S.N.F.U. ...What No One Else Wanted To Say

by Chris Walter

Memorial edition - In 1982, five brave but foolish young men traded the safety and boredom of suburbia for a brutal regimen of greasy food, endless touring, shaky gear, dingy bars, too much booze and violent fans. Hailing from the working class but conservative city of Edmonton, Alberta, SNFU did not seem like obvious candidates for punk rock stardom - yet by combining the flamboyant stage antics and politcal lyricism of singer Chi Pig with the infectious guitar attack of Marc and Brent Belke , SNFU rose up to take not just Edmont but the entire world by the storm.

Now, for the first time ever, follow SNFU as they roam three continents, leaving a trail of smashed hotel rooms, furious bouncers, blown amplifiers, crooked promoters, worn-out vehicles, and broken beer bottles in their wake. From the mouths of those who were there, this is the punk biography that describes in sweat-drenched-detail just how hazardous and fruelling the rock'n'roll game tryly is.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Karlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded up from 2.5 stars.

This book will probably only be captivating (and I use that term very loosely) for punks from Edmonton (like myself) or Vancouver. It was interesting to read about Chi Pig and the Belle brothers growing up in Edmonton, and to read about some of the landmarks and venues around the city.

Otherwise, this book was unbelievably repetitive and desperately needed an editor. The bulk of the book was spent reciting laundry lists of tours dates, cities and venues, which were often the same, followed by gems of insight like “the show was alright” or “it was only half full.”
The author also ends a lot of paragraphs with cliches and uses ridiculous words like “endlessly” far too often.

Really, SNFU is one of the most interesting punk bands out there. A book about them could, and should, have been so much better. Halfway through reading the book I watched the documentary film “Open Your Mouth and Say Chi Pig” which was far more insightful, interesting and emotional. If you have the choice, save yourself some time and watch the movie.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phenomenal content; brilliantly researched. However, could have been written/edited better.

[Huckleberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up on SNFU and am unsure how many times I say them live in the late 80's early 90's. Growing up in Alberta there were many opportunities. I continued to follow them through all these years. The story Chris Walter tells is no doubt complete and covers all of the incarnations of the band. The story of Chi Pig is up and down, traumatic and depressing at times and good fun at other times.

The book perhaps focused on too many of the touring dates. I would have given more stars if there was more focus on the issues of Chi Pig and more of the personal stories of the band.

Interesting read none the less. Now off to listen to some SNFU, new and old music.

[Turnip Cake · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a huge disappointment, great idea but poorly executed. The writing is over detailed, poorly edited and comes across as a gossip book. The author does not stick to focusing on the topic, and talks about every person, band, dog or anything that has crossed paths with the band. The use of names are inconsistent, and/or full history and name is repeated and sorted details of whichever persons' life is told. It took me over two years to get through this book, in which over 1/2 should of been edited out.

[Chris Wedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any punk rock fan, especially ones born and raised in Canada. The book goes in depth on the history of the band all the way to the present. Fans of SNFU will get the most enjoyment out of this, but it's a great book for music fans.

My minor complaint is the authors commentary at times, it's a bit unnecessary but doesn't detract from the enjoyment you'll get.

[Bosco Farr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though there was a lot of good information, this book is poorly written. The style is awkward. The author suffers from need for a good editor. His love of ending paragraphs with unnecessary cliches is particularly irksome. Clipping those alone would trim 20 pages out of this book. However, the love of SNFU was enough to pull me through to the end.

[P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rings true to the punk scene of the 80's. I was surprised to find a few of my old friends in this book! Hell, Ken showed up at a house party I threw in 1993 and the former drummer dated my daughter.

His writing style gets the job done, he has so many good stories to share.

[Pal Mall · Rating 1 out of 5]

It took me years to finally read this book because I'd heard nothing good about it. The Edmonton scene in general was unrecognizable, with so much artistic licence taken that it would be funny if it wasn't so creepy. Others say that sections they were a part of were fictionalized, so who knows what in this book is true and what isn't. The author injects his personal brand of sleaze at every opportunity throughout. (I felt like I got to know the author's character better than that of anyone involved with SNFU.) I've never read a book so soulless, so joyless, so lacking in empathy and understanding… Chi Pig's development of mental illness, at a time when metal health issues were still poorly understood by the public and resources were scarce, and his tragic decent into addictions, which became actively encouraged by an unfortunate number of "friends" and fans who undoubtedly played a role in his untimely demise, should be accurately chronicled, as should the struggles of those who tried to help him. Such an influential band and such seemingly improbable enduring and creatively successful collaborations, particularly between Marc Belke and Chi Pig, that one hopes someone writes something a lot better. This book left me wondering what it was really like.

[Chuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tons of detail in this, it goes from the early lives of the original band members, through the start of the band (including what seems like almost every show, even with addresses of many of the venues), giving quick bios of new band members and going right on up to summer of 2012. The writing was a little quirky -- lots of it was just the facts but then many paragraphs would have a sentence foreshadowing later happenings or making some kind of editorial comment.
Definitely worth a read if you're interested in SNFU -- I used to be a bigger fan back in the 80s and early 90s but it was interesting to see all the behind the scenes details.

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good rundown of this Canadian punk band's history. Chris Walter's writing is straightforward but can sometimes be burdened by an overuse of cliches.

Mark Belke, the guitar player and second-longest member of the band, recently shared his thoughts about the book on his blog: http://marcbelke.com/?p=587

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best books i've read in a while.chris walter's books are always awesome.

[Martin Sasseville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended to all punk fans! You know you want to read it...

[Phil McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about a great band.