Facecrime

Websites:  https://citizenfreak.com/playlists/395-captured-by-roszay-the-edmonton-1980s-scene, https://citizenfreak.com/artists/99756-modern-minds, https://citizenfreak.com/artists/101556-pursuit-of-happiness
Origin: St. Albert, Alberta, 🇨🇦
Biography:

Facecrime was a post-punk/power pop trio that formed in Edmonton in the early 1980s, immediately following the end of Modern Minds. The band featured Moe Berg (vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion), Blaine Vanstone (bass, percussion), and Dave Gilby (drums, percussion). With a darker, more refined sound than Berg's previous outfit, Facecrime stood as a transitional project—bridging the energy of Alberta’s late-’70s punk scene with the songwriter-driven power pop that would later define his national breakthrough in The Pursuit of Happiness.

Listen to Modern Minds here: https://citizenfreak.com/titles/292438-modern-minds-theresa-s-world-ep

One of the band’s earliest appearances came on the It Came From Inner Space compilation—a vital document of Edmonton’s early 1980s independent music scene. Recorded live to two-track at Applauze in November 1983 by Gene Kosowan, their contribution captured the band’s raw, immediate energy. According to the liner notes, Moe used a borrowed Hondo guitar with two broken strings, Blaine played through a bass amp lent by members of Ice Age, and Dave broke a stick during the second verse. The performance, accompanied by a pointed critique of corporate conformity, reflected the band’s unfiltered ethos and positioned them firmly within Edmonton’s underground landscape.

Listen to the full compilation here: https://citizenfreak.com/titles/315225-compilation-it-came-from-inner-space-the-edmonton-compilation

Building on that momentum, Facecrime released one rare but influential EP: Sex and Revolution (Dog Into Plasm, 1984). Recorded at Damon Productions in Edmonton and engineered by Clive Alcock, the record captured Berg’s evolving lyrical depth and musical sophistication. Tracks like “Walking,” “Cable TV,” “She Will,” and “Mystery to Me” explored themes of alienation, suburban discontent, and emotional conflict with sharp arrangements and an underlying pop sensibility.

The EP was complemented by cover artwork by Roszay (Rose Kapp) and a band photograph by J. Williams—and included a typewritten lyric sheet that reflected the band’s earnest, articulate identity. Berg’s lyrics were delivered with a mix of vulnerability and clarity, matched by Vanstone’s melodic basslines and Gilby’s crisp, urgent drumming.

Facecrime received strong local press. Edmonton Journal writer Alan Kellogg called them “Alberta’s most underrated band” and cited Berg as “one of my favorite songwriters of the ’80s.” The group regularly played venues like Applauze, drawing packed crowds on "alternative nights," and were praised for their “unpretentious, bright, aggressive” stage presence.

Facecrime also played the Hard Times Music Festival in 1984, curated by CJSR and the Chinook Theatre, appearing alongside k.d. Lang, the Rault Brothers Band, and others. Their performance at this landmark event demonstrated their increasing creative range and confirmed their status as one of Edmonton’s premier "New Music" acts.

Though short-lived, Facecrime proved essential in Moe Berg’s artistic journey. After the band dissolved, Berg moved to Toronto, where he formed The Pursuit of Happiness and achieved major-label success with I’m An Adult Now and Love Junk.

Facecrime remains an emblem of Alberta’s ambitious, intelligent underground rock movement of the early '80s—anchored by Berg’s songwriting, shaped by local resistance to conformity, and documented in both their explosive early recordings and their cult-classic EP.
-Robert Williston

Moe Berg (Modern Minds, The Pursuit of Happiness): vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion
Dave Gilby: drums, percussion
Blaine Vanstone: bass, percussion