Whaddya mean you don't know the One-Eyed Jacks

Forgotten Rebels' bassist Chris Houston joined Demics' guitarist Steve Koch in T.O. rockabilly crew One-Eyed Jacks. 

Here's the scoop...

During the Toronto rockabilly scare of the early 80s – when Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor were done as The Hi Fi's and trying to make it in NYC for three years prior to forming Blue Rodeo – Demics guitar ace Steve Koch formed a short-lived band with Forgotten Rebels bassist Chris Houston called the One-Eyed Jacks which I saw tearin' it up at various clubs on the Queen West circuit like the Beverly Tavern, Cabana Room and the Cameron House. There was one particularly memorable gathering of the tribes at Ontario College of Art  – where Chris was momentarily seeking higher education – involving The Sidewinders (featuring Handsome Ned with pals Ronny Azzopardi of The Next and J. D. Weatherstone of The Demics), The Paladins and The Bopcats with Teddy Fury. 

Check out a rare audio clip of the One-Eyed Jacks' song "24 Hour Cafe" right here. And watch the video for "Someone's Gonna Get Kissed" below. Seems like some sharp archival label owner should get in touch with Steve Koch & Chris Houston about releasing a 4-song EP of One-Eyed Jacks recordings from their 1982 session. 

Writes Chris Houston: "When the One-eyed jacks formed, it was radical statement – a rejection of what was the norm. We felt punk rock was a spent force and we wanted to be what's next. To us that meant clean guitars so you could hear the voicing of the chords. We were picking up on that great swing of the bands of the 1950s. How could you top The Demics, The Viletones, Forgotten Rebels and Crash Kills Five? We had to move ahead in different direction by embracing what had been done by the musical gods who invented this shit called 'rock n' roll.' There were others on the Queen St scene who embraced this too but this would be our own scene because the other scenes were collapsing in their own self-importance. After the original punk explosion, the survival of Queen St scene was tenuous. 

"The One-Eyed Jacks rehearsed continuously in a basement space on Queen St. West near Bellwoods that was so small – about the size of six telephone booths – if I leaned too far forward I would fall into Alex's cymbals. When the new TTC street cars came rolling by, they would rattle our brains but we kept playing. We knew we had to work hard but it was fun learning a whole new style of music. I think what makes '24 Hour Cafe' so great was that it was about a real place on  Peter St. along with our joy in learning to play a classic form of rock 'n' roll.  Steve Koch is a great musician and composer. Each year he's grown better and better. His latest work with He Mistook Her For A Swan is fantastic! 

"The One-Eyed Jacks recorded four songs at studio called The Grange. Back in 1982, it was not cheap to record in a real studio and it was a crap shoot if the engineer got what you're doing. We were lucky it stands the test of time. We played once in London, Ontario opening for Carl Perkins. The guy behind the bar at the venue treated us like shit. This upset Mr. Perkins who demanded we be treated the same as him – right down to making the same dramatic gestures when serving us drinks. If the pour wasn't just right, Mr. Perkins would make him do it again. WOW! I learned a lot being in his presence of Mr. Perkins. His guitar playing was mind blowingly great. I always knew he was a hot picker but seeing him up close was incredible – like the Charlie Parker of rockabilly!  For some reason, each member of the band was wearing a different cologne with a very distinct scent. It seemed kinda odd but when they got on stage, you could easily pinpoint where each player was at any given moment so I guess it worked for them. The next night, Mr. Perkins didn't go to Toronto to play The Horseshoe as scheduled because the paper work for immigration wasn't done properly. Mr. Perkins spent an hour telling us he would never do anything that could put his sons in jail and wanted us to convey that message to the people of Toronto when we got back. 

"There was also one freezing night that The One-Eyed Jacks opened for the Legendary Blues Band at the Club Without A Name... and with no heat either! I still remember seeing these Muddy Waters' sidemen in the manager's office all standing around the one heater in the place. They said, 'it gets cold in Chicago too – but not like this! Willie "Big Eyes" Smith drumming that night was pure voodoo with Pinetop Perkins on piano! Yow! – boy, they made us feel very white!"

Those interested in further listening can hear Jim Cuddy discussing The Hi-Fi's, playing ska, reggae and funk in New York and the early 80s Queen West scene on the Turned Out A Punk podcast right here. 

Steve Koch & Colleen Hodgson aka He Mistook Her For A Swan will be playing songs from their latest album Lady Isobel at The Mezz (1546 Queen St. West) on Sunday (January 26) from 3pm to 6 pm. Adds Steve: "We're going to be doing an acoustic set and then we'll be joined by Derrick Brady and Larry Graves Grier Coppins Musica and Brian Stillar for a more electric eclectic set. Come on down for your fill of murder ballads!"