Ken Fleming (musician)
Encyclopedia
Ken Fleming is a Canadian
punk rock
musician. He is the current guitarist
in SNFU
, and has also played bass
in the early Canadian hardcore punk
band The Unwanted and the industrial
alternative rock
band Econoline Crush
.
, Manitoba
-based band The Unwanted, an early staple of Canadian hardcore punk. With Fleming on bass, they released numerous small-run records, culminating in 1984's Shattered Silence LP on BYO Records
. The band broke up the next year, though they would reunite decades later around singer Norm Simm and new musicians.
Following a move to Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Fleming went on to play in numerous bands for brief periods, including Grey Skies, with Devin Townshend. He served as SNFU's bassist in 1992, shortly after the band reformed following a breakup, but did not continue with them after their signing to Epitaph Records
and embarking on extensive recording and touring.
Fleming next worked with Econoline Crush, joining in 1997 for touring behind their The Devil You Know album. He also played with Twist and the long-running Dog Eat Dogma around this time.
In 2007, Fleming and vocalist Ken Chinn
reconstituted SNFU after a two-year breakup. They have kept the band active ever since, and are currently joined by guitarist Sean Colig
, bassist Denis Nowoselski and veteran Canadian punk drummer Jon Card
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
musician. He is the current guitarist
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
in SNFU
SNFU
SNFU is a Canadian punk rock band formed in 1981 in Edmonton, Alberta and later relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia. They have released nine full-length albums and are cited as a formative influence on the skate punk sub-genre....
, and has also played bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
in the early Canadian hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band The Unwanted and the industrial
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Econoline Crush
Econoline Crush
Econoline Crush is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada formed in 1992. Originally formed in Seattle, they eventually moved back to Vancouver...
.
Career
Fleming began his career in 1980 with the WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
-based band The Unwanted, an early staple of Canadian hardcore punk. With Fleming on bass, they released numerous small-run records, culminating in 1984's Shattered Silence LP on BYO Records
BYO Records
BYO Records is a Los Angeles, California based independent punk rock record label created by Shawn and Mark Stern, two of the three brothers of the seminal California punk rock band Youth Brigade . BYO stands for Better Youth Organization and aims to promote punk and other alternative youth...
. The band broke up the next year, though they would reunite decades later around singer Norm Simm and new musicians.
Following a move to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Fleming went on to play in numerous bands for brief periods, including Grey Skies, with Devin Townshend. He served as SNFU's bassist in 1992, shortly after the band reformed following a breakup, but did not continue with them after their signing to Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
and embarking on extensive recording and touring.
Fleming next worked with Econoline Crush, joining in 1997 for touring behind their The Devil You Know album. He also played with Twist and the long-running Dog Eat Dogma around this time.
In 2007, Fleming and vocalist Ken Chinn
Ken Chinn
Kendall "Ken" Chinn is a Canadian punk rock lead vocalist and artist. He is best known, under the pseudonym Mr. Chi Pig, as the lead singer of the band SNFU. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Early life and career:Born to German and Chinese parents, Chinn was the second...
reconstituted SNFU after a two-year breakup. They have kept the band active ever since, and are currently joined by guitarist Sean Colig
Sean Colig
Sean Colig is a Canadian musician and record producer who currently serves at the guitarist for the punk rock band SNFU and the heavy metal group Savannah.-Early years :...
, bassist Denis Nowoselski and veteran Canadian punk drummer Jon Card
Jon Card
Jon Card is a Canadian punk rock drummer. He is the current drummer in the long-standing punk bands SNFU and The Subhumans.-Career:Card grew up in Calgary, Alberta and formed his first band, Plasticide in his late teens. In 1981 he joined the Winnipeg-based band Personality Crisis, with whom he...
.