For the first time ever, punk rock veterans Stiff Little Fingers will be playing live in Sudbury when they hit the Townehouse Tavern on Nov. 17.
Formed in 1977 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the band has released 10 studio albums and toured countless cities and towns around the world, but this is their first stop in the Nickel City.
"It seems like every time we tour Canada it's in the winter or it's cold," said Stiff Little Fingers bass player Ali McMordie. "Never in the summer, but it's always nice to go somewhere new. That's what keeps you touring; seeing new cities and meeting new people."
McMordie wasn't too familiar with the Nickel City, or its best-known live music venue where they'll be playing, but when given the low-down on shows at the Townehouse he was all too happy to hear it.
"That's the kind of place you want for a punk show," said McMordie. "A little dirty and sweaty and up close and in your face."
With a career spanning four decades, the band gets some eclectic crowds at their shows and McMordie says that it's always great to see fans from different generations in the crowd.
"We've been around long enough now that you're seeing parents with their kids at shows," said McMordie. "It's good that the older generations or even older siblings are influencing the younger ones and kind of passing it on."
When it comes to the matter of influence, like many punk bands from across the pond, McMordie says that they were heavily influenced by The Clash. Stiff Little Fingers however can take a dose of credit themselves for influencing one of the biggest pop punk bands from the last two-plus decades, Green Day.
The band actually gets a shoutout in the 2000 film, High Fidelity (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146882/) when Dick (Todd Louiso) tells a customer that The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers are the two bands that influenced Green Day.
You can check the scene out below.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VK9R3hvWfhU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
"Whenever you hear that a band like Green Day was influenced by you, it's one of the nicest compliments you can get as a band," said McMordie.
While the band has been in existence since the late 1970s, they broke up in 1983 and didn't get back together until 1987. The band's frontman Jake Burns ventured off to pursue a solo career, while McMortie took the opportunity to work with Sinead O'Connor.
"It was a great learning experience for all of us, regardless of what we were all up to," said McMortie. "Then looking at the sad state of affairs of a lot of the music that was around in 1987, it seemed to be right and we were getting a lot of pressure for us to get back together and get back out there."
Burns called McMordie and the two rekindled their working relationship, and the band was back touring once again. McMordie took a leave from Stiff Little Fingers around 1992, and didn't come back until 2006.
He spent the 14 years away from the band working on the management and production side of the business, working with artists such as Moby.
"It was a bit different going from punk to funk or techno," said McMordie. "I was in the middle of a tour when Jake (Burns) called me because Bruce Foxton had left the band and asked if I fancied a job. Even though I was in the middle of another tour, I had to find a sub and it was just a really busy time."
Despite being away from the punk scene for nearly 15 years, something about the band where he got his start in the music industry kept McMordie coming back.
"Just the energy and the camaraderie, we all get along really well, we can go out for a drink and have a laugh together," said McMordie. "We're obviously not the same people we were 40 years ago, but despite all of our different experiences over the years, whenever we hit the stage together, there is something that kicks in, that energy is still there.
"I'm not even sure what it is we do but you see it reflected in our audiences and it still gets the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. It makes sleeping on a bus for a month where the highlight of your day is finding a clean toilet all worth it."
According to Eventbrite, the doors at the Townehouse open at 8 p.m., with the show starting at 9 p.m. Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 at the door.
