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The Arrogant Worms

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The Arrogant Worms
OriginKingston, Ontario, Canada
GenresComedy, folk
Years active1991–present
LabelsFestival Distribution, Oglio Records
MembersTrevor Strong
Mike McCormick
Chris Patterson
Past membersJohn Whytock
Steve Wood
Websitehttps://www.arrogantworms.com/

The Arrogant Worms are a Canadian musical comedy trio that parodies many musical genres. They are well known for their humorous on-stage banter in addition to their music.[1][2] Members are Trevor Strong (vocals), Mike McCormick (guitar, vocals) and Chris Patterson (bass, vocals).

History

The Arrogant Worms came together in 1991 to do a few spots on campus radio station CFRC at Queen's University at Kingston,[3] and quickly moved to doing spots on CBC Radio, particularly on Jack Farr's The Radio Show. Founding members were Strong, McCormick, and bassists John Whytock and Steve Wood. Wood left the band in 1991, Whytock in 1995. He was replaced by Patterson.

The Worms have toured Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom,[4] and Australia, playing to crowds as large as 100,000. They have played at celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and at a concert in New York's Central Park.[5][6]

Since 1992 the troupe has released fifteen CDs, mostly independently, with sales exceeding 175,000.[7][8] Their songs pay homage, always humorously, to different genres and topics. Two exceptions are the 1997 Live Bait and 2003 Semi-Conducted CDs, which are live albums, comprising collections of their best songs. Semi-Conducted was performed with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.[9] Most of their albums include contributions from prominent musicians, including Andy Thompson, Andrew Affleck, Gord Thompson, Adrian Dolan, Mike Ford, John Loughrey, Terry Tufts and Tim Readman, who is also their dialect coach.

Rock, folk, ballads, country, and children's music all have been genres parodied by the Worms. When not spoofing a particular style of music, the Worms' material pokes fun at various aspects of daily life in Canada with songs like "Canada's Really Big", "Me Like Hockey", "We are the Beaver", "I Am Not American", and "Proud to Be Canadian".

They have also recorded music videos for three songs: "Big Fat Road Manager", "Carrot Juice Is Murder",[10] and "The River (River of Snot)". The first two of these are included on the Three Worms and an Orchestra DVD, which includes appearances by Tom Cavanagh, Nathan Fillion and Kurt Browning.

The band has long supported the cause of literacy in Canada and, for their efforts, have twice won the Peter Gzowski Award.

Their most recent album, The First Farewell Album, was released in November 2016. As of 2022, the Arrogant Worms are still performing.[11]

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

  • Gift Wrapped (2002), Oglio Records
  • Hindsight 20/20 (2013), Independent
  • Completely Canadian Compilation (2015)[12]

Videos

Get Stupid!

Get Stupid! is a 2005 book rwritten by Trevor Strong. It teaches the "Ignorance IS Bliss Method". It contains three parts:

  • "The IQ (Ignorance Quotient) Test", which tests how ignorant you really are.
  • "The Seven Steps to Bliss", which teaches you how to find happiness through ignorance.
  • "Simplifying the World", which teaches you how to deal with the problems of the world after you have become ignorant. It contains information about everything, including art, gardening, health, and recipes.

Misattribution

The Arrogant Worms are frequently mis-credited[13] (on the internet and otherwise) as having written and/or recorded songs such as "The White House Burned (The War of 1812)" and "The Toronto Song" (both of which are by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie), as well as Vito Petroccitto Jr's recording of "The Assumption Song". Other frequent mis-attributions, according to their official website, include "Cows With Guns" by Dana Lyons and "Wayne Gretzky Rocks" by The Pursuit of Happiness. This has occasionally led to fans requesting these songs during encores of their live shows.

On a similar note, the Captain Tractor cover version of the Worms' "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate" is often simply credited to the Arrogant Worms themselves, or Captain Tractor is credited with having written the song.

References

  1. ^ "Arrogant Worms bring laughter and warmth to a diverse crowd | Canadian Beats Media". Archived from the original on 2021-07-22. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  2. ^ "The Arrogant Worms". 22 April 2002. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  3. ^ "The Arrogant Worms: Biography". Archived from the original on 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  4. ^ "Arrogant Worms To Tour UK, Apr 2006". pressreleases.responsesource.com. ResponseSource. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  5. ^ "New York Magazine, Aug 1997, page 177". books.google.ca. 25 August 1997. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  6. ^ "The Worms According To Jeff". theonlinezoo.com. The Online Zoo. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  7. ^ "The Arrogant Worms". discogs.com. Discogs. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  8. ^ "The Arrogant Worms: Coming Home for Homecoming". queensu.ca. Queens University. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  9. ^ "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate". youtube.com. YouTube. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Arrogant Worms - Carrot Juice is Murder". youtube.com. YouTube. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Events - Tour Calendar". arrogantworms.com. The Arrogant Worms. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Completely Canadian Compilation". amazon.com. Amazon. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  13. ^ "The Arrogant Worms: Official Discography (lists misattributed songs at the bottom)". Archived from the original on 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
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