What It's Like:
Loud and raucous rock and roll with guitars and drums and songs and
lyrics. People tend to call it punk, and it's adulterated with rhythm
and blues, glam, bubble gum, garage and whatever else seems appropriate
and opportune. And it all sounds really, really good or else we toss it.
(Reference points: New York Dolls, Voidoids, Saints, T. Rex, Rolling Stones, Stooges, Herman's Hermits, Lyres, Beasts of Bourbon, Pere Ubu, Television, Link Wray, Troggs, Velvet Underground, Dictators, Dead Boys, Patti Smith...)
La Historia de la Musica Rock:
'The Ex-Boyfriends:' it’s the name Djewel Davidson, Really Loud Poet, rock ‘n’ roll DJ and front man of Calgary’s original art-punks The Will and nasty noise-mongers Nothing, used for special occasion-type shows along with a rotating cast of rock ‘n’ roll simpaticoes
starting around ‘99. A couple of these very shows were taken in by one Michael Paton, who'd left The Puritans and needed an outlet for the riffs, hooks and grooves that'd boil up from time to time, fortune smiling.
Michael recognized Djewel was someone who got rock ‘n’ roll - someone to whom you’d never have to explain why not to wear shorts to a show you’re charging a cover for. And so he announced he’d be showing up at practices from now on. Djewel in turn recognized that Michael was a guitar player, something that was fairly necessary for the kind of band he generally liked.
A classic lyrics-an’-music songwriting team was now in place (Johansen/Thunders? Ashton/Stooge? Jagger/Richards? Goffin/King?) and TXBF became a band… a combo… a group. A brand new set was drummed up out of pent-up fervor and a first-official-show was played opening for Royal Trux.
The band found common cause in pre-punk, proto-punk, actual punk, post-punk, rhythm and blues, glam, bubblegum, garage rock and a chronic need to let out that-which-was-in. They let it out opening for like-minded do-gooders like Nikki Sudden, Mudhoney, The Lazy Cowgirls, Les Savy Fav and the DTK/MC5, and headlined shindigs around Western Canada.
Always - always! - kept in mind was the fact that those who play rock and roll are responsible - responsible! - for playing rock and roll, which (no ifs ands or buts) oughta be pretty good as a matter of principle. This in mind, Painless Bleeding came out in 2003, making a half-dozen Ex-Boyfriends originals available. After a few slow years of lineup-hiccups involving careers and tears and the making of sore ears, TXBF had the songs and the lineup to dish out Coming Before the Next One in 2007, following this up with a savage series of shows around Western Canada and a magical birthday/Christmas 7.” The group then settled in to record the absolutely epochal double-lp, To The Lowest Bidder, released in 2009 and the Never Been Happier lp in 2010. They’re currently keeping on doing what wants doing.
Lineup:
Jean Choe: bass
Djewel Davidson: vocals
Dean Martin: drums
Michael Paton: guitar
Discography:
Painless Bleeding - 6 song EP
Coming Before the Next One - full length CD
"It's Your Birthday, Baby" 7"
To the Lowest Bidder double LP
Never Been Happier CD