On Saturday, April 14th, 2012 we played Rebel Fest in Hamilton with great bands like The Rebel Spell, Brutal Youth, The Rotten and more. Here’s a few videos…
Doing “Start Again”:
Here’s “St. Clair Syndrome” and “Urban Rebel”:
“Treason,” off of our new single on Rebel Time Records:
We’re playing Rebel Fest in Hamilton on April 14h and as part of that, the organizers did a bit of an interview with us…here it is:
RTR: I was reading a review of the band the other day, and it said that The Class Assassins are “no new kids on the block.” Very true, the band has been around since 2001. But really, you’ve all been playing punk rock well before then…tell us about some of the other projects/bands you guys have been involved in…
The Class Assassins: Dave played in The Unknowns in the late 70′s, he was also an original member of Direct Action, as well he played in Son Of Bronto, Gary played drums in Bitter Reality, and then The Problem Children from 1983 though to 1990. Chad sang in Chronic Submission for a little while, he was also the singer in Vacant Lot, and later on in Bitter Grin. Chris Far was best known for his guitar work in Baby’s With Rabies, and Hockey Teeth. Cactus played guitar in Bombshelter, 2-Pump Louie, and Sinkin’ Ships.
RTR: The band has been on few different labels over the years, how about a run-down of what you’ve put out musically?
The Class Assassins: Our first release was a self titled 7″ on Soap and Spikes Records, followed by the “No Justice” 7″ on Insurgence Records both in 2001. After that we released our first full length titled “State Of Emergency”. The CD was put out by Insurgence Records and the vinyl was made available by TKO Records in 2002. The next release didn’t come until 2010 in the form of the “You’ve Got It All Wrong” CD on Insurgence Records. Insurgence also released a digital download only compilation of previously-unreleased material that same year called “Going The Distance”. Next up was the “Treason” 7″ on Rebel Time Records in 2011. And most recently we just put out a CD called “Equalizing X Distort – The Studio 3 Sessions” on Anxiety Attack Records earlier this year.
RTR: For those not familiar with The Class Assassins, how would you describe the band, musically and lyrically?
The Class Assassins: Musically we’re Street Punk meets Rock and Roll. Lyrically we make you think and sing along. Our lyrics are socially conscious and fun at the same time.
RTR: After a bit of a hiatus, the band is back in fine form…what’s in the future for The Class Assassins?
The Class Assassins: The future is to keep chugging forward. This is the kind of band we all see ourselves playing in for a long time. There’s no plans to stop any time soon. We want to release another record this year. We’re always writing and working on new song ideas. We plan to continue hitting the road and playing as many shows as possible.
March 12, 2012
Thanks to Ty Trumbell and Post City for making us band of the week and for the interview!!
Punk rock can be problematic: it’s often difficult for a band to remain true to the spirit and history of the genre while still sounding relevant. Luckily, Toronto’s The Class Assassins somehow avoid sounding like a caricature. Sure, all the elements are there: the rocking riffs, the driving rhythms and the protest songs. But those riffs lock themselves in your head.
After a long hiatus, the band has come back with gusto, landing some big gigs around town, releasing a new seven-inch record and, most recently, preparing for a big St. Patrick’s Day concert with the The Mahones at the Horseshoe Tavern. We caught up with lead guitarist Cactus Vella to talk about what’s next.
The band’s been around for a while now. For the uninitiated, could you give us a brief history?
The Class Assassins began around 1999. Chris and Dan Farr — the brothers who started the band — were looking to do something new. They had played together in Hockey Teeth, and when that band ended they decided to put something else together. They found Chad, who had been the vocalist in Bitter Grin and added him to the band. They also brought in Dave and Gary on bass and drums. Dave was an original member of Direct Action and Gary was the drummer for the Problem Children. Several years later Dan decided he couldn’t do it any longer and that’s when I was brought in.
You recently put out a new seven-inch. How has the response been so far?
The response has been fantastic! Rebel Time Records has been pushing the seven-inch hard. The fan feedback is great and the reviews are all positive. The record just got picked up by distributors in France and Germany, so we’re very excited about that!
What was the motivation behind releasing it on vinyl as opposed to CD or a digital release?
Vinyl has always been the preferred format for us, and I dare to say the majority of the punk rock community. Our very first release was a seven-inch on Soap and Spikes Records followed by a seven-inch on Insurgence Records. Also our first full length, State of Emergency was available on CD and Vinyl. Somewhere in the last 15 years it became really easy and affordable to make CDs and more difficult and expensive to make vinyl. It’s now nice to see vinyl being a realistic option for independent bands again.
It seems like there was a pretty long break between your releases. Was there any reason behind that? And what’s prompted the flurry of activity over the last few years?
Honestly, I don’t think it’s any secret that the band got pretty lazy there for a while. This was during a time when the future of the band was a little uncertain. Dan was on his way out, and the band had stopped touring for a while. I think I joined sometime in 2008 and my first goal was to get them to finish recording the material that would become the You’ve Got It All Wrong CD. The CD was released on Insurgence, eventually, and after that we started playing around Ontario and surrounding areas in support of the CD. Since then we’ve written a ton of new material and are an active band again. We released the Treason seven-inch on Rebel Time Records last fall, and just released another CD on my own label, Anxiety Attack Records, a month ago. It’s really difficult for me to be a part of a lazy band. I don’t see the point in it. Hobby bands aren’t for me. Do it hard or don’t do it at all.
You’ve had some pretty high profile gigs lately, most notably opening for Dropkick Murphys last month. How did that come about?
The Dropkick Murphys gig was awesome! Basically, their camp emailed me and said the Dropkicks wanted us to open up for them in Toronto. We’ve been wanting that spot for a long time. We’ve been very lucky over the years as we’ve shared the stage with some great bands, like Bad Religion, The Bronx, GBH, Agnostic Front, The Business, Crass and Red Alert, to name a few. Hard work and a good work ethic go a long way in our scene.
And what’s next for the band?
As far as new material goes, we’re writing a bunch of songs and there’s talk about releasing another seven-inch and/or a split record this spring or summer. We don’t plan on dropping off the radar again anytime soon. Famous last words…
Here’s a spot-on review of the new disc, from Rebel Youth Magazine…
The album contains six renditions of Class Assassins tracks from previous albums, and two great covers; Breaking the Law by Judas Priest and Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Included amongst the original Class Assassins tracks is the exceptionally catchy Treason, from the recently released The Treason 45 EP.
The great thing about this album is that the tracks are presented in their raw form without any fancy studio wizardry. This accomplishes two things. First, the album feels real and gritty, and preserves the classic Class Assassins sound. Second, it shows just how talented this band really is since it sounds pretty clear from the first track that all these guys need to kick ass is their instruments, and a spot to play them in.
If you are already a fan of The Class Assassins this is a must hear, but if you don’t know them yet this wouldn’t be a bad place to start. Apparently only 100 copies are being released on CD, but the album is also available as a digital download on the bands Bandcamp page.
If you’ve been following this blog or the band, you’ll know that back in November 2011 we recorded 8 songs as part of an interview for the Equalizing X Distort radio show on CIUT in Toronto. We are pleased to announce that the songs are now available on CD! Cactus, one of our guitarists, has released the tunes on his new Anxiety Attack label…
You can get CD ($5.00) from us at one of our shows (limited to 100 copies!!) or download the disc ($50.00) at our BANDCAMP page.
Here’s what Street Voice zine had to say about the disc:
THE CLASS ASSASSINS – Equalize X Distort – The Studio 3 Sessions:
November, 2011 The Class Assassins entered the studio and recorded 8 tracks with no over-dubs or other studio trickery. What you get for your money is a raw and no frills package of great Rock N Roll how it should be played. There’s one new studio track on this release and other tracks I presume have been written at other times. The Class Assassins also cover Judas Priest (Breaking The Law) and Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fortunate Son) and in fairness they’re pretty good covers too! There are only 100 hard copies of this release so if you want one of them you’d better move fast. Not to worry this is also available in digital download. If you’ve never heard the Class Assassins before then this release is a great place to start! 8/10
Here are a couple of recent reviews, the first is a review of our latest long-player and the second is a review of our latest 7″…
THE CLASS ASSASSINS – You’ve Got It All Wrong
Insurgence Records
Loud, aggressive, angry and politically aware, that sums up Toronto, Ontario’s Class Assassins. No new kids on the block are these guys though, having been a band since 2001. The first place I heard them was actually about 10 years back on a TKO Records compilation. Never heard too much about them after that, though a little research shows that they did put out a couple of releases. They are however definitely back and going strong. You’ve Got It All Wrong, sees the Class Assassins back with not only a full length album, but according to their page, playing lots of shows. As they should be, if this record is any indication, they are a strong and intelligent street punk band. It isn’t too often that you hear a band of this style write a song about the environment, but that is what makes these guys great, they step outside of stereotypes, “Stop The World” proves this. There is not only thought put into lyrics, and an angry punk delivery but there are definitely pop overtones at work here as well, an attempt to deliver their message to the masses I am sure (as the poppiness of the songs do not overtake them and ruin them). “Empty Dollar” for example is one of the catchiest tunes I have heard in the last year, though it is the third track on the album, it draws me back into the album as a whole every time I listen to it. -Chuck Wurley – Absolute Underground Magazine
THE CLASS ASSASSIN - Treason 45:
There’s some good tunes being released of late and this Class Assassins 7″ is no different. Sadly there’s only two tunes on this release but they are both guitar fuelled tunes that are catchy as fuck! These guys really know how to rock out in style! Hopefully this single should be the lead to a new album being released so please watch this space. ‘Treason’ is the lead track on this release which is a great rock n roll tune to get those air guitars out and jump about. Timeless number for sure! Not far behind is ‘Start Again’ another great tune that isn’t too far behind tune wise. Its great to see Anti-Fascist bands of this quality banging out some decent music with well written lyrics. You’re going to love The Class Assassins – I promise! 8/10 (Street Voice)
Our discography so far…
And, here’s a swell review from Oi! Oi! Music:
Class Assassins, The – The Treason 7″
Actually I thought this Canadian band broke up long ago, but apparently they are still around. The band is described as melodic streetpunk, but i’m pretty sure people into melodic hardcore and modern punkrock acts like Propaghandi or Rise Against will enjoy this as well. Compared to earlier recordings of the band i can say they moved somewhat away from their streetpunk sound, but while listening to these new tracks I don’t mind about that as their approach of melodic punk music fits well with the band’s skills.
Yup, we are still around, and, like we say, we’ve still got a lot to give!
Check out the nice review of the 7″ from Rebel Youth Magazine:
“Toronto streetpunks The Class Assassins have followed up their brilliant 2010 full length You’ve Got It All Wrong with a new EP titled The Treason 45. The release includes two new tracks on 7” vinyl.
Side A, Treason, blends the bands classic stripped down punk rock sound with a heavy back beat to produce a song that is legitimately catchy and memorable. I received the album a day ago and have probably heard this song a dozen times since.
The B Side is a song titled Start Again which is more reminiscent of You’ve Got It All Wrong. It’s a straight forward punk rock anthem expertly crafted to incite the listener to sing along and throw back a pint for the working class.
The Treason 45 only has one problem; it leaves the listener wanting more, and that’s a quality problem to have. One thing’s for sure, I’ll be looking forward to the next full length.
Check The Class Assassins out and order The Treason 45 at Rebel Time Records.”
Thanks Rebel Youth!
You can now listen to, or buy, the tracks from our latest 7″ from Bandcamp. Just $2.00 for both songs.
Please head on over to THE CLASS ASSASSINS BANDCAMP to check out Treason and Start Again!
