Jennifer Morton's "Dirty, Drunk and Punk" Part Three

Today brings the final installment of a three-part interview with Jennifer Morton, author of an awesome new book about Toronto punks the Bunchofuckingoofs. The book is Dirty, Drunk and Punk and it's published by Insomniac Press. It's part history lesson, part art book, and it's entirely recommended.

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LW: Were you afraid of backlash at all? Were you worried about whether anybody from the scene would be mad?


JM: Oh definitely. Maybe I should preface this: the Goofs, although they ran a boozecan, they were not involved with bikers and they were very, very adamant against becoming part of that underground, criminal world.

That said, some of their original members joined the Hell’s Angels and probably don’t really want to be known as a Goof. I didn’t want to offend anybody on that level, and being an outsider I wasn’t sure how tough these guys actually can be towards something they disapprove of.

So yeah, it’s a bit of a fine line, and you don’t know, right? They believe in what they believe in and they’re rough and tumble. They do things differently.

There were a few moments where I was like, “this could be really bad. Why am I doing this book?”

LW: Were there times when you questioned whether you could actually pull this book off?

JM: Oh yes, ha ha ha. I missed the first deadline. For some reason I thought I could get it done in eight months, which was impossible. There were all sorts of things that came up along the way.

With the story, Steve kept leaving town. I had 5,000 photographs to go through. The organizational part of making the book was huge.

But ultimately, if I had lost Steve’s confidence along the way I would have lost the book. And there were one or two episodes of that where he lost confidence, and it was like, oh, how do we get back on board again? Because it was all good – I wasn’t out to get anybody. It was supposed to be a tribute to the legacy of the Goofs, a coffee table book of the Goofs. They don’t have any coffee tables, but…

LW: So who do you think this book is most for – is it for Goofs fans?

JM: I hope it’s not. My idea is it’s for people who are interested in subcultures.

You know, I often think, "why didn’t I ever get on a plane when I was 19 and try to get into Andy Warhol’s factory?"

I’m sort of mad at myself for that. I’m always interested in reading about how other people live, and how they choose to live, and when it’s in your backyard it’s really fascinating that the Goofs have actually managed to last for 25 years – more than most marriages.

My friends who have read the book find it fascinating because it’s a story. A crazy story. Ultimately I hope it reaches other crowds, beyond just the Goofs.

I’m excited about selling it. I think it’s a beautifully designed book. I think it’s gorgeous. You can find little messages in it. Hopefully book lovers will love it: it’s got a nice feel, nice paper, nice weight, nice photographs.

LW: I think that’s another thing that people – that even though it's a very chaotic story, there is this contrast of beauty.

JM: I didn’t want to make it like a cheap collage. The goal was to have a beautiful book to juxtapose the insanity. Too collage-y would have been tiring.

LW: Cliché?

JM: Yeah. The script and stuff is really great. To have those photos, that’s what made a huge part of the book. It’s not full of punk performance shots; there are a couple of amazing ones, but there are a lot of photos of dogs and people just hanging around.

LW: Sometimes when you just give that sense of homemade fashion and candid shots of people hanging around, it really captures the history of the scene.

JM: Even the guys were making their own clothes. The girls were always out there doing their thing, but the guys were, too. It’s great. Punk girls are really great. And brave.

LW: Especially back then, when people would beat you up if you walked down the street like that. You wouldn’t think that would ever happen in downtown Toronto, but it did.

JM: Yeah, they were seen as sluts and freaks. I think it’s interesting that this next generation would never even imagine that it would be like that.

LW: Is there anyone you tried to track down for the book that has come out of the woodwork since?

JM: No, the only guy – Steve left to go out to Asia recently – and I’d been trying to find Johnny the Greek for a year. I asked every butcher, every fish person, everybody. I went up and down the Danforth to find him.

And then Steve goes, the other day, “ahahaha, I woke up the other day and I found Johnny the Greek’s phone number in my pocket.” So that was disappointing. I would have really liked to have spoken to him.

And then there was another guy, Cisco, who they all adored but he was just too hard to find. But I think I got enough.

And then there was a few I didn’t want to find, that I really tried to find and then I got the serious shut down, like “oh my god, I think I’m going to throw up.” I’d say there were two in that category that I’m very happy I never found.

LW: When you finished the manuscript, did you go through a mourning period for it?

JM: Oh yeah, it’s like the high after any project. I’d think, “did I rush the end?” And then when I got the finished product, I thought I was going to throw up. I was shaking.

And then I thought, “what’s next?”

This book took a lot of time and focus and organization. It’s a lot harder than it looks.

But I think these guys, I’m close to them now. They aren’t going to go away. They’re going to be in my life, and I hope that if they ever need anything they call me.

If you want to check out Jennifer Morton's Dirty, Drunk and Punk you can get it here.