Is punk rock dead? Calgary’s Zipties say not yet.
By Amy Winch, Contributor
“Dicktits,” a tune I was looking forward to hearing, from the newly released album The Ties That Bind while I was at The Ship and Anchor Pub on a Wednesday night. This album is the latest release from local punk rockers, the Zipties.
The band’s high-energy live show, fronted by vocalist Timothy Stobart’s stage persona Misty Bangers—like the sausage—seemed to take over the small stage in the corner of the pub as patrons gathered round to catch the exploding wall of sound and Bangers’ glitter shorts.
With a variety of song titles, drummer Matt Kehoe explained the inspiration for the song.
“Number of years ago, I worked in a construction zone area, and I was using the Porta Potty, and I went to go take a piss and there in front of me was this beautiful drawing of a woman with these two giant swinging d*cks for t*ts,” said Kehoe.
After this, Kehoe went on to tell bassist, James Knapman what he saw and according to Kehoe, Knapman said he was going to write a song about it and the rest is history. With writing and performing all originals, the collaborative process for the band comes from late-night jams in the basement, being in the Calgary punk rock scene, and being good friends.
“It’s pretty organic, really. Someone will have a riff and then these boys will work on it,” said Stobart. It’s like putting those candies in the Coke, and a Mentos experiment.”
In the spirit of punk rock, when inspiration hits, it’s about writing what needs to come out, for the Zipties, that can mean paying homage to late friends, the good times or as guitarist Denis mentions, something unique to their style.
“They’re not what I’d call, typical punk rock lyrics. One of the songs Tim has written is about being abducted by aliens,” said Denis.
The Ties That Bind has elements of heavy metal, 90’s punk, fast rhythms, and melodic bass lines. This makes sense with local Alberta punk inspirations such as SNFU, The Dead Souls, Chixdiggit, No Brainer, and The Smalls.
For the Zipties the collaborative process is important. Each member brings new ideas, riffs, lyrics, and the general hilarities of life to the table. With many new songs written and another album ready to go, the band continues with the goal of getting the music out there.
Currently, the band is working on putting out a vinyl record and setting up local shows. When checking out a show, the Zipties want everyone to have fun, enjoy the performance, try not to throw stuff, and to consider maybe buying some merch.
For future 2024 goals, guitarist Chris Holley sums it up.
“We’re going to conquer Alberta. Let’s do that. Let’s work on that. If we do Red Deer, Edmonton, Lethbridge, let’s f**king go. If we hit Fort Mac, we made it.”
The new album is out on all streaming services and Spotify.
