This is an uncensored oral history of the 1977 toronto punk explosion as told by the bands who were there...

Treat Me Like Dirt is the first book to document the histories of the Diodes, Viletones, and Teenage Head, along with other bands (B-Girls, Curse, Demics, Dishes, Forgotten Rebels, Johnny & The G-Rays, The Mods, The Poles, Simply Saucer, The Ugly, etc) and fans that brought the original punk scene to life in Toronto and beyond (Hamilton and London).

It is the ONLY book on the 1977 Toronto punk scene; an indispensable reference work. There is a wealth of previously unpublished photographs including The Dead Boys, The Ramones, The Nerves in addition to The Viletones, Poles, Diodes, Dishes, Teenage Head, etc. Previously unpublished photography by Ross Taylor, Gail Bryck, Steve Burman, Ralph Alfonso, Edie Steiner, Don Pyle and others.

The book offers an extensive history of: The Diodes, Teenage Head, Forgotten Rebels, The Viletones, and also Simply Saucer in addition to B-Girls (Bomp Records), The Ugly, The Curse, the clubs, the drug use, murder, sex and all the adjacent highlights. It is an oral history told by the bands themselves (in the style of Please Kill Me). Includes one of the last interviews with the late Frankie Venom (singer, Teenage Head).

An incredible document of a self-contained world that was influential in its time but never documented until now. A lot of this music is already known internationally thanks to bootleg compilations like Killed By Death and various punk blogs.

Maximum Rock'n'Roll magazine has already featured interviews with the 3 main bands (Viletones, Teenage Head, The Diodes).

The book was written by music journalist and author Liz Worth (Exclaim), edited by pop musicologist Gary Pig Gold, and designed by Ralph Alfonso. Gary Pig Gold and Ralph Alfonso are veterans of the Toronto 1977 scene; Gary ran the legendary Pig Paper zine and released the first single by Simply Saucer; Ralph ran the Crash'n'Burn club that the scene revolved around, manages The Diodes, and is a former rock journalist/photographer (Bomp, Cheap Thrills, New York Rocker) in addition to his current role as owner of Bongo Beat Records (and Books).

NERD NOTES:

• The book is now in its second printing. It is marked "Second Printing, Jan. 2010"
• About 100 copies of the first printing came with page 325 as a separate flyleaf due to a ONE IN A MILLION glitch at the printers. We are mentioning it here as a means to authenticate that these are now indeed collector's items and only approx 100 exist.
• The duo on the cover are Don Pyle (also the photographer) and the mysterious Virlana. It was photographed at the Carlton laundromat at Parliament many many years ago. Don Pyle's own book of fantastic 1977-era punk pix, Trouble in The Camera Club, will be coming soon from ECW Press. You can order prints here.