Guy Lochhead, 17/12/11
Canadian experimental music group formed in 1965. NSB use home-made instruments (hence “spasm band”), modified existing instruments and toys in “total improvisation” (except for the lyrics). Band members are mostly artists local to London, Ontario. They play every Monday at the town’s Dissent night club. I like the idea of spasm bands, but this particular one is not, in my view, the best to include. I would like to find an earlier group who built their instruments out of necessity, not to make some artistic point. Although I like the enthusiasm and humour of NSB – I especially like the way they play every week at the same place just for fun – they can sometimes get a bit grating, and I’m sure most kids would find them pretty unlistenable.