Punks

The US punk band Limp Wrist plays do-it-yourself hardcore, but it’s anything but your typical hardcore band.

Limp Wrist started out as an all queer, all straight edge band, meaning that none of them smoke, drink or do drugs. Lead singer Martin Sorrondeguy says the band’s original line up “really played with the straight edge thing and with the queer thing, which pushed a lot of the boundaries about being punk, queer and straight edge, challenging every different scene.”

You would never guess such a sweet-sounding boy like Sorrondeguy could yell with such intensity.

With members in New York, California and Pennsylvania, Limp Wrist needs to plan its shows very carefully; the Toronto Vazaleen show on Fri, Aug 24, is a special treat.

Sorrondeguy comes from the band Los Crudos; guitarist Mark Telfian from Eucharist, drummer Paul Henry from Devoid Of Faith and bass player Andrew Martini from Kill The Man Who Questions. With such talent it seems almost impossible to have a bad band.

A queer, straight edge band is a welcome change from other outfits which often seem to confuse straight edge with being just plain straight. Since the band’s inception, Limp Wrist’s line up has changed slightly and not everyone is queer or straight edge. Sorrondeguy says it’s not so important anymore to be recognized as straight edge, but it is important for their queerness to be up front.

When Limp Wrist refers to its music as punk, it’s not easily confused with the sound of mainstream punk bands. Limp Wrist comes out of bands such as Born Against, Manumission, Econochrist and countless others who tour around in broken down old vans, put out their own music on vinyl, sleep on people’s floors, play all ages shows in basements, and who work to see a better world.

The music is fast and furious and is born out of anger and urgency, but Limp Wrist even put a twist on that, adding a healthy does of humour.

Limp Wrist is on the margins of the margins. The band members set themselves apart from the world of hardcore because they are queer, and from the world of queer because they are hardcore. Sorrondeguy says that he “could care less about being accepted by the queer community because there have always been people [I’ve] found commonalities with, people who don’t stereotypically fit into the gay community.”

Rather than feeling defeated by differences, Sorrondeguy says he feels comfortable in the margins, “helping empower queer people who seek a lifestyle outside of the mainstream.” Perhaps Winnipeg punks Propagandhi sum it up best when they state that, “better lives have been lived in the margins, locked in the prisons and lost on the gallows than have ever been enshrined in palaces.”

The members of Limp Wrist seemrecognize the value of self-criticism. They are working to make sure the revolution will be sexy and fun. Sorrondeguy and his crew are sure to add a lot of excitement to an already great event.

See you in the pit!

Vazaleen this month is a week early (Fri, Aug 24) and is hosted by Suzy Richter and features unitard wrestling. Doors open at 10pm at the El Mocambo (464 Spadina Ave). Cover is $7; call (416) 968-2001.