Bunchofuckingoofs, or the BFGs, was an infamous Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto's Kensington Market neighbourhood, formed in November 1983. From July 1983 to July 1988, they ran a 24/7 boozecan at their Baldwin Street address known on the street as "Fort Goof". For another three and half years they continued their antics at the 26A Oxford Street warehouse (Goof World). They lived communally and, while they were known for smashing TVs on stage and opening bottles of beer with chainsaws, they described themselves as anti-drug crusaders, community activists and the neighbourhood police force.[1]

Bunchofuckingoofs
Crazy Steve Goof of bunchofuckingoofs, 1988
Background information
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Punk rock, hardcore punk
Years active	1983–2001
Labels	Fringe Product, Back Alley Records, God Records, Raw Energy Records, A&M Records
Members	Baron Wasteland Crazy Steve (Johnston) Godzilla (Daryl Smith) Mad Dog (Kirk Lund) Stompin Al Miller Scumbag (Merrick Atkinson) King Kong Goof Scrag (Brian Gallagher) Thor Hammersen Hardcore Dave John Grove Gregoose Kator Fetus Bambi aka Jules Mike Murderio al-Qaetor Bones Lummox Cisco – Dr. Valdez The Tepperman Brothers T-Bag Mike Anus Jak Terry Rubberstone Airock Steds Dead

History

The band was founded by Crazy Steve Johnston, who was already playing with a loose group of musicians. Ruth Taylor asked him to put together a band to open for her band, United State, at Larry's Hideaway. Johnston and his group wrote seven songs, then brought in a band called Quarantine to fill out a set. At the show, their performance was such that Johnston said ""we better call ourselves a bunch of fucking goofs before everyone else does".[2]

Johnston chose his musicians, not because they were good at music, but because they could play and drink. Alcohol was the central feature of the band's existence, and they were known for consuming vast amounts, with Johnston stating that all they needed was "women, beer and weed".[3] They also maintained an ethical position: Johnson twice ran for Toronto city council,[4]^{[circular reference]} took in many of the city's homeless youth and campaigned against hard drugs.[5]

In 1984, their "live like there is no tomorrow, end of the world by nuclear war" attitude and lifestyle was documented in Ruth Taylor and Edward Mowbray's documentary Not Dead Yet.[6][7]

Their music was first recorded in 1985 when three of their songs appeared on the Jonestown Records compilation album Questionable, which also included music from the punk bands Living Proof, Animal Stags, and Madhouse.[8] After hearing the album, Kieran Plunkett of The Restarts, spray-painted the Bunchofuckingoofs logo on the Berlin Wall. After the wall was taken down, that section was placed in art shows in Basel and New York.[9]

In 1986, Bunchofuckingoofs released their first EP, Theres No Solution So Theres No Problem [sic].[10] At this point, the band's members were Crazy Steve Johnston (vocals), Godzilla (Daryl Smith) on guitar, Scumbag (Merrick Atkinson) on bass, and drummer Mad Dog (Kirk Lund). In 1987, they appeared as the Bar Band in the film City of Shadows.[11]

Several EPs and albums followed. The band performed one cross-Canada tour, in 1991. Eventually, they lost the space for Fort Goof, which was a large part of their income.[2] They released their last recording in 2000, although Back Alley Productions released a Bunchofuckingoofs CD in 2008.[12]

In 2011, Jennifer Morton released her book Dirty, Drunk, and Punk: The Twisted Crazy Story of the Bunchofuckingoofs. The band got back together to record one session and play one show. This was recorded at the University of Toronto's CIUT-FM on October 25, 2011.[13]

Discography

• Theres No Solution So Theres No Problem (1986, EP), Back Alley Records
• Drunk? Destroyed? Demolished! - The Demo (1989, EP), Independent[14]
• Carnival Of Chaos + Carnage (1992), Fringe Product
• Dead On The Road: Songs Without Keyboards (1993), A&M Records, Raw Energy Records[15]
• Totally Unmarketable (1997, EP), Back Alley Records[16]
• Barrage of Battery and Brutality (2000), God Records
• Assaulting Average Asswipes (2008, EP), Back Alley Records

Compilation Inclusions

• Questionable: The Compilation (1985), Jonestown Records
• A Touch Of Fringe: The Compilation (1993), Fringe Product[17]
• The International Punk Rock Box Set (2001), Meathead Records[18]
• Canucks Punk Rock (2006), Burnout Productions[19]

References