Growing up Punk in Mount Pearl

Frosty Festival Unofficial Battle of The Bands poster from 2007.
Image courtesy of King Sized Kids.

 Hey!

I’m Elsa and I’m the Community Relations Coordinator at Admiralty House. I’m not from Mount Pearl, but as a teenager, I spent a lot of time playing in punk bands and playing punk shows in Mount Pearl. When I started working here, I remembered fondly playing the Frosty Festival Battle of the Bands and thought I’d expand with a post about my experience with the Mount Pearl Punk scene. The Frosty Festival Battle of The Bands played an important role in the punk scene, and it was the only time of year we stepped out of that scene and played with bands of other genres. I know what you’re thinking, “Punk in Mount Pearl, that can’t be real?” But, the punk scene in Mount Pearl from the late 1990s to 2015 was thriving! Punk bands from Mount Pearl, in my opinion, kept the St. John’s punk scene going!

I Was A Skywalker at Junctions. Photo by Catherine Roberge.

The Mount Pearl punk scene truly began to proliferate with bands like Moke Cove, Three Chord Revolution, and de mons. These were the bands that many of my later bandmates would have grown up on. Shows were popular at that time at places like St. David’s baseball field and the old Paradise Rec Centre along with many other venues in St. John’s. I remember my parents frequently being irritated with having to give me lifts to Mount Pearl for punk shows, but the Mount Pearl scene at the time was just more fun!

Astonish Yourself playing at the Paradise Rec Centre.

My time in the scene was from around 2007 to 2012. The first punk band I played with in Mount Pearl was Astonish Yourself. This band consisted of myself, Brandon Coaker, Derek Ashely, Stephen Spencer, and Billy Temple. We jammed in Stephen Spencer’s parents’ basement in Mount Pearl and played our first show in Stephen Spencer’s garage. It was called “Spence Fest.” This was an annual event that we looked forward to being a part of every year! We played a lot in St. John’s and at the Paradise Rec Centre as well.

I Was A Skywalker playing Derek Ashley's dad's shed in 2012.

The second band I was in was I Was A Skywalker. I started in I Was A Skywalker in 2008. The band consisted of myself, Glen May, Kieran O’Connell, Derek Ashley, and Matthew Earle (Walter Matthews). Most of the guys were part of a band called King Sized Kids before starting I Was A Skywalker. I quit my first ever band (Don’t Pay The Kidnappers) in St. John’s in Derek Ashley’s infamous shed the moment the guys asked me to be a part of I Was A Skywalker. I spent the summer before grade 12 jamming with these guys in Mount Pearl and terrorizing the neighborhoods! As a band, we lasted for a while and we even played a reunion show in 2018. I Was A Skywalker was quintessential “Mount Pearl Punk” because of the time we spent there and the memories we made and wrote about in our music based on Mount Pearl. The music was inspired by long walks around Power’s Pond, hanging out at the Tim’s/Wendy’s, and skateboarding in Donovan’s Industrial Park. Early in our career, we played a show or two with de mons, and we thought that was the coolest thing we could ever do! I played the Frosty Festival Battle of The Bands with this band in 2008 or 2009. We did not win, but we got like 50 coupons for free small fries from A&W and we redeemed them all at once! I think this was better than a win!

We played many of our shows with other bands from Mount Pearl during the period from 2008-2012. Despite shows happening in St. John’s venues, the shows themselves were essentially put off and played by Mount Pearl punks. We played with bands like Clocked in, which featured a fully Mount Pearl lineup, Pocket Hands, and Good News Everyone! At this time, many of our members overlapped with other Mount Pearl punk bands.

The punk scene is an essential part of Mount Pearl culture from the 2000s to the 2010s. Mount Pearl punk had a special youthful sound that was fun and energetic! As everyone started to grow up, go to university, and move to St. John's we started playing in more St. John's focused bands, but we wouldn't be the musicians we are today without the Mount Pearl punk scene!

If you’re interested in any other Mount Pearl punk history do not hesitate to email me at admiraltymuseum.ca@gmail.com.