Playing Winnipeg only once in the last eight years, legendary west coast punk rockers NoMeansNo have left fans here anxiously awaiting their return.

This weekend they may be getting more than they bargained for, as the Canadian outfit will be ripping a strip off the Royal Albert two nights in a row.

“We were invited, actually,” said John Wright, who co-founded NMN with his brother Rob in 1978.

“Sam [Smith, artistic director, Royal Albert Arms] called us up and asked if we wanted to play Winnipeg on Halloween.”

“Sam is a fine fellow,” added Wright.

Though the band’s lineup has gone through many evolutions since their formative days, the brothers have stuck together, with guitarist Tom Holliston the only change from their original two-piece lineup.

Despite the band’s gig here earlier this year, the time is ripe for their return, as evidenced by their sold out show this Saturday.

Taking advantage of their new material, NMN will be playing to as many audiences as possible as they prepare to lay down new tracks for their upcoming releases.

“We no longer have the luxury to play live as we did in the ‘80s,” said Wright. “The album 0+2=1 was the first album we wrote and recorded without playing live first.”

“Songs change and grow as you play them,” Wright added. “Records are like practice arrangements. Sometimes it’s more fun to discover new [live] arrangements.”

“ We no longer have the luxury to play live as we did in the ‘80s.

John Wright, musician

The Wright brothers, credited with a heavy influence in the late ‘80s punk and the fledgling math rock genre, started playing together after Rob brought home a Tac four-track recorder.

Two years later, in March of 1980, the world heard the ugly birth of NoMeansNo in the single Look, Here Come the Wormies.

“The music was just fun, at first,” said Wright. “There weren’t any career aspirations. We just latched onto the very vibrant punk rock scene of Victoria.”

The band’s popularity peaked between ’88 and ’92 after they signed with the Alternative Tentacles label and established a large following in Europe. Since then, the band has released a steady stream of albums, the latest being All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt in 2006.

Coming up on the 30th anniversary of the band’s original release, NoMeansNo is heading back into the recording studio, preparing for a set of upcoming vinyl and digital download-only releases.

“These [vinyl releases] are mostly to get some new album art and collector’s items out there,” said Wright. “The CD, as a medium, is mostly dead now. Almost anyone who is buying [our records] is a collector.”

“CD sales are hardly worth concentrating on,” he added. “We’re set to legitimize our digital [material]. We don’t get paid for most of what you download now.”

Instead of releasing a full album, NoMeansNo plans on releasing a set of 12” EPs over the next year, both vinyl and digital download, through major online retailers.

“I don’t do a lot of downloading,” commented Wright. “But my brother does download a lot through a subscription service.”

Published in Volume 64, Number 9 of The Uniter (October 29, 2009)