THE NOTOWN STORY... partially recalled by those who were to blame.
 
 
The Dub Rifles never figured that any record label would actually be interested in them.
The Dub Rifles figured that if every other "punk" band was doing it themselves then they might as well have a go too. So they did.
 
The band had one crack at a demo session before going in to record their first EP (entitled The Notown EP oddly enuff) and in spite of the fact  that the "demo" turned out f*cking terrible they figured it was time.
I mean who was gonna tell them what to do anyway? Certainly not any of the local acts that had gone before them. If they weren't "rock stars" who had long fled town then they were more than likely afraid of anything remotely related to "punk"... Whatever that was.

Five tracks were selected for the EP  that became the first release on their newly minted NOTOWN label. The name was an inspired (?) mix of (duh...) Motown and one of their better songs, "No Town No Country." The band felt the name best summed up their feelings of isolation and frustration.  (Little side note here... The band did receive mail from a US based label called Notown around the time of the release of the BOOM EP. That label looked like a Motown label with an N... Ya get the picture? Anyway, the band brushed it off and continued on their merry way. I think the general attitude at the time was, "fuck them.")

The image used for the label's logo is the steeple of Young United Church, located at the corner of Furby St. and Broadway Ave. in Winnipeg, and is based on the STAX finger snapping logo. That idea actually came from perusing (And listening hard to! CB) a copy of Johnnie Taylor's Tailored In Silk LP.
Note the TV antenna; looks like that cross used on the Dub Rifles backdrop doesn't it? Hmmm...
The photo used for the graphic was taken by Colin out of Matthew's apartment window located above I&I Record Shop (long gone) on Broadway. Colin lived across the hall and directly above the barber shop. Quite an exciting time and place really. The sounds of a booming reggae bass line were a regular wake-up call for the guys and they went perfectly with that morning spliff and  jolly cup of tea out on the roof. Yep, that Matthew could really brew a fine cup o' Rosy.
 

After a healthy round of touring and saving up to record the second EP the band again hit the studio. The Notown EP had received some strong local airplay courtesy CFRW (a local AM station oddly enough) but by the time the Boom EP was released it was apparent that wasn't gonna be happening again. The touring had paid off however and college stations where quick to champion and add both EPs to their playlists. Also around this time, the band had set up offices in an exchange district building (Jeez, money musta been better than I thought! CB) and with their increased profile it was calculated that maybe their pals MONUMENTS GALORE could benefit in some way by using Notown as their label too. Monuments were never "signed" or anything that advanced. It was just figured to be of mutual benefit. Was it? Nah... The office closed, the Dub Rifles left town, Monuments did another couple of records with different labels, and Notown was never heard from again. Or were they?
 

 
                                                                                            
              Notown EP                                              Boom EP                                   Monuments Galore