July Fourth Toilet

July Fourth Toilet is a Canadian band and a musical collective from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are an experimental act that can be loosely described as rock, although they incorporated elements of several musical styles.[1]

History

July Fourth Toilet was founded in late 1993 by zine publisher and performance artist Robert Dayton (later known for Canned Hamm) and cartoonist Julian Lawrence.[2] Their name was bestowed upon them by their American counterparts Zip Code Rapists from a list that was used to name several bands on the Amarillo Records label. Consisting of a loose cast of dozens of members throughout the years; long-time stalwarts included Stephen Hamm[3] (Slow, Canned Hamm), Andre Lagace (Young and Sexy), Jody Franklin (MungBeing), and Clancy Dennehy.

Each live performance was planned around a specific theme, with no two performances being the same. These included improvised sets, song-poems, various artist/album tributes and conceptual ideas such as the end of the world. They were also known for their outlandish "bargain basement" theatrical costumes, audience confrontation and performance art antics.[4] They have played shows with the Zip Code Rapists, Sun City Girls, Three Day Stubble, Caroliner and Old Time Relijun.

July Fourth Toilet contributed a track, "Hello Rock 'N' Roll Star", to the compilation album Vancouver Special, which was released in 2000 through Mint Records, with the proceeds going to charity.[5] They have also appeared on several other compilations.

In 2004, July Fourth Toilet celebrated their tenth anniversary doing a live stage performance of Rock Fantasy, a K-Tel children's record from the 1970s. In 2006, they performed a tribute set to composer Paul Williams that he attended.

In 2007, MungBeing magazine released their "long-lost" seven-inch record Childhood Will End online. The collective's studio album July Fourth Toilet Presents Balls Boogie Featuring Me And Bobby McGee was released in 2008.[2][6]


Discography
  • White (Trash) Album, cassette, Trackshun Industries 1994
  • Lovebeads, Turtlenecks and Overalls, cassette, 1995
  • Something For Everyone, CD, Pro-Am 2002[7]
  • Rock Fantasy Live, CD & DVD, Pro-Am 2004
  • Childhood Will End EP, download, MungBeing 2007
  • July Fourth Toilet Presents Balls Boogie Featuring Me And Bobby McGee. 2008

References
  1. "The Twist. The Jerk. The Toad.". Dropd, May 8, 1998 Review by Darren Kerr
  2. "July Fourth Toilet is serious about its Balls". Georgia Straight, by Adrian Mack on June 25th, 2008
  3. Stephen Hamm
  4. "The return of July 4th Toilet". The Snipe News – by Shawn Conner January 8, 2012
  5. "Vancouver Special". AllMusic Review by Mike DaRonco
  6. "Flavour of Milk and Honey". The Province, Tom Harrison July 8, 2008
  7. "Scram #19 record reviews". Scram Magazine,
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