I would never consider myself ever being a hard-core punk rocker– heck, not even a soft core– but I was once in the midst of the punk rock world when I had my store Flash Cadilac. In fact when I closed my store, the Ottawa Citizen labelled me The Mother Theresa of Punk Rock. Really? So, what does make someone punk rock?

If you think of punk rock you probably think of folks that need a bath or have a foul mouth. Actually I found that they were probably the coolest group of people you would ever meet. Not cool, as being popular with everyone–cool as in, they are nice to people who respect the scene and never ever stereotyped people. Most of them accepted everyone and listen to people’s ideas and actually think about things. Go figure huh?

So in thinking about things today I decided that Stompin’ Tom was actually Punk Rock before Punk Rock, whether he knew it or not. Like most punk rockers he traded beer for songs– and If he couldn’t stomp, he couldn’t sing. Like a punk rock band he made do with what he had– he got a stomping board– so he didn’t stomp his heel through the floor.

Tom was homegrown, a runaway as a child and and he didn’t take sh&t. He was a product of poverty from the Great Depression and like punk rock kids who feel the pain he substituted his pain to lyrics. Tom snubbed his nose at the CBC and the Junos for what he believed in. He was Canadian as all get out and a rebel. What is most important is that he held us all together as Canadians with his music until he died. And that’s a fact Jack!
Being from Canada and writing songs about loving the country is TOTALLY punk– but as Tom and I both believe-“Not everyone’s going to like you” and you know what? That was fine with him– and fine with me.