All Systems Go!

All Systems Go! is a Canadian punk rock group, and features members of Big Drill Car, Doughboys and The Carnations. The band was formed after Frank Daly and Mark Arnold's previous band Big Drill Car broke up in 1995.

ASG's 1999 self-titled debut CD alternates between John Kastner (guitar) and Frank Daly (bass) on lead vocals. Blending hard rock, punk, great vocal harmonies and inventive guitar interplay from Mark Arnold, the excellent album delivers the best of both worlds (i.e. Doughboys and Big Drill Car). Though a fairly short album, the underrated debut did win over listeners with its fresh, memorable batch of songs. Fans of Doughboys and Big Drill Car seemingly now had more to look forward to from this new group.

That promise fell through, however, when Frank Daly left the band the following year and was replaced by Thomas D'Arcy on bass and vocals. The resulting album, "Mon Chi Chi", repeats the process of divvying up songwriting duties, but this time between Kastner and newcomer D'Arcy. Kastner's few contributions are among his best, however a reliance on guest appearances and D'Arcy's differing aesthetic altered the band's dynamic. While well-produced, some listeners found that the uneven "Mon Chi Chi" sounded less like a band who had helped originate the pop/punk sound and more like one following it.

Thomas D'Arcy left the band shortly thereafter and was temporarily replaced by Karl Alvarez (Descendents/All). This line-up toured briefly but did not produce a studio album. The future of All Systems Go! seemed uncertain.

After several intervening years, ASG resurfaced somewhat in 2007 with an exclusive iTunes download-only release, "A Late Night Snack". This collection of outtakes and unreleased songs from the band's original line-up gave fans another chance to hear Kastner, Daly, Arnold and their winning songwriting formula.