The Scenics Fact Sheet:

July 1976 The Scenics, One of Canada’s first punk/avant garage bands, formed in Toronto by Ken Badger & Andy Meyers. “The most creative, the most original, the most daring... & most misunderstood of all the bands in that scene” Colin Brunton Film-maker, the Last Pogo, Hedwig and the Angry Inch June and October 1977 First studio recordings (released in 2009 as Sunshine World. Booked by Gary Topp and Gary Cormier (Toronto Arts Award, 1992) to open for the Talking Heads, September 1977.

For six years, The Scenics engaged and enraged local audiences by not playing by the punk rules of the day. Their notorious reputation overshadowed the fact that, in Meyers and Badger, The Scenics had two of the New Wave's most striking songwriters. That their two guitar attack rivaled anything that New York or London had to offer. And that their open ended creativity meant that any Scenics performance was an adventure. The Scenics play gigs with the Troggs, Viletones, Simply Saucer, the Government, Johnny and the G Rays, Telephone (punk from France), and many others. March 1978 30 minute video “Mystery Train” filmed. Plays 100s of times on Cable TV over the next 5 years.

December 1978 The Scenics play at the Last Pogo - featured in Last Pogo film and LP 1979 Released LP “Underneath the Door” (Bomb Records) 08/1980, and 7” 45 “Karen/See Me Smile” 10/1981.

May 23 1982 The Scenics play their last show at the Cabana Room Ex-Scenics go on to join Blue Rodeo (Mark French) and the Fleshtones (Ken Fox).

Lives are led.

2007 Ken Badger and Andy Meyers begin searching out ex-Scenics & associates and listening to their 200+ live, studio, & rehearsal recordings. Andy begins writing “Punk Haiku” , memoir of The Scenics & 1976-82.

January 2008 Scenics release CD “How Does it Feel to be Loved: The Scenics play the Velvet Underground”, with Canadian distribution. 

Top 30 national Canadian campus radio charts. Rave reviews. Quebecois film-maker Chester Lebeaux creates a stunning video for “Waiting for my Man”, single from CD.

April 2008 Scenics resurrect their strongest lineup * Ken Badger, guitar/vocals songwriter, * Andy Meyers, guitar/vocals/songwriter, * Mark Perkell, drums/vocals * Mike Young, bass/vocals) for 1st live shows in 26 years, including opening for extreme rock queen Carla Bozulich at the Horseshoe Tavern. June 2008 Scenics play NXNE & more Ontario gigs. Shows are the best ever- 70s intensity, still on edge, but grounded in strength. NXNE film festival ends with double bill of “The Last Pogo” film & Scenics’ “Waiting for my Man” video. July2008 “How Does it Feel to Be Loved” CD released in the USA through Revolver USA and Carrot Top.

October 2008 Original film “The Last Pogo” (featuring Toronto bands the Scenics, Viletones, Teenage Heads, the Ugly, Cardboard Brains, Mods and the Secrets ) released on DVD. Special feature is 7 unreleased Scenics performances on video from the “Mystery Train” filming of 1978.

November 2008 Scenics booked to play the Last Pogo 30th anniversary show at the Horseshoe Tavern. Scenics make first studio recordings in 28 years at Number 9 Studio, Toronto.

October 2009  Scenics release "Sunshine World", a CD of studio recordings from 1977/78.  “It wasn't so much that The Scenics were ahead of their time in 1977, it's more that almost everybody else didn't even know what time it was...    New York had Talking Heads, and England was blessed with XTC, but here was their equal in Toronto...”    Bob Mersereau, author of the "the Top 100 Canadian Albums" 

The Scenics celebrate by playing Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, London, and Hamilton. The Montreal Mirror's "Punkaracous Rex" has this to say about their Montreal show: "a once-in-a-lifetime event. Largely unappreciated when they originally existed between 1976 and 1981, these underground icons merged Pere Ubu’s dementia, Television’s panoramic guitar work, Big Star’s pop prowess and the Ramones’ urgency".