Mr. Chi Pig, singer of SNFU, in our Sodomy Road T-shirt

I just figured I'd fill you guys in on a little history between me and SNFU. To me, Mr. Chi Pig, the singer, and the band, epitomizes what it means to be punk rock. As a kid growing up I saw them several times in the '80s and early '90s in Toronto, and they always put on incredible live shows! I remember thinking to myself when I was younger that if I ever had a band, I would want it to be like SNFU. I remember one show in particular at the Rivoli on Queen St. in Toronto. SNFU were playing two shows that day, an all-ages matinee and a 19+ evening set. None of my friends wanted to come with me, so I went by myself to the matinee. When I got there, nobody was there - I was early, so I just started walking around Queen St. and I happened to walk behind the club. There parked behind the club was their extended white tour van, with the words VANNA WHITE spray painted along the side. I saw all the guys hanging around, and there in the middle of the group was my favourite punk rock singer of all time, Mr. Chi Pig. I walked up and introduced myself, in awe, and the band was incredibly cool to me. Just as we were in conversation, sitting on the curb talking, a MuchMusic van pulled up and parked right in front of our feet. Erica Ehm, the VJ, jumped out with a camera crew, and they were going to interview the band before the show. Mr. Chi Pig asked me what my name was, and asked me to stay with him for the interview. Erica Ehm interviewed the entire band and Mr. Chi Pig introduced me as one of their members. You can imagine how excited I was. I never ended up seeing that footage, but I am sure it exists somewhere, and I would die to see it today. Anyway I guess what I'm trying to get at is SNFU is my favourite band of all time, I know every word to every song they've ever written, and my dream would be to one day share the stage with them. I also remember how incredibly cool they were to me as a fan, and THE 3TARDS use them as a model for how we treat our own fans, and will forever.
- John Tard



On September 28, 2007, at The Cobalt in Vancouver on the night of our first ever West Coast show, THE 3TARDS hung out with Chi Pig! After the show, Chi Pig took me aside and presented me with some 3TARD related artwork that he made, and a plate from his childhood that he wanted me to have! On the back of the plate he drew a portrait of me and a bunch of SNFU artwork, the plate is significant because on the other side is gold artwork from the hospital he was born in in Edmonton. He also explained to me that right across the street from that hospital was the high school he graduated from, and right beside that was the famous Edmonton Polish Hall, where the original lineup of SNFU played their final show together and recorded The Last Of The Big Time Suspenders live CD. I asked him what he thought about our performance, he looked me in the eye and he said that he thought we were brilliant and he was so happy that he was finally able to see us live! Those words mean the world to me coming from him!
- John Tard