BUBBLES and the SHITROCKERS – Longhauler – The Best of Bubbles and the Shitrockers (2024 Swearnet)
It’s right there in the lyrics to “Home Is Where Your Shed Is” – kitties, liquor and dope. That about sums up the major singing interests of the Bubbles character from Trailer Park Boys. The album Longhauler – The Best of Bubbles and the Shitrockers accompanies the new movie, Standing on the Shoulder of Kitties. As implied by the the title, many of these songs are familiar from the TV show or online episodes.
The question is, can you sustain the jokes for an entire album? A TV series or a movie is an altogether different comedic vehicle.
Fortunately, Mike Smith (Bubbles) is a worldclass musician from the Halifax band sandbox. This album will probably land in more ears than his conceptual indi rock band ever did, and for that reason, it is produced and engineered by none other than Eddie Kramer. It also features Billy Bob Thornton and Ronnie Wood in the credits on backing vocals, not that you’ll notice.
The direction is, with the exception of two tracks, country & western. Musically, this album is legit. Mike Smith plays most instruments, including guitar, mandolin, piano, mellotron and more. His backing band provides pedal steel, dobro, hammond, stand-up bass and all the trimmings. Smith is a seasoned musician and songwriter, and he knows his stuff. There’s nothing jokey about the music; just the lyrics.
Perhaps the part that wears out soonest is the Bubbles character himself. Singing like that, and the limited subject matter of the lyrics, over the course of a full album is a challenge to take in.
Songs you’ll recognize:
“Who’s Got Yer Belly?” featuring Mike’s pal Alex Lifeson from Rush
“Kitties Are So Nice”
“Liquor and Whores”
It is also great to have a copy of Bubbles’ pirate shanty, “The Kittyman”. This is one of the songs that doesn’t fit the country direction, and is a highlight for that reason. Plus it’s also just great fun.
Even songs that seem “clean” and safe to share with your cat-loving friends, such as “Kitties Are So Nice”, may not be safe to share after all. “Every kitty I ever met likes to fuck with string,” sings Bubbles in an earnest voice.
The album closes with the movie theme, “Standing on the Shoulder of Kitties”. Immediately with the mellotron, and the backing vocals later on, it’s more Beatles than country. It might be overreaching. The lyrics about how awesome kitties are will keep most people from caring. If you want to hear somebody do music like this, there are probably Oasis songs you haven’t heard yet. That’s the impression anyway. It’s more Oasis than Beatles, and more Beatles than country. “A kitty’s love is all it takes, la la la la la.” Not hiding the influences at all, Bubbles even sings that “all you need is love.”
This is a novelty album. However, if you have a cat lover in your circle, who doesn’t mind a little beer and liquor, then consider Longhauler as a thoughtful gift.
RECORD STORE TALES #1170: The Smaller the Better – Christmas 2024
2024 was one of our smallest Christmas gatherings, both in budget and in population, but it was certainly one of my happiest.
Sometimes everything just feels right, and this year’s Christmas Eve was held back at the old family home once again. It was the first Christmas Eve there in over a decade, but that’s my happy place at Christmas. A place I can feel comfortable. After all, it was my home for 29 years. I settled in with my dad and watched Superman the Movie while Jen made cookies. We awaited the arrival of my mom, Dr. Kathryn, and a few dogs.
Jen knit custom gifts for the dogs (shawls, mittens and hats). She also knit custom shawls for the ladies, and toques for the men. I love mine.
As an introvert, I do well in small groups. Dinner was the traditional beef fondue (or chicken or schnitzel), with bonus vegan options. I brought over some special flavoured salts and hot sauces to sample.
We did that Christmas “white elephant” game, or whatever you want to call it. The “$10 gift game” is another name for it. Initially, I won this cool set of chocolate “coffee bombs”. I made it very clear how happy I was with it, and that I intended to make myself a coffee as soon as I got home. I spotted one with little marshmallows and relished the idea of it. Then my mom went next and stole it. I stole it back when I had the chance, and then she stole it again at first opportunity. The funny coda to this story is that after Jen and I got home, we put on a “Best of Saturday Night Live” show and there was a sketch featuring the exact same game. One character was complaining that it was a mean-spirited game, because he had received the perfect gift for himself, and someone stole it. I called my mom to laugh about that. The story doesn’t end there.
Christmas day featured some sleeping in and some Marvel What If? on Disney+. SPOILER this episode featured a Kiss song as an integral part of the story, and even had a line of dialogue from Howard the Duck explaining that the song was written by Kiss in 1979.
I won the $25 Amazon gift card at the “Christmas pickle” game. I wasn’t even going to participate, but after seeing Jen and Dr. Kathryn getting nowhere, I entered the fray. I quickly boxed Dr. Kathryn into a corner, where she was unable to see the front of the tree, where my mom had announced the pickle to be. Once spotted, I used the pickle to order the new Van Halen For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge box set. It’ll be here Saturday.
There were some really cool items in my grab bag this Christmas.
I had hoped someone would get me Brothers by Alex Van Halen, and Dr. Kathryn came to the rescue there. It’s a beautiful looking book, and emotional too from what I have read while skipping through.
Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys has a new album out with standards new and old: Longhauler: The Best of Bubbles and the Shitrockers. If you need to ask, don’t. I was surprised that the album was produced and engineered by Eddie Kramer!
Queen’s A Night at the Odeon (1975) is another album that came highly recommended. I wishlisted it and it magically appeared in my stocking thanks to my parents. It looks like a winner.
Finally, some anniversary editions from Jen: Judas Priest’s Rocka Rolla, and Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry. Rocka Rolla is probably the best album remix I have heard in my life. Tom Allom pretty much just made the album sound like itself, but beefier. As if you had always heard it distant and muffled, and now you can hear it fully for the first time. As if you just got a new stereo and are hearing this music properly for the first time. As for Twisted, I find it funny that I already own the 30th anniversary edition, with a very different set of bonus music.
Of interest: this is probably the 3rd time I have received Rocka Rolla for Christmas. It is my 2nd for Stay Hungry at Christmas time.
As usual, I received some treats and games, including two more editions of Uno to play at the cottage this summer. My mom got me some Trailer Park Boys pickle flavoured chips, and who knew that such a thing existed?
As for my mom, she used to do this thing when we were kids, where she would take a larger box of candy and split it up into smaller gifts that could fit into stockings. She did that for me this year…with her chocolate coffee bombs that she got the night before. She gave me one of each flavour, since I had called about the Saturday Night Live sketch. Thanks mom. You win this time.
MuchMusic ran this Sandbox special shortly after the band announced their sad demise at the end of the 1990s. Since every cloud has its silver lining, we can be glad that guitarist Mike Smith found greater success as Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys. This collection of interviews and live clips was run on the MuchEast program as “The Sandbox Wake”.
This memorial covers the band’s early days, writing terrible songs, improving, eventually getting signed and then onwards to the second LP. The clips cover 1995-1997. Graceland, The Junos, the East Coast Music Awards, concert footage…it’s here in this motherlode of Sandbox on MuchEast.
Sandbox: Jason Archibald, Mike Smith, Paul Murray, Scott MacFarlane, Troy Shanks.
This is a fascinating album. Sandbox (parsed as “sandbox.” on the album) had come out with a successful enough debut, but what we didn’t know then was how much ambition they had. For their second CD, they did what most bands usually wait to do, much later on: the dreaded concept album! It is such a gamble to go for a concept album at all, let alone on your second record.
Setting the scene is the title track, “A Murder in the Glee Club”; but is all what it appears to be? The liner notes state:
“Recorded as in introduction to a play in 1932 by Freddie Corn and the Ohioans, the song has sat dormant on a shelf for the past 65 years. Shortly after it was recorded, the production was cancelled and the song was never released or published. The version you hear on this record is the original recording, sonically enhanced and embellished using mordern technology.”
Hmmm.
An online search for “Freddie Corn and the Ohioans” reveals only one hit: an old interview with Mike Smith from the University of Western Ontario, which is only quoting the liner notes.
I always wondered if Sandbox were trying to pull the wool over our eyes a little bit with those liner notes. You can draw your own conclusions but “A Murder in the Glee Club” does lull you in to the concept of the album: Altered states of consciousness and mental illness eventually lead to murder. Then, the murderer becomes haunted by the crimes he has committed. That “1932 recording” really sets the mood right.
“…to red” is the first proper song on the album, and this is lyrically connected to the final track on Sandbox’s first album, Bionic. It’s immediately obvious that the production, this time by Don Fleming, is far superior. “…to red” is a vast improvement sound-wise over anything on the first album. Performance-wise too; the band no longer sound stiff. Singer Paul Murray seems less shy, and willing to stretch out his voice. “…to red” is a fantastic up-beat start, with enough twangy-crunchy guitars to compensate for the pure pop that is the melody. “I woke up with a different life, I was wondering where I’d been,” and the disoriented lead character is introduced. This track was written by the uber-talented Mike Smith. “Spin”, by Jason Archibald continues the story. “I can’t believe you ran, I can’t believe you wanted out.” When the character sings, “The Devil was my name,” then I get a bad feeling. The music is darker, but driving. The excellent guitar chops of Sandbox really make it enticing. They leave a lot of space between the instruments so you can really hear what is going on.
“Spin” fades softly into “The Garden Song”, and it is clear that something bad has happened. “They found you in the garden, arranged smile stained your face.” While the lyrics are poetic it’s difficult to pay attention to them, because of the imagery they evoke. The music is absolutely lovely, almost uplifting at times, but this has to be the darkest moment in the story. “The Spectre”, faster and loaded with tasty backwards guitar, begins to deal with the haunted thoughts of the killer. This is a duet with Mike Smith on second vocals. You can picture this guy wandering through some a cold field somewhere, arguing with himself. It’s an electrifying song, leading into the blitzkrieg of “Melt”. This is the heaviest song Sandbox have ever done, blasting with a heavy chunk-tastic riff. “Better stories, a better plan, this guy thinks he’s Superman, I think I’d like to smash his face with Kryptonite.” I love that line. There’s an intense feeling of anger.
Forwarding the story, “If I Tell” reveals regret, and delusions. The killer now wishes he could bring his victim back, but he certainly isn’t willing to confess. He justifies this by saying that he’s just protecting those whose lives would be impacted by his confession, perhaps family or friends. Jason Archibald plays what sounds like electric sitar recorded backwards. Then, “Self-Contained”, the best track on the album steps forth with a powerful, catchy riff. This was the first song to really jump out on first listen. “I hate the way I’m self-contained,” sings Paul Murray, wishing he could escape the insanity. But the really crazy thing is, even though we know what’s gone on before, taken individually anybody can relate to the lyrics. “I wanna feel the rush, of an electric song, I wanna be in love, it turns me on.” On first listen, you’re not going to follow the concept of the album completely. This song jumped out at me, and I always loved the lyrics, even though I hadn’t pieced it together with the rest of the album yet.
“Carry” was a the lead single/video, and an upbeat pop rocker it is. Guitar jangle and steady beats provide what you need for a hit, only it wasn’t. (For shame.) Perhaps it just wasn’t edgy enough for rock fans in 1997, I don’t know and I don’t understand why Sandbox were not absolutely huge. Jason Archibald’s “Missed the Day” is a beautiful, softer ballad. The guitar and vocal melodies are ace, but I also like listening to the drums of Troy Shanks. Brilliant song with its own hit potential, untapped and wasted.
I remember visiting the Calgary Zoo when I was younger. The most haunting image in my mind was a polar bear named Snowball who paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth…endlessly. (Read more here.) When Snowball finally died, I am sure I was not the only Canadian who believed that he was probably better off. Watching that bear, having long ago gone insane in that tiny enclosure, pacing back and forth was one of the most difficult lessons Young Me had to learn about our relationship with nature. “Bear Bear” was not inspired by Snowball, but by a similar bear at the Metro Toronto Zoo. It fits into the concept of the album only metaphorically. Musically, it’s quite jagged and drony, in a strangely catchy way. This is a powerful song!
According to the liner notes, “How I Feel” was written by Mike Smith, and was lyrically inspired by seeing the Spice Girls on Saturday Night Live one night. He pulls no punches: “I’ve been watching all the sheeple of the world, Masses flocking to the mindless shit they’ve heard.” Musically, it’s brilliant and very 1960’s in vibe. The electric piano brings me back a few decades. On this song, the lead character simply cannot connect with people — he is baffled by their behaviour, their words and beliefs. And he resents them. “Will you even notice when I go? I’ll be leaving here when I say so.”
The final track for this dark concept album is “A Question of Faith”, with sparse echoey guitars and a plaintive melody. What you hear and what someone else hears may be two different endings altogether. You decide what it all means. The song is brilliant, and emotionally heavy. Yet it also feels like release. A great weight lifting. “A Question of Faith” is as well crafted as everything else on A Murder in the Glee Club.
I have said in the past, that if I had only bought this album in the year 1997, it would have made my top albums list (published in our store newsletter) that year. Alas, I did not get it until early in the new year. If I had got the CD in time, it definitely would have been on that list. It’s truly a shame, but this second CD proved to be Sandbox’s last album. Mike Smith had no problem finding fame elsewhere, as his career as Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys has certainly skyrocketed!
Because it was the 1990’s, and you had to do stuff like this, Sandbox referred to themselves as “sandbox.” with the period at the end. This being 2015, in this review we’re just going to call them Sandbox. Sandbox were very, very 1990’s with some melancholy music and an abstract album cover of an apple with nails in it. There is no reason for this that I can tell. It may well have just been, “Hey, let’s make this apple look like the guy from Hellraiser.”
Sandbox were from Nova Scotia, and have two really interesting connections. One, the lead singer Paul Murray is the nephew of Anne Murray, who made “Snowbird” a national treasure back in the 70’s. Two, the lead guitar player was a talented fellow named Mike Smith. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 10 years, then you know Mike Smith as his Trailer Park Boys alter-ego, Bubbles. I saw these guys opening for the Barenaked Ladies back in 1996 and was impressed by the six tunes they played.
The big hit was “Curious” and it’s still fantastic once you get past the trendy 90’s-isms. (By that I’m referring to the watery, distorted vocals, lack of a solo, and simple construction.) But damn, what a song. All the right parts are there. The guitar riff works its way into your brain effortlessly, and the band provide all the necessary backing. Paul Murray is not a singer of remarkable range or power, but his voice works with the music to create a a wave that washes over you. Mike Smith and the band are more than capable of providing melodic backing vocals.
The problem with the Bionic album was that it had a couple really strong, powerful songs and a lot that didn’t have the same impact. “Collide” is a good song, but it plods along without enough excitement. It doesn’t get you moving. I think a few of these tunes worked better live. The studio can be a stifling environment, and it took Sandbox an album to really grow in the studio. “For You” boasts a strong chorus hook, but again not enough spark.
“Decisions”, dark quiet and slow, boasts a great chorus and impassioned lead vocals. It is augmented by a nice cello part, which works so well for dark tracks such as this. “Decisions” is a standout on the album, with a big part of that being due to the cello. More songs on Bionic would have done well with some augmentation like that. “Grief” is similarly dark, but edgy. I dig the backwards guitar solo, a touch I have always loved in rock music. “Three Balloons and a Trapdoor” is the kind of song title I find annoying, but the cello is back. It’s a sparse little acoustic song without much else going on with it besides the cello. It sounds like a side closer, and that’s the exact position it occupies on the CD running order. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
“Here and There” is the first song that rocks in a while, and it’s very welcome. It could have used more hooks, but it gets the job done well enough. It takes advantage of the jangling guitar chords of Mike Smith and Jason Archibald. Then, “Live” is a fantastic song. Where sometimes, Sandbox’s songs seem to lack sufficient passion and memorable melody, “Live” completely delivers. I feel the sadness, and I can swim in the melodic vocals like a river. “Flux” and “Weatherman” are both OK. “Flux” has a nice hard beat and a chorus I can get into. “Weatherman” is sparse, acoustic and intimate.
The last amazing tune, on a par with “Curious”, is the incredible “Lustre”. A simple guitar lick coupled with another killer chorus is all it takes. A classy acoustic guitar solo just makes it all so perfect. It’s hard to describe just what makes the song click, but it has clicked with me for almost 20 years, so there must be something good going on here.
The final track is the slow and dull “And the Mood Changes…”, followed by silence and then a strange distorted spoken word bit that always struck me as another 90’s gimmick. I was wrong, it is actually the first part of the second Sandbox album, which was a concept album called a murder in the glee club. This spoken word bit is meant to lead directly into the beginning of that album, a story of a killer who is tormented by what he has done. And speaking of that second album, what an album it was! Sandbox obviously benefited from the studio experience on Bionic, because what they achieved on a murder in the glee club was something quite special and fantastic. But that’s another review.
TRAILER PARK BOYS – Live in F**kin’ Dublin (2014 Netflix)
Some things never change!
Some time before the events of Don’t Legalize It, our boys Ricky and Julian had to help Bubbles make a music video, to win a chance to go to Ireland with Rush. Bubbles, dressed as Alex Lifeson, chose a shot-for-shot remake of the “Closer to the Heart” video. Ricky, wearing a false nose, is Geddy Lee (Ricky thinks it’s “Freddy Lee”). Julian taped a piece of chicken skin to his chin to get the look of Neil Peart’s Fu Manchu ‘stache. Drumming one-handed with a glass full of rum and coke in the other hand isn’t easy, but Julian pulls it off. The video wins the contest! Alex calls Bubbles personally and the three are soon on a private jet bound to Ireland (“Ironland” according to Ricky), with Randy tagging along.
Unfortunately for Ricky, a private plane isn’t a free license to bring your own dope into Ireland. The judge, however, is sympathetic. Since the boys are so popular in Ireland, he will drop the jail sentence if the boys will perform a show for community service, about the dangers of drink and drugs. The boys agree to a show in Dublin (“Doobylin”), and the live portion of the program begins.
The Trailer Park Boys live on stage in this case consisted of a puppet show, some audience participation contests, a couple of live songs (including Bubbles’ hit “Liquor and Whores”) and a lot of fuckery. If you have seen the boys live, then you know their show is basically just organized chaos. Audience members are invited on stage (the two dumbest ones, apparently) to play Cory and Trevor for the evening.
Highlights included the appearances of the Green Bastard (from “Parts Unknown”) and the evil puppet known as Conky. Apparently Conky must have survived being drowned in the episode “A Shit River Runs Through It”. I also enjoyed Ricky’s trick of “hippotizing” the crowd. He learned how to do it by watching Reveen, and wears a Reveen-esque magician cloak for it.
The film ends with the boys returning to Canada, having missed the Rush concert. As a bonus, you do get to see their Rush video in its entirety, side by side with the original. A nice addition, as this video is the highlight of the film.
TRAILER PARK BOYS – Don’t Legalize It(2014 Entertainment One)
Directed by Mike Clattenburg
Two years prior to the start of the new Trailer Park Boys opus, Ricky and Julian were released from jail for the 17th time. Jim Lahey has suffered from a Ricky-induced stroke. He now limps with a cane, hooked on coke (“white liquor”), still beside an increasingly disgusted Randy. Lucy is living with mall cop George Green (aka “Fucky McFucksnapper”). Ricky and Julian have ceased working with each other. Ricky’s growing dope on an unprecedented scale, in a house in the subdivisions, but the Shitmobile only drives in reverse. Bubbles is delivering chicken and beer on bicycle, living under J-Roc’s front step. Terry & Dennis (the Flappy Bird Brothers) and Sam Losco are working for Cyrus. And Lahey’s buying coke from Sam. It’s a viscous circle. Julian was bouncing at a local club, but now has taken a step up (?) in the world by selling piss.
Let me repeat that: Julian is selling piss.
Clean piss, stolen from the military, at $60 a vial. Paying $60 to pass a drug test and keep your job is apparently worth it in Julian’s world. “Liquid gold,” he calls it. The quality and freshness of the piss is important to his customers. Ricky’s business of choice, however, is about to be shut down. Canada is legalizing marijuana, turning Ricky from king of the hill to unemployed overnight…unless he can stop legalization.
Allow me to repeat that too: Ricky needs to stop the legalization of marijuana.
Bubbles then receives a mysterious letter from a lawyer: his long-lost parents have passed away, but have left Bubbles a piece of land in Kingston, Ontario. All he has to do is claim it. Since Ricky needs to get to Ottawa to stop legalization, and Julian needs to get to Montreal to sell his stolen piss, it only makes sense to combine road trips. Or a “working vacation,” says Julian. He’s turned the Dirty Burger into a “Piss Wagon” to transport the liquid gold. And Lahey’s following them.
Will things go off the rails when Randy dumps all Lahey’s “white liquor” out of the window of their station wagon? Can Julian trust Cyrus? Will Bubbles stay in Kingston? And can Ricky stop his precious illegal crop from being legalized and taxed by government dicks? All will be decided by the time they get to Ottawa…
Trailer Park Boys shows are known for the mangled English known as Rickysisms. Some of my favourite lines and Rickyisms in this installment included:
“Instant carla, fucky!” – Ricky.
“Just shutty that fucky! What’s with your hair man, you think you’re a fucking Beavil or something?” – to Randy regarding his “Beatles ‘do”.
(Laughs) “Meth!? He’s selling piss, you fucking dum-dum.” – Ricky to Lahey, who thought the test tubes and hazmat gear meant Julian was cooking crystal meth.
“Cocksuckers chicken-jacked me!”– Bubbles after being mugged for chicken.
“Julian, can you stop handling the weiners for a second?” – Bubbles
The movie is dedicated to Richard Collins, aka Philadelphia Collins, who passed during the filming of the movie. Phil Collins has some excellent scenes in this installment despite being confined to a wheelchair. It is also dedicated to Brian Huggins (Shitty Bill) and Rita MacNeil.
Special features: a 1976 vintage VW camper is discussed in the “Cars Of” feature. Apparently that camper was a bitch! The Laheymobile is an ’89 Crown Victoria station wagon that Randy is not allowed to fart in. Ricky’s Shitmobile is a ’75 Chrysler New Yorker, which had to be drastically revamped structurally just to make it safe to film with. Then there’s the Dirty Burger, which is actually an old camper that Robb Wells and John Paul Trembley bought years ago. “Dogs, Busses & Barf Tubes” reveals the origins of Bubbles’ bus. My favourite featurette is “The Cock Bomb Problem”. What’s the “Cock Bomb” you ask? The crew and cast ceaselessly pranked each other by drawing cocks on all of their stuff.
I felt that Trailer Park Boys went a little too dark on the last couple outings. The final TV episode before the recent revamp of the show was the dour “Say Goodnight to the Bay Guys”, which was followed by the similar downer movie Countdown to Liquor Day. Don’t Legalize It has its own moments of sadness and quite a few tears, but measured against its predecessor, it’s a much funnier and re-watchable film. I think this captures the heart of the series better than the last film, even though many characters are absent or have smaller roles. The core is the triumvirate of Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, along with the evil duo of Randy and Lahey. As long as you have those ingredients, you have potential for a lot of fuckery. Don’t Legalize It delivers.
Happy Friday, everyone. WTF Search Terms is a series in which I reveal actual search terms that somehow led real people to mikeladano.com. This time I asked my buddyChristo pick 10 of his favourites from the pile, which he did — along with his own commentary. Enjoy!
WTF Search Terms XV: Fan Favorites – Thussy Edition
Lebrain has wanted me to collaborate with him for a while, and I am no writer, so we decided to do a WTF Search Terms. He sent me a big list of weird search terms, and all I can say is a lot of people looking for porn found Lebrain’s blog. Also, no one can spell anymore. So, keep reading below to find out my top ten WTF Search Terms!
10. google videos jethu tull too juong old to rock and roll and too juomg to died
Someone was looking for some very specific porn, and ran into Lebrain.
8. toronto shemales tumblr
“If the girl did something to you but you didn’t do it back then you didn’t really do anything.”
7. videos da bada white snack
I had to include this one, because it apparently got 9 hits! Why?
6. oshawa women that like to fuck
Local easy girls, for when hookers are too expensive.
5. marilyn manson without ribs
Even I know that rumour isn’t true.
4. (Three-in-one!) a. queensryche queensryche eyes of the strangers japan bonus b. queensryche queensryche eye of the strangers japan import c. queensrycheeye of the strangers japan bonus youtube
A new original TV show was starting to make waves in Canada. I hadn’t caught wind of it yet — I didn’t have cable back then — but our destinies would soon intertwine. The catalyst was my old childhood and highschool friend, Scott.
Scott remembers the story much like I do. He used to come into my store every Wednesday to visit and check out new arrivals. He had just become addicted to this new TV show in question, and was spreading the word. According to Scott:
“I was trying to get everybody into that show…90% success rate by the way.”
That doesn’t surprise me at all. Because when you’re talking about a show as Canadian, as original, and as funny as Trailer Park Boys, the series sells itself. Scott figured I would be an easy convert. “I just knew you were a Rush fan,” he tells me. It was the Rush connection that initially caught my attention.
Scott was talking to me at the front counter. “Have you heard of Trailer Park Boys?” he asked me that day. I hadn’t. “It’s hilarious,” Scott continued. “You have to see this guy Bubbles. In the best episode, he meets Alex Lifeson from Rush. He gets to go on stage with Rush, play guitar with Alex, and everything. He’s actually a pretty good musician.”
Going into more detail, Scott explained: “Do you remember that band, Sandbox?” I did. “Bubbles is played by a guy from that band. He’s got these big thick glasses, always swearing…Bubbles is the best!”
I had seen Sandbox eight years earlier, opening for Barenaked Ladies actually. I was really impressed by their show and their single “Curious”, so I picked up their album. In fact I think their ambitious second album, 1997’s A Murder in the Glee Club, is among the finest albums our country has to offer. Their lead vocalist was a guy named Paul Murray, nephew of Anne.
Wanna see what Bubbles would look like with a shaved head? Watch this.
So I was in. As soon as the first box set came into inventory, I bought it, without seeing a single episode. Dandy ratted me out for buying two DVDs in one week (which was against the rules at the time), but once I got the discs home, I put on the first season. I was hooked by the second episode.
Now that the boys are coming back for an 8th season on SwearNet, it’s never too late to get yourself hooked on this incredible show. After all, if Axl Rose, Sebastian Bach, and Alex Lifeson are all fans, aren’t you curious what you’re missing?
See Guns N’ Roses play “Liquor and Whores” with Bubbles on vocals & guitar
Liquor and whores Liquor and whores Cigarettes and dope and mustard and bologna Liquor and whores
I went down Drinkin’ at the legion I met a girl she was nice She was pretty and pleasing
She said “Hey boy We should do some marrying” I said sure but before we do There’s something that you should know
I like Liquor and whores Liquor and whores Cigarettes and dope and mustard and bologna Liquor and whores…
Then one night down at the legion She walked in, I was drunk on gin Dancin with a lady friend She said hey boy, You’d better fly the fuck home I said no cause five little words I coulda Swore I said to you
I like Liquor and whores Liquor and whores Cigarettes and dope and mustard and bologna Liquor and whores…
BUBBLES and the SHITROCKERS – Longhauler – The Best of Bubbles and the Shitrockers (2024 Swearnet)
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