Dik Van Dykes - Waste Mor Vinyl

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Chain Letter Massacre	02:16
	2	Cubic Zirconia	01:53
	3	Aerobocop	02:12
	4	Monster Trucks	02:18
	5	Leave This City	02:15
	6	Honeymoon in Niagara Falls	01:57
	7	Beachcombers	03:07

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	Adult Gumby	03:21
	2	Lazlo Come Home	02:14
	3	Law 'n' Ornaments	02:31
	4	Cow Pie	02:54
	5	Muskrat Love	02:03
	6	Klaus Barbie	01:19
	7	Lost in Space	05:19

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Information/Write-up

The Dik Van Dykes: Hamilton’s Garage Punk Pranksters
The Dik Van Dykes were a comedic, high-energy garage punk band from Hamilton, Ontario, active from 1985 to 1989. Known as "Hamilton’s Ambassadors of Tackiness to the World," they embraced a low-budget, three-chord primitivism fused with satirical wit, absurd humor, and a complete disregard for musical convention. Their sound—often described as The Ramones meets The B-52’s—was loud, fast, and irreverent, with quirky harmonies and offbeat, highly Canadian lyrical references.

Lyrically, The Dik Van Dykes celebrated and skewered Canadian pop culture, suburban life, and sports heroes in equal measure. Their songs touched on everything from Harold Snepsts (the fan-favorite Vancouver Canucks defenseman) to The Beachcombers, monster trucks, Niagara Falls honeymoons, and flying saucers. Their raw, unpolished sound and chaotic live shows made them an unforgettable fixture in Canada’s underground punk scene—equal parts rock band and performance art prank.

Formation and Members
Formed in 1985, the band’s lineup included:

Sarah Hodgson: vocals
Steve Hoy: guitar (famously using a three-string guitar)
Mike "Dik" Johnson: bass, vocals
Stu Smith: drums (notably playing without a kick pedal)
Frank Viola: backing vocals
Blurt Van Dyke: backing vocals
Renee Wetselaar: backing vocals

With deliberately shoddy instrumentation, they managed to turn their musical limitations into a signature style. Their satirical and absurdist lyrics were enhanced by their infectious energy, bizarre harmonies, and chaotic live performances.

Musical Output and Legacy
The Dik Van Dykes released two full-length albums on Og Records, the Montreal-based label run by cult legends Deja Voodoo, which specialized in Canada’s weirdest and most offbeat underground acts:

Nobody Likes... The Dik Van Dykes (1987)
Waste Mor Vinyl (1989)
Before these, they also put out a limited-edition cassette:

Live At the Gown and Gavel
Their songs appeared on multiple compilations, most notably the It Came From Canada series, which celebrated the country’s most eccentric and original indie bands.

Themes and Lyrics
The Dik Van Dykes embraced absurdity, poking fun at Canadian culture, suburban life, and pop culture clichés. Their song topics were wildly unpredictable, covering everything from The Beachcombers TV show, cubic zirconia, law’n’ornaments, and Klaus Barbie to flying saucers, Disneyland, cow pies, and pterodactyls. Their lyrics were surreal, nonsensical, and often completely ridiculous, making them one of Canada’s most unique underground acts of the 1980s.

Their songs—like Curling, Birthday Song, and Adult Gumby—were absurdist, fast-paced, and catchy, earning them airplay on university radio stations such as McMaster University's CFMU-FM 93.3 and Memorial University’s CHMR 93.5. Fans and critics often compared their sound to The Ramones battling The B-52s, with others drawing parallels to The Rezillos due to their mix of quirky humor and fast, punk-driven melodies.

Live Performances and Tours
The band was a fixture in the late-’80s Canadian indie scene, playing alongside notable acts such as: The Ramones (opening for them on three occasions in 1988), Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
UIC, Wetspots, and Deja Voodoo.

Their 1989 "Waste Mor Gas" tour was a chaotic road trip promoting their second album, but the band dissolved before completing the full run.

Production and Recording Style
The first album was engineered and produced in Hamilton’s S.U.D. Studio, giving it what the band referred to as a "Live Blurt Sound." Their second album, Waste Mor Vinyl, was recorded at The Laboratory in Hamilton, a well-respected studio used by “real bands,” not just the Dik Van Dykes, as they put it in their own liner notes. Peter Moore—who later won a Grammy for his work with Bob Dylan—played a key role in the production of the second album. Jocelyn Lanois (brother of famed producer Daniel Lanois) handled engineering duties. The DIY ethic and rough, unpolished sound of their recordings perfectly matched their chaotic and unpredictable stage presence.

Post-Band Activities
Following their breakup, Sarah Hodgson invited Mike "Dik" Johnson to join her new band, Sinister Dude Ranch. Johnson agreed—on the condition that they rename the band "I Love My Shih Tzu." Their first song was a reworked version of a Dik Van Dykes track, "Too Much Like Fun." This project lasted into the early 2000s.

Cult Status and Influence
The Dik Van Dykes never aimed for mainstream success, yet their music has endured as a cult favorite. Their satirical punk style, absurd humor, and mocking of commercial rock clichés set them apart. The band’s legacy is one of joyful defiance, celebrating the weird, the tacky, and the proudly unprofessional.

Their albums remain highly sought-after collectibles, and their music still resurfaces in punk and underground Canadian rock circles.

They may have once joked that their music was destined to be “totally insignificant,” but their unique brand of chaotic, hilarious, and proudly offbeat punk has made them anything but forgotten.

Final Thoughts
If there was ever a band that embodied the Canadian underground music scene’s love for irreverence, absurdity, and DIY insanity, it was The Dik Van Dykes. They may have once joked that their albums were meant to be thrown like flying saucers, but their legacy has landed squarely in Canadian punk history.
-Robert Williston

WASTE MOR INK . . .

On a lonely Friday night in February, in a secret place somewhere in Hamilton, recording goddess Jocelyn Lanois arrived by taxi to find a silhouette hunched against a brick wall, wretching. He had been given a beer to drink that had cigarette butts generously placed inside. Jocelyn knew then that her weekend with the Diks would not be a normal event.(use this paragraph to start your high school English novel)

Having recovered from the dubious distinction of most beer consumed at the Lab during any recording session, the Dik Van Dykes would like to thank people not on the back cover, which we had to have done prior to recording. Jocelyn Lanois didnt get enough credit there, and probably wont here either, but she had amazing ideas, criticisms, noises, and vocals on Lost in Space. Peter Moore of Cowboy Junkies fame lent us his sacred BF mike to give Stu those slap in the face and punch in the chest drums of his. Now Steve has nothing to complain about. No, Stu still doesnt use a kick drum. (If you find his keys, please return them to our Complaints Dept). Then Peter rolled in from New Yak to do that harmonica thing on Cowpie. Someday we’ll pay him back, but the high quality of these liner notes should give you an idea of how much money we have at present! Rob and Jo are merchandising deities but who loves ya babes? They work hard and get no thanks whatsoever. Why change a good thing?!

Thanks also to Brant Scott and Malcolm Burn for helping out in the studio. As parametrica, these guys are zeros, whatever that means. Other people we wouldnt mind having a drink in a dirty glass with are TiCi, Karen, Lisbeth, Monster Jim Lavery, and gklmetsch. Len Menard of Those Redheads from Seattle lent me a real cool Gretsch that I used on one song but I dont remember which. Jesse Bolan lent Steve the whistle that he blew on Honeymoon. Speaking of Steve, he wussed out on the picture for the back cover because he was sick or something, so we showed him as everyone knows him anyway, as an answering machine, a fuzz, a wall of noise guitar, and popchips. Women still love him.

“If I had to do it all over again”. I would add a few additions to the song credits. Lazlo Come Home was created by Blurt but was actually a full Dik Van Dykes collaboration. Lost in Space was actually created by Stu & Steve, and I just added the cheesy words. Anyone who has seen us live knows that we really got artsy farts with that song but it was done next to a bus garage and was lots of fun to do so tough shit. We hope you like this album and throw it around alot. If you dont like it, just remember the immortal words of DeeDee Ramone spoken in our dressing room at RPM in Toronto: “that’s the way it is, man.”

Still nobody likes the Dik Van Dykes. Should they? After the massive success of their first album, several disturbing facts still remain:

They’re loud, they’re tacky, and they keep pumping out stupid new songs.
Let’s face it, a year or two from now they will be totally insignificant.
So why delay the inevitable? Take this album, which is specially designed to simulate a flying saucer, and throw it as far away as you can.

Thanking you in advance,
The Citizens of Canada

Mike "Dik" Johnson: vocals, lead guitar
Sarah Hodgson: vocals
Steve Hoy: fuzz guitar
Blurt Van Dyke: bass, backing vocals
Stu Smith: drums
Frank Viola: backing vocals
Renee Wetselaar: backing vocals

All songs by Dik Van Dyke except ** by Blurt Van Dyke and ** by America (Ramsey).
Of course, "Leave This City" starts out like a song by Canned Heat but doesn’t stay that way for long.

Engineered by Jocelyn Lanois
Quickly mastered at MDI.
Over-produced by Peter Moore & the Dik Van Dykes
This album was conveniently recorded at The Laboratory in Hamilton, Ontario, a real cool place where even real bands record, not just us

Cover Photo & Concept argued over by M. & R. Johnston
Back Photography & Album Layout thrust upon Joanne Castrucci when she least expected it
Model: Spot the Dog.

Special Thanks
The Dik Van Dykes would like to thank:

THE TWO GARYS,
Tim Collier, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Kevin Shannon, Frank & Karen, Jeff Kirby & Don Pyle, Robert Rosen, Dundas Valley School of Art, Dan Thorpe and JL Sound, Brian Walker, The Gown & Gavel, CFMU, Susan Limin, John Korten, King of Cheese Mark Walma, The Mole, Fez, The Ramones, Mike Spicer at Guitar Clinic, CJAM, CBC AM Windsor, Brave New Waves, David Wisdom, Condition, Bob Thompson, What Wave, Max R&R, Morgan Gerard of Graffiti, Clara & Pat, CKMS, The Lance, The Sil, Marjo & George, Yvonne & Catherine, David, Ron, Jeremy, Mike, Ian & Dave & The Wet Spots, Terry Prytoooooola, Tony & Merry, Elvis Scary Monster, O.C.A., Michelle Van Herk, Tony & Gerard, Mom & Dad, & inspirational guru John Malcolmson.

Contact & Label Info
This is an Og Record.
For more information on this and other cool Og Stuff, write:
Og Music, Box 182, Station F, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3J 2L1.
Telex: 055-62171-1518.

If you don’t like it at all, write to the Dik Van Dykes:
c/o Complaints Dept., 1037 Main St. East, Hamilton, Ontario L8M 1N4.

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