Furnaceface
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1989 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Ottawa , Canada |
| Products | Indie punk rock music, albums, singles, music videos |
Furnaceface was an indie punk rock group originating from Ottawa, Ontario, active between 1989 and 2000. The band featured Pat Banister on vocals and guitar, Slo' Tom Stewart handling vocals and bass, alongside drummer Dave Dudley. In 1993, they earned the Canadian Music Video Association Award for best independent video with "About to Drown" from their album Just Buy It. They later secured the Best Editing award for the video "How Happy Do You Want to Be?" taken from This Will Make You Happy.
History
Established in Ottawa in 1989, Furnaceface emerged as a successor to Fluid Waffle, which included guitarist and vocalist Steve D'Annunzio. Their live performances commenced late that year, accompanied by the release of their debut single "Sucked into Drugland" through Skull Duggery Records. After issuing this and the follow-up single "New Pad," the band toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada. Their initial full-length project was the cassette Let It Down (1990), recorded by Andrew McKean and mixed by Marty Jones, who would continue as engineer on all their future recordings. Following a national tour supporting Just Buy It, Jones joined Furnaceface as a keyboardist and guitarist. Cargo Records later re-released the album with remixes crafted by Bob Wiseman.
Two additional albums were released under Cargo: This Will Make You Happy in 1994 and unsafe@anyspeed in 1996. Furnaceface also founded Furnacefest, a festival designed to showcase both local talents and more prominent acts. Marty Jones departed in 1995 to concentrate on production work and co-managing Sound of One Hand Studios. After Cargo Canada ceased operations, the band independently put out their final album, And the Days are Short Again… (1999) via Upright Records, featuring the single "Heartless." Around this period, Pat Banister moved to Vancouver to pursue a career as an art director within the film sector. Meanwhile, Dudley and Stewart formed Manpower alongside Blake Jacobs of Hot Piss, performing sporadically in Ottawa. The band's concluding release was 2000's compilation Clobbering Time, which collected previously unavailable tracks predating Days, including two from Let It Down plus their rendition of the Jam's "But I'm Different Now."
Guest appearances on Furnaceface recordings included Ian Tamblyn and Jim Bryson. In 1997, Stewart experienced burns caused by an onstage pyrotechnic mishap but made a full recovery. As a solo artist, Stewart performs country music under the name "Slo' Tom," leading Slo' Tom & The Horseshit Heroes—a lineup featuring Bryson, Dudley, Geoff Taylor, and Graham Collins—which released the album Liquor’s My Lover. Subsequently, he has issued four albums with the Handsome Devils: Musta Been a Pretty Good Night (2013), I'm Sick (2014), Down in a Government Town (2017), and Doing Hard Time (2024).
Music
Furnaceface’s sound incorporated heavy guitar riffs along with elements of classic pop, ska, punk rock, rockabilly, dance rhythms, and 1960s garage influences. Their lyrics varied from humorous tracks like "I’m Getting Fat" and "Too Many Nuts" to socially aware songs addressing both local and international topics such as the 1993 Canadian federal election ("Nobody to Vote For") and debates over censorship in the 1980s ("We Love You, Tipper Gore").
Videos
The group received Canadian Music Video Association accolades for Best Independent Video with "About to Drown" (1993) and Best Editing for "This Will Make You Happy." Other music videos produced include "I Don't Think," "She Thinks She's Fat," "If You Love Her (Would You Buy Her a Gun?)," "Slip & Stumble"—filmed on Cabo San Lucas beaches in Mexico—"Biff, Bang, Pow!" (a cover of The Creation), "Ode to Grant Hart," and "Heartless." Additionally, they distributed a RealMedia video for "In Love with the Lie" via their now-defunct official website.
Singles and EPs
- 7" single Sucked into Drugland (1990)
- 7" single New Pad (1990)
- CD single Nobody to Vote For (1993)
- 12" single You Poison My Cup (1995)
- 7" single Overcome (1995)
- 7" single Biff, Bang, Pow! (1997)
Albums
- Cassette Let it Down (1991)
- Cassette Just Buy It. (1992); later released on CD (1993)
- CD This Will Make You Happy (1994)
- CD and cassette unsafe@anyspeed (1996)
- CD And the Days Are Short Again... (1999)
Compilations
- Compilation CD Clobbering Time (2000)