Music

Oshawa's Mike Star was a local music hero

by Jesse Locke

Ontario musicians and music fans are in mourning with the passing of Mike Shulga a.k.a. Mike Star. He died suddenly on September 11 while vacationing in Cuba at age 64.

Starting in 1974, Shulga opened Oshawa’s vinyl-focused Star Records shop (later adding locations in Hamilton, St. Catherines, and Scarborough), hosted live music with his Star Club series (including appearances from Charlie Pickett and the Eggs, The Fleshtones, and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet), and launched the Star Records label (with releases from The Forgotten Rebels, The Cynics, and Dr. Feelgood). On a local level, he offered support to Oshawa bands such as The Purple Toads and Durango 95 (sharing their name with a Ramones song, who also made an appearance at the shop). Watch Durango 95 live at the Star Club below:

“Star Records was really an extension of Mike himself,” says drummer McKeever of Toronto’s Pink Wine, who spent his formative years in Oshawa. “I first came upon Star when I was nine years old. My earliest memory is seeing this wall display of Japanese imports from all these bands my friends and I loved, but we had never seen these albums before. The words ‘import’, ‘picture disc’, ‘rare live’, were hand written in blue crayon just below the price sticker on the sleeve of these mysterious releases. Records from unknown garage bands like Thee Milkshakes were just blasting. We thought, ‘Who created this place?'”

“I was amazed anyone could start a label,” he continues. “The first Star Records product I bought was The Forgotten Rebels’ In Love with the System. Mike was somewhat reluctant to sell it to me. Oh man, was that album a hit at ‘Bring a Record to School Day’ in grade 5. My teacher’s face was like, ‘Wha!! This is the album I get high to with my friends.’ That inspired me to make a few cassette copies of my ‘band’ rehearsing and hand them out at school; photocopied inserts and all.”

“Mike also promoted hall shows billed as The Star Club,” McKeever concludes. “Those were my introduction to live local gigs and they were absolutely wild. The Cynics, Chesterfield Kings, and Barracudas all played there. People would rip the hall to sawdust. I thought that was normal. Needless to say very little has lived up to those shows. Most rock & roll musicians I know wanted to get out of Oshawa and move to big cities to play music. Mike prepared us for that.”

A loving piece from The Star includes other notable names such as Craig Laskey of Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern, Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene, and Simon Oates of PANIC sharing their thoughts on Star’s lasting legacy. Storied London, ON DJ WhatWave Dave broadcast a tribute show featuring only Star Records releases or live recordings from the Star Club. Last year, Blue Rodeo and videographer Chris Mills included some melancholy shots of Shulga behind the counter in a short film. See the shop at 5:13 in the video below:

In a private ceremony for family and friends, Shulga was laid to rest with a dozen roses in Star Records’ trademark yellow. Songs at the funeral included The Clash’s “Know Your Rights” and The Forgotten Rebels classic “This Ain’t Hollywood.” A memorial tribute concert is now in the planning stages and will be announced in the coming months.