1993 - 1994 [Dearborn, MI]

13 songs in just under 12 minutes. Sadly, that is all that remains of the tragically short-lived Michigan hardcore outfit Ottawa. Ottawa arose from the ashes of the Tolkien-inspired power/speed metal act Elf Lord. When Elf Lord's demo was rejected from the review section of Rip Magazine for being "too gay", the band decided to abandon their New Wave of British Heavy Metal roots and go for a more raw, stripped down sound. Elf Lord first changed its name to the Frodo Baggins Motherfuckers, but finally settled on the more enigmatic Ottawa.

Ottawa's first practices occurred in late 1993 and the band began gigging shortly thereafter. After a few poorly received stints at Detroit heavy metal dives the I-Rock and the Mosquito Club, Ottawa realized that hardcore was their true calling. Ottawa managed its way onto the bill of a hardcore show at the University of Detroit Grounds Coffee House by getting then Grounds proprietor - Eric Z. - high on oven cleaner fumes. Their first hardcore show, with the stellar acts Planteater, Gadje, and Rocksevelt's Inaugural Parade, was a smashing success which also ushered in the era of goat-kissing. After the show, Ottawa inked a deal with Council Records and, in early 1994, hit the studio to record what was to be their only vinyl output.

Summer of 1994 was an eventful one for Ottawa. In May, the band departed for a 6-week tour of Eastern Canada with the French-Canadian crustcore band Nütter Bütter. This epic journey brought the bands to audiences in areas as far-flung as Newfoundland and the Inuit province of Nunavet. It was also in the summer of 1994 that Ottawa made its first vinyl appearance on the compilation EP "A History of Compassion and Justice" on Lengua Armada Discos. Soon after tour, Ottawa was playing 57-seat arenas with the likes of One By One and Apeface - the future was bright indeed.

Finally, in October of 1994, the 13 Ottawa tracks were released as a split LP with the Kalamazoo hardcore band Jihad. At about the same time, Ottawa played with Los Crudos and Animal Farm at the Trumbull Theater in Detroit. Sadly, this was to be Ottawa's final live appearance. The following weekend, on the way to a show in Gary, Indiana, the members of Ottawa decided to stop at the Velvet Touch in Parma, Michigan. Tragically, the Velvet Touch was also the site of the largest mass murder in Michigan history on that same night. The lives of all five Ottawa members were claimed when a disgruntled former employee opened fire on the store's patrons with an AK-47 assault rifle.

At the time of their collective demise, Ottawa had already booked the studio time to record a grandiose, triple LP musical adaptation of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (ed. note - LotR is not an actual trilogy, but six individual books published in three volumes). Unfortunately, only a few rough demo tracks from this project were ever laid down on tape and the whereabouts of the master reels from this session are presently unknown. In May of 2000, the 13 Ottawa songs were remixed for a 12 inch EP reissue by Council Records.

J. Rice
10.27.00
Slightly embellished