Hometown Tales with Sons of Butcher's Ricky Butcher

Look, it's LONG SINCE BEEN TIME that Glacially Musical mentions the CFL and I will tell you today that right now Canadian Football is the greatest American football league in the world until the Battlehawks return to take flight.

Now that I've done a little tire pumping for the Canadian Football League, it's time to point out that w're talking to Sons of Butcher. They're based out of Hamilton, Ontario.

You may be interested in their brand of metal. You can check that over on the BANDCAMP.

Let's find out what their digs are like.

1. St. Louis City is my hometown. I've lived here for most of my life in and around the city. Where are you from? 

 I’m from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada! I was born and raised here! 

2. We have three things that don't really exist anywhere else: the slinger, the gooey butter cake, and toasted ravioli. Tell me about your hometown delicacy. 

We have Roma pizza (slab pizza with tomato sauce on a puffy bread-like crust, served cold). Roma is a staple of every family gathering or event. 

Strangely it only seems to ‘work’ in Hamilton, as it has failed to branch out to neighbouring cities like Toronto. We also have Hutch’s Fish & Chips, serving the best goddam fish and chips you’ve ever had right on the beach, fried in beef fat since 1946! 

Also noteworthy is a cute little place near the lake called Easterbrook hotdogs! This place has been around since 1930 serving foot-long hot dogs with insanely delicious topping options. 

It’s a Hamilton rite of passage! 

3. In St. Louis, though there have been others. Our biggest hometown team is the St. Louis Cardinals (formerly the St. Louis Perfectos, nee: the St. Louis Browns, not the AL team that moved to Baltimore.) 

There is nowhere you can go to escape it. I'm a hockey fan, not a baseball fan, so it's a bit weird to me. Tell me about your hometown's big team. 

My hometown’s big team is the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats. 

I happen to live right by Tim Horton’s field and anytime the Ti-Cats are playing my neighbourhood comes alive with tailgate parties and diehard fans! 

I’m not a sports fan at all, however. 

4. St. Louis isn't really known for any one type of music scene. 

The biggest acts I can think of to get out of here alive were Gravity Kills, Nelly and the St. Lunatics, and Sheryl Crow. There's always been a vibrant concert scene though. 

What about where you are? 

Hamilton is known for its gritty music scene producing a number of famous artists such as Neil Peart, The Arkells, Monster Truck, Terra Lightfoot, Tom Wilson, Iskwe, Teenage Head, and The Forgotten Rebels. 

Growing up here was great as there were dozens of venues to cut your teeth at! Today there are far fewer venues but there still remains a vibrant music scene! 

5. 20 years ago, St. Louis had about 300 murders each year, floods, and all sorts of other fun things. You might have heard about us being named the Murder Capital of the USA. Nowadays, a lot here is 150. But there are lots of parts of the city that are returning to former glory. 

On the whole, St. Louis is a better place to live today than before. Is there any thing like that where you're from? (Note: St. Louis under current leadership will probably hit 300 murders this year again.)

Hamilton has its difficulties for sure. The mob has roots here, crackheads roam like you’re in a zombie movie and there’s always something crazy happening. 

In the last month, there was a massive fire at an old used furniture building, a fatal shooting at the convenience store down the street and stabbings on the regular. However, the city has never been cooler and continues to develop! 

The food scene is exploding here and the waterfront is being turned into a destination at Pier 8. We also have really cool events like Super Crawl, where an entire street is converted into a market and live music festival! 

6. Are you still there? 

I’m still living in downtown Hamilton in the east end, I love it here! My family still lives in the area too!