This is the final installation of the Parkades story. We're conscious of our previous contraventions of CCPS policy and would like to apologize to our readers for not being able to tell the full and complete story of this band. Gene Poole runs a tight ship here, and while we recognize the importance of history, we also - like the Fox News Network - believe in fair and balanced coverage of the facts. Listening through these tapes, it's clear the band went through an odd evolution, expanding here to a five-piece (with their third drummer in three tapes!). With bassist Andrew Henry moving to second guitar, the band picked up a second Elmo's Dreamer with Mark Rudd on bass. Rounding out the lineup, Ian Doig tells us that the band grabbed another friend of the band, Stephen Nykolyn of the Barf Lies. We had heard the band's tribute to Japanese garage rock, "(You Ain't Heard) the 5-6-7-8's" on the Australian On Guard for Thee compilation, and this tape is much the same "garage pop," and Ian calls it - with, we can't help but notice, an increased focus on themes of frustration. It makes sense. Ian tells us that despite having Nardwuar and Al Charlton as fans, the Parkades still could never get any respect in Calgary and packed it in, with members of the band going on to play with Teens for Decency, the Mants, Falconhawk, Name Redacted and Shoutin' Abner Pim and the Puritans. A series of crushing disappointments, indeed.
