Wiggler
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Wiggler

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This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"SHiNDiG 2004"

Decent Rock'n'Roll songs. Well written. I'm not sure why you wouldn't have a band? Am I missing something? I'm not sure if you're aware of this but you have a strange look in your eye when you play. It's quite haunting. It feels like you're staring at my soul. That's probably a good thing. Dude, you've mastered power chords. That's rad. Your set was pretty good. I would have preferred seeing a whole band though - Judge #1 - CiTR 101.9 Vancouver


"Wire Mother ep review"

Wiggler - Wire Mother

Weird. Upon my first listen to this disc - an eight track digital recording that sounds as if it were put together on a four-track in someone's broom closet - I was confounded by its claustrophobic sonic quality and the caustic barrage of the songs. Wiggler is the nom de rock of one Mr! Erik, who seems to love straight-outta-the-garage rawk as much as he loves lo-fi electronica of the retro-new wave variety. The result is a noise that sometimes (the buzz and clatter of "Instead" is a good example) approaches the ear-assaulting unlistenability of digital-hardcore acts such as Atari Teenage Riot. Upon the second listen, however, it occurred to me that with less horrible production, some of these songs might actually be catchy. I also noted that, backed by an honest-to-God band of live humans, Mr! Erik could easily open a show for, say, the Hives with punky numbers like "No Action" and "Vitriol". The third listen has yet to take place, because the first two gave me a headache. - John Lucas
- Georgia Straight Vol 36, #1809 August 22-29, 2002


"NewMusicWest 2002 Jury Comments"

I can't decide if I like the music or the name of this band/guy best...it makes me want to wiggle. Has an old school New Romantic vibe I dig. One of the better bands I've heard in a while. If you like the Strokes or the Stooges you'll like Wiggler.

Oh! F*cking! YEAH! This man no doubt wears his MC5 and Violent Femmes t-shirts with pride. This is the first artist on the list that I've heard whose CD I want right now.
- NMW2002


"Call'o'th'Wigghut review, 1996"

"Wiggler - "Call'o'th'Wigghut" - It rocks with the strength of ten ordinary men, well at least that is what the Wiggler told me. But alas, he does not lie. A drum machine, a man, and a million guitars. The noise doesn't end it keeps going and going and going. It wails, soothes, rocks and sucks all within a heartbeat. I know there are people out there who live for this kind of progressive noise music, if you want it get it from Mr! Erik (son of the Dutch Invasion)."
- In Hell's Belly, issue 15


"No The, Yeah!! review in Discorder"

Wiggler is an interesting solo lo-fi recording project that should appeal to 4-track minds everywhere. The 17 songs on No the Yeah!! are an onslaught of indie-rock in-jokes and post-modern parody. There are voice-manipulated generation-benders ("Adult", "We Love You, Junior"), hero-worship satire ("Mulligan (Hooray for...)"), and air-punching space-metal (the instrumental "Panfried"). A version of cub's "Go Fish" slags along like a mix of industrial-strength molasses and tar-flavoured Cheez Whiz, and is so unrecognizable that I'm left wondering if Wiggler actually had the local classic in mind when initially recording this 'cover'. The principal reference I should make here is early Ween, esecially when the Scotchgard-powered bong was being used as God intended. "No the, Yeah!!" is Wiggler's first release and while it is the tape I'm chiefly familiar with, it should be noted that he's since put out another one that is even more ambitious it its utilization of bedrom recording technology.

- Discorder January 1996


Discography

No The Yeah!! - cassette only, September 1994.

Call o'th'Wigghut - May 1995, also cassette only.

Bring the Fudge - cassette only, limited release 1996.

Wiggler vs Godzilla - Valentine's Day, 1997 in glorious 44.1 kHz of digital on a silver coaster.

Wire Mother ep - May 10, 2002. The second cd from the guy who put the "dig" in digital.

The Pantload - July 15, 2005. The sixth album, and third on CD. Now with extra swagger.

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

A few words about Wiggler:

Mr! Erik was spawned in 1972. Wiggler was formed in Vancouver 1993. Mr! Erik put an ad in the Georgia Straight looking for band-mates. No luck. Not the right people. Unbowed, Mr! Erik whipped out the drum machine and started a band anyway. Too weird to be punk, too sardonic not to be. Wiggler is the evolution, revolution and devolution from punk to noise to funk to punk again. One man with the sweat and intensity of an entire orchestra. Onward, upward and outward. Hate the sinner but love the sin, baby.

Just for posterior's sake, your pal Erik started off at age 15 as the singer of a Burlington, Ontario punk rock band called The Turdburglars. Since then he's played guitar, bass, drums and samplers in a plethora of bands. A short list includes: Fourstoryforehead, Suckass, Cap'n Poultry, Librarians of Chaos, Rats Eat Children and MöIST.

When not behind a guitar, Mr! Erik is often in front of a monitor, behind a plate of curry, ahead of you on rollerblades, between some weights, beside a cat or on top of a yoga mat.

Wiggler has relocated from Vancouver, BC to Oakville, ON (just west of Toronto) as of July, 2005.

So, what the hell is The Pantload all about anyway?

The original working title of this, Wiggler's sixth album, was "Insert Album Title Here". I almost kept that as the final name. Also, "Arson for Progress" was a close runner up, and when it lost out in the running for album title I wrote the song instead. I had a few other ideas, but "The Pantload" won out by a large margin on the popular consensus.

The Pantload is a truncated version of "Pantload of Democracy". The longer title was a shot at George W. Bush based on a clip I saw on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Dubya was sitting beside Kofi Annan with his knees splayed out in a pantload of hubris, and Jon joked that he should "close the barn doors a little". It fit in well with his apparently god-given right to cram his gigantic testicles down the throats of anyone foolish enough to question George the Prophet (or is that profit?).

That got me thinking about the current US foreign policy and its apparent adherence to the "all balls, no brains" theory of taking what you can simply because you can. From there, I extrapolated the theory to many of the Corporate Nation States and found that again, many were doing exactly the same thing. You can see it everywhere in the news (even if you aren't assimilating the 12-15 sources a day that I find myself compelled to). It's almost like a traffic accident, in that it's quite often horrible and tragic, but I can't bring myself not to stare in wonder. Examples? Class action suits against Wal Mart for their rampant disregard for anything that isn't money, Exxon still delaying payment on the $5 Billion (USD) settlement against them for the Valdez spill in Alaska (15 years ago!), DOW screwing Bhopal, India by refusing to fix Union Carbide's mess, the usurpation of the UN as world authority, Halliburton, the Liberal Sponsorship scandal, Dubya's fraud with Harken Energy, this list could go on forever.

In light of this, the title shortened to "The Pantload". It's not just a comment on one person - that would give this puppet too much credit. Dubya seems to be having so much fun being in charge that he doesn't realize he's just another pawn, just like Zaphod Beeblebrox.

It's more of a comment about the general state of being in this new age of aggressive paranoia.

Is this all a case of the sheer weight of massive testicles pulling blood away from the brains? We might never know...

The cover photo is of the Del Mar Inn on Hamilton St in Vancouver. I had always been fond of the lefty-leaning plaque stating in no uncertain terms that "Unlimited Growth Increases The Divide." If you doubt this, do a little research into the vanishing middle class, the decline in worker rights and wages since the '70s and the exponentially-increasing ratio in remuneration between CEO's and the average worker. One day, walking past the Inn, I was struck by the juxtaposition of the slightly decrepit Del Mar Inn, the slogan, and the massive, gleaming HQ of BC Hydro dwarfing it in the background. I burst out laughing on the spot (confusing a batch of VCC students huddling around their cigarettes), and the front cover was set.

The back cover photo was taken in an alley just north of Water St in Gastown (Vancouver's oldest district) and just south of the docks and railyard. The whole "stand in the stinking alley looking badass" is a pretty alien concept to me, and I did crack up more than once during the photo shoot. Good thing the sun was in my eyes - it made the scowly squint easier to pull off. Let's just call it a Ramones tribute and be done with it.

I opted not to use the photos with me wearing the Barbie "prom queen" sash, but I sure did have some fun that Friday night walking around Gastown with it on, waving like the Queen to strangers and tourists and thanking