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Don Pyle
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==Life and career== Pyle's first group was a [[Punk rock|punk]] band called [[Crash Kills Five]], which was active from 1979 to 1981. Crash Kills Five released one EP in 1980, titled ''What Do You Do At Night?''. It was in this four piece band that Pyle first played with two members, Reid Diamond and Brian Connelly, who would later become his bandmates in [[Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet]]. Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were together for eleven years; during this time, they recorded three LPs and thirteen EPs and became widely known when the song "Having An Average Weekend" became the theme for the Canadian sketch comedy television series ''[[The Kids in the Hall (TV series)|The Kids in the Hall]]''. The band also won a [[Juno Award]] for [[Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year|Instrumental Artist of the Year]] at the [[Juno Awards of 1992]].<ref>"Cochrane mops up 'sweet rain' of Junos". ''[[Windsor Star]]'', March 30, 1992.</ref> Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet also recorded with [[B52s|B-52s]] vocalist [[Fred Schneider]] for his solo album ''[[Just Fred]]''. Pyle also played with several other bands such as [[King Cobb Steelie]] and [[Fifth Column (band)|Fifth Column]] while on hiatus from Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. During these periods he began producing recordings for other bands, including the debut single and LP by King Cobb Steelie<ref>Jennie Punter, "Full frontal funkery, Guelph-style Juno-nominated sextet King Cobb Steelie gets into the groove". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', February 16, 1995.</ref> and a record by Phleg Camp. After Shadowy Men broke up in 1994, he and Reid Diamond then formed the band [[Phono-Comb]] with [[Dallas Good]] for the express purpose of playing and recording with [[Jad Fair]].<ref>Andy Pedersen, "Shadowy Men to Phono-Comb to Fair to ...". ''[[Halifax Daily News]]'', March 30, 1996.</ref> After releasing one single and an LP, Fair returned to solo performing, and the trio released another single. [[Beverly Breckenridge]] of Fifth Column then joined the group to play bass and the quartet recorded the LP ''Fresh Gasoline'' for [[Quarterstick]]/[[Touch and Go Records]], with [[Steve Albini]] producing. After Phono-Comb broke up, Pyle began a new musical project with Andrew Zealley called [[Greek Buck]].<ref>Bill Reynolds, "Greek Buck- berserk sonic mayhem". ''[[Hamilton Spectator]]'', August 2, 2002.</ref> More [[Experimental music|experimental]] than his previous outfits, Greek Buck was noted primarily for their soundtrack compositions, such as those composed for films directed by [[John Greyson]] including ''[[The Law of Enclosures (film)|The Law of Enclosures]]'' (1999) and ''[[Proteus (2003 film)|Proteus]]'' (2003), [[Sarah Polley]]'s film ''[[I Shout Love]]'', and most famously, the theme song of the series ''[[Queer As Folk (US)|Queer As Folk]]''. In April 2007, Pyle launched his "Trouble in the Camera Club" photography show at The Beaver Cafe/bar in Toronto.<ref>Graham Rockingham, "A punk in the camera club". ''[[Hamilton Spectator]]'', June 10, 2011.</ref> The extensive collection of photographs documented the birth of the punk music scene in Toronto clubs during 1976β1980. An on-line version of the show was available on his official website. ''Trouble in the Camera Club'' was published as a photo and essay book by [[ECW Press]] in 2011 and included over 300 photographs of Toronto punk bands such as [[The Viletones|Viletones]], and [[Teenage Head (band)|Teenage Head]]. His photos of international artists include [[Iggy Pop]], [[Ramones]], [[Dead Boys]], [[The Heartbreakers]], [[The Vibrators|Vibrators]] and [[The Troggs]].<ref>Ben Kaplan, "Snarl for the camera; The birth of punk rock, through Don Pyle's lens". ''[[National Post]]'', May 6, 2011.</ref> As a producer, music recorder, and mixer, his credits include releases by [[The Sadies]], [[Iggy Pop]], [[Peaches (musician)|Peaches]], [[John Doe (musician)|John Doe]], [[Andre Williams (musician)|Andre Williams]], and others. He composed and produced music for films by [[Ron Mann]], [[Sarah Polley]], and [[John Greyson]] as well as composing and/or producing music for [[Inside Out Film and Video Festival|The Inside Out Film and Video Festival]], [[TV Ontario]], ''[[Dragon's Den (Canada)|Dragon's Den]]'', and others. In 2012 and 2013, Pyle released recordings by his two bands. The Filthy Gaze of Europe, his collaboration with [[The Sadies|Dallas Good]], had a 7" released by Ugly Pop records, with vocals by [[Fucked Up|Damian Abraham]], and [[Burning Love (band)|Chris Colohan]], with cover art by [[G. B. Jones]]. Black Heel Marks released an album called Feel Free in June 2013 that included Pyle in collaboration with Tacoma rock band [[Girl Trouble (band)|Girl Trouble]], [[Sandro Perri]], and others.
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