A godfather to Canada’s indie and punk scenes
For 41 years Mike Shulga, who also called himself Mike Star, shared his taste in rock ’n’ roll, and his passion for vinyl, with all who entered his Oshawa store.
Between the shop, Star Records, opened in 1974, his Star Club shows (1978-92) and his Star Records label (Forgotten Rebels, the Bookmen, the Cynics), Shulga influenced generations of future tastemakers.
Shulga died suddenly on Sept. 11 while vacationing in Cuba. He was 64.
Craig Laskey, booker for Toronto’s legendary Horseshoe Tavern, says his choices are influenced by Shulga’s musical palate.
“My first Star Club show was the Cynics and the Mono Men, Sept. 22, 1990,” said Laskey. “This show was so exciting; it had a lasting impression on me. It was one of the reasons I wanted to try and be a promoter of indie and underground bands.” Among the underground bands who played the Star Club were Shad- owy Men on a Shadowy Planet, the Diodes, Blue Peter, the Smithereens and the Fleshtones. The club also showcased the label’s stable, which included Oshawa bands Durango 95 and the Purple Toads.
“Mike’s influence on the (Oshawa) scene is incalculable,” says Simon Oates of groups like the Starkweather Fix and Panic. “Generations growing up here and discovering his store, discovering this music, attending the Star Club shows, in turn creating their own bands and zines.”
Many Oshawa-area musicians, including Dave Ullrich of online indie music store Zunior.com, Wayne Petti of Cuff the Duke, and members of the band Timber Timbre say they were turned on to new sounds by Star.
Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene, who was raised in Ajax, says, “Mike’s shop was an oasis for me and my friends growing up in the ’80s . . . There was really only one record shop to hit, and that was Star Records.”
Videographer Chris Mills paid trib- ute to Star in a short film made for Blue Rodeo’s recent album In Our Nature.
The Juno-winning director says “it was like revisiting those feelings I had years ago while visiting Mike’s shop, and being able to articulate them into ‘story.’ I felt working there gave the idea an authenticity that we would not likely have achieved by shooting anywhere else.”
Authenticity was key to Star’s life. He was born in 1951 to Ukrainian parents, farmers in Whitby. His first musical instrument was the accordion, but he switched to guitar, says his brother, Steve. After university, Star opened his record shop and it became his life’s passion (he never married or had children). His favourite band then was Led Zeppelin, but that changed when he heard the Clash and the Ramones. He understood their message: be authentic.
Even as the music industry racked up record profits after the switch to CDs in the mid-’80s, Star stayed true to his creed: music first, business second. He stood by vinyl. He became a specialist, sourcing records globally for his customers as domestic pressing plants melted away.
“Neil Young was the first big name to speak up in support of vinyl, and to insist his new releases were put out on vinyl, not just CD,” says Sue Weigand, who worked at Star. “For a while it seemed like Neil Young and Mike were alone in the wilderness singing vinyl’s praises.”
Star survived long enough in the wilderness to see vinyl sales spin full circle. Some radio stations are adding vinyl again. Indie88 DJ Dave Bookman, formerly of Oshawa band the Bookmen, plays vinyl on his show Crackle and Pop. He met Star — whose store remains open — while a student at Durham College.
“He became a friend, a mentor, put out my band’s record and was always 100 per cent supportive,” says Bookman. “He taught me the things that aren’t written down anywhere and can only be learned through life experience. His ‘do it his own way’ approach was motivating and inspiring.”