Marking Time b/w I'm an Asshole (For Your Love)

Born out of Toronto’s mid-1980s underground, Absolute Whores were one of the city’s most distinctive cowpunk hybrids—equal parts bar-band grit, country-rock twang, and punk irreverence. The group began in early 1984 as The Complete Sluts, centred around guitarist–vocalist Paul Bullock (alias John Paul Trash). By 1985 the lineup solidified, the name changed, and the band settled into a uniquely chaotic but musically sharp identity that made them regulars across Toronto clubs, loft spaces, and student venues.

Their sound was driven by a rotating cast of colourfully named contributors. The longest-standing lineup featured John Paul Trash, Blind Pig Neuton (Vaughn Passmore), Ugly Dick (Greg McConnell), and Clint Rude (Albert J. Saxby). Around them orbited a wider community of players—Gerald “The Cursed Gerald” McGuinness, Brent Ruddy, Robert Bellmore, Hot Fingers McWhinnie, Meanus De Vilo, Sven Campbell (Michael Lavery), Marph “Mr. Science” Nobody, Oxfart Marphalonga, Mason Jarr, and others—giving the group a loose, communal spirit that matched their rowdy humour and constantly evolving stage dynamic.

Their first release, the 1985 7" “Marking Time / I’m an Asshole (For Your Love)”, introduced the Whores’ mix of country-rock swagger and punk bite. But it was their self-titled 1989 LP—recorded at Umbrella Sound—that fully captured what the band valued most: energy, honesty, and a live-off-the-floor performance aesthetic. In a handwritten insert addressed informally to listeners (“Howdy”), the band explained their refusal to pursue polished, big-budget studio production. Instead, they worked with producer Jim Guess to track the core instruments live, preserving “the energy and detail of the performance.”

The album was recorded ½-track at 15 ips, with wide dynamic range and minimal overdubs—“all the main instruments were recorded live,” as the insert notes. Lead vocals were later added to a digital mixdown recorder, while backing tracks were handled on analog 16-track. This hybrid analog/digital approach gave the record an immediacy rare for an independent band in 1989, reflecting their commitment to capturing the band exactly as they sounded onstage.

Unexpected touches—including contributions from Chris Whitley (harmonica), Andrea Slonetsky (cello), and Mean Steve Piano—added texture to a record otherwise steeped in cowpunk attitude and bar-room storytelling. The insert also revealed that Absolute Whores had already begun work on a second album, suggesting momentum that was ultimately halted when the group dissolved in the early 1990s.

After the breakup, members continued shaping Toronto’s roots and alt-rock scenes. Greg McConnell founded Lost Dakotas, while Bullock, Passmore, and McConnell later reunited in 1997 as Stratochief, carrying forward the same mix of sharp songwriting, raw delivery, and sly humour that defined the Absolute Whores era.
-Robert Williston

Musicians
John Paul Trash: guitar, vocals
Gerald McGuinness: bass on ‘Marking Time’
Brent Ruddy: bass on ‘I’m an Asshole (For Your Love)’
Albert J. Saxby: drums
Robert Bellmore: harmonica

Songwriting
Written by John Paul Trash

Production
Engineered by Kevin Cameron and Lorne Grossman
Recorded and mastered at Seneca Sound