Asexuals "Be What You Want" LP Psyche Industry (Canada)

Record is EX, Jacket is VG+! 

Out of Print!

Track Listing:

A1 Be What You Want A2 Contra Rebel A3 Thrash Zone A4 Mind Contraction A5 3 Chord Speed A6 C.F.R. A7 We Seek No Glory B1 Too Slow B2 Asexual B3 Mr Useless B4 Ego Trip B5 Iraq Iran B6 Mr Rat B7 Weekend Alky

The Asexuals is a hardcore punk band from that was a mainstay of the punk scene in the 1980s before evolving into an alternative band following the departure of singer . Kastner left to form the and later, .

The Asexuals formed in 1983 when , and , all students, decided to start a punk band. Another Beaconsfield native, future actor , was in the band as second guitarist for a few months with Collins singing. Their friend quickly joined and became the singer.

After briefly using the names Commonwealth, Dead Dog, Johnny Jew and the Holocaust and VD Teens, they finally chose the name Asexuals because none of the band members had girlfriends at the time. Their music mixed elements of hardcore as well as more melodic punk rock à la or .

The band played gigs in Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto, opening for touring Canadian and American punk bands before releasing their first EP, on in 1984. The same year, the band contributed a song to the legendary Montreal punk compilation on , then released their first LP on First Strike Records in December 1984.

By the following year, Psyche Industry Records had received much positive feedback about the Asexuals' song, "Contra-rebels", (the opening track from the compilation), so they happily re-released the band's LP after First Strike Records refused to do so, having stopped answering the band's letters and phone calls. Also in 1985, Psyche Industry released the Asexuals' second LP, , which featured a hardcore treatment of 's classic song, "", and generally flirted with a more alternative rock sound. The band went on a two-month, 69-date tour across the U.S.A. and Canada to promote that album.

In 1987, Kastner clashed with the other members about the band's evolving musical direction, and was kicked out because he was taking too much space. Kastner went on to form the , while the Asexuals reconfigured themselves, with Collins and Freisen both playing electric guitar and sharing lead-vocal duties, and bringing in then- bassist (now better known as Bangkok-based writer Jim Algie) to take over bass guitar from Collins. They toured across North America relentlessly, opening for fellow Canadian punk bands like . and , as well as such American hardcore greats as , , and .

In 1988, the band released their third full-length LP, , on . Under the direction of Producer , was an artistic and sonic departure from their previous recordings, not only because of the noticeable absence of Kastner's distinctly sneering vocals; but with a more college-radio friendly sound. For the first time, the band departed from the standard arrangement of distorted electric guitars, bass, and drums. Indeed, the self-titled opening track featured acoustic guitars and horns. While this less brash sound alienated many long-time fans, the songs generally remained punchy and hard-rocking, and the band retained a tougher sound when performing live. They were on the verge of disbanding when a German promoter offered them to tour Europe. Cheetah quit the band after this tour and was replaced by Dom Pompeo (1964-2012), with whom they recorded their fourth LP (also on CD, unlike previous recordings), . Released in 1991, the album went a long way towards restoring the band's original distorted electric guitar sound, while remaining melodic and college-radio friendly. In 1992, they released the EP on Cargo.

Dom Pompeo quit in 1993, being replaced by Yuri Mohacsi and that line-up released an EP, on in Europe and in America. In 1996, they recorded and released what would be their last studio album, , on . They were supposed to tour supporting that album but instead disbanded. Friesen eventually moved to and started with 's bass player Alfred Mueller and drummer Wal Rashidi in the beginning of the 2000s (decade) and released three albums and toured Europe and the U.S.A. In 2001, Boss Tuneage released , a compilation of many old Asexuals tracks spanning years 1984 to 1996 as well as some unreleased tracks.

The original line-up of the band, including Kastner (who lives in Los Angeles now) and Friesen (who lives in Texas), got back together to play a reunion show on October 1, 2010 in Montreal along with fellow Montreal punk bands , and . The band reunited again in the following March to play back-to-back shows at the .

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