Ken MacNeil (lead vocals)
Jim Moore (bass)
Bob Vespaziani (drums)
Scott McCullough (guitar)
Mitch Perkins (drums)
John Lalley (drums; replaced Perkins 1997)
Rusty was formed from the ashes of One Free Fall. That band's bassist Jim Moore (ex-Misery Goats), drummer Bob Vespaziani and fellow singer Ken MacNeil continued rehearsing together in Toronto's Kensington Market area. After teaming with ex-Doughboys member Scott McCullough -- Rusty hooked up with The Pursuit of Happiness manager Jeff Rogers. When it was clear that Rusty was going to be signed to Rogers' Handsome Boy Records and go on tour, Vespaziani was unable to carry on with the band and he was replaced by Mitch Perkins. They soon released a 4-song EP, 'Wake Up', which was recorded in a single day. The EP did well on the indie and college charts.
The band's debut album, cleverly titled 'Fluke', found the Handsome Boy label release distributed by BMG. On the heels of the album's first single, "Misogyny", gay porn filmmaker Bruce La Bruce liked the song so much he used it in his film 'Hustler White'. The result of that association led to a Much Music award-winning video for the song (a collage of scenes from the movie) and pushing 'Fluke' to gold status in Canada.
The disc sold nicely across Canada, reached the modern rock Top 40 in the U.S., and yielded four local radio hits -- "Wake Me", "Groovy Dead", "Misogyny", and "California". It also earned them a Juno nomination for 'Best Alternative Album'.
Their follow-up album was also cleverly titled 'Sophomoric', and was produced by GGGarth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, L7). The first single, "Empty Cell", featured the return of Bruce La Bruce -- this time as the video's director.
In 1996, during the recording of "Let's Break Robert Out Of Jail" for the soundtrack of Bruce MacDonald's movie 'Hard Core Logo', the band began experimenting with 1960's and 1970's garage styles. This style mutation resulted in the 1998 album 'Out Of Their Heads' featuring Rusty originals plus covers of the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" and The Kinks' "Till The End Of The Day" produced produced by Matt DeMatteo (Big Wreck, Brass Bikini, Ashley MacIsaac). It would also be the full-length debut for new drummer John Lalley who joined the band in 1997 to record their Christmas song "It's Christmas Time (And I'm Poor)". Lalley was previously known as Fatboy and Johnny Frappe in Montreal's Bootsauce and has also been on call with Groovy Religion and The Skydiggers.
with notes from Scott McCullough
Singles
1995 Misogyny (Handsome Boy/BMG)
1995 Wake Me (Handsome Boy/BMG)
1996 Groovy Dead (Handsome Boy/BMG)
1996 California (Handsome Boy/BMG)
1997 Empty Cell (Handsome Boy/BMG)
1997 It's Christmas Time (And I'm Poor) (Handsome Boy/BMG)
1998 Soul For Sale (Handsome Boy/BMG)
Albums
1994 Wake Me [EP] (Handsome Boy)
1995 Fluke (Handsome Boy/BMG)
1997 Sophomoric (Handsome Boy/BMG)
1998 Out Of Their Heads (Handsome Boy/BMG)
Video
1995 Misogyny
1997 Empty Cell
1998 Soul For Sale
Compilation Tracks
1996 "Let's Break Robert Out Of Jail" on 'Hard Core Logo' (???)
1996 "Misogyny" on 'Hustler White' (???)
Official Scott McCullough Website
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