My Summer Lair Chapter #342: Who Was That Masked Man?
A dude adorned in surgical bandages like a musical Invisible Man rocking out with a Skull Mandolin was mind blowing to a punk kid in the ’80s. Especially as that kid was getting into Stephen King and other horror elements and experiences. (Horror is a language and it takes time to become fluent.) Nash seemed dangerous and therefore attractive. School sucked: it was safe and soul sucking. So sign me up for this. Let’s go down this dark alleyway in a bad part of town…without a flashlight.
Nash the Slash appeared on stage in a tuxedo…sometimes white…a top hat, dark sunglasses and his face was always wrapped in bandages. Seeing that prompted many obvious questions about his mysterious identity. Who was that masked man? Was there something wrong with his face?
Nash the Slash Rises Again! is a fantastic Nash the Slash documentary about the pioneering Canadian electronic music innovator. He was creating tape loops onstage in the ’70s and ’80s…which decades later we mostly take for granted when we see similar solo acts like Ed Sheeran.
The documentary description includes this remarkable line: “An unearthly film about artistic integrity, courage, and the price-tag that comes with it.”
As much as the surgical bandages were iconic, Nash the Slash’s grinding experiences reflected the music industry and the necessary compromises that are required for mainstream success. It’s telling he wrote the aptly named Cut-Throat – his 1997 book about surviving the music industry. Yeah, he named his book Cut-Throat.
Nash the Slash was a real life phantom of the opera; he haunted Toronto’s Original 99 Cent Roxy Theatre. Nash opened shows for The Who, Iggy Pop, The Tubes, Devo. And like Batman and Spider-Man, Nash the Slash had a public career all while keeping his real identity a closely-guarded secret.
“In the pulsating heart of the ’70’s, Nash the Slash emerges as a musical enigma. It’s at his home, the historic rep house “Original 99 Cent Roxy”, as a living Phantom of the Theatre, where he orchestrates his unique blend of classical finesse and punk rebellion. Flanked by his analog machines, his debut performance is a live score for the surrealist silent short “Un Chien Andalou.” The audience is spellbound: How could just one person make all that sound? An electronic pioneer, musical innovator and performance artist, Nash’s scorched earth performances set him on a journey which brings the promise of international success but also threatens to detonate his deepest secrets.”
Tim and Kevan approach Nash’s story through the lens of music; Tim as a producer and Kevan in the band King Cobb Steelie. While Colin passionately tells Canadian stories…he’s a producer on Schitt’s Creek, Kids in the Hall and The Marijuana Conspiracy.
I spoke to them when Nash the Slash Rises Again! was screening at the 2025 Blood in the Snow Film Festival.
Nash the Slash died in 2014. Nash was a major horror fan and of course…if you watch enough horror movies you know a grave is only a pitstop.
So a graveyard is a most excellent place to start a conversation about Nash the Slash…especially the time he was in a graveyard with Richard Branson? As in the billionaire?
Nash The Slash @ W • T • F
Host Sammy Younan
Recorded: Monday, November 17, 2025 at 6:45 pm (EST)
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