Drunker than you since ’82

Emerging out of the early ’80s Edmonton punk scene, singer Jerry Woods formed the rockabilly-gospel-country-blues-punk band Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra in 1982.

Jerry didn’t take the new band too seriously at first. It wasn’t until 1984 that they released their first EP, Fighting Socialism, on cassette tape, which caught the attention of Montreal sludgeabilly duo Deja Voodoo. After a rowdy opening performance at the Edmonton Ski Club, Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra were signed to Deja Voodoo’s small-but-influential independent record label, Og Music.

A year after signing with Og, they released their first LP, Road Gore: The Band That Drank Too Much, in 1985.

In 1986, the band moved east to join the thriving local music scene in Montreal.

The next year, they released their critically acclaimed sophomore album, Battle Hymn of the Apartment, under the shortlived independent record label Pipeline Records.

Pipeline fell into bankruptcy and the band moved on to Aquarius Records, re-releasing Battle Hymn of the Apartment on CD and cassette in 1990. This marked the apex of their commercial success, prompting them to tour North America throughout the early ’90s.

In 1992, they released their third album, Don’t Mind If I Do — a jazz-influenced big-budget production and a major departure from their cowpunk roots.

In 1996, Battle Hymn of the Apartment was rated No. 74 on Chart’s “Top 100 Canadian Albums of All Time” reader poll.

Five years after the release of Don’t Mind If I Do, Jerry Jerry compiled a fourth album — a solo venture called The Sound and the Jerry. Personal as it is witty, he considers this record to be his favourite: “. . . it has to be because it’s all me.” (Exclaim!, 2000)

Citing family considerations, Jerry Woods moved back to Edmonton in 1999 with his wife and five children, aged two to twelve.

After a few more years of gigging, the Jerry Jerry act was more-or-less retired in 2005 with a goodbye performance at Edmonton’s famous Sidetrack Café.

Since 2010, Jerry Woods has returned to the stage with a local punk rock revival band called Spartans, named after the ’80s Edmonton punk bar, Spartan Men’s Club. The lineup includes original Sons of Rhythm guitarist Paul Soulodre, as well as Kevin Forbes, Craig Shemely, and former SNFU bassist Dave Bacon.

Thirty years after Battle Hymn’s release, Jerry Jerry and several of the original Sons of Rhythm reunited in Montreal for drinking, reminiscing, and music-making (but mostly drinking).