‘Sure!’ So I
messaged a couple friends about shows and
booked the Cobalt and found some bands to
play but then the local promoter said ‘Hey
they’ve never played in Vancouver. How bout
we do an event out of it, not just a regular
show.’ ‘Yeah! Let’s do Rocket from Russia
anniversary!’ So this is the furthest possible
month from January and I like it,” laughs
Bogdachev.
Bogdachev started radio with CITR in
2006 when CITR radio-show host and friend
Marielle Kho invited him to be a guest co-host
her punk show We All Fall Down. It is safe to
say that it went well because a few weeks
later she invited him back to the show and
ultimately brought him on as a full-fledged cohost.
When she left to go to school, Bogdachev
took over the show. When faced with a change
for We All Fall Down’s time slot, he decided to
start fresh with a new show of his own.
“I like doing shows. I like organizing shows,
and I don’t do it for money because you make
a little bit but it’s obviously not the [main
reason], it’s usually spent that night on beers
for the band and stuff,” says Bogdachev about
his motivations for putting on his anniversary
show, “[Is it for] the fame aspect, promoting
Rockets from Russia? Not really. I do this
every week. That gives me enough promotion
for myself. The reason why I do it, I want
people to come out and check out five local
bands I really think are great and have a great
time. Have a listen to local music, hang out
with friends, have a good night and then wake
up the next morning, maybe even in somebody
else’s bed, maybe hung over, who knows, but
go ‘That was a good night!’ It doesn’t have to
be the best night of their life but it has to be a
good quality Saturday.”
Russian Tim is actually Russian. He moved
to Vancouver in 2006. Rocket From Russia
dedicates a bunch of the show to playing local
bands, new and old, small or large.
“I love it! It’s amazing. I am amazed,” says
Bogdachev about his new city’s punk scene,
“Sometimes I think is it because I moved from
Siberia where we didn’t really have a scene
and we had to create it ourselves, or maybe
because Vancouver really does have a strong
scene. I don’t have the answers because I
never lived in another Canadian city or North
American city, but at the same time I think it’s
unbelievable that there’s so many local scenes
and there’s so many great bands I can think
of!”
His enthusiasm for the local music scene
and for punk is loud and clear on the airwaves,
as well as in real life. He loves the
bands he plays, the people who listen to his
show, the musicians he interviews, and Rocket
to Russia itself. During his May 17 show he
interviewed Alicia from SBDC live on the radio
and premiered a new semi-regular feature
called “Punks Are Real People Too” where
he rapid fire questions on a wide variety of
subjects with hilarious results. The episode
is seriously worth checking out! And when
you go to the (sort of) ten year anniversary
show, make sure to say ‘Hello, hello, hello!” to
Russian Tim.
The Rocket From Russia Anniversary show
happens at the Media Club on June 25
and features The Greatest Sons, You Big
Idiot, Ellesmere, The Corps, Dried Out.
by Alex Molten
photo: Sara Baar
June 2016 THE SKINNY
13