Actionauts - Hash Assassin b/w Vagabond

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Hash Assassin	03:22

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	Vagabond	03:13

Photos

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Information/Write-up

The Actionauts were one of Vancouver’s more adventurous post-punk outfits, built around the singular guitar work of Tony “Balony” Walker and the volatile presence of singer Gus Vassos. Emerging in the early 1980s after Walker’s stints with Antheads, I, Braineater, and the Bludgeoned Pigs, the group took shape as a vehicle for his jagged, inventive guitar playing and his songwriting partnership with Vassos.

In 1983 they released Hash Assassin/Vagabond, the very first 7-inch single pressed by Zulu Records. Recorded at Ocean Sound (engineered by Dave Thomas) and Little Mountain Sound (engineered by Ron Obvious), the record was produced by Nick Jones and has since become one of the most coveted artifacts of the Vancouver underground. Its lead track, inspired by Hassan-i Sabbah and his 11th century sect of hashish-fueled assassins, was praised in the Georgia Straight and even remembered by some as having been nominated for—or possibly winning—the paper’s Single of the Year.

The Actionauts’ live reputation was fueled by both creativity and chaos. Former member John Cody recalls the constant creative tension between Walker and Vassos, clashes that were as much a part of the writing process as they were obstacles. He also remembers the band’s unpredictability on stage—like their first gig at UBC, where keyboardist Sam Salmon decorated his hair with cocktail umbrellas and piped in traffic noises through a synth, leaving the crowd baffled but amused.

The group’s eccentricity extended to their studio work. Beyond the Zulu single, Cody mentions other recording sessions that never saw release, and even a surreal music video for the unreleased track Eastern Days, filmed in a Turkish restaurant. At times Walker may have doubled on bass during the sessions, with Jim Ryan possibly contributing guitar, underscoring how loosely the lineup operated.

Despite flashes of brilliance, the Actionauts suffered from poor management and little momentum beyond the single. Yet the combination of Walker’s raw inventiveness—likened by critics to Captain Beefheart, Jeff Beck, and Syd Barrett—and Vassos’s confrontational stage presence made them memorable. Their only release, Hash Assassin/Vagabond, remains a singular document of Vancouver’s early-’80s underground, a bridge between punk urgency and neo-psychedelic experimentation.
-Robert Williston

Tony “Balony” Walker: guitar, vocals
Gus Vassos: vocals

Written by Walker, Vassos
Produced by Nick Jones
Engineered by Dave Thomas (track A) and Ron Obvious (track B)
Recorded at Ocean Sound, Vancouver, British Columbia (April 1983)
Recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia (August 1983)

Thanks to Andy Graffiti and Chris Taylor
Actionauts info c/o Zulu Records, 1869 W. 4th Ave., Vancouver, BC V6J 1M4

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