Slam Dunk

Artist: Slam Dunk
Song: "Horse Bumper"
Album: Welcome To Miami

"When we play 'Horse Bumper' at shows things get kind of serious and spacey. Then when it's over the mood returns to whatever it was before," Luke of Slam Dunk tells Rolling Stone. "The song is about riding an earth horse straight into the nebulous of the galaxy like it's no big thang."



Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/horse-bumper-by-slam-dunk-free-mp3-20130129#ixzz2e8xqWAFD
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook - Rolling Stone

This band sees a chandelier hanging from the center of a ceiling and it immediately starts wondering how well it's anchored into that ceiling. It wonders what kind of force it would take to get that thing loose. It wonders how exactly it would look on the floor, busted into a million little pieces. None of this would be done with the sole purpose of destruction, but more with the thought that our time here on Earth is short and one of the things that seems like it would be wild and satisfying to do at least once would be to pull a chandelier clean from the ceiling and then dance on the shards and splinters, in the middle of a spectacular lighting storm.

It would be great if the winds are kicking up as all of this is going down and it would be even better if the winds created a physical pressure in the room that makes all of the windows feel as if they were bowing in, straining to keep the howling shit outside, giving you enough time to finish that chandelier off, shielding you from any obstructions. The building that houses that uppity chandelier wants it to meet its end too and it's doing everything it can to give you the time that you need.

Slam Dunk is the kind of band that is out for a good time. It's out for stirring up some trouble. It's up for screaming at the top of its lungs. It's up for being snotty and obstinate. It's up for making the bats fly around the room, for letting the dogs bark at the ends of their chains. It's up for taking a punch. It's up for tantalizing the fire, for worshipping the blackness. In listening, it feels like you're delivered somewhere that thrills you, somewhere that you're petrified of staying too long in. It's blood rushing quicker than it's rushed in a while. Everything is flush with it. It rages like a flood. It's hedonistic, so gloriously hedonistic. It's seeing a huge cake sitting on the table and being torn between wanting to eat it all or dive into it headfirst and see what kind of a mess you can make.
- Daytrotter

While the Courtneys set capped with a dance-off, it was Victoria-bred rockers Slam Dunk's closing set that really brought the foot-shufflers out in full force. Leading the charge was a varsity jacket-adorned little boy with a bad case of happy feet, who fully felt the band's juiced-up "Can't Stand It", as well as the message behind the gruffly sung "Slowdance" ("My baby-baby wanna slow dance, I never wanna slow down").

That said, Arner's bassist Marrs, who was now in the audience, had to take a break after a piggybacking accident had him hitting the concrete hard, leading a few friends to help him to a nearby bench and take stock of the damage.

The energy was still high on-stage though, with bassist Caitlin Gallupe and bearded guitarists Jordan Minkoff and Duncan McConnell hopping and hollering in unison on dirty hoedown "Bleacher Lovin' ". Like Bromley had promised, the rain stayed away from this year's Victory Square Block Party, but damned if it didn't end off on a thunderous note. - The Strait

1. Blackout Beach, Fuck Death

Frog Eyes front man, Carey Mercer takes a break from rocking out and crafts a wonderfully complex, multifaceted beast of distilled beauty. Victoria's Megan Boddy lends her vocal talents on a few tracks, most notably "Deserter's Song", a brief, but immaculate meditation on the nobility of pacifism in the face of war. This is not only the best local album of the year; it is the best release world wide. Buy it now.



2. Slam Dunk, The Shivers

The Shivers is the party album of the year. Weighing in at just over a half an hour long, Slam Dunk's debut LP is more than capable of rousing even the most reluctant of partiers to, at the very least, tap their toes in time. The album provides ample evidence that this is a band which will continue to grow: tracks such as "Bearcub" reference a plethora of multifarious musical genres. Rumour is that the band has enough material for a follow up, but The Shivers will surely keep us occupied and dancing until the next album drops.



3. Himalayan Bear, Hard Times

With Hard Times, Ryan Beattie proves that hard work leads to amazing albums. Beattie can boast an amazing catalogue of work. His other band, Chet, bears the unfortunate distinction of having recorded a complete masterwork (Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home), which somehow managed to, for the most part, slip under the radar of hip taste-makers (ahem, Pitchfork). Beattie also plays guitar for Frog Eyes. Hard Times is a musical blossoming of a number of things, namely, Beattie's unparalleled work ethic, attention to detail, and restraint. Beattie firmly establishes himself as one of the best songwriters in Canadian history with this album; it has been the soundtrack to my winter. M - Monday Magazine

Victoria rockers Slam Dunk kicked off the holiday season with some frenzied festivities on Dec. 9 at Logan’s Pub.

Doors for the event opened at 9 p.m.; tickets sold out quickly. Slam Dunk’s groove-infused, crunchy punk has made them one of this city’s most beloved up-and-coming music acts, so it was unfortunate, but not surprising, to see several fans denied at the door.

With the venue packed to capacity and people crammed body-to-body over most of the dance floor, a tense energy filled the audience. A buzzing murmur grew steadily until, finally, band members Jordan Minkoff (vocals/guitar), Duncan McConnell (vocals/guitar/piano), Caitlin Gallupe (vocals/bass) and Luke Postl (drums) took to the stage. The first wave of sound crashed into the crowd. Just a couple of songs into the set, people began hoisting other people up above their heads and then passing them around or dropping them to the floor. Other sweat-soaked individuals took to the stage just to promptly turn around and jump back on top of those in front. People danced and collided and threw their fists in the air. It was the type of chaotic camaraderie one can expect at a Slam Dunk concert.

One aspect of the show that captured and maintained audience enthusiasm was the quickness with which the band transferred from one song to the next. There was no reprieve from the awesome, which made it that much more awesome. The band played a mix of songs from their 2011 album The Shivers and some newer ones that will hopefully be available on a record sooner than later. Songs like the eerily pleasant “Slowdance” and the bouncy scream-a-long “Bleacher Lovin’” fueled the perspiring hoard on into the night. Instead of rousing applause, exhausted claps and cheers punctuated the end of each song as the audience members used the brief breaks to catch their breath and find the friend they had been standing beside moments earlier.

The band finished at 12:34 a.m., but after a short break (during which some Slam Dunk members did not even leave the stage), they took all the audience had left in an encore that finished with the ferocious track “Feral Child.”

Tired and sticky, fans dispersed into the cold Cook Street air in need of cigarettes or pizza or both. Others hung around inside finishing drinks and trying to talk over the ringing in their ears. - The Martlet - Dylan Toigo

Victoria rockers Slam Dunk kicked off the holiday season with some frenzied festivities on Dec. 9 at Logan’s Pub.

Doors for the event opened at 9 p.m.; tickets sold out quickly. Slam Dunk’s groove-infused, crunchy punk has made them one of this city’s most beloved up-and-coming music acts, so it was unfortunate, but not surprising, to see several fans denied at the door.

With the venue packed to capacity and people crammed body-to-body over most of the dance floor, a tense energy filled the audience. A buzzing murmur grew steadily until, finally, band members Jordan Minkoff (vocals/guitar), Duncan McConnell (vocals/guitar/piano), Caitlin Gallupe (vocals/bass) and Luke Postl (drums) took to the stage. The first wave of sound crashed into the crowd. Just a couple of songs into the set, people began hoisting other people up above their heads and then passing them around or dropping them to the floor. Other sweat-soaked individuals took to the stage just to promptly turn around and jump back on top of those in front. People danced and collided and threw their fists in the air. It was the type of chaotic camaraderie one can expect at a Slam Dunk concert.

One aspect of the show that captured and maintained audience enthusiasm was the quickness with which the band transferred from one song to the next. There was no reprieve from the awesome, which made it that much more awesome. The band played a mix of songs from their 2011 album The Shivers and some newer ones that will hopefully be available on a record sooner than later. Songs like the eerily pleasant “Slowdance” and the bouncy scream-a-long “Bleacher Lovin’” fueled the perspiring hoard on into the night. Instead of rousing applause, exhausted claps and cheers punctuated the end of each song as the audience members used the brief breaks to catch their breath and find the friend they had been standing beside moments earlier.

The band finished at 12:34 a.m., but after a short break (during which some Slam Dunk members did not even leave the stage), they took all the audience had left in an encore that finished with the ferocious track “Feral Child.”

Tired and sticky, fans dispersed into the cold Cook Street air in need of cigarettes or pizza or both. Others hung around inside finishing drinks and trying to talk over the ringing in their ears. - The Martlet - Dylan Toigo

Canadian audiences from the West Coast to Ontario have already witnessed the garage rock spectacle that is Victoria, BC's Slam Dunk. Now, the outfit are getting ready to take their LP The Shivers on another tour, this time to Canada's easternmost provinces.

They will be hitting the road later this month, starting with an appearance at Pop Montreal on September 22. From there, the band will head east for five more shows with prolific lo-fi Victoria outfit Babysitter. See the schedule below.

Slam Dunk have also rolled out a new video for the Shivers cut "Bleacher Lovin'." See the kooky stop-motion clip at the bottom of the page.

It won't be too long before Slam Dunk have another new album to share with us. Speaking to Exclaim!, singer-guitarist Jordan Minkoff said that they are working on their sophomore set and hope to have it out before the end of the year.

Tour dates:

9/22 Montreal, QC - Barfly (Pop Montreal) *
9/27 Quebec City, QC - L'Agitee ~^
9/28 Sackville, NB - TBA ~
9/29 Halifax, NS - Gus Pub ~&
9/30 Halifax, NS - Hollis 1313 ~
10/1 Fredricton, NB - Gallery Connexion ~

* with Sheer Agony, Silk Screaming
~ with Babysitter
^ with Framboos
& with Quivers, Scribbler - Exclaim Magazine - Alex Hudson

Slam Dunk is some kind of happy accident, a series of jokes that continues to escalate. The group's first incarnation was as a one-off cover band for a cancer benefit in its hometown of Victoria in 2009.

Guitarist and lead vocalist Jordan Minkoff explains the genesis: "We got together kind of as a joke and said 'Let's just cover our favourite Misfits songs.' Then we decided to cover some Fleetwood Mac and some Traveling Wilburys just to even it out a bit," he says, giggling. "We had so much fun we did it again and then decided to write our own songs. We got really carried away and the joke kept going and going, and now here we are; we're still making a joke of ourselves."

In the two short years following, Slam Dunk has become one of the west coast's most talked-about live bands. Known for its unbridled enthusiasm, Slam Dunk plays a ferocious brand of gritty garage-pop that flirts briefly with elements of free-jazz, Afrobeat and dream pop. Earlier this year, in an effort to capture those powerful live sets, the band recorded and self-released its debut LP, The Shivers.

"We recorded it in some barn in one night and then we did vocals after in a weird art gallery that basically sounds like a giant chamber. It's a weird-sounding record, eh?" Minkoff says casually.

During a stop at this year's Sled Island festival, The Shivers was sought after by current Buzzcocks drummer Danny Farrant. "He was freaking out over our drummer. We asked if he wanted our record, but he said he was too drunk to hold onto it and then just disappeared into the night," says Minkoff. "We gave him our number and I think he called in the morning, but we were sleeping." Not too interested in careering, casual hobnobbing is just another bit of tour fun for Slam Dunk: "We were playing the same venue as Lee Ranaldo in Calgary and there was a piano museum upstairs, so we spent the afternoon wandering around a museum with him, secretly filming each other standing next to him. Every time we're on tour and we see someone famous, we like to follow them around like a bunch of stalkers."

This most recent tour marks Slam Dunk's first performances in eastern Canada. Aside from bassist Caitlin Gallupe (who's toured the east coast with Immaculate Machine), none of the members have been to Halifax. "Every time we play around Canada and meet someone from Halifax, they tell us 'Oh, you gotta come to Halifax! People will love you there,'" says Minkoff. "We're finally going to test that out and see if it's true. Apparently you guys like bands with loud guitars? We've got that going: 'loud' and 'guitars.'"

After two shows at Pop Montreal, the members of Slam Dunk will cram into a five-seater van with fellow Victorian three-piece Babysitter and head for the coast. In terms of expectations for this leg of the tour, Minkoff remains blithe: "I hope to have some really sweaty shows," he says enthusiastically. "We encourage people to get as crazy as they want and not have their hands in their pockets. But they can do whatever they want because it's also funny when people just stand and stare at you freaking out. We'll make due. We like to laugh a lot on tour."

Slam Dunk w/Babysitter, Quivers, Scribbler, Thursday, September 29, 10:30pm, Gus’ Pub, 2605 Agricola Street, $5

Slam Dunk w/Babysitter, Hind Legs, Friday, September 30, 7pm, 1313 Hollis Street, $5 - The Coast - Andrew Patterson

With the festival’s main event now over, it was time to get back to checking out the unknown bands, starting with Slam Dunk‘s show at Barfly. The only reason I ended up here was because I shared a van ride from the airport with the Victoria-based band’s drummer Luke Postl when I arrived. When I arrived at the venue, Postl and the group were setting up their equipment on the cramped stage. Barfly, as one might infer, is a classic dive bar: sticky floors, no space, hot as hell and with a pool table that awkwardly takes up about a third of the whole place. But this kind of setting was the best place to experience Slam Dunk, one of the best pure rock bands I saw during the whole festival.

Anchored by Postl’s relentless presence behind the drum set, Slam Dunk ripped through a set worthy of the hot sweaty mess that proceeded to form in front of the stage. “BleacherLovin’,” with its sing-along vocals, stomping garage rock rhythm and a touch of the unexpected—the time in the form of Duncan McConnell’s jaunty bar room piano backing—are indicative of their instantly infectious sound. Like any garage band worth their weight, they can also simply shred through a mosh-inducing cuts like “Only Fun” and Jordan Minkoff’s screaming-eagle reverbed vocals on “Feral Child.”

Just hope that when they eventually do come to Boston (are you listening Great Scott? O’Brien’s? Any Allston basements?), you don’t get dropped on your back like the guy who took one brief and painful stab at crowd surfing at this show. - DigBoston - Martin Caballero

With the festival’s main event now over, it was time to get back to checking out the unknown bands, starting with Slam Dunk‘s show at Barfly. The only reason I ended up here was because I shared a van ride from the airport with the Victoria-based band’s drummer Luke Postl when I arrived. When I arrived at the venue, Postl and the group were setting up their equipment on the cramped stage. Barfly, as one might infer, is a classic dive bar: sticky floors, no space, hot as hell and with a pool table that awkwardly takes up about a third of the whole place. But this kind of setting was the best place to experience Slam Dunk, one of the best pure rock bands I saw during the whole festival.

Anchored by Postl’s relentless presence behind the drum set, Slam Dunk ripped through a set worthy of the hot sweaty mess that proceeded to form in front of the stage. “BleacherLovin’,” with its sing-along vocals, stomping garage rock rhythm and a touch of the unexpected—the time in the form of Duncan McConnell’s jaunty bar room piano backing—are indicative of their instantly infectious sound. Like any garage band worth their weight, they can also simply shred through a mosh-inducing cuts like “Only Fun” and Jordan Minkoff’s screaming-eagle reverbed vocals on “Feral Child.”

Just hope that when they eventually do come to Boston (are you listening Great Scott? O’Brien’s? Any Allston basements?), you don’t get dropped on your back like the guy who took one brief and painful stab at crowd surfing at this show. - DigBoston - Martin Caballero

While technically from the garden city, Victoria, Slamdunk are an honorary East-Van band given that they seem to play at the Astoria or the Biltmore every couple weeks. Slamdunk live is a sight to behold,with the band and crowd both caught up in a kind of Dionysian eruption of sweaty headbanging and ritualized group release. Slamdunk is the sound of drunken bike rides and other forms of joyful abandon. - Scout Magazine

Technically, The Shivers isn't Slam Dunk's first album, but singer/guitarist Jordan Minkoff is calling The Shivers their first “real” album. It is largely a re-recorded version of the previous Only Fun, with a couple of new songs added to make the track total 10. The day before my conversation with Jordan, Slam Dunk picked up the band’s first vinyl record. Now, he's giddy.
Speaking from Montreal en route to the NXNE in Toronto, Jordan admits that they don’t have enough money to buy the gas needed to drive to Toronto. He hopes that fans will buy enough merchandise to get them there.

Slam Dunk has developed a reputation for constantly touring. Jordan doesn’t know where that reputation comes from, or at least he is skeptical about it. If it were up to him, they would literally tour all the time. “I’m always complaining all year right up until summer arrives and I’m like, 'Let’s just go already,'” he says. Jordan may get his way: his bandmates have all graduated, so the Slam Dunk Perpetual Tour may begin shortly.

Slam Dunk may very well be writing music as a soundtrack to their lives. The lively, catchy, fun, light, wild music fits with the characters I meet over the phone. As Jordan tries to give me details of the album release party, I hear banging and shrill notes blasted on a harmonica. Jordan belly laughs.

“What is going on over there?” I ask.

“Luke, our drummer has a harmonica he got his hands on. He is doing inappropriate gestures to me through the window. He is trying to distract me from our conversation.” - Beatroute Magazine - By Ana Bedard

Technically, The Shivers isn't Slam Dunk's first album, but singer/guitarist Jordan Minkoff is calling The Shivers their first “real” album. It is largely a re-recorded version of the previous Only Fun, with a couple of new songs added to make the track total 10. The day before my conversation with Jordan, Slam Dunk picked up the band’s first vinyl record. Now, he's giddy.
Speaking from Montreal en route to the NXNE in Toronto, Jordan admits that they don’t have enough money to buy the gas needed to drive to Toronto. He hopes that fans will buy enough merchandise to get them there.

Slam Dunk has developed a reputation for constantly touring. Jordan doesn’t know where that reputation comes from, or at least he is skeptical about it. If it were up to him, they would literally tour all the time. “I’m always complaining all year right up until summer arrives and I’m like, 'Let’s just go already,'” he says. Jordan may get his way: his bandmates have all graduated, so the Slam Dunk Perpetual Tour may begin shortly.

Slam Dunk may very well be writing music as a soundtrack to their lives. The lively, catchy, fun, light, wild music fits with the characters I meet over the phone. As Jordan tries to give me details of the album release party, I hear banging and shrill notes blasted on a harmonica. Jordan belly laughs.

“What is going on over there?” I ask.

“Luke, our drummer has a harmonica he got his hands on. He is doing inappropriate gestures to me through the window. He is trying to distract me from our conversation.” - Beatroute Magazine - By Ana Bedard

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s selection, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Bearcub” by Slam Dunk from from the 2011 self-released album The Shivers.

Slam Dunk – Bearcub (MP3)
When it comes to making music, Portlander’s are well-known for their strong DIY ethics, and Seattleites for their innovation, but when it comes to our neighbors to the north, where do they fit in? If you were to put Victoria-based Slam Dunk under the musical microscope, you’d be hard-pressed to classify them. This quirky quartet seemed to have thrown The Raveonettes, The Black Angels, The Pixies, and The Ramones into a blender being run by Phil Spector. What came out is at times garage-y, anthemic, surfy, and angsty but all tinged with a sense of humor. One writer described Slam Dunk as “Party Punk” which I guess can work and considering they have quite a storied reputation for putting on one heck of a live show. Unfortunately, we Seattleites won’t get to experience that for some time as they are wrapping up a tour that ends in Vancouver on July 23rd at the Khatsalano Music & Art Festival. Unless a border crossing is in your near future, keep an eye on their website or Bandcamp page to see if they’ll head south. - KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle - By Leigh Bezezekoff

Early this year, Victoria’s party punk darlings Slam Dunk made a decision that would baffle even the most generous of souls. After putting the final touches on their first full-length album, The Shivers, the band proceeded to give it away for free as a download on their bandcamp page.

“We probably did it because none of us understand business,” Bass player/singer Caitlin Gallupe jokes. “We overheard some people talking about this thing called the internet, and we were impatient to get the record out so we just threw it up there for free.”

Upon listening to The Shivers, it quickly becomes obvious why the band was in such a hurry to release it; it’s that good. Recorded in a West Saanich barn over a mere two days, the album manages not only to capture the energy of Slam Dunk’s live set, but distills it into an even more potent form. Crowd favorites such as “Feral Child” and “Slow Dance” burn brilliantly on an album that ends too quickly.

As fans desperately downloaded free copies, Slam Dunk continued to sell out shows in both Victoria and Vancouver. This summer, the band embarked on a cross-Canadian trek to promote the album, playing all-ages shows whenever possible. The final show will be a homecoming stop at The Norway House; not surprisingly, the show is open to all ages.

“Playing all-ages shows is the honourable thing to do,” says Gallupe. “I promised myself when I was 16 that if I was ever in a band I would only play all-ages shows, because it just seemed crazy to exclude all the under 19s. That said, we’ve rarely played them as all-ages venues in Victoria are hard to come by.”

The Norway House show will be in celebration of the release of the physical incarnation of The Shivers 12-inch vinyl pressing featuring one-of-a-kind, homemade covers. “We scrounged a whole bunch of old scratched unplayable records from the record store, gutted them and turned the sleeves inside out,” says Gallupe. “Then, we painted them black and silkscreened them gold and glued them back up.”

While Slam Dunk’s approach to business may be questionable, its approach to garage rock is undeniable. Come down to see what all the fuss is about. M - Monday Magazine

Victoria, BC quintet Slam Dunk certainly win the award for the most enthusiastic band at the fest. How often do see a saxophone player jump into the crowd to be caught be exactly two people? Their infectious (and very loud) take on garage rock, replete with gang vocals and some yelping in all the appropriate places, won over a skeptical crowd. The band knocked out tunes from their debut The Shivers with quick speed, rarely letting the energy drop, and did a terrific job of engaging the audience while mocking rock conventions at the same time. "This one's for you," quipped lead singer and guitarist Jordan Minkoff after an enthusiastic fan engaged him in a full-blown conversation about the merits of Victoria versus Edmonton. Decked out in sequined sneakers, she then proceeded to perform some sort of ballet routine to their music. You get the impression Slam Dunk have as much fun onstage as they do in their rehearsal space. Performances like these are just a chance to share their antics with the world. - Exclaim - Ian Gormely

The Shivers (Independent)

Slam Dunk’s debut LP begins inauspiciously enough, as the track “Only Fun” opens with a whine of feedback and a single guitar chord. At the 13-second mark, however, all hell breaks loose: a demonic, throat-tearing scream suddenly cuts through the mix, lasting for 10 bloodcurdling seconds while the band explodes into a speedy garage-punk stomp. The remaining two minutes are an adrenalized mix of gleefully sloppy group shouts, ferocious guitar leads, and ultracatchy hooks.

Having sufficiently blown your mind with Track 1, the Victoria four-piece keeps the volume loud and the tempos brisk. The aggressive “Slowdance” belies its title with spiky, palm-muted verses and a barrelling refrain of “My baby baby wanna slow dance/But I never wanna slow down.” Elsewhere, “Do the Slam Dunk” is a sock-hopping roller coaster with a tense breakdown that builds up to a saxophone-assisted banger. It’s garage rock at its most primal, evoking premillennial Modest Mouse in addition to any number of classic Detroit bands.

Most of the album follows a similar formula of scorching guitar and shouted choruses, but Slam Dunk keeps listeners guessing with “Bearcub”, a five-and-a-half-minute foray into tuneful indie pop that’s laden with dense vocal harmonies and poignantly glum lyrics. Even more surprising is “Ratcatcher”, a gentle ballad that douses its twee vocals and tinkling saloon piano in cavernous reverb. These stylistic excursions make the upbeat material seem all the more fiery and prove that there’s a subtle side to the group’s punkish racket. - The Straight

By Alex Hudson
In early 2011, Victoria, BC-based garage rockers Slam Dunk released their album The Shivers as a free download on Bandcamp. Now, the album is finally getting an official physical release as the band embark upon a lengthy North American tour.

The epic jaunt will have the group on the road for almost two months. In June, they will be heading across Canada, starting off on the West Coast and going as far east as Montreal. In July, they will play a number of shows on the U.S. West Coast.

The outing includes dates at the Canadian festivals Music Waste (Vancouver), NXNE (Toronto) and Sled Island (Calgary).

The band will be selling vinyl copies of The Shivers, although they won't be ready quite in time for the beginning of the tour. In a statement to Exclaim!, singer/guitarist Jordan Minkoff explained that they will pick them up at some point while in the Prairies.

See the schedule below and stream the album at the bottom of the page.

Tour dates:

6/4 Vancouver, BC - Electric Owl (Music Waste)
6/6 Kelowna, BC - Blue Gator *
6/8 Calgary, AB - Broken City ^
6/9 Edmonton, AB - Wunderbar ^
6/10 Saskatoon, SK - TBA
6/11 Winnipeg, MB - Death Trap
6/13 Thunder Bay, ON - The Apollo
6/15 Kingston, ON - TBA
6/16 Montreal, QC - Cagibi
6/17 Toronto, ON - The Hideout (NXNE)
6/18 Toronto, ON - The Garage ~
6/19 Sudbury, ON - Millards Garage
6/21 Winnipeg, MB - The Lo Pub
6/24 Calgary, AB - Cantos (Sled Island)
6/25 Calgary, AB - Tubby Dogs (Sled Island)
6/29 Vancouver, BC - The Waldorf #
7/2 Victoria, BC - Norway House #
7/3 Olympia, WA - The Northern #
7/4 Tacoma, WA - TBA #
7/5 Seattle, WA - TBA #
7/6 Portland, OR - The Know #&
7/7 Salem, OR - TBA
7/9 Santa Cruz, CA - TBA
7/13 Santa Barbara, CA - TBA
7/15 San Diego, CA - Che Cafe
7/16 Phoenix, AZ -Trunk Space
7/17 Las Vegas, NV - Double Down Saloon
7/21 San Francisco, CA - The Knockout %
7/22 Bellvue, WA - Ground Zero
7/23 Vancouver, BC - Zulu Records Street Party

* with Kingdom Cloud
^ with Service:Fair
~ with Lullaby Arkestra, Digits
# with Pat Jordache
& with Little Lord Fauntleroy
% with Burnt Ones - Exclaim Magazine

By Alex Hudson
In early 2011, Victoria, BC-based garage rockers Slam Dunk released their album The Shivers as a free download on Bandcamp. Now, the album is finally getting an official physical release as the band embark upon a lengthy North American tour.

The epic jaunt will have the group on the road for almost two months. In June, they will be heading across Canada, starting off on the West Coast and going as far east as Montreal. In July, they will play a number of shows on the U.S. West Coast.

The outing includes dates at the Canadian festivals Music Waste (Vancouver), NXNE (Toronto) and Sled Island (Calgary).

The band will be selling vinyl copies of The Shivers, although they won't be ready quite in time for the beginning of the tour. In a statement to Exclaim!, singer/guitarist Jordan Minkoff explained that they will pick them up at some point while in the Prairies.

See the schedule below and stream the album at the bottom of the page.

Tour dates:

6/4 Vancouver, BC - Electric Owl (Music Waste)
6/6 Kelowna, BC - Blue Gator *
6/8 Calgary, AB - Broken City ^
6/9 Edmonton, AB - Wunderbar ^
6/10 Saskatoon, SK - TBA
6/11 Winnipeg, MB - Death Trap
6/13 Thunder Bay, ON - The Apollo
6/15 Kingston, ON - TBA
6/16 Montreal, QC - Cagibi
6/17 Toronto, ON - The Hideout (NXNE)
6/18 Toronto, ON - The Garage ~
6/19 Sudbury, ON - Millards Garage
6/21 Winnipeg, MB - The Lo Pub
6/24 Calgary, AB - Cantos (Sled Island)
6/25 Calgary, AB - Tubby Dogs (Sled Island)
6/29 Vancouver, BC - The Waldorf #
7/2 Victoria, BC - Norway House #
7/3 Olympia, WA - The Northern #
7/4 Tacoma, WA - TBA #
7/5 Seattle, WA - TBA #
7/6 Portland, OR - The Know #&
7/7 Salem, OR - TBA
7/9 Santa Cruz, CA - TBA
7/13 Santa Barbara, CA - TBA
7/15 San Diego, CA - Che Cafe
7/16 Phoenix, AZ -Trunk Space
7/17 Las Vegas, NV - Double Down Saloon
7/21 San Francisco, CA - The Knockout %
7/22 Bellvue, WA - Ground Zero
7/23 Vancouver, BC - Zulu Records Street Party

* with Kingdom Cloud
^ with Service:Fair
~ with Lullaby Arkestra, Digits
# with Pat Jordache
& with Little Lord Fauntleroy
% with Burnt Ones - Exclaim Magazine

Victoria / Vancouver’s garage crunk punk SLAM DUNK has thrown their official 12? debut on bandcamp for us to consume immediately, though the vinyl will not arrive until may. You will recognize a lot of these songs from their Canadian tour, specifically their crunk ass stop at Wunderbar in Edmonton last summer where they ruthlessly slaughtered everyone. You will also recognize the lead singer’s voice from the equally remarkable Colourbook (see the earlier post on Dreamboat for other half of the vocal equation). Those dudes are all IN CHARGE. Everything they touch emerges gild. You can’t stop the onslaught. Fan Club Music Club back up in this. Must hears: Only Fun, Feral Child, Do The Slam Dunk. - Argue Job

Slam Dunk was next. I had heard positive things about this band leading up to the show, mainly that they were poppy and fun. Anchored by Jordan Minkoff’s yelpy, high-pitched vocals, the group started out of the gate sweaty, displaying a ton of energy. A few songs in, a trombone player came from back of the room, riding on top of some guy’s shoulders, parting the crowd as they approached the stage. It was like watching a skinny Andre the Giant snap in half as the trombonist jumped off the man’s shoulders and joined Slam Dunk mid-song.
Slam Dunk have a punky vibe that really works for them. Boasting scrappy chords and screams from the entire band, “It’s Only Fun” was a big hit that sent the crowd into a dancing frenzy. Their cover of the Misfit’s classic “Attitude,” with its chugged guitars and blaring sax licks, came across like the E Street Band on crack. - Discorder Magazine -Cail Judy

Slam Dunk was next. I had heard positive things about this band leading up to the show, mainly that they were poppy and fun. Anchored by Jordan Minkoff’s yelpy, high-pitched vocals, the group started out of the gate sweaty, displaying a ton of energy. A few songs in, a trombone player came from back of the room, riding on top of some guy’s shoulders, parting the crowd as they approached the stage. It was like watching a skinny Andre the Giant snap in half as the trombonist jumped off the man’s shoulders and joined Slam Dunk mid-song.
Slam Dunk have a punky vibe that really works for them. Boasting scrappy chords and screams from the entire band, “It’s Only Fun” was a big hit that sent the crowd into a dancing frenzy. Their cover of the Misfit’s classic “Attitude,” with its chugged guitars and blaring sax licks, came across like the E Street Band on crack. - Discorder Magazine -Cail Judy

After even the murkiest of listens, it’s glaringly obvious that these Victorian youngsters are writing beyond their age. Reverb soaked vocals are met head on with an urgency that explodes from your speakers and refuses to stop, but the scrappy chords the prefer are given a mature and tasteful redress (the piano from which “Ratcatcher” is built, almost jazzy horns, and organ work) without sacrificing the freedom for which youth allows (“Viva Slam Dunkus”, the scorching opener, “Only Fun”, and the pogo ready “The Beach”).

With a never ending supply of shout-along choruses and scorching garage riffs, and if this is in fact a slam dunk, these guys went fucking wolf (although, it has to be noted The Beavers repped Adidas). Shivers – a consolidation of their two previous EPs and two new songs – runs through the darkness with the urgency of terror and there are moments, like “Feral Child” or the blazing outro of “Viva Slam Dunkus”, where the band embraces that terrifying Howard family wildness. But it’s the brilliance they reveal (like the surfy chug of “Slowdance”) that lets you know Slam Dunk are going to win in the end. Best of all, for now at least, Shivers is free. - Herohill

Slam Dunk’s “Slowdance” is anything but slow, with guitar riffs flying atop the group’s screamed, rockabilly refrain of “My baby baby wanna slow dance / But I never wanna slow down!” It’s the perfect track to listen to before a big night out. - Discorder Magazine

Slam Dunk’s “Slowdance” is anything but slow, with guitar riffs flying atop the group’s screamed, rockabilly refrain of “My baby baby wanna slow dance / But I never wanna slow down!” It’s the perfect track to listen to before a big night out. - Discorder Magazine

Slam Dunk’s “Slowdance” is anything but slow, with guitar riffs flying atop the group’s screamed, rockabilly refrain of “My baby baby wanna slow dance / But I never wanna slow down!” It’s the perfect track to listen to before a big night out. - Discorder Magazine

Slam Dunk’s “Slowdance” is anything but slow, with guitar riffs flying atop the group’s screamed, rockabilly refrain of “My baby baby wanna slow dance / But I never wanna slow down!” It’s the perfect track to listen to before a big night out. - Discorder Magazine

Slam Dunk, a Victoria-based group, blend noisy punk rock with smooth instrumentation that defy any cut-and-dry genre you can think of. On their full-length album the group captures a raucous sound that is both jarring and suave without skimping on the weird. But most importantly these songs just make me smile, which is one better than most other bands these days. - Omino City

Slam Dunk, a Victoria-based group, blend noisy punk rock with smooth instrumentation that defy any cut-and-dry genre you can think of. On their full-length album the group captures a raucous sound that is both jarring and suave without skimping on the weird. But most importantly these songs just make me smile, which is one better than most other bands these days. - Omino City

The reincarnation of J.D. Salinger
January 17, 2011
Here’s a Monday morning (well, afternoon) pick-me-up. It comes from the Victoria, BC-based garage punk outfit Slam Dunk. I always thought this band was from Vancouver, but apparently the dudes just spend a lot of time here.

The group just released a free album called The Shivers on Bandcamp. Here’s the opening track, “Only Fun.” It’s a rollicking good time, although the gritty guitars and reverb-heavy backing vocals mean that there’s also a hint of menace. Plus, those wolf-life howls are nothing short of blood-curdling. Throw in some bubbling organ and Modest Mouse-style quirkiness, and your Monday just got way better.

Head to Exclaim! to read my recent article about the album.

MP3: “Only Fun” - Chipped Hip, Alex Hudson

By Alex Hudson
Victoria, BC-based rockers Slam Dunk have earned themselves a devoted following on Canada's West Coast, playing frequent shows and releasing a seven-inch through Old Life Records. Now, the group have unveiled a new album called The Shivers, which is available online and will get an official release in March.

The ten-song LP is currently being is offered as a free download from Slam Dunk's Bandcamp page. Eight of the tracks come from the group's previous Old Life release, which was sold as a double EP containing a seven-inch, along with additional digital tracks. Two of the songs are brand new: "Ratcatcher" and "Shivers."

The Bandcamp page describes the album as "fast-n-fun" and says that it will be coming out on March 3, with the upbeat, garage-y collection being recorded in a barn. The label releasing the record has not been announced, but it's likely that Old Life will be involved, given that the imprint has released so many of these songs already.

While the album is currently free, the group's MySpace page says that it's "soon to be not," so don't waste any time in heading to Bandcamp to download it. The tracklist is below - Exclaim Magazine

By the time I got back inside, Slam Dunk was setting up. I had been warned by the band’s bass player that their drummer was stranded in Mexico and though they had managed to find a replacement, they weren’t quite sure how the show would turn out. All fears were quelled the instant the band started into their first song.

I can’t possibly begin to describe how good Slam Dunk is. I am not one to enter a mosh pit, especially when wearing big scary boots, but I had no choice, summoned by the raw power and energy of the music. Slam Dunk is a band who commands us listeners to lose all sense of control: they command us to jump, whoop, scream and dance. And so we did, sweating and contorting right through to their final, frenzied song.

Upon arriving home, I looked Slam Dunk up on Facebook to find that they have generously given their first record to us all for free. You can download it here. Please do. You will not regret it and you will shed all those Christmas pounds in the most beatific of ways. You will dance and dance and dance, in your own living room and/or shower (be careful!). Please download this album and share with your friends. - Monday Magazine

We wish these guys would move to Vancouver so we could all see them play more often, but the Victoria natives play here enough to build a following for their bluesy garage rock. One of the funnest bands this side of the Rockies - Discorder Magazine

Slam Dunk
7"
Old Life
The best 7” release of the year. Party punk in perfection, premised by painfully precise pieces of pop prowess.
-Colin Spensley - Beatroute Magazine

Now in its second year, Vancouver's Olio Festival kicked off with SLAM DUNK, who delivered blistering, saxophone-assisted garage punk. - Exclaim Magazine

Slam Dunk

By Michelle Macklem

Slam Dunk is composed of Jordan Minkoff (guitar/vocals) Caitlin Gallupe (bass/vocals), Luke Postl (drums), Duncan MacConnel (guitar/vocals) and new addition Cain Bryson (saxophone). All have been involved in Victoria’s music scene for a few years, playing with various other bands, but Slam Dunk itself was formed two years

ago to play at a cancer benefit show. In August they released a new single “Bleacher Lovin“ via Old Life Records and a full length album is on the way this fall. In the beginning of September I spoke with Jordan of Slam Dunk to talk about the local scene, tour dates and saxophones.

Michelle Macklem: Slam Dunk performed August 27 at Sugar, how did the show go for you guys? Jordan Minkoff: It went pretty good, it’s fun to play Sugar because we never get to do that venue. It’s a good change because there are not a lot of venues in town. Plus playing the big stage with good sound equipment is always fun.

MM: When did you guys start making music together? JM: We started when they were doing those cancer fundraisers at Lucky. All the bands from town would play. They kept asking other bands of ours [to play] who were like ‘no no we can’t, we have other things to do’ so we started this fake band. Basically, we started as a compilation of other bands.

MM: What would you say are your major influences as a band? JM: Generally the main influence is pretty much having a really good time. We all get together, write the songs together, do a whole lot of yelling

and writing ridiculous lyrics. So the influence would be hanging out.

MM: What’s it like playing in Victoria compared to other cities, such as Vancouver? JM: It’s cool to play in Vancouver because lots of people know us, but we don’t know them necessarily. Here it’s close friends, right at the front and it’s really crazy, people sometimes get hurt. In Vancouver it’s a lot more calm, maybe because they don’t know each other as well, but it’s still a good crowd.

MM: What advice do you have for people wanting to form their own bands in the city? JM: Make sure you like the music you’re making, if you don’t like the music you’re playing you probably shouldn’t make it. Talk to people about booking shows, I think it’s important for bands, once they have established themselves, to book their own shows. I think that DIY is important and also, don’t quit after writing five songs.

MM: Any new material coming out soon? JM: We’ve been starting to write a whole new pile of songs, which will sound a bit different, with more saxophone. Not quite as loud and abrasive the whole time, but a lot more fun I think.

MM: What direction do you guys want to go in the future? JM: Luke and Duncan are going to school now, but around January I want to do an early year tour and apply for some festivals. We want to keep going and touring because it’s just so fun.

Slam Dunk promises to have shows around Victoria this fall, so keep your eyes and ears open for updates. Tune into CFUV for gig updates for Slam Dunk and other bands around Victoria. - Renegade Radio

Slam Dunk may still be fairly young as far as bands go, but this gang of scrappy Victorians has certainly lost no time in recording some killer jams and taking the road by storm. With gang-shouted choruses, twisting fuzz guitar melodies, and seemingly endless energy, these dudes are proving seriously hard not to love. Viva Slam Dunk, indeed.
- Weird Canada

Garage rockers Slam Dunk sound like they were jamming ten years ago and were mysteriously teleported into a parallel Earth where the people are oppressed by some tyrannical wizard, whom they defeated armed only with their distortion pedals and frenetic drumming.
In their press release,they offer a “pre-2012 friendship”, but the music itself is refreshingly archaic, emanating what you might call a “pre-9/11 innocence.” There are no synthesizers or electronic beats, just straight-forward and earnest pop chord progressions with unassuming rhythm and no need to expand beyond the tried and true guitar-drums-bass combo. The vocals, on heavier tracks like “Feral Child,” still carry an expressive soulfulness reminiscent of John Lennon’s “Instant Karma” after he’d been practicing primal scream therapy, or early Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. At the same time, other tracks have a smooth and dreamy vocal quality that wavers between sounding like My Bloody Valentine and the Ramones. This isn’t music that will blow your mind with its originality, but in a culture saturated with millions of MySpace music pages, novelty no longer seems to be a legitimate criteria for criticism. Slam Dunk is fun, upbeat, playful, and whether or not you feel like putting their 7? on your phonograph, you can tell their live shows are sweaty, Pilsner-soaked Dionysian revels. One gets the sense that the band is like a pod of orcas: majestic to behold in their natural habitat—a live performance—but kind of melancholy and underwhelming in the confined aquarium of a studio release. - Discorder Magazine

You could subtitle this record, 7-inch in a paper bag, cause that’s literally what it is. But the DIY packaging suits the band’s scrappy image. This Victoria four-piece includes current Immaculate Machine member Caitlin Gallupe, but sounds nothing like her other band. Slam Dunk mix the garage rock swagger of bands like Black Lips and the Strange Boys with a sense of scrappy fun on these three tracks.

“Feral Cub” is an absolute standout with it’s balls to the wall speed and “whoa-o-oa” back-up vocals. Meanwhile, “Only Fun” has a nice bounce to it and the gang vocals in the chorus are a great touch. B-side “Bearcub” stands in stark contrast to the A-side tunes; it starts off as a much slower number, taking it’s time to build up to the inevitable climax, but it shows that this band has more than one gear; hopefully they’ll experiment more like this in the future.

It should be noted that the 7-inch includes a download code that will give you mp3s of all three tracks plus an additional five that aren’t included on the record. As an initial offering from a young band, it doesn’t get much better than this. - Ian Gormely - CHRY1055

Slam Dunk – 7” & Digital EP

by Aaron Bergunder
9.5/10

Full disclosure: I’ve played with half this band for years. That said, and now being completely objective, this is the most fun band ever. And where most fun bands are always just rolling around in their fun, and throwing it at each other, and rubbing it in your face, Slam Dunk gives all the fun to you. They riff over riffs, they shout at hollers, they stagedive off crowdsurfers.

As though the last 50 years didn’t happen at all, Slam Dunk pick up right where bands like The Sonics and MC5 left off. It’s pure rock’n'roll with blown out vocals, huge guitars and pre-punk beats. A real garage band in the era of GarageBand.

The 7? blasts off side A with Feral Child, and probably the wildest riff of the bunch. Both guitars competing to ignite the feral child in us all before throwing us to the pit. At ten seconds in the song is already at full-blown chorus volumes, but the chorus doesn’t show up for another minute, and by that time you’re already exhausted.

Breaking down to stop-start rhythms and more dueling riffs, you get a brief breather before they throw you to the wild once again. It’s an area where they truly excel: getting louder just when you think there’s no way they could.

A2 features the best recorded track Only Fun, highlighting producer Graeme Mick’s skill at mixing a mess of howls in a shed into a nostalgic rock song. Vocal harmonies stand atop the wall of guitars, giving you something to really sing along to. Meanwhile, the song nails its goal, immediately proving to be only fun without a second of downtime in the track.

The considerably longer-than-the-rest Bearcub is where the group is most dynamic. The B-side’s first three minutes would be a perfect 60s prom night closer. With vocals at the front of the mix for a change, you get to hear the endearing fragility of Caitlin’s voice and long for the lost Bearcub for whom you would cut off your arms to embrace again. But once the prom is over, everything ramps up into the now familiar as-loud-as-we-can outro which steals both your motorcycle and your heart.

That’s all just the 7? portion of Slam Dunk’s EP, however. When you tackle the rest of the tracks via download, the fun is really fleshed out. Not one but two tracks get you shouting along the band’s name (an essential signature of the genre), and laugh out lyrics about temporary tattoos, rolling Doritos, and “Oh motherfucker it don’t matter!”

Opener Slowdance stands apart as likely their strongest written song, and Ratcatcher slows down the pace midway through the EP with sparse production around Jordan’s restrained singing and guitar. It’s all very well placed, letting the 7? spice up your parties and the rest of the album spice up your bike rides.

Slam Dunk have made some of the most exciting rock’n'roll in years by simply doing nothing fancy. They make you laugh, dance, fall over, sing, scream, kick, punch, spit, bleed and smile, and eventually leave you to wake up covered in bruises and forgetting all of it. Isn’t that exactly what rock should do? - The Kite Magazine

It took me 2 hours until i could get into the slam dunk show last friday. It was so packed to the brim with screaming know-it-alls that i had a headache before i even walked in. But once i was in i realized what all the fuss was about. Up at the front of the stage three 6ft humans wailed, yelled and tore out their hearts in honour of their choir of friends and fans. I couldn't believe how they managed to play through with 20 sweaties piled on top of them. This was best show ive seen in the last 5 years. And i would know, because ive been to tons!

- Chad Brody
Gublet Newspaper - Gublet Newspaper