"I was standing around waiting for the Nostrils to play when one of the smaller guests came over to say hello. With his black brothel creepers, spiky black hair, dark blue socks, skin-tight latex trousers, and layers of studded belts and wristbands he looked as if he'd stepped from the cover of a UK punk album. I don't remember if he introduced himself as Chi Pig or Ken but I've always known him as Chi Pig. Standing five-foot-one and weighing maybe 110 pounds with a case of beer in each ha...

Chris Walter writes like a man on death row, with nothing to lose, and East Van is his finest moment. A classic tale of addiction and greed that makes Trainspotting look like Chicken Soup for the Soul, this is one book you do not want to miss. “A broken bottle on the sidewalk reflected sunlight, splintering it into millions of twinkling prisms. The mailman walked by, whistling a jaunty tune as he went about his job. Laughter floated from a window and touched Angie deep in a spot she rarely...

In 1982, five brave but foolish young men traded the safety and boredom of suburbia for a brutal regimen of greasy food, endless touring, shaky gear, dingy bars, too much booze, and violent fans. While SNFU did not immediately seem like obvious candidates for punk rock stardom, they quickly rose up to take not just Edmonton, Alberta, but the entire world by storm. By combining the flamboyant stage antics and political lyricism of singer Chi Pig with the infectious guitar attack of Marc and...

Up and Down on the Downtown Eastside is a fast-paced but harsh story involving drug addicts and other low income residents in the ghetto that is Vancouver's drug-ravaged Downtown Eastside. Fans of Irvine Welsh and Hunter S Thompson will appreciate the non-stop black humour that prevents the book from being dragged down by the bleakness and intensity of the subject matter. Although highly entertaining, this novel, like all of Walter's work, is not for the easily offended or weak of heart.

Jack met Lucy, and then it all went bad… Vancouver’s drug-ravaged Downtown Eastside becomes more bearable for Jack Offley and Lucy Blanchard when they meet by chance one sunny afternoon. With Jack’s help, Lucy escapes her abusive common-in-law husband, but the young lovers soon become caught up in the nightmare of drug addiction and find themselves homeless. Stumbling along day by day, Jack and Lucy live only for the last Wednesday of every month, when the welfare checks are issued. Horrif...

The DayGlo Abortions are perhaps the most misunderstood and maligned punk groups ever to exist. To this day, critics and naysayers are unable to see past the corrosive lyrics and explicit imagery to the true meaning beneath. Readers of this book, however, may be shocked to learn that below the nasty exterior and foul language, the DayGlo Abortions are much more concerned about the fate of humankind than anyone could have imagined. Defenders of the underdog and crusaders against injustice, ...

DOA exploded on the ‘80s music scene like a sonic hand grenade. The bastard son immediately spawned hordes of new bands, and the angry kids burst forth from the suburbs, pawnshop amplifiers cranked to an ear-splitting and pain-inducing volume. Hardcore was here. Eighteen-year-old Randy Rampage helped form DOA just months after discovering punk rock in early ‘78, latching onto the new music like a problem child to model glue. In open, candid tones, the rock and roll survivor describes a dru...

Populated with unforgettable characters such as a corpselike hitman plagued with OCD, a death metal bassist in serious need of anger management, and an extremely unlucky drug addict, Chase the Dragon is so wickedly entertaining that adjectives such as “crazed, “outrageous,” and “savage,” fail to do it justice. From start to finish, Chase the Dragon is fast-paced and darkly humourous—a story about bad luck, a story about fate, a shitkicking, backslapping, riotously disturbing page-turner gu...

Punch the Boss is a semi-autobiographical account of various menial jobs and obnoxious bosses endured by the author. From short-order cook, ditch digger, factory worker, and drywaller, Chris tried his hand unsuccessfully at many backbreaking and low paying jobs, learning the hard way that high school dropouts always enter the workforce at the very lowest possible position. He also discovered that power tripping, authority loving supervisors and foremen could often be worse than the actual ...

Chris Walter doing what he does best — a rowdy, frantic tale of madness and booze Old man Hendrickson is relatively happy until two crazy whores teeter into his life and complicate everything all to hell. Faster than a beer can roll off a porch, he has pantyhose draped over his shower curtain and tampons in his medicine cabinet. Hendrickson somehow adapts to this oddly comfortable scenario only to have is shattered by a vicious pimp with an evil agenda. The tsunami of bullshit that follows...

The year is 1981 and the dangerous phenomenon known as hardcore punk rock has arrived in Winnipeg with a bang. The new bands, with names like Personality Crisis, The Unwanted, and the Stretch Marks, are an aggressive and rowdy bunch who vow to smash things up at all cost. What could possibly be better than punk rock? Why faster punk rock, of course. Take a beer-soaked and nihilistic journey—back to the time when danger drove a Trans-Am, and a day without a fight or a foot chase was rare in...

Set in the working poor district of West Central Winnipeg, Langside shines a harsh light on the many problems facing inner city residents. Pressured to join the local gang but unwilling to do so, thirteen year old Sky struggles to adapt to the world of guns and drugs around him. Meanwhile, opposing gangs eager to capitalize on the growing demand for crystal meth are on the verge of open warfare. As Sky’s alcoholic parents try to keep the family afloat and a pair of mismatched cops attempt ...