Evelyn Wreckage

In 1991, the Calgary punk scene gave birth to one of the strangest, most unique bands it had ever seen: Inquisition. Self-described as a “garage punk-metal outfit,” the group went on to release four albums and two EPs, many of them with smartass names like Parcheesi with the Antichrist or Four Inches of Inquisition before calling it quits on their band, and friendship, after an ill-fated North American tour in the summer of 1996.

For a while, that was that, with members moving on to play in Martyr Index, The Evidence, The Drive and Brittle Siren. Last year, they broke a 14-year silence when asked to play a house show with local punk institution Knucklehead. It didn’t pan out, but it got them warmed up to the idea of a reunion. Then, for the CJSW funding drive, they promised to reunite if they could raise $2,000 for the station, a goal that was achieved in under an hour.

Requesting to be known under their stage names, Inquisition members Evelyn Wreckage, Mark Vermin, Methane Phedamine and Bob Ghengis Khan rekindled their once tumultuous friendship and started preparing for a series of 20th anniversary celebrations this year. With such a long history behind them, the group can’t help but reminisce.

“Before I joined Inquisition I thought that punk rock was all hard-edged and serious and declarative, but then I saw these guys,” recalls vocalist Wreckage of his recruitment to the band. “I didn’t realize that you could sing ‘I hate broccoli’ and get away with it. I thought only Weird Al could do that stuff. But it was a liberating M.O., and made me wanna join in their fun.”

For many, the Inquisition brings back a time in Calgary where the all-ages scene was at it’s peak as venues like Carpenter’s Union Hall would be packed to the brim with hundreds of ravenous kids hoping to catch the band — or one of their many peers — on a weekly basis. Wreckage says the band preferred the all-ages shows because of that youthful energy. “We barely played bar shows because nobody ever moshed or got excited about anything there. They just sat like lumps, drinking their drinks. At least that’s how it looked from the stage in comparison to the frenzy of all-ages shows,” he recalls.

Along with playing these shows, the members of Inquisition were also central to the city’s all-ages infrastructure, as guitarist Mark Vermin was a central force behind the Justabunchokids collective, which was responsible for a full decade of Calgary’s under-18 punk shows. “There was typically one show a week with the same 300 to 400 kids in attendance,” he recalls. “JBK lasted a good, long time, but when it started to fizzle, the-all ages scene did exactly what it had done in cities like Vancouver, Toronto, etc., and splintered into numerous, small (mostly) elitist scenes.

“I don’t necessarily think that Calgary’s all-ages scenes are destroyed or anything, though,” he is quick to add. “They are here what they are in other cities, small and more homogenous. We were really just lucky to have been able to be at the right place and the right time to be able to hold together such a heterogenous and strong scene for so long.”

With this rich Calgary history behind them, the Inquisition’s return to the stage comes with a buzzing anticipation. The members of the Inquisition are keeping things low-key however. “I think we’re hoping 10 people show up and are only mildly offended by our pathetic display of geriatric, washed-up poseur-dom,” Vermin says. - Ffwd Weekly