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Rusty is a Canadian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band earned a 1996 Juno Award nomination in the category of "Best Alternative Album" for Fluke.

History

Rusty's origins are in One Free Fall, a band from Wolfville, Nova Scotia 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 on a cover of "Prisoners of Rock 'n Roll" for the Neil Young 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 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. Released on Handsome Boy Records, the EP was popular on Canadian campus radio, and led to a major label distribution deal with BMG Records 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's film Hustler White as well as Canadian singer Danko Jones, Fluke was the band's commercial breakthrough, also spawning the single "California", and earning a Juno Award nomination for Best Alternative Album. The album was produced by Chris Wardman, 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. Also in 1996 the song "Punk" was included on soundtrack to Chris Farley's movie Black Sheep. The band also performed at 'Snow Job' that year, an annual TV special and outdoor concert series, broadcast by MuchMusic.

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 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 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 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.

The band released the new album, titled Dogs of Canada, on June 23, 2018.

Members

Current members

• Ken MacNeil – vocals (1994–2000, 2011–present)
• Scott McCullough – guitars (1994–2000, 2011–present)
• John Lalley – drums (1997–2000, 2011–present)
• John Sutton – bass (2011–present)

Former members

• Jim Moore – bass (1994–2000)
• Bob Vespaziani – drums (1994–1995)
• Mitch Perkins – drums (1995–1997)

Discography

Albums

• Fluke (1995)
• Sophomoric (1997)
• Out of Their Heads (1998)
• Dogs of Canada (2018)

EPs

• Rusty (1994)

Singles

References

1. "Artist: Rusty (Biography)". Canadian Pop Encyclopedia. August 11, 2005. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2010.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. "One Free Fall in step at last". The Province, November 12, 1993.
3. "The rise of One Free Fall; Hard rockers, hard workers hit road on a one-van nationwide tour". Edmonton Journal, November 18, 1993.
4. "Rusty enjoying indie-sent exposure T.O. scene abuzz over new quartet". Toronto Star, June 1, 1995.
5. Hobson, Louis B. (May 6, 1997). "Eddie Murphy notoriety doesn't help film". Jam! Showbiz. Canoe. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
6. "8 Canadian music memories from MuchMusics Snow Job". Aux.TV, March 11, 2014.
7. "EMI's Moist cleans up at MVAs" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
8. "RUSTY ARE THROUGH; WHO'S DOING WHAT?". Chart Attack. May 21, 1999. Archived from the original on July 3, 2003. Retrieved January 20, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
9. Grant, Kieran (April 19, 1997). "A mature class of sophomores". Jam! Showbiz. Canoe. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. Rusty Reuniting For NXNE. Chart Attack, April 19, 2011.
11. "NOW IS WHEN! Pre-order the new rusty album here!". PledgeMusic. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
12. "Rusty Return with Their First Album in 20 Years". Exclaim!, June 29, 2018.
13. "Top Singles – Volume 65, No. 9, May 5, 1997". RPM. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
14. "Search Term(s): "Rusty" and "Rock/Alternative"". RPM. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
15. "Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
16. "MuchMusic Countdown". MuchMusic. Retrieved March 29, 2011.

External links

• Official website

• Canadian alternative rock groups
• Musical groups from Toronto
• Musical groups established in 1994
• Musical groups disestablished in 2000
• 1994 establishments in Ontario
• 2000 disestablishments in Ontario