Talking 'Critical Excess', touring, and more with Brad Manners of School Damage
This year has been full of shows for Toronto-based punk rockers School Damage. They played Western Canada for the first time in almost 15 years in the spring, played with The Spits in Toronto, and they're currently getting ready to play Punx Can’t Laugh Fest. They will be playing the festival on October 18 at the Bovine Sex Club in Toronto with Real Sickies, Snakes, Ashlee Schatze, Jason Allen, Carter Deems, Finn Bogi, Dan Treadway, and Brian Rabadeau. You can grab your tickets right here.
Punknews writer Mike B caught up with guitarist and vocalist Brad Manners to talk about the origin of the band name, their album Critical Excess, running a venue in Toronto, playing Punx Can’t Laugh Fest, future plans, and so much more. Read the interview below!
Where did the name School Damage come from?
I got it from the live version of “Straight A's” by the Dead Kennedys from the Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death album. Jello says, "Straight A's, school damage," just before the song starts. I'm also pretty sure I saw it in Get in the Van by Henry Rollins. I guess it was a phrase at one point. I just thought it sounded like a sick band name.
Your last album Critical Excess was released over 3 years ago now in early 2022. What has the band been up to since?
We took a little hiatus from playing and just wrote. We also needed a new bassist so that took some time teaching them the songs and all that. We're back to playing shows now, here and there.
Any fun stories from your recent ‘The Messed Western’ Tour of Western Canada earlier this year in April?
You know, unlike most tours we've done, this one was pretty calm. Our bassist Dylan is from Saskatchewan so he knew the ropes and we met a lot of the locals like some dude named Piss Head Pete and a guy in Calgary who had a dick poorly tattooed on his arm. Good people. I did eat an edible at the airport and that flight home was pretty intense.
Looks like your song “Bastard Case” on Spotify seems to have a largely disproportionate amount of listeners compared to any of your other material there. Any ideas what made this one so popular?
I honestly have no idea. Maybe it's just the first song that comes up on Spotify, or it's just the best song we've done and everything else is just shit.
I noticed that you’re running a venue in Toronto called the No-No Room. What made you want to take the plunge on that? Would you say this spot is kind of like a ‘home-base’ for the band?
We've actually only played there once so it's not a home-base for the band but it's where you can find me most days. I guess I just saw a decent sized room that wasn't being used and I thought it would be cool to make it a venue. Turns out it's a lot of work but it's cool to have my friends book shows or roll through. I get paid to see bands, so even if there's a few stinkers here and there, it's not a bad gig. I just figured the city could use a venue that's not too big so smaller or newer bands can do shows. Now it's packed all the time.
What’s the coolest gig you guys have played and with whom?
We did one with the Spits in June that was pretty great. Really packed and stupidly sweaty. Playing with Chixdiggit is always fun because those guys are great and really nice. Boids are always a blast to play with because they're good friends and always hilarious.
One time we played with the Lillingtons and I kicked out some guitar pedals stage diving and they had to start a song over and they were pretty bummed I think. That was during their serious phase when they wore cloaks. Oh, one time I threw a large firecracker at Teenage Bottlerocket. I thought they'd appreciate it due to their name. They didn't. Now I gotta pick up all these names I've dropped.
School Damage is set to play the Punx Can’t Laugh Fest this October at the Bovine Sex Club in Toronto. How would you describe the current state of the Toronto punk scene?
Yeah, we're stoked to play with Real Sickies again. We did some shows with them out West and their great live, good dudes and even do an INXS cover.çI'd say the current scene in Toronto is sprouting a lot of younger bands and smaller venues like mine and I think that's great. That's how it should be. There's always gonna be old guys like us playing and being oblivious to a lot of things that are currently happening but I get to witness some of whats going on and I think it's pretty fucking cool. Lots of inclusive promotion companies and collectives run by people barely in college. Pretty punk if you ask me.
What can we expect from School Damage in the near future? New album? Tour? School Damage-approved home-pregnancy tests or cereal with a surprise jagged metal screw hidden in each box?
A new album in the new year, definitely and hopefully some touring around that. Maybe a vinyl record variant you can piss on and use as a home pregnancy test? Wait, no one take that idea.
| Date | City | Venue | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18 | Toronto, ON | Bovine Sex Club | w/Real Sickies, Snakes, Ashlee Schatze, Jason Allen, Carter Deems, Finn Bogi, Dan Treadway, Brian Rabadeau |