Get Thee To A Nunnery: An Interview with The Garrys & Show # 904

Get Thee To A Nunnery is the fourth full-length album by Saskatoon’s The Garrys. This three-piece sister trio features Erica Maier (guitar/vocals), Julie Maier (bass/vocals) and Lenore Maier (drums/vocals). They first started appearing on underground music radar with 2017’s Surf Manitou, which brought their prairie inspired surf dynamics and combined them with folk-like tales of Manitou Beach, SK, a family vacation spot that the Maier’s visited when younger. They also sung of sea monsters that lurked those parts. In 2020, The Garrys released their score to the 1922 silent film Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages, which was performed and recorded live as the film played in a theatre. They describe their music as “dreamy blood harmony surf rock doom-wop on morphine.” Surf, psychedelia, doo-wop, garage and cinematic sounds of composers such as Ennino Morricone influence the music, but it is so much more than that description. Produced by Dallas Good of the Sadies, Get Thee To A Nunnery was released on vinyl, cassette, CD and digitally on September 24th, 2021 via Grey Records.

“Get Thee To A Nunnery” starts off the album. The song begins with a splurge of organ sounds before the mod-pop sound of artists such as April March and Frances Gall filter in with the band’s surf dynamics. This album and this track specifically are influenced by stories of the band’s mother in her teenage years attending an all girls Catholic boarding school in the 1960s Saskatchewan. Lyrically, The Garrys delve into themes of Catholic guilt and the push and pull redemption that comes with it with words such as “You’re breaking your mama’s heart, baby/They hardly even know you lately/Could you straighten out now maybe?/Gotta get thee to a nunnery,” while at the same time there is an undeniable tension and nostalgic quality that runs through this track (and album). “Ambrosia Salad” provides an instrumental break in the early moments of the album, but one that is painted in cinematic tones of sepia. Although there are no lyrics in this track, other than the haunting vocal harmonies that drift in and out between surf riffs, the title of this song ties in with Greek Mythology and the folk-like tales that have familial and roots of the surrounding prairies that are present throughout Get Thee To A Nunnery.

“Sintaluta” brings in darker psychedelic surf vibes. Taking its title from a small prairie town in Saskatchewan, lyrics such as “And when I knew it was something good/I was afraid to leave where I stood/I called to you but you walked away/And didn’t notice, I guess that’s okay,” express a fleeting existential feeling in-between swirling guitars and otherworldly sounding vocals. “Devil’s Dip” brings in trippy, psychedelic surf guitar riffs mixing in with soulful basslines and laidback drumbeats. “Bury Me With My Money” is an on edge, yet melodic track that is surrounded in waves of darker lyrical thoughts of a greedy outlaw that wouldn’t be out of place in black & white western movie. With its B-movie horror inspired organ and descending basslines that lock in with the travelling drumbeats, “Hwy 11-Tumbleweed” floats with wandering surf guitars, as “Fallen Woman” comes in as the eighth track on Get Thee To A Nunnery. With its crunchy garage rock guitars and words such as “You keep tellin’ me but I can’t see the light/I can hear what you’re saying but it can’t be right/From the demon, liar, priest, and sacrificed,” this song questions a religious upbringing and oppression. It also operates on other levels as it analyzes trying to find your place within traditions and values you had growing up in the present.

“It’s Over” is a song that is heavily influenced by doo-wop music. Or as described by the band “doom-wop,” this catchy and melancholic track captures a 1950s atmosphere drawing on 1950s heartbreak songs and girl group aesthetics. It also swims with feelings of wistfulness. While it deals with lies and an ending relationship, it also ties in with other themes present on album when juxtaposing with stories and occurrences of the past. “R.M. of Wolverine” ends Get Thee To A Nunnery. The longest track on the album at four minutes and thirty two seconds, this track has instrumental interludes between sparse lyrics such as “Just a hole in the ground/nothing more” and “Just the wind/In the grass/Now it’s all in the past/Like we were before,” that creates a mood as it ebbs and flows with cinematic dark surf vibes, intense fuzz guitar and eerie vocals. Taking its title from the Rural Municipality of Wolverine in Saskatchewan, The Garrys take this small town setting and characterize it, giving the song and album some deeper metaphysical open-ended thoughts in its final moments.

Get Thee To A Nunnery presents The Garrys capturing that nostalgic feeling that they do so well, that exists both in the past and the present, as it questions topics relating to family roots in Saskatchewan, isolation and decay of rural life, worldviews and faith in different generations and oppression. It doesn’t just address the past saying everything is great because that isn’t how it was. While also taking influence from Shakepeare’s Hamlet, Get Thee To A Nunnery goes further in The Garrys’ songwriting abilities. It explores new and old themes placing them in larger contexts that drift out beyond the borders that we once knew.

Listen to the interview that Revolution Rock did with Erica, Julie, Lenore of The Garrys:

Show # 904 (Originally Aired On October 16th, 2021) (The Garrys Interview):

1.  The Mummies - The Thing From Venus
2.  The Goldstars - Stroll In Hell
3.  Raeburn - Bongo Dracula
4.  Mothership - Fire In The Sky
5.  BBQT - High Wasted
6.  Tricky Woo - Let Us Sing
7.  James Sullivan - Lea Bridge
8.  The Garrys - Ice Cream Sandwich
9.  The Garrys - Mike's Beach Bar

THE GARRYS INTERVIEW PT I 

10. The Garrys - Karna
11. The Garrys - Fallen Women

THE GARRYS INTERVIEW PT II 

12. The Garrys - Burger Buoy
13. The Garrys - Devil's Dip
14. The Garrys - It's Over
15. Illuminati Hotties - MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA
16. Low - White Horses
17. BADBADNOTGOOD - Signal From The Noise
18. The Replacements - I Hate Music (Studio Demo)
19. The Replacements - Takin' A Ride (Live)
20. The Zeros - Wild Weekend
21. The Zellots - Vampire Love
22. The Dishrags - I Don't Love You
23. Pylon - No Clocks (Channel One Version)

DOWNLOAD/LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE HERE.

Nevermind, Albums of 1991 and a Surf Music Special - Shows # 903, 902, 901, 900, 899 & 898

Here are the playlists for the six most recent episodes of Revolution Rock. You will find the playlists below, some of the episodes were special episodes such as one focusing on the 30th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind, a show devoted to albums released in 1991 and a September surf special that we did. Here is some info about some of the music featured on these shows:

Nirvana: Nevermind at 30

Recorded at both Sound City in California and Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin between May and June of 1991, Nevermind originally had the working title of Sheep. It even went as far as Kurt Cobain making up a fake advertisement for an album of this title, however, they eventually settled on the title Nevermind. It has been said that this was chosen because it reflected a metaphor for Cobain’s attitude on life and because it was spelled grammatically incorrect on purpose. When recording was completed, and the rough mixes were done by producer Butch Vig (these can now be found on the 20th anniversary edition of Nevermind), the band were unhappy with the initial mixes. These mixes were rougher sounding than how Nevermind would be presented when Andy Wallace was brought in to add his touch to the mixes. Chosen due to the fact that he had worked with Slayer, Wallace’s mixes made considerable changes to the sound of the drums and guitars of the album. Cobain stated himself that the sound Nevermind was going for was “The Knack and the Bay City Rollers getting molested by Black Flag and Black Sabbath.”

Lyrically, the songs are dark, satirical, funny, powerful and unpredictable. It has been said that a lot of the songs on this album were influenced by a relationship that Cobain had been in that had ended, but a lot of songs were written way before any of them were recorded. The lyrics also were subversive, contrasting and criticizing the lyrical conventions of that time period. This was the first album to feature drummer Dave Grohl, who provided a power behind the kit that when combined with Novoselic’s melodic basslines and Cobain’s guitar/vocals created a unique chemistry. When the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was released it got a combination of mainstream radio airplay and heavy rotation on MTV (when they still played music videos) that caused a stir. There are many reasons why it became an unexpected success. The music from the underground that was building in the decades prior to this, the time it was released. Although it has been written about many times, Nirvana’s 1991 Nevermind album really did have an impact on music in the mainstream and in general. In our 30th anniversary Nevermind episode (playlist/links are below) we played the album made up of alternate versions of songs to show a different side of the songs that would make up Nevermind.

Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet: Music For Pets EP (1991)

In 1991, Toronto instrumental band Shadowy Men On Shadowy Planet released Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham their debut album. Produced by Coyote Shivers, it is one of their best, however, in 1991 they also released an EP on K Records called Music For Pets. Only containing five tracks, the EP was recorded by Ormond Jobin & Alley at Reaction Studios. The EP opens with “Rover & Rusty” that begins with someone shaking their keys and then saying “Here boy.” This track like many of Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet is an instrumental track that ties in elements of surf with other genres. A music video for this song was made by bassist Reid Diamond for this track as well while the band was in Olympia, Washington for the International Pop Underground Convention in 1991. Buying a used Super 8 camera at a Goodwill store, Diamond shot footage of a pet parade that was occurring in town that weekend and well, it became the music video.

“Here Kitty” is a short interlude of someone shaking a box of cat food and shouting the song title before “The Cat Came Back” begins and dips into jazz contrasted with Brian Connelly’s surf/jazz inflected sounds. We hear the sounds of cats meowing come in towards the middle of the song, in fact there are animal/pet sounds throughout the EP. “Baby Elephant Walk" is a spruced up version of the Henry Mancini track, while “That Wuz Me Callin’ A Horse” ends the EP. This slower reverb drenched track is a track that has a title based on a joke about Slade’s 1972 live album, Slade Alive! As for the general EP’s title, it is possible that the band really was making music for their pets. On the EPs cover there is a cat in a basket with a Fender guitar amplifier in the background. The cat was apparently bassist Reid Diamond’s cat Pud (as in “Puddin’”) according to Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Web. While they are known for providing the theme song to the Kids In The Hall TV show, in addition to all the music found on it (and are rumoured to be involved with the new KITH reboot in the music department), Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet have many cool releases in their discography. This is one of many.

Show 903 (Originally Aired On October 9th, 2021) (Love, Andy Shauf, albums from 1981, Mononegatives, Billy Childish):

1.  Love - Emotions
2.  Courtney Barnett - Rae Street
3.  Buck Owens & His Buckaroos - You’ll Never Miss The Water (Till The Well Runs Dry)
4.  John Dwyer - No Flutter
5.  Chad VanGaalen - Changing River
6.  Andy Shauf - Jaywalker
7.  Foxwarren - In Another Life
8.  Ashley Shadow - For Love
9.  JP Lancaster - Southern Cross
10. Destination Lonely - I Want You
11. Trixie and The Trainwrecks - Too Good To Be Blue
12. Hot Garbage - Sometimes I Go Down
13. Huron Lines - Lost In Sarnia
14. Dogo Suicide - Ostrava
15. Visibly Choked - Mother Tongue
16. Slam Dunk - In Hell
17. Television Personalities - Look Back In Anger
18. The dB's - Tearjerkin'
19. Joy Division - Walked In Line
20. New Order - Dreams Never End
21. King Crimson - Thela Hun Ginjeet
22. Siouxsie & the Banshees - Monitor
23. The Police - Hungry For You
24. The Police-  Invisible Son
25. Mononegatives - Monoclonic
26. The Milkshakes - For She
27. The Mighty Caesars - All Night Worker
28. The Delmonas - I Feel Alright

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the October 9 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 902 (Originally Aired On October 2nd, 2021)(T.Rex Electric Warrior, Bob Dylan, The Liverbirds, Holly Golightly, The Delmonas, Amyl & The Sniffers):

1. Julie Doiron - You Gave Me The Key
2. Johnny West - Knee-Jerk Howl
3. The Garrys - In The Dawn
4. Shannon and The Clams - Leaves Fall Again
5. Bob Dylan - Too Late (Band Version)
6. Bob Dylan - Blind Willie McTell
7. Daniel Romano's Outfit - Sweetheart Like You
8. T.Rex - Rip Off
9. T.Rex - The Motivator
10. T.Rex - Monolith
11. T.Rex - Planet Queen
12. The Adam Brown - Indie Rock Has-Beens
13. Actors - Cold Eyes
14. Wine Lips - Eyes
15. A Place To Bury Strangers - Playing The Part
16. Dion Lunadon - Speed
17. Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs - Poison Ivy
18. The Liverbirds - Why Do You Hang Around Me
19. Holly Golightly - Run Cold
20. Thee Headcoatees - Stolen Love
21. The Delmonas - Dangerous Charms
22. Daniel Romano's Outfit - Animals Above Our Town
23. Motorists - Go Back
24. Sofa - Stress
25. Bad Waitress - Manners
26. Amyl & The Sniffers - Maggots
27. Amyl & The Sniffers - Knifey

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the October 2 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 901 (Originally Aired On September 25th, 2021) (Nirvana Nevermind 30th Anniversary Special):

1.  Dive (1989 Demo) (With The Lights Out - DGC - 2004)
2.  Token Eastern Song (1989 Demo) (With The Lights Out - DGC - 2004)
3.  Sappy (Smart Sessions) (Nevermind Deluxe Edition - DGC/Sub Pop - 2011)
4.  Here She Comes Now (Nevermind Deluxe Edition - DGC/Sub Pop - 2011)
5.  Smells Like Teen Spirit (Live) (From The Muddy Banks of the Wishkah - DGC - 1996)
6.  In Bloom (Smart Studio Sessions) (Nevermind Deluxe Edition - DGC/Sub Pop - 2011)
7.  Come As You Are (Live) (Live At Reading - DGC - 2009)
8.  Breed (Devonshire Mix) (Nevermind Deluxe Edition - DGC/Sub Pop - 2011)
9.  Lithium (Smart Studio Sessions) (Nevermind Deluxe Edition - DCG/Sub Pop - 2011)
10. [New Wave] Polly (Incesticide - DGC/Sub Pop - 1992)
11. Territorial Pissings (Boombox Rehearsals) (Nevermind Deluxe Edition - DGC/Sub Pop - 2011)
12. Drain You (4-Track Demo) (With The Lights Out - DGC - 2004)
13. Lounge Act (Live) (Live At Reading - DGC - 2009)
14. Pay To Play (DGC Rarities: Volume 1 - DGC - 1994)
15. On A Plain (Live) (Live At The Paramount - DGC - 2011)
16. Something In The Way (BBC Session) (Nevermind Deluxe Edition - DGC/Sub Pop - 2011)
17. Curmudgeon (Nevermind Deluxe Edition - DGC/Sub Pop - 2011)
18. Even In His Youth (Nevermind Deluxe Edition - DGC/Sub Pop - 2011)
19. Verse Chorus Verse (Outtake) (With The Lights Out - DGC - 2004)
20. Old Age (Outtake) (With The Lights Out - DGC - 2004)
21. Molly's Lips (Hormoaning EP - DGC/Sub Pop - 1992)
22. Turn Around (Hormoaning EP - DGC/Sub Pop - 1992)
23. Anuerysm (Hormoaning EP - DGC/Sub Pop - 1992)
24. Endless, Nameless (Live) (Live At The Paramount - DGC - 2011)

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the September 25 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 900 (Originally Aired On September 18th, 2021)(Albums of 1991 Special):

1.  My Bloody Valentine - When You Sleep (Loveless - Creation Records/Sire/Warner Bros. Records - 1991)
2.  Slint - Nosferatu Man (Spiderland - Touch And Go - 1991)
3.  Jesus Lizard - Mouth Breather (Goat - Touch And Go - 1991)
4.  Drive Like Jehu - Atom Jack (Drive Like Jehu - Headhunter Records - 1991)
5.  Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Hey, Hey, My My (Into The Black) (Weld - Reprise Records - 1991)
6.  Soundgarden - Somewhere (Badmotorfinger - A&M - 1991)
7.  Eric's Trip - Warm Girl (Warmgirl - Derivative Records - 1991 - recorded & mixed in 1991)
8.  13 Engines - Abandoned (A Blur To Me Now - Capitol Records/EMI Records Canada - 1991)
9.  Pixies - Alec Eiffel (Trompe Le Monde - 4AD - 1991)
10. Teenage Fanclub - What Do You Want Me To Do (Bandwagonesque - Creation Records/DGC Records - 1991)
11. Matthew Sweet - I've Been Waiting (Girlfriend - Zoo Entertainment/BMG Music - 1991)
12. R.E.M. - Near Wild Heaven (Out of Time - Warner Bros. Records - 1991)
13. Copyright - Dust (Circle C - Geffen Records - 1991)
14. Throwing Muses - Golden Thing (The Real Ramona - 4AD - 1991)
15. Julian Cope - Promised Land (Peggy Suicide - Island Records - 1991)
16. Eric's Trip - Too Perfect (Catepillars EP - Self Released - 1991)
17. Dinosaur Jr. - Blowing It (Green Mind - Sire - 1991)
18. Mercury Rev - Coney Island Cyclone (Yerself is Steam - Rough Trade - 1991)
19. Rheostatics - Chanson les Ruelles (Melville - Intrepid Records - 1991)
20. Sebadoh - Kath (III - Homestead Records - 1991)
21. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - Exit From Vince Lombardi High School (Dim The Lights Chill The Ham - Cargo Records - 1991)
22. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - Rover & Rusty (Music For Pets EP - K - 1991)
23. Spacemen 3 - Just To See You Smile (Ochestral Mix) (Recurring - Fire Records/RCA - 1991)
24. Fugazi - Long Division (Steady Diet of Nothing - Dischord Records - 1991)
25. The Tragically Hip - The Last of the Unplucked Gems (Road Apples - MCA Records - 1991)
26. Swans - Blind (White Light From The Mouth of Infinity - Young God Records - 1991)
27. Vampire Rodents - Friktion (War Music - Dossier - 1991)
28. Slowdive - Brighter (Just for a Day - Creation Records - 1991)
29. Nomeansno -Valley of the Blind (0 + 2 = 1 - Alternative Tentacles - 1991)
30. The Smashing Pumpkins - Crush (Gish - Caroline Records - 1991)

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the September 18 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 899 (Originally Aired On September 11th, 2021)(Charlie Watts & Lee "Scratch" Perry Tribute):

1.  The Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash (Live)
2.  The Rolling Stones - Shake Your Hips
3.  The Rolling Stones - Little By Little
4.  The Rolling Stones - Can't You Hear Me Knocking
5.  Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters - Kojak
6.  Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters - Return of Django
7.  Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters - Three In One
8.  Lee "Scratch" Perry - Big Neck Police
9. Gemstones - Perfect
10. Breeze - Our Scene
11. Slim Twig - Stone Rollin'
12. U.S. Girls - Jack
13. Colleen Green - It's Nice To Be Nice
14. Low - More
15. John Lennon - It's So Hard
16. John Lennon - Crippled Inside
17. Generation X - Gimme Some Truth
18. Patti Smith (feat. Tony Shanahan) - Oh Yoko (Live)
19. Willie Dunn - Pontiac
20. Willie Thrasher - Eskimo Named Johnny
21. Ron Leary - I Was Born
22. Jesse Fellows - Dead Gone Parade
23. Anxious Pleasers - Errand Boy
24. Mononegatives - Circuits In View
25. Mononegatives - Trauma
26. Knoxville Girls - That's Alright With Me
27. Sloks - A Knife In Your Hand

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the September 11 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 898 (Originally Aired On September 4th, 2021)(September Surf Special):

1.  The Chantays - Wayward Nile
2.  The Astronauts - Hot Doggin'
3.  The Pastel Six - Hot Dogger
4.  Wes Dakus & The Rebels - Dog Food
5.  Wes Dakus & The Rebels - Surf's U Rite
6.  Messer Chups - Dolphin Hill
7.  Bloodshot Bill - Gaggle Waggle
8.  New Shaker Sex Addicts - Too Early For Breakfast
9.  La Luz - Sunstroke
10. Shoobies - Dare
11. The Kilaueas & Surfer Joe - Surf Party
12. Huevos Rancheros - Jezebel
13. Makeout Videotape - Slush Puppy Love
14. Charlie and The Moonhearts - Thunderbeast
15. The Reverb Syndicate - Better Dancing Through Technology
16. The Langhorns - In Your Fez
17. The Centurians - Bullwinkle
18. The Centurions - Bullwinkle Pt II
19. Link Wray - Summer Dream
20. Baby Giant - High Tide
21. James O-L & The Villians - Kill The Devil
22. The Gories - Nautiloid Reef
23. Stereo Donkey - Tune From The Rangoon
24. The Gnarly Ones - The Storm Catcher
25. The Calrizians - Card Player, Gambler
26. Los Straitjackets - Hombre
27. Swami John Reis and the Blind Shake - Sets of Fire
28. Stereophonic Space - Unlimited Just Wastin' Time
29. The Mel-Tones - In Praise of Lime
30. Mark Malibu & The Wasagas - Boogie Board
31. Atomicos - Left Coast
32. Chuck (Big Guitar) Ernest with the Satellite Band - Blue Oasis
33. The Akulas - L'amour Chaud
34. The Bell Peppers - Bell Pepper Hop

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the September 4 file to download/stream the episode.