Scab

S.C.A.B. were one of the most abrasive and politically charged groups to come out of Toronto’s early-1980s punk underground. Formed in 1981 by guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Sebastian Agnello, the band pushed hard against the lighter new wave and synth-pop currents then circulating through the city, favouring blunt political lyrics, heavy musicianship and a confrontational live attack.

Agnello had already been active in the Toronto scene before S.C.A.B., having fronted Patches and then released the political and philosophical solo EP Ubermensch in 1979. With S.C.A.B., that direction became sharper and more aggressive. The original lineup drew on The Sharks’ rhythm section, with Cleve Andersen on drums and Bazil Donovan on bass. By the time the band recorded Know The Enemy, Andy Kelly had replaced Andersen on drums, joining Agnello and Donovan in the lineup documented on the cassette.

The group’s lone known release, Know The Enemy, was issued in 1983 by Cabbagetown Records as CT 005. Recorded live at The Headspace / Larry’s Hideaway in Toronto on June 9, 1983, the cassette captured S.C.A.B. in their natural setting: raw, loud and politically direct. The insert credits Sebastian on guitar and vocals, Bazil on bass and vocals, and Andy on drums and vocals, with all songs written by S.C.A.B. and production by Peter Goodale and the band.

Its ten-song program moved through titles such as “Hang Them By The Balls,” “Religious Intolerance,” “Government Policy,” “What About The Poor Folks,” “I’m A Criminal” and “Nuclear Nursery Rhyme,” placing the band firmly in the more confrontational end of Toronto’s punk landscape. The music was not simply straight-ahead punk. Maximum Rocknroll reviewed the cassette in its September 1983 issue, noting its political nature and describing the sound as eclectic and rock-based, with funk, pop and jazz elements worked into the attack.

S.C.A.B. did not last long, but Know The Enemy remains a vivid document of a darker, heavier and more politically volatile strain within Toronto’s early-1980s underground. The band’s reputation for aggression and uncompromising politics earned them the local tag “The Most Hated Band On Queen Street,” a phrase that suits both the hostility they provoked and the intensity they brought to the stage.

-Robert Williston