CANON
Band. Doylestown, PA, USA 1993-1995.
Canon was a very young vegan band that started with five 16 and 17-year-olds in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in October 1993. The band consisted of Joe Appell on vocals, Matt Taylor and Ryan McGee on guitar, Tim Scamell on bass, and Brian Berwind, who also played in Frail, on drums. Both musically and ideologically, Canon was heavily influenced by Syracuse’s front-line vegan bands of the early 1990s. In interviews, Canon was very outspoken about his views, supporting both education on animal exploitation and direct action. The band’s open stance was also illustrated by the name. According to the band, a canon means a set law, decree, or rule, and for the band members, veganism and straight edge were set rules that everyone followed. Despite their militant vegan rights and animal rights stance, the band clearly distanced itself from the hard-line, emphasizing that not only racism and sexism must end, but also homophobia.
The band got off to a fast start, recording a demo and they were supposed to record a 7” for Conviction Records, the Guav of Green Rage label, after that. When the deal fell through, Overkill Records offered the band to record a 7". Canon went into the studio and laid down 4 tracks of heavy metal hardcore, and the plan was to have the 7" before the end of the summer. of 1994. Due to the closure of Overkill Records, the Overkill 7” never came out. Canon opted to re-record the songs, and in November 1994, the band went into the studio and recorded all four demo songs and one new song. Fade In Distro affiliate Chapter Records issued the record a few months later, in a glossy sleeve, and two inserts with lyrics and information about veganism. The 7’s title song, ‘The Solution’, took a stand against promiscuous and disrespectful sex, linking it to abortion, an issue not many non-hardline straight-line bands played in this period. The song ‘Declaration’, a call to action against industries that profit from exploiting animals, was covered by German avant-garde band Maroon on their album Antagonist in 2002. Canon parted ways in 1995, just before they had to play another show in the city where so many of his ideological companions originated from, Syracuse, NY.