the nancy ray-guns

The 80s was a good decade for baby boomers. Work was plentiful. Boomers began corporate careers in the 80s and started making real money.
The Philadelphia music scene was on fire in the 80s. Great local, national and global acts played here regularly. Local good guys, The Hooters launched into the stratosphere as an opening act at Live Aid. The Spectrum was a second home for a lot of people and was Philly’s answer to the Fillmore West. The 80s in Philly quite simply rocked.

The generation born in the mid-1950s were leaving their 20s behind and firmly embracing their 30s during Ronald Reagan’s administration. So what does all this have to do with Nancy Reagan?

It was common in the 80s to rail against Nancy Reagan as a lousy representative for the middle class and certainly the poor in our country, as selfish, narcissistic, out of touch, and using taxpayer money for personal use to glam up the White House.

Nancy Reagan impacted pop culture. There is a fairly well-known Canadian punk band called the nancy ray-guns. Her impact is broad as witnessed by people in other countries made fun of her.

Now people in their 50s give Nancy Reagan one big YOU WERE RIGHT. Nancy was right about one thing: don’t smoke cigarettes. Smoking is stupid, JUST SAY NO to cigarettes. If you smoke, quit. If you are a woman who smokes, just quit. Smoking has absolutely no health benefits.

Smoking ruins a woman’s skin. It constricts blood flow to the skin and can turn lovely 20-something smooth, soft, glowing skin into something resembling very fine grit sandpaper. And this is just the arms and legs. Smoking will crease the face and drain the blush from a woman’s cheeks. Everyone by now knows a woman who has smoked for 20 or 30 years and how it makes her skin look older than it is.

Quitting smoking is really hard. Getting professional help is a smart approach. Smoking around children and grandchildren is wrong. At some point grown-ups have to step up and quit smoking for the benefit of themselves, family and friends.


Robin Gorneau - PLE, August 09, 2009 - Philadelphia Longevity Examiner

The nancy ray-guns are a 100 per cent agri-funk band from Regina.
They play a social-concious infused brand of funk and jazz. Under the lable Redwater Records, the band has released Homestead, a 10 song album in 2005 and went to the studio in November to begin work of their second album.
CBC Radio One called the band Saskatchewan's agrarian funk band. The nancy ray-guns have been playing for four years.
The ray-guns are re-occuring sound on CBC Radio One airways nationwide and earned a spotlight feature on CBC Television's Xposure.
The ray-guns are Thomas Roussin on 12-string wah guitar, Matt Kaip on guitar, Natty Bedhead Bowen on drums/percussion, Rob D. on bass guitar, Doogie Taylor on trumpet/keyboard and Nigel Taylor on trumpet/percussion.
-Schafer - Prince Albert Daily Herald

The sounds of agri-funk have finally made their way from the heart of the prairies to the shores of Stratford's waterfront.

The nancy ray-guns kicked off fire concerts yesterday on the riverbank in front of the Cenotaph.
The show started off with the smooth sounds of lead singer Thomas Roussin's accoustic guitar Matt Kaip's soulful bass, Nat Bowen's solid drumming, Mark Wilson's hand-beat rhythm on djembe and the Miles Davis inspired trumpeting of Nigel and Doogie Taylor.

The band has a sound unto itself, but pays tribute to musical influences such as Joni Mitchell, Dave Matthews Band, Tower Of Power and Stevie Wonder.

Their self proclaimed “agri-funk� sound comes from the fact that all but on member of the band hais from rural Saskatchewan. and still has strong feelings about agricultural life and issues.
“Funk music is a great way to talk about social issues without depressing everyone,� said Mr. Taylor.
“We still talk about serious issues, but this way you can dance to it.�

Throughout the band's riverside performance Mr. Roussin entertained the audience with tales of life in Saskatchewan, while talking about the perils of mankind's relationship with mother Earth.
Songs such as No Homestead, Something Else and 40 Below each have strong lyrical messages about social issues such as rural affairs, depleting fisheries, forests and aboriginal affairs.

“With 40 Below we're talking about the atrocities endured by the natives when the police drag them out in the cold half-naked on these 'starlight tours',� said Mr. Roussin.

The band members confess that since they see themselves as “news-junkies� their songs often reflect the world around them.

“We talk about these issues to make change at home,� said Mr. Kaip.

Despites their criticism of some of Saskatchewan's police, the band has a great sense of pride for their home province.

In the song No Homestead a voice recording of Tommy Douglas could be heard repeating the line “That's democracy!� as the band slowed things down for a more acid jazz solo section.

The overall feel of the music seems like a funked up version of Dave Matthews with a hint of Jamiroquai, in terms of musical arrangement and melodic flow.

At times the band's reggae-style keyboarding combined with whimsical vocals seem to strech the realm of folk music into a new reggae-style country music.

The band has been playing together for the last five years and recorded two EP demos incluing on one for CBC Saskatchewan's Extra Hour.

They have lent their talents to the Non-Inferno Media Inc. documentary, Fiddler's Map, which airs periodically on Global Television. Their full-length album Homestead was released earlier this year... - The Beacon Herald (Stratford, Ont.)