Sonic Unyon Records by Sean Raggett This is a happy story with a Canadian ending: Once upon a time, in the quiet berg called Hamilton - a town more well known for football and donuts than for music (though it's home to such Canadian musical legends Teenage Head, the Spoons ('Romantic Traffic'), and the Forgotten Rebels ('Surfin' on Heroin') - a poppy little band began. The band became known as Tristan Psionic and consisted of Sandy McIntosh and Mark Milne on guitars and vocals, Ross 'Tim' McLochness on drums and Wool on bass. Mark explains how they got their unusual monicker: "Originally [the name] came from our bass player's dog, Tristan. We found some pictures in some guitar magazine of some heavy metal guy going by the name of Tristan, so we thought we had to add another name. We put all these pieces of paper in a hat and picked out Psionic. It means psionic powers, and we thought the dog might have some kind of mental telepathic powers we don't know about. Kind of a silly name." The foursome played, and played hard. Soon all the kids on the block were talking about the hot new band and things were looking up. But - what next? How would the world find out about these talented young men? With their feet firmly planted in Hamilton soil, the band resisted the temptation to sell their souls to any of the countless hungry American interests and instead decided to do it themselves. Mark and Sandy started their OWN record company. One of the duo's first moves was to establish an original name accompanied by a fresh logo that local concert goers and record buyers would recognize. Thus was born Sonic Unyon Records and their logo - a comic onion with a big, fat, orbiting satellite ring. In line with their off-beat "Canadian" sense of humour, the two Unyonheads also created a mascot named Mr. Stinky. An onion himself, Mr. Stinky appears on all Sonic Unyon products sporting superfly sneakers and a cartoon-balloon salutation: "smell ya later." And, as a Sonic Unyon press release points out, the choice of a stinking vegetable as a mascot is in keeping with the all-Canadian aspect of the project: "French onion soup is made with onions and we all know Canada is part French." As is the case in any local independent music scene, rising bands depend on promotion primarily through live gigs in the early stages of their careers. With this in mind, and with their name, logo, and fun mascot in place, the Unyonheads started to promote their company through sponsorship of local Hamilton-area gigs. Conscientiously deciding to support an all-ages scene, Sonic Unyon presentations soon generated their own following and the label's notoriety quickly spread. "We didn't want to start a scene, but we've made one," Mark apologetically was quoted in the Ontarion. "We didn't mean to." Scene or no scene, the word of mouth generated by live gigs will only take a band so far; eventually some form of recording network is needed to distribute their sound to a successively broader range of listeners. Sonic Unyon began their own homegrown distribution network recording local musicians under the Unyon label: "'Sandy and I started putting out cassettes - one of Tristan Psionic and another by a band called Sponge, who are on both [Sonic Unyon] compilations," says Mark. As the Sonic Unyon family grew larger, so did the company's band roster. Each newly signed band released a cassette for the label and the final products feature top-notch sound, packaging and production. This attention to quality is now a trademark for Sonic Unyon products. "Too many people in this business are totally unprofessional," laments Sandy in Eye Weekly. Not ones to alienate the CD-only crowd, the Unyonheads recently released a compilation of Sonic Unyon bands that featured tracks not available on cassette. Not If I Smell You First features twelve stellar bands, including the likes of Toronto's hHead and By Divine Right, Eric's Trip, Otis Haynes (with two members of Sloan), a solo effort by Chris of Eric's Trip, and the Sonic Unyon players, Gleet (now Sian), Gorp, Shallow, nc17 (now Treble Charger), and Tristan Psionic. For vinyl enthusiasts, Sonic Unyon offer a smaller sampling of their pungent talents. It's a 7" record entitled Smell Ya Later that includes Sponge, Shallow, Gleet, and Tristan Psionic - truly a compilation worth it's weight in onion rings. Even with a total roster of six bands, Mark is currently signing other local Eastern-based acts. The newest release on Sonic Unyon records is a full-length offering from the heavily British-influenced Treble Charger, entitled nc17. This album blends elements of My Bloody Valentine with the sounds of another Canadian great, Neil Young. Another exciting quirk of Sonic Unyon records is their monthly newsletter The Stink: the Official Sonic Unyon Records News Source. Used as a medium through which to contact media and fans across the country, the 'zine includes inside info about the company, upcoming events and releases, recipes (like perogies and sonic unyons!), and fun facts about Hamilton and Canada. (For example, did you know that Hamilton is the self-proclaimed "donut capital" of the world, with over 49 Tim Horton's outlets? Or that Canada's mascot, the beaver, eats onions to stay warm during the winter months?) Used by the fellas as a way to gauge the label's success, the newsletter has become very popular. "[The newsletter] was originally monthly, but then our mailing list got past the 500 mark so we had to make it bi-monthly; now it's tri-monthly because 43 cents times 550 people starts to add up and since we've been on tour we've collected so many more names - it's gonna be pretty expensive to keep up with it," Mark commiserates. How do the two entrepreneurs find time for the label they originally treated as a side project, especially in the wake of such an overwhelming positive response for Sonic Unyon projects? According to Mark, the label eats up more of their energy than Tristan Psionic undertakings: "It's not like we want to [direct our energy] one way or the other, but it's probably about 60:40 [in favour of] the label. It's starting to consume a lot of our time." Even while facing a host of seemingly never ending commitments to the Hamilton scene, the members of Tristan Psionic recently released their own full-length CD, Feves: the Sounds of Tristan Psionic. The "donut rockers" also recently completed a nation wide tour with Moncton's Sub Pop signees Eric's Trip. Their stop in Vancouver included an incredible all-ages show at the Anza Club with Pluto and Weezer. Life on the road has been good to the group. "It's fantastic - this has been the best tour," enthuses Psionic drummer Tim. "[Eric's Trip] are excellent to play with - they're virtually always in good moods." Tristan Psionic's typical set consists of a noisy mesh of guitar- soaked melodies amidst a solid backup delivery from the rhythm section. Their Vancouver show impressed me, most notably for the fact that Tristan Psionic possess a finely-tuned stage presence most young bands lack. Mark and Sandy are believable on guitar and vocals; Wool is lovable with his exuberant stage antics, and Tim supplies a freshly creative rhythm on drums. Together as Tristan Psionic, the Hamilton foursome embrace an innovative style of contemporary college-pop that is in no way diffused by a transfer from live action to CD replay. Do the accomplishments of these two youthful indie-music biz whizzes seem impressive? They should. Sonic Unyon records have accumulated a small family of recording artists, a nationwide fan base, and a successful independent Canadian record company in under a year. The smells of Sonic Unyon records are permeating the country. When asked about the label's shiny professional image among music lovers, college radio programmers and local musicians, plus their glowing reputation for good production, full colour covers and top quality t-shirts, Mark seems mildly astonished. Contemplating the possibility that fans might appreciate the duo's efforts and Sonic Unyon's positive effect on the Hamiltonian (and Canadian!) music scene, he pauses a moment, composes himself, and nonchalantly replies, "I guess so. Everyone seems to think we're organized. I think they're misled, but whatever they want to think..." .