Rock der Maur : Honorary French Canadian

Yup, the rush is on to declare the next big thing, and at least according to Spin, Montreal's it, taking its turn beside Seattle, Halifax, Charlotte, N.C., Athens, Ga., Williamsburg, NYC and others that have provided the music world with a geographically locatable place to point their iPods.

Hopefully titled "The Next Big Scene: Montreal," along with the subheading "No really - Canada is now officially cool" (too bad the same can't be said for their country), the February issue is on stands now. It makes a reasonable case - in the absence of any Nirvanas or Pearl Jams - for some kind of small-scale revolution in sound, though this has been greeted with that very Montreal mix of indifference and bemusement. We're unaccustomed to the attention... and in typical fashion, more than a little suspicious too.

That said, I've got to hand it to Spin writer Rodrigo Perez, whose byline may also be found on music news pieces for MTV.com. He performs a nearly impossible trick by getting it almost all right, and by all right, I mean about 40 per cent right. Because that other 60 per cent piece of the music pie here in Montreal - the francophone slice - is mysteriously missing. Funny how that always seems to happen.

On the other hand, perhaps it's best that foreign rock writers not attempt to negotiate the rapids separating our cultural shores. Case in point: Perez attributes the success of our indie scene to the "no" side in the 1995 referendum. "When it was decided that Quebec would not secede, confidence in the city returned. And an indie infrastructure soon developed."

Um, no. But give him points for trying. At exactly that time, 10 years ago, I was asked to write a story about Montreal's thriving indie scene, not unlike his Montreal profile in Spin, for competing American music mag Alternative Press. The only difference between us is that I had the decided advantage of actually living and playing music here.

Bands like Goldfish, Stellar Dweller, Tinker, Slaves On Dope, The Snitches, The Local Rabbits, GrimSkunk, Atomik Folk, Groovy Aardvark and even a small upstart punk band called Reset (members of which would later go on to form Simple Plan) are all cited as going on to slowly usurp the places of a previous, equally dynamic generation of local players who thrived through the late '80s and early '90s: Me, Mom & Morgentaler, Doughboys, The Nils, Asexuals, Three O'Clock Train, Bootsauce, Déjà Voodoo, The Gruesomes and more.

I would argue that, in keeping with the regular ebb and flow that has characterized Montreal music over the last decade and a half, things are not significantly different now than they were at any point in the interim. There have always been good bands in Montreal. Superior bands.

Credit where credit is due, the Spin piece actually does a pretty decent job of characterizing the current buzz bands. You know the names: Sam Roberts, godspeed you! black emperor, The Dears, Stars, The Stills, The Arcade Fire, Melissa Auf der Maur, Unicorns, Kid Koala, A-Trak, Akufen and then others of more dubious merit. Notably missing from the Spin list were Rufus Wainwright and five million albums-selling Simple Plan, likely on the grounds that you're not allowed to be part of the scene if you can afford to buy the scene.

All in all a fairly accurate summation of the, mostly, anglo side of things, though word to the wise: Don't go trying to find your way around using the illustrated map that accompanies the bar and club profiles. They've got Club Soda in Cleopatra, Bifteck in Pistol, Pistol in the bank across the street, O Patro Vys in the Pharmaprix at St-Laurent and Mont-Royal and L'Hémisphère Gauche in the fountain in Carré St-Louis... for starters.

But Spin grasps the nut of the construct here, that being part of the artistic scene is akin to falling prey to a boa constrictor - the more people struggle, the tighter it becomes. It's a universal observation, just as it's an observation that, no matter how many music magazines declare Montreal to be the indie listener's destination of choice, it's unlikely that our local bands will ever reap massive cash rewards for the distinction. Auf der Maur makes an excellent point when she says, "It's not like L.A., New York or Chicago where there's money to be made. You struggle, and in exchange, you get that rich cultural chaos that breeds good art."

And she makes an even better point when, later in the piece, she remarks, "The hottest women in the world are French Canadians." That is the gospel truth - no argument here. Then, in a bit of elastic factuality her dear dad would have been proud of (here's to you, Nick!), adds by way of explanation, "The French sent over prostitutes way back when to breed, and they started mixing with the native Indians."

And all along I'd thought it was the shopping.

But theorizing, especially the oversimplified variety, has a popular place in the imaginations of Montrealers. Maybe because historic cultural divisions have knitted many questions into the social fabric here, none with any easy answers. This extends to our musical communities, that elusive paradigm or condition or creative by-product we call a "scene."

Is there a Montreal sound? That's an easy one - no. Unless it's to say that Montreal's sound is the sound of diversity, which is just lame, so we'll stick with no.

But the big question, and the hardest to answer, is of the chicken and egg variety: Are Montreal bands being recognized because there is a thriving scene - lots of small indie labels, places to play and fans willing to forego the price of a beer for admission - that nourishes and develops them? Or have the writing, recording and touring efforts (a huge part of Montreal's success has been a scene-wide acknowledgement of the necessity of recording and especially touring) of so many young bands at the same time built up the necessary Montreal branding, a momentum of recognition, to compel the attentions of latent local music fans? I'll die before I ever know the answer to that.

Still, healthy music scenes don't just magically appear (though they can magically disappear), nor do the bands that define them. The level of effort and dedication usually exceeds the average human being's ability to cope, hence the very high level of band and musician attrition. Only a few are gifted, stupid and/or desperate enough to go the distance. Take The Dears, for instance, founded and fronted by Murray Lightburn.

My first Montreal band, Shine, played shows with Murray's band Wren at the time, as far back as 1991. Murray's been kickin' it a long time (if you think he's got a Brit-pop fixation now, you should have known him then), and deserves every bit of success that comes his way. And he's not alone. Sam Roberts' overnight success made for one hell of a long night (Sam, of course, being no stranger to long nights).

Getting your band known is a bit like trying to crack a safe from the inside: a lot of things have to come into alignment before the door will open, and you're not the one spinning the wheels. So while nobody playing music in town needs or requires the validation of a Spin-type profile, it certainly doesn't hurt.
 
 

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Seen the Scene...     I will not attempt to say that I am part of any scene... Although it sounds like fun. As far as Montreal and its Musical or "Indie" Scene... I think it must exist, whether or not it is all that this Spin article says it is...well, I don't know. Yes, it is true that there is a lot going on in Montreal, and god forbid someone try and keep up with it all personally. But isn't any city center, such as Montreal a haven for Musical scenes to happen...its not like its going to happen in a small town. So whats the deal? I guess this is the typical reaction most Montrealer's will give. It is sad that the franco-scene doesn't get anything near a fair shake in the aforementioned article. I mean, come on...how dumb do you have to be to write an article, as an authority such as Spin, on a city who's musical scene, not to mention population, is half french, and not mention a word about them. For Shame. But, back to praising Montreal... It is definitely a Utopia and Oasis for most if not all of the Arts, from crafts, to dance, to fashion, to film... Its good to get recognition, but at the same time, lets not get it to our heads, and here's to hoping that this new-found acknowledgement doesn't change us or the way people see us.
Larissa Dutil	{9 votes}	February 8th, 2005
And why not ?     Finally, I would say, Montreal is getting the consideration it deserves internationally, as to the quality of bands and artists hailing from La Métropole. Whenever a major artist comes to play at the Bell Centre, he will tell you that this town is one of the loudest, dynamic, most rocking crowd there is. Bono has said it. Janet Jackson was brought to tears. Iron Maiden said that the Montreal show was THE show. It's only faith that a city that provides such passionnate music lovers should bring out a few quality bands. After all, why should we feel inferior and believe superstars can only be american or british ? There is talent in this city and the likes of Sam Roberts, The Dears, The Stills, Arcade Fire and Simple Plan are finally getting a well-deserved break. On the other hand, the province of Queec is really protective of its french heritage (and rightfully so) but maybe just a little too much effort is put into this. These bands I've mentioned are much bigger in Europe (especially The Dears and The Stills) than they are in Montreal, which is a damn shame. I don't find it normal for a band like the Stills to have to move to New York City tu pursue a career because french canadians are suckers for Star Académie and all those ballad singers like Bruno Pelletier, Nicola Ciccone, Isabelle Boulay, Marie-Élaine Thibert and others. I'll give those performers credit. They have good singing voices. But musically speaking, can you even tell a difference between them ? They all sing FM friendly radio-sized pop ballads. You hear a new song, and you feel like you've heard it so many times before. The french mainstream is as conservative as one can get, musically, even more than Stephen Harper's hairdo. They are fair performers, no more, no less. But when it comes down to measuring their contribution to music as creators, it's a big fat zero. So I hope we realise the chance we have and back up our REAL talent. No band should kill its future by staying here.
Sebastien Behnan	{4 votes}	February 8th, 2005
Putting an end to indifference     This is more in response to the responses to Jamie's article. It's disheartening to see so much indifference, skeptism, and out right ignorance in regards to the blossoming indie scene in Montreal. Instead of embracing what's happening, it seems easier (in true Montreal fashion) to remain a complacent armchair critic, dismissing anything and everything local (popular or not). The reality is that SPIN has blurred the 'indie' line by mentioning the likes of Auf DeMar, and this seems to have confused the issue. Yes she is a musician from Montreal, but she already has clout within the industry (Bill Shatner is more underground than she is). Other local (Canadian) bands like Simple Plan, Sum 41, Sam Roberts blur that line too, as they may be 'indie' for a large american publication, but they do not represent indie music. They are designer rock bands made for easy radio play. The reality of our scene is bigger than most locals realise. Beliefs that it is 'small time' (which ironicaly is what appropriately defines 'indie') just aren't true. Bands such as The Arcade Fire, The Stills and The Dears, are making it around the globe (especially in the UK). Recently The Stills not only played to a crowd of over 10,000 strong in Japan, they successfully included a song sung entirely in french on an american movie soundtrack - something that even the likes of Celine has yet to accomplish. David Bowie counts the Arcade Fire among his favourite bands (he even made it to their show here). I don't know about you, but a nod of approval from the White Duke means a whole lot more than any music critic anywhere. The scene is young, but it exists. It is just starting to explode, and a little attention from down south can't hurt. Isn't it all in our best interests anyway? Haven't we all ranted for too long that Montreal is an untapped resource for creative talent? If some of you out there still doubt our indie prowess, call up the New York Times before they waste another 3 pages on us.
Ad Kro	{12 votes}	February 7th, 2005
A New Spin on an Old City     Finally, Montreal has been publicly recognized for something positive. Throughout the last decade, or so, we have been on the map for poverty, homelessness, AIDS and the decline of straight marriage. It's refreshing that our local music scene can bask in the afterglow of the February Spin profile written by Rodrigo Perez. Even lesser known bands like the Dubbs & The Restless, who recently played to a crowd of two hundred at Bar Le Swimming will benefit from the feature's good vibes. Being profiled in a publication like Spin can help to generate increased revenue for Montreal -garnered from curious tourists and motivated music promoters. It would, however, be unrealistic to expect an American publication like Spin to even attempt to venture into our French music scene. Its readership is predominantly English. The French-language music scene in Montreal is more recognized in Europe. Roc Vosine and Celine Dion had to also perform in English before they were recognized south of the border. On a lighter note, the map polka-dotted by errors only confirms that Rick Mercer's satirical special Talking to Americans is a necessary annual ritual like the spring solstice. It is to Mr. Perez's credit that he does know so much about our city considering that the majority of his fellow Americans still know so very little about their neighbour to the north. And it's a real kicker that we know much too much about them. Rock on, alternative music makers!
Heather Lee	{6 votes}	February 7th, 2005
Talent Alone     Good music groups or performer are in number around the city, it's a fact. Problem may be that being "good" does not mean you are any richer or even "known" for it. I know squat about music, nil, zero, nothing... I remember reading good reports for my best friend music band in the late 90's in this very paper. Today the Tropical Goats are dead. It may reform someday, but they would have to start back at the first step. They were not really that far up the ladder. But they had done some progress. They were having a nice little sound. That alone was not enough. To succeed the guys would have had to endure such misery that produces the chaos which Auf der Maur was talking about. Many artists are not willing to take such a road. It's not only music, it's all the art scene that suffers from a lack of money to be made in Montreal. Let us hope it changes for the best.
Nicolas Gauthier	{8 votes}	February 7th, 2005
Band of Brothers     Unlike Seattle, Montréal is an island where we can only hope to remain inaccessible and cut off from the mainland of Britney Spearsization. Any band that has tried to "make it" knows how the business can dull musical instinct. They will tell you what killed Seattle grunge. It seems the music industry just doesn't embrace talent the way one would expect, does it? So why should we care who gets the spotlight in some American mainstream culture magazine? I don't think SPIN or any magazine that lands in town carrying the warped corporate ideology of the modern day music industry, will ever come to appreciate the likes of a 1990's era Seattle, or present day Montreal. Montreal thrives in the music scene by doing what it does best - being different - the age old stubborn yet respected French-canadian tradition. By doing so we have breathed life into a rich musical subculture, a space that allows musical talent to mutate and flourish like nowhere else. Melissa AufderMaur knows as well as any of our beautiful Quebecois women that we thrive on revolutionary dissent and the active genes of imported French outlaws - and certainly not off the ability to say "no!" during election time. Maybe there are bands to be favored off the island, but within Montreal, real talent - especially in the francophone scene - rarely goes unnoticed.
Jesse Stacey	{51 votes}	February 3rd, 2005
Yeah Rigth!     So a couple of bands come oout of Montreal when music is at a stand still and we are the next big thing. I've been hearing this for the past 10 years that we were gonna be the next big thing, Why? Because of Melissa Auf Der Maur or The Stills, or that "great punk rock" band Simple Plan. Don't get me wrong i love this city but the music scene here isnt as alive as we think it is or hope. I'm wondering if Spin even mentionned one french band in the article since more than half the bands in Montreal are French. Just Curious.
Marco Facchin	{21 votes}	February 3rd, 2005
Amazon     Now even Amazon has caught on to the Montreal craze! I stopped by their page today, only to see a headline proclaiming 'Montreal is hot'. Of course they weren't referring to our weather, but our 'scorching' music scene. Reccomendations include the Arcade Fire, Godspeed..., the Stills and the Dears. But also the Unicorns, Les Georges Leningrad, stars, Melissa Auf de Maur and even Pony Up! Oh oh my friends, I fear we are on our way to becoming the next Seattle.
Erica Wallace		February 20th, 2005
Ahhh, the americans are coming to Montreal     Your foreign rock writer Rodrigo Perez is Canadian, eh? He worked at Much Music and went to college in Toronto. He was at the Montreal Olympic Games, I took his picture proudly holding a "fleur de lis" flag in front of the infamous Olympic game stadium. He went to places like St. Jean Baptiste, Montgomery and other unknown places in the Gaspesie that some montrealers never heard before.
Rodrigo A Perez		February 17th, 2005
Chiwawa Does Rock!     I live in Cleveland, Ohio, The so called Rock and Roll Capitol of the World. As you know opinions vary:) Anyway my comment is Chiwawa is making an impact in America's northcoast. Their single "Loves Got Heart" is being played in the clubs here and I hope that they will be making an impact throughout the rest of the U.S.
Tiger McGee		February 15th, 2005
Great scene? Nah! But hey, Les Cowboys are playing La Tulipe!     And frankly, Les Cwboys Fringants (yeah, I know they're not from Montreal - and?) beat every band mentioned on that list hands-down. Sam Roberts isn't half-bad, but you can't get any more generic than Simple Plan or Auf der Mar - both of whom are simply rehashing every other band of their ilks and trying to manufacture enough pop-pep to break into the radio scene. Simple Plan succeeded, because they're carbon copy clones of Sum 41, who are, in turn, carbon copy clones of Blink 182. And Simple Plan were just as awful as Reset - if not moreso. Auf der Mar are still workingon it, if only because Audioslave does it better, and with better lyrics. I miss the days of old, where Me, Mom and Morgentaler were rocking away with the classic Laura and Spittle on My Chine, Grim Skunk's Autumn Flowers threw us Spider-Man like we'd never heard them before, Go Van Gogh blew us away, Jerry Jerry gave us Battle Hymn of the Apartments with such classics as Pushing For Jesus... If you want a REAL taste of Montreal music, go buy the Fatal Illness CD, just recently released from various mid-80s tapes. A taste of Grim Skunk before they were Grim Skunk, and a taste of Montreal before 'Canada was cool!'...
Ben Kalman	{2 votes}	February 8th, 2005
Montreal is Cool !     I think the music seen here is okay. I guess it all depends what you are looking for. I have to agree there has been some pretty good shows at the Club Soda . And I would very much rather go there, then to the Bell Center. First of all the place is so huge the sound ecos and dosen't sound as nice. The tickets are expensive and you are looking at ants on the stage. The seats are not comfortable so better small and better quality. Montreal is cool and the Music here is cool and if you get a compliment then take it and run. It is also true that it is difficult to get a band known here , they usually have to go on the road and hope somebody is going to give them the right break. Once they get know then they leave , hit the road and hardly ever come back. Look at the Artist Celine Dion , did she build a a Concert Hall here in Montreal. How many concerts does she do here. It pays more to work in the States so that is where she is. She owes it to them because thats who made her a success. We don't have recording Companies here, they are in Toronto or Alberta or BC so who is going to listen to the bands in Montreal but the people . We need some music Industry here so the music can grow better.
Maria Cecillia Silva	{2 votes}	February 8th, 2005
Montreal's Musical Mosaic     From The Arcade Fire's unhinged yet riverting performance on Conan O'Brien last week to scores of articles and name-dropping in everything from Spin to Rolling Stone to The New York Times(!), Montreal bands are an amazingly hot commodity these days. That it has taken so damn long for everyone to catch on (or rather catch up) is somewhat beguiling. While current buzz bands including The Dears, The Stills, the aforementionned Arcade Fire, Ele_K, etc...are richly deserving of the recognition and accolades that they're garnering, predecessors like Sons of the Desert, The Griffins, Goldfish, Jerry Jerry, etc...were equally enthralling, if largely unsung. Shame the spotlight is only now being cast upon a scene that has always been incredibly vital, if largely unheralded. So vital and vibrant, in fact, that not only has our musical mosaic produced the likes of favourite son, Rufus Wainright, eclectic cellist par extrodinaire, Jorane, and godspeed you! black emperor's unique musical stylings, it has also drawn such reknowned artists as Emm Gryner, Buck 65, as well as half of Tegan and Sara to our fair city. How long the hype will last remains to be seen, but you can rest assured, that our city's distinctive musical aesthetic will endure with or without the limelight. What can I say, we've always been hip with or without the hype!!!
Mark St Pierre	{2 votes}	February 7th, 2005
Umm, Hello? Why did Spin mention Melissa Auf de Maur as an indie/underground artist?     Wasn't she part of the band Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins in the U.S. I think she's more mainstream, than indie. She had her time with other bands and now she's going solo to prove something to the Montreal scene. It's kind of lame and desperate, almost like Courtney Love's solo gig. And what about Toronto's music scene? What? Controller Controller and Billy Talent are not good enough for Spin or something? Ofcourse Spin is not a legitimate source of what is actually cool, since writing articles about underground scenes is their jobs and they just so happened to pick Montreal. (no offence to the local Montreal scene)
Katherine Kirkwood	{10 votes}	February 6th, 2005
Babylon, P.Q. & lame validation to be proud of     Whoop-dee-friggin'-doo, Spin thinks we're cool...at long last our lives finally have meaning. I guess that it's cute that some music mag has finally chosen to grant us validation but honestly, if Jamie O'Meara hadn't gone out of his way to point this tidbit out how many of you would have really known, let alone cared? Yeah, it's what I thought. Isn't the rule that the moment that you're accepted as cool that you cease to be it? I guess some putz out there will think that this is neat but I've got better things to do than giving a damn what some magazine says about us. We've always known that we live in one of the coolest cities on earth and now Spin thinks so to...well, at least regarding musical booms. The Next Big Scene is Montreal? Tell us something we *don't* know!
Pedro Eggers	{11 votes}	February 5th, 2005
There Is No Montreal Scene     For Montreal to become a music scene there has to be people around the world who would buy our local artists records and see the show around the world. I don't believe that Montreal will become like The Seattle Scene of the 90s or the L.A scene of the 80s. Sure Montreal does have some talent artists but they're all small timers. The article in Spin is inaccurate and I have no clue why they would put Montreal as a scene because there are almost no good artists in Montreal. So I hope that the Hour readers don't get their hopes up because there is no scene.
Gerry Samson	{8 votes}	February 4th, 2005
Oasis of great music     I love the band seen in Montreal. My favorite band is Tricky Woo, but I also love Goldfish. Why pay $75 for crappy seats at the Bell Center, when $10.00 will get you a great seat at Club Soda, with great music, and a band who is playing because they love it - and not because it is the 75th stop on a 120 city tour. Check out what your city has to offer!
Eric Wilson	{8 votes}	February 3rd, 2005
No such luck!     I don't think it would be fair for Montreal to become the next big thing...well at least not for all the francophone bands out there who make the scene so vibrant...that article in Spin is so inacurate I thought they were talking about some foreign land...lets just say Monteal has always had a healthy underground scene...& we tend to do things OUR way...A few will sell out...& probably put out a few good albums...but from what I've heard(???) the hipsters will fade away & just become the futurs has beens...oh they are so 16...oh that is so 2 weeks ago...yes that stupid haircut will look just as rediculous as a mullet ...teased or spiked hair in no time...I might sound old & jaded(yes I am)...but if I look at my track( & rap) sheet...I'm doing just fine...maybe the A&R reps will be looking for the next Neil Young or Blue Rodeo!
Sheldon Rourke	{12 votes}	February 3rd, 2005
..And of course let's not forget Chiwawa!!!     They're making a buzz in Ohio of all places...I bet their the next big thing! I heard one of their songs in a club here and the DJ said its CHIWAWA. Bought their albums over the net. Cool. Montreal ROCKS!
El Harvey		February 12th, 2005

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