alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band formed in 1994 in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario, Canada. The band earned a 1996
Juno Award
The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...
nomination in the category of "Best Alternative Album" for '' Fluke''.
History
Rusty's origins are in One Free Fall, a band from
Wolfville
Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School.
The town is a tourist destination d ...
,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
who moved to Toronto in 1988. That band's core members were vocalist Ken MacNeil, guitarist Sandy Graham, bassist Jim Moore and drummer Bob Vespaziani. That band signed to independent label Handsome Boy Records, released the album ''Mud Creek'' in 1993 and collaborated with
Art Bergmann
Arthur Frank Bergmann (born February 8, 1953, in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who was one of the key figures in Canadian punk rock in the late 1970s.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have ...
on a cover of "Prisoners of Rock 'n Roll" for the
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
tribute album '' Borrowed Tunes: A Tribute to Neil Young'', but broke up in 1994 before achieving any notable success.
Following their breakup, MacNeil, Moore and Vespaziani joined with former
Doughboys
"Doughboy" was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s, when it was gradually replaced by "G.I." as the following gene ...
member Scott McCullough to form Rusty, and recorded the EP ''Wake Me'' in 1994. A video for the song "Wake Me" would become a minor hit on
MuchMusic
Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...
. Released on Handsome Boy Records, the EP was popular on Canadian
campus radio
Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
, and led to a major label distribution deal with
BMG Records
Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008.
Although it was established in 1987, the music c ...
for their full-length album ''Fluke'' in July 1995. Vespaziani left the group and was replaced by Mitch Perkins.
Led by the hit single "Misogyny", which featured a video consisting of clips from Canadian filmmaker
Bruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce (born January 3, 1964) is a Canadian artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer, and underground director based in Toronto.
Life and career
LaBruce was born in Tiverton, Ontario. He has claimed both Justin Stewart and Bryan Bruce a ...
's film ''
Hustler White
''Hustler White'' is a 1996 Satire (film and television), satirical black comedy film written and directed by Rick Castro and Bruce LaBruce. Starring Tony Ward (entertainer), Tony Ward and LaBruce, the film follows a group of Male prostitution, h ...
'' as well as Canadian singer
Danko Jones
Danko Jones is a Canadian hard rock trio from Toronto. The band consists of Danko Jones (vocals/guitar), John "JC" Calabrese (bass), and Rich Knox (drums).Fluke'' was the band's commercial breakthrough, also spawning the single "California", and earning a
Juno Award
The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...
nomination for Best Alternative Album. The album was produced by
Chris Wardman
Chris Wardman is a Canadian music producer, musician and songwriter. Wardman was a founding member of Blue Peter, and was their lead guitarist and main contributing songwriter. Wardman was also a member of Breeding Ground in the late 1980s. Ward ...
, who also played guitar on the tracks "Groovy Dead" and "California".
In 1996, the band contributed a cover of "Let's Break Robert Out of Jail" to the compilation album ''
A Tribute to Hard Core Logo
''A Tribute to Hard Core Logo'' is a 1996 album, which was released as an unofficial soundtrack to Bruce McDonald's film ''Hard Core Logo''."Rock albums don't need movies they were written for". ''The Province'', December 5, 1996.
The film is a ...
''. Also in 1996 the song "Punk" was included on soundtrack to Chris Farley's movie ''
Black Sheep
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...
''. The band also performed at 'Snow Job' that year, an annual TV special and outdoor concert series, broadcast by
MuchMusic
Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...
.
The band's follow-up album, ''Sophomoric'', was released in February 1997. The album featured the single "Empty Cell", which was a hit in Canada. The song's music video won a
MuchMusic Video Award
The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an annual awards show broadcast annually on Much (TV channel), Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse (TV channel), Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos.
Originally debuting in ...
for "Best Concept Video". Perkins left the band that year and was replaced by former Bootsauce drummer John Lalley. Perkins left the group due to creative differences and released an electronic album independently with Andrew Massey under the name "Blu Pernu". This year the band also contributed a cover of "Scratches And Needles" by
The Nils
The Nils are a Montreal punk rock band formed in 1978 by Alex Soria. The Nils first gained local notoriety upon the 1982 release of a five-song demo entitled ''Now''. Their self-titled debut album was released to critical acclaim in 1987, and e ...
to the compilation album "Scratches & Needles - A Tribute to the Nils" from Magwheel Records.
In 1998, Rusty released their third full-length album, ''Out of Their Heads'', which according to Jim Moore was written day by day in the studio and was done in three days. In May 1999, it was revealed that the band had broken up. The band played their farewell show on November 25, 2000 at The Opera House in Toronto.
Reunion, new album
In 2011, Rusty reunited for the 2011
NXNE
North by Northeast (or NXNE) is an annual music and arts festival held each June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival's main focus is live music, particularly emerging talent. Acts that have had break out appearances at NXNE at small venues ...
festival. The lineup consisted of MacNeil, McCullough, Lalley, and John Sutton on bass (since Moore moved to the UK at that point). The band has continued to perform occasional shows in the following years.
In December 2017, the band launched a crowdfunding for a new album through
PledgeMusic
PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...