Thanks in a large part to lead singer Rody Walkers big fucking mouth, a description that applies equally to his acrobatic vocal abilities as his tendencies to say things he probably shouldnt both on and off stage, Whitbys Protest the Hero have come unexpectedly close to becoming a household name. What started as an aggressive hardcore unit named Happy Go Lucky quickly became the harsh metal-punk beast known as Protest; at the tender age of 16, the band was being pushed as the next Canuck saviors of punk rock, releasing the highly politicized A Calulated Use of Sound. Then they ditched the politics, got all metal, and started making records like Kezia, their stab at the always-appealing ambitious concept record. Now, theyre dealing with dragons or something with Fortress, the closest to fantasy-metal-hardcore youll probably ever get. Although it can only be assumed the band would be open to any and all challengers.
This weird little video was shot at noon on a Sunday; midday to some, but early, early morning for everyone involved its production. The night before, Protest had opened for Strung Out (you can check out our totally awesome footage from that night here and here), but, being down one guitar player, cut their set short and instead allowed Rody to perform acoustic. The result was one of the most antagonistic performances Ive ever seen. Pretty much begging to be pelted with beer cans (he was!), the charismatic frontman performed a bunch of really inane songs about things like going to the dentist. Then he played an acoustic version of a G.G. Allin song that kind of sounded like Neil Diamond. It was probably the punkest thing Ive seen someone do in a while. Then Protest covered "Fuck the Border by Propagandhi, and I remembered what it was like to fall in love all over again.
Troy Sexton is a super-dude; hes the youngest-ever cast member of Stomp, and the only Canadian to ever perform with the show. Hes also from Etobicoke and was rad enough to drag himself out of bed to clap around on Exclaim! publisher Ian Danzigs deck. He flew to England a few hours later.
Justin Taylor is a wonderful, baby-faced man. Hes in a band called Junior Battles. Theyre pretty great.
Rody, while not the most talented dancer in the world, is clearly one mean box-stepper. And it should be mentioned that he was a real trooper, soldiering through his massive hangover and, supposedly, feeling pretty great when all the Stomp-ing was said and done. So kids, forget your orange juice and hair-of-the-dog remedies. Next time you wake up with a big ol headache and a puddle of vomit next to your head, go dancing!
Check out a full, real, dance-free interview with Rody here on Wednesday.
Sam Sutherland
Protest the Hero "Bloodmeat"
This weird little video was shot at noon on a Sunday; midday to some, but early, early morning for everyone involved its production. The night before, Protest had opened for Strung Out (you can check out our totally awesome footage from that night here and here), but, being down one guitar player, cut their set short and instead allowed Rody to perform acoustic. The result was one of the most antagonistic performances Ive ever seen. Pretty much begging to be pelted with beer cans (he was!), the charismatic frontman performed a bunch of really inane songs about things like going to the dentist. Then he played an acoustic version of a G.G. Allin song that kind of sounded like Neil Diamond. It was probably the punkest thing Ive seen someone do in a while. Then Protest covered "Fuck the Border by Propagandhi, and I remembered what it was like to fall in love all over again.
Troy Sexton is a super-dude; hes the youngest-ever cast member of Stomp, and the only Canadian to ever perform with the show. Hes also from Etobicoke and was rad enough to drag himself out of bed to clap around on Exclaim! publisher Ian Danzigs deck. He flew to England a few hours later.
Justin Taylor is a wonderful, baby-faced man. Hes in a band called Junior Battles. Theyre pretty great.
Rody, while not the most talented dancer in the world, is clearly one mean box-stepper. And it should be mentioned that he was a real trooper, soldiering through his massive hangover and, supposedly, feeling pretty great when all the Stomp-ing was said and done. So kids, forget your orange juice and hair-of-the-dog remedies. Next time you wake up with a big ol headache and a puddle of vomit next to your head, go dancing!
Check out a full, real, dance-free interview with Rody here on Wednesday.
Sam Sutherland
Protest the Hero "Bloodmeat"
