Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to Shane Kippel!
Shane Kippel, as I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, played Spinner Mason on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He started out as the school bully but, by the time the third season began, he was pretty much the heart of the ensemble. How cool was Shane Kippel? He was so cool that Spinner ended up getting held back three times just so there would be an excuse to keep Kippel on the show!
(“What type of idiot fails his own language!?” Spinner once said when confronted with his grade in English. Oh, Spinner!)
Today’s song of the day features Shane Kippel on drums. From Degrassi, here is Downtown Sasquatch with Dust!
(The other members of the band are Jake Epstein on vocals, Aubrey Graham on guitar, and Adamo Ruggiero on bass.)
I’ll be the first to admit that it’s probably debatable whether or not today’s music video of the day is actually a music video. The fictional Canadian band Downtown Sasquatch performed What I Know at the end of the Rock and Roll High School episode of Degrassi. The video below is taken from the end of that episode.
But, you know what? I think this does qualify as a music video. It’s certainly shot like a music video and, to a large extent, it reminds me of something from the pop culture fueled imagination of Spike Jonze. In some ways, it’s even better when viewed out of the context of the rest of the episode. So dammit, it’s a music video!
Add to that, I love this song!
As for Downtown Sasquatch, they were the most popular band on Degrassi and they went through several lineup changes. Fortunately, What I Know was performed with the first and best lineup.
On bass, we have Marco Del Rossi (played by Adamo Ruggiero), whose epic coming out story played out over five seasons of Degrassi.
On lead guitar, we have Jimmy Brooks (played by Aubrey Graham, though he’s now better known as Drake). Since this took place during the third season of the show, Jimmy could still walk. This would change during the fourth season of the show when he was shot in the back by Rick Murray.
On drums — Spinner Mason (Shane Kippel)! How important a character was Spinner to Degrassi? He was so important that, despite the fact that he started the show a year ahead of all the other characters, it still took him seven seasons to graduate from high school. Seriously, some of us were wondering if Spinner was going to end up celebrating his 40th birthday in Mr. Simpson’s media immersion class. Incidentally, just a season after Downtown Sasquatch’s performance here, Spinner would be involved in the prank that would eventually lead to Rick Murray shooting Jimmy in the back. However, Jimmy and Spinner would eventually reconcile and start a T-shirt business called Squatchwear.
And finally, we have our lead singer and founder of Downtown Sasquatch, Craig Manning (Jake Epstein)! A bipolar photographer and a musialc genius, Craig not only started Downtown Sasquatch but he also impregnated Manny Santos and broke the hearts of not only Ashley Kerwin but Ellie Nash as well!
Speaking of Ashley (Melissa McIntyre) and Ellie (Stacey Farber), they’re both sitting in the audience and watching Downtown Sasquatch perform. If you look closely, you’ll notice that they’re both wearing t-shirts that depict Craig burning in Hell.
Now, as our regular readers know, I absolutely adore Canada. I love the people, I love the movies, and I especially love the television! In honor of Canada Day, I thought I would share a great moment from Canadian history!
That moment, of course, is the night that Downtown Sasquatch defeated Hell Hath No Fury at the Toronto Battle of the Bands! It was this victory that not only introduced Spinner Mason to the rest of the Toronto but it also launched Craig Manning into super stardom.
First, a little background. Craig was one of the most popular students at Degrassi Community School but he shocked the entire student body when he cheated on his girlfriend, Ashley Kerwin, with Manny Santos. The end result is that Manny ended up pregnant and had to get an abortion. Ashley, meanwhile, challenged her rage by forming a band called Hell Hath No Fury. Hell Hath No Fury specialized in singing songs about how much they hated Craig.
Craig, of course, was already the lead singer for Downtown Sasquatch. When it came time to write a song for the upcoming battle of the bands, Craig was stunned to discover that his band would be competing against Hell Hath No Fury. Craig was hit with writer’s block. With Craig unable to come up with lyrics for a new song, drummer Spinner Mason and guitarist Jimmy Brooks decided to try to help out. Here’s what they came up with:
Things looked bleak for Downtown Sasquatch. Things looked even bleaker when, on the night of the battle of the band and with Craig still unable to write, Hell Hath No Fury — while wearing shirts that portrayed Craig burning in Hell — performed their anti-Craig anthem, Mr. Nice Guy:
When Downtown Sasquatch took the stage, it was as a power trio. Craig had mysteriously disappeared. Bravely, Spinner attempted to kill time but it was obvious that the audience had turned against Downtown Sasquatch. The future of Canadian music was in peril.
Then, suddenly, Craig returned, walking out on stage with freshly written lyrics in his hands. The rest is history:
Through the Shattered Lens 