Feeling lucky, punks of Victoria? Then Calgary’s No Brainer, Powell River’s Electric Brains, and locals Pooched are ready for you on September 7.
No Brainer vocalist Mike Grant is excited to come back to Victoria—he’s previously played at Logan’s Pub and Phoenix Bar & Grill in his other bands, but this is his first time coming to Victoria with No Brainer.
The members of No Brainer have known each other for years—Grant met guitarist Bill Kerr and drummer Tom Kapiczowski in Grade 7.
“We all met in junior high, and my first band ever was actually with them, called Mossleigh,” says Grant. “So I’ve known them the better part of my whole life.”
No Brainer is made up of most of the members of Mossleigh, with bassist Marcus Wodrazka joining the lineup in 2018; Grant met Wodrazka in audio engineering school. Together, their influences are united, falling under the general umbrella of melodic punk.
“Some of our biggest influences are this band called the Swingin’ Utters. They’re on Fat Wreck Chords, they’ve been around for a long time,” he says. “They have that East Bay Area punk sound that I would say is similar to Calgary punk. We’re influenced by bands like Bad Brains, Cock Sparrer, even Bad Religion.”
Grant is optimistic about the future of his hometown punk scene, as it’s made a major comeback since the pandemic.
“Pre-COVID, it was a bit on the decline. There wasn’t as many new bands or even people going to shows,” says Grant. “Recently, there’s this crop of young kids that are just killing it. There’s so many new bands popping up, and the scene feels very united. Everyone’s super supportive of each other, and the shows are just bonkers.”
No Brainer’s debut album, Dead Weight, was released on Outhouse Records in the spring of 2024, recorded with a BC connection: Vancouver-based producer Jesse Gander, who has played in Victoria many times himself.
“It’s our first LP. We recorded it out at Rain City Records the previous year with Jesse Gander. I’ve done multiple releases with lots of bands over the years, but this one is probably the one I’m most proud of. We really worked hard on it.”
And the achievements don’t stop there: No Brainer recently got to open up for Circle Jerks and Adolescents in Calgary.
“It’s pretty much a dream come true,” says Grant. “They’re two of my favourite ‘80s hardcore bands. [Circle Jerks vocalist] Keith Morris is amazing.”
By the time they get to Victoria, No Brainer will have toured Eastern Canada, playing Toronto and Ottawa on Labour Day weekend.
“If you can come out to see us, please do,” says Grant. “It’ll be a good time.”
No Brainer
7 pm Saturday, September 7
$15, Lucky Bar
luckybar.ca