There are millions of books written on the history of punk in England or New York. There are a few books written on the history of punk in places like Los Angeles, too. But precious little has been written about the history of Canadian punk.
This is why a new book called Treat Me Like Dirt could be so importable. It was written by Liz Worth, a Toronto freelance journalist, who became fascinated with the history of punk in Toronto–even though she wasn’t even born until after all this had passed.
The book chronicles the life and death of bands and personalities and places that were so important not only to the Toronto scene but to Canadian punk rock: the Diodes, the Viletones, the Crash’n’Burn bluc, the Demics, the B-Girls, Teenage Head, the Fogotten Rebels and much, much more. If you want to know where Canadian alt-rock came from, you need to read this. Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk Toronto and Beyond, 1977-1981 by Liz Worth.
Look it up at www.bongobeat.com