John Armstrong

1978: a non–stop carnival of debauchery begins as the first shock of punk hits Vancouver, with John Armstrong at the centre of it all. As Buck Cherry, lead singer/guitarist for the Modernettes, Armstrong tours us pell–mell through his misspent youth when he met and made music with I Braineater, Joey Shithead, Dimwit, Chuck Biscuits, Mary Jo Kopechne, Art Bergmann and other punk luminaries. He resurrects Vancouver’s punk glory scene with a drug–addled, booze–soaked account with Los Popularos, DOA, the Subhumans, and the Modernettes. Armstrong's account of his years as a reporter, Wages, is also published by New Star Books. Guilty of Everything is number 8 in the Transmontanus series.

Guilty of Everything

Jeannette Ordas

I picked up this book because of the song "Barbra" (yes, that's how it's spelled) by the Modernettes, a Vancouver early punk band. The song and video are great, but the reminiscences by the lead singer on life & the early punk scene in White Rock and Vancouver are interesting but not that deep. He spends more time writing about Johnny Thunders heroin addiction than he does his own, which he glazes over in a couple of sentences. But if this book finally gets made into a movie with Jay Baruchel I'm totally going to see it. Barely 3 stars.

Guilty of Everything

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