If you’ve been minimally active in the Québec Rock scene since the 90’s, chances are very high that you’ve seen Vincent Peake perform on stage. Mostly known as the front person for Crossover turned Alternative band Groovy Aardvark, we’ve seen him wield his bass (and occasionally drum sticks) in an astonishing number of musical projects, including Galaxie 500 and Aut’Chose, either as a full time or fill-in member. Following Groovy’s breakup (save for the rare reunions) in the mid-00’s, he joined another Quebec Rock monument, claiming bass duties for the genre-blending GrimSkunk. Beyond their well-documented peak -or dare I say dominance- in the 90’s, the band has kept releasing quality music and playing shows ever since. The latest step in their constant expansion, the band played an incredible acoustic concert in November 2020 at Palais Montcalm, which is still available for streaming here.
In parallel, he’s been leading Stoner Rock flag bearers Floating Widget for 20 years, a can’t miss band for any fan of the house that Kyuss built.
Pick up GrimSkunk’s music through their own label Indica Records, including the recent first-time vinyl press of landmark album Meltdown!
What have you been listening to the most recently?
I just discovered this amazing Australian band called TROPICAL FUCK STORM. This guy that used to be in a band called The DRONES and his bassist. They are absolutely amazing. I compared these guys to a NICK CAVE with a much sloppier, Grungier sound, and a bit of MIDNIGHT OIL for the voice. I just ordered the two records. I discovered them through a friend on Facebook and I’ve been obsessed with this band. I just realized yesterday that they came to Montreal in April of 2019 and too bad from me, I did not know of their existence then. I feel bad because they had this really amazing 2020 and 2021 tour and they would have been back here, after releasing a record. So I would say that is what I’m listening to right now.
I’m always torn when it happens that I discover a band right after they came through town. I’m disappointed for not seeing them, yet I know the experience might not have been as great without knowing them. Do you prefer to discover bands live or on records?
Yeah, I know what you mean. I discovered MR. BUNGLE’s California live. It was too much information at first. I knew it was amazing what I was seeing, but I wish I had known the songs because it would have been much easier to grasp the whole scope of information. But then I bought California right after and I felt I was lucky to have seen that show. Then, other times, I buy the records because I’ve seen the artist live and then it always reminds you of that moment you’ve seen them, you know? I discovered this amazing artist called VINYL WILLIAMS, who’s John Williams’ grandson -who scored Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, one of the greatest American composers ever.- His grandson, Vinyl, is a bassist and composer and I saw him at Distortion Festival, in an old church, and I was completely blown away. I bought the record then and every time I listen to that, it reminds me of that specific moment in the church. I discovered amazing artists through Distortion Festival.
What’s your favorite means of discovering new music these days? Obviously not live right now, but is it thought friends’ recommendation, browsing, etc?
A lot of friends’ recommendations. I mostly have music based friends on Facebook. Music has always been my favorite source of inspiration, and I surround myself with like-minded people. So I get a lot of my information through people that I trust their tastes in music. Like TROPICAL FUCK STORM came from my friend, Danick. I browse a lot on Facebook, and I get a lot of my information that way. I also buy a lot of vinyl. Since I bought my turntables a couple years ago, I bought for a couple thousand dollars of music because all of my old vinyls are scratched to the gills or they were stolen or they were lost so I rebought all of my BEATLES, all my BLACK SABBATH, AC/DC, some LED ZEPPELIN, some PINK FLOYD. All the classics, I now have on vinyl, and they sound amazing because they were remastered. You know, there’s no scratches. I really take care of my stuff now. So I listen to a lot of my old classics on vinyl.
What your balance do you keep between going back to the classics and seeking new stuff?
I try to maintain it 50-50. I try to prove wrong the scientific fact that apparently you reach the top of your musical curiosity at 34 years old! *Haha* I’m in the music business so I’m always looking out for new stuff but I come back to my classics very often. I balance it out. I also buy a lot of music from bands that I’ve played with, friends or even fans that give me their own music. I have a lot of that to listen to. A lot of people ask my opinion on their demos or on their releases. It’s a great position for me to be in, to be able to have free music and just give my opinion as to whether or not I like what they’re doing. Which is always sensitive of course, you have to be really careful to how you say things to bands. But I don’t bullshit bands, I tell them straight off the bat what I think is great, what I think is not so great. It’s fun because they value my opinion and I value their time to give me the record. I do a lot of that.
Is there any example that comes to mind of a great band that you discovered that way?
Well, there’s the band called CRABE. I’ve seen every launch they did. We could say they’re our MR. BUNGLE, Quebec style. They deconstruct music, to better do it. They’re a duo, and they’re all over the place but it’s very well crafted, they know exactly what they’re doing. I love that band. I’ll be participating on a song on their next record coming out, I hope in the new year. They were a revelation to me. I met these guys at L’Esco and we became friends. I was totally blown away. I discover a lot of great stuff. I do a music chronicle on CHOI-Radio X from Quebec City on every Thursday, so it gives me a lot of possibilities to discover a lot of new bands and I have to say, Quebec right now is chock full of amazing artists. CORRIDOR, like Kraut Rock, they’re amazing. I met this band GASPAR. DOGO SUICIDE…it’s not stop. Beautiful, vast information of music here in Quebec right now.
One of my favorite discoveries of the past few months is POPULATION II. I had no idea they existed and I was floored by their new record.
Yeah, I know, they’re great! They’ve been together for a while too. I had a chronicle on Psychedelic music and Population II were definitely on top of that list. That’s perfect example of how the kids are doing it today. They just know how to rock out. It’s fascinating to see just how many of these great bands there are, and a bit sad to see that none of them are gonna actually make a living out of this because there’s just too many bands and not enough people here. But they do it for the right reasons, which is they need to exteriorate themselves through music, and that’s the way to do it.
What strikes you first when you listen to a new artist or band? Is there anything that makes or breaks it for you?
Usually, the weakest part for me is the vocals. The band starts to rock and sounds amazing, then the vocals kick in and, “Oh shit. That’s too bad.” A lot of times, what happens is, let’s say the guitarist composes everything, he sings, and he can sing, but he just doesn’t have a good voice. I’ll tell ’em, “your band is amazing, I think you would need to find a singer because you don’t have to do everything. Just because you can sing, doesn’t make it good. I think, your voice is weak and that would be my suggestion to you.” They do what they want with my information, I just tell them from my point of view, but a lot of times, the vocals will kill it for me.
Otherwise, I love the way these bands like ZOUZ or MILANKU, ATSUKO CHIBA, these newer bands that I met on La Ligue Rock, they just figured out how it works. They have their own way of composing music. I don’t know where they got their information from but I think the fact that internet is just so omnipresent, they can have access to everything. They really assimilate everything at once and spit it out in their own way. It’s fascinating to me that there is still a place for new sounds and new compositions after all these years. You know, it’s fascinating, you can actually do something that sounds like nobody else. These three bands I just mentioned are great examples of that. I think the quality of musicianship and composition is even greater than it used to be.
Can you name three songs that you consider to be perfect songs and explain why and what they mean to you?
You know, any song of the first six BLACK SABBATH records, to me, are perfect songs. Let’s go with Fairies Wear Boots. There’s something about that swing. I love old Heavy Metal from the 70’s, because they all have this great swing to it. I like the more brutal stuff of today but to me, they’re just something about old Sabbath or DEEP PURPLE or heavy Hard Rock like LED ZEPPELIN -although they never considered themselves Metal- But I love the swing of Geezer Butler. I love the swing of Ian Paice, and all those great drummers, John Bonham, there’s so many.
I Am The Walrus by The BEATLES, I think is a perfect song. The way they incorporated the classical stuff, the Psychedelic stuff and the words that somehow make sense to me. It was amazing that the Beatles could go from Love Me Do to I Am The Walrus in five years, you know? The musical depth grew with every record and it’s absolutely amazing how they were able to pull it off album after album.
Let’s say Nice Boys Don’t Play Rock And Roll by ROSE TATTOO. Straight forward Rock And Roll to me. That’s a perfect song. It blasts you from start to finish, two minutes thirty, or something like that. Amazing crunchy vocals, amazing slide guitar. It’s one of those songs I can listen to over and over again.
I could have put it The HIVES in there. I love The Hives, the way they rock out. They’re all in the same place at the same time. I love Pelle Almqvist’s voice. I love everything about that band, the way they dress, the way they perform. One of the best Rock shows I’ve ever seen was The Hives at Metropolis. Every time I want to rock out in my headphones, they’re pretty much my go to band. They’ve never disappointed, especially Tyrannosaurus Hives, they’ve put out in 2004, which to me, is a perfect record. It’s an example of a band that knew exactly what they’re doing and exactly where they’d go, and they found a way to deliver it perfectly live, night after night.
Talking about favorite shows, what are some of the most memorable shows that you’ve seen in your life?
I have to say the first one I ever saw was IRON MAIDEN, The Number Of The Beast at Verdun Auditorium, June 26, 1982.
I love the fact that you know the date!
Yeah, I would never forget that date. It’s encrypted in my mind forever. Plus, we got to meet the band at this Metal store called Rock En Stock. Back in the days, guys would go there in between sound check and their supper, they would come and greet the fans. You could actually meet your heroes and it was amazing to be able to talk to them and see how down to earth and how happy they seemed to be there. So I got to meet Iron Maiden back in ’82, which is to this day, one of my greatest days.
The first time I saw RUSH, as a huge, huge, huge fan. Geddy Lee was my number one influence to be a bassist and singer. I told myself, if I could be half as good as this guy in my life, I’ll be happy. I never got to see him, for Moving Pictures or Signals when I started listening to them. It took their 30th anniversary tour but just to see the band live once in my life, they did not disappoint. They were just so good. They show you how to be rigorous and how to be determined and disciplined, to be able to be that good for so long. They were always great examples of how you conduct yourself and your career and how you don’t mess around with your fans, you have to be on the ball every time. I’ve always stuck to that model where people are going to pay 15 bucks to see Groovy Aardvark or GrimSkunk, no matter how you feel, no matter what you did the night before, you’ve got to be sharp, you’ve got to be good. You don’t mess around with people’s love of your band and I think we’ve done good on that.
VOIVOD are another great example of that. They’ve always held their own. They’re one of the most cult Metal bands in the world. They’re amazing individuals, they are super humble, and they work super hard. We’ve had a chance to tour with them in Europe and you see how they are adored by many people, especially in Germany. How they treat their fans is something to behold. They have such respect for each other, the fans as much as the band. I saw Voivod play in Berlin, we were opening for them, and the reaction of the crowd that night, it was everybody’s favorite band that night, you know? Me being from Montreal, having my Tournado ’87 tshirt, this huge German guy in the bathroom says “I want your shirt.” I thought he was serious so I put my bear down and I said, “Over my dead body!” He said, “That’s the idea.” *Haha* I thought he was going to jump me right then and there in the bathroom, then he picks me up and gives me a huge hug. “I like the way you defend your shirt.” That was amazing. He appreciated me willing to die for my tshirt.*Haha* But yeah, to be able to see my good friends perform in what I think would be their favorite country -because they taped some of the records there- was absolutely fascinating. I was so proud of them, you know?
DRI at the Rising Sun was my first Hardcore show. Back in ’86, they were touring Dealing with it, which is their seminal record. I got to see DRI in that context, I got to talk to the guys afterwards, and it changed my perception of live music because back then, I used to go to Forum to see big concerts, Iron Maiden and JUDAS PRIEST, the big bands. It was amazing, but to be able to see your heroes in such a small confined environment as the Rising Sun -which used to be a Reggae bar on Ste-Catherine, near Jeanne-Mance- and then to be able to talk to the guys being so down to earth and enjoying their time with the crowd is a fucking amazing experience. It was my first thrash ever too, so I was a bit nervous because I’m not a big guy. All these huge skins and punks were there, and we were not many rockers back then, the crossover movement was just starting, and we were some of the first few longhairs to actually go to these little Hardcore shows. It was always a bit nerve wracking because skins didn’t like us, punks didn’t like us. I had punk friends so I was okay, I had sort of immunity but to actually throw myself in the crowd and in the thrash pit was an amazing experience. I got the hold of it and I’ve been thrashing ever since.
Perhaps you’ve already answered what was going to be my next question, with Voivod in Europe, but what’s the band that you’ve toured with that impressed you the most? The one that you had to watch their set night after night?
Yes, Voivod would certainly be one of those. The other has to be SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. We toured with them in Europe in 2007, and then we toured with INFECTIOUS GROOVES, Mike Muir’s other band that holds members of Suicidal Tendencies and was more of a heavy Funk band. Infectious Groove have the best musicians I’ve ever played with. The level of musicianship of these cats was absolutely phenomenal. Their soundchecks would be entertainment in itself, they would go into any song. It seemed that they knew every song, they’d go from JOHN COLTRANE to DEF LEPPARD in a flash. They could play anything and they would soundcheck forever because they had so much fun playing on stage. At one point, the tour manager was like, “Hey, it’s GrimSkunk’s turn to soundcheck!” They were like, “Oh, sorry guys!” It was a joy to watch these professionals having so much fun still, after all these years of touring and jamming around together. Everyday was like a musical adventure for them. It was a thrill and an honor to be able to live that with these guys. Super nice guys, too.
We also played with FISHBONE quite a bit, they always give a phenomenal show. I was lucky enough to tour Europe with those amazing bands.
Do you remember the first time that music really had an impact on you? The moment that really got to you?
Absolutely. I had to be maybe three, in the early 70’s, and my dad had bought the 45 for Come Together by The BEATLES, which had come out in ’68 I guess, since it’s on the White Album. There was Come Together on side A and Something on side B and as far as I remember, and my mom told me more details about this, but apparently I would get up, move the footrest to stand on it and open the stereo. I figured out how to play the 45 myself with the needle and everything and I would drop the needle on *Humming Come Together’s intro*. I was fascinated by the sound of that record, and I was fascinated by the apple logo that would turn in circles. That’s my fartest memory I have of music, but I had no idea that I would actually play the record myself. My mom told me that later, she couldn’t believe that she would hear music so she would get up and I would be listening to Come Together and looking at the apple turn. Then when the chorus kicks in, *humming the riff*, I was fascinated by that guitar sound. I would say it was in my DNA to like Rock music! It got me from the start and I can’t explain why, you know?
What beloved music do you share with either your parents or kids, if you have any?
I do not have kids. I am an uncle a few times, I’m godfather a couple times as well. I used to do mixtapes to the kids to see what they would like. I always go from Sgt. Pepper in ’67 to Sex Pistols in ’77. If those are the two building blocks of what you’re going to get into, I think those are two main things. The whole Rock movement and the whole Punk movement. I will say the ’67 to ’77 are super important years. But, they like to know their own stuff. They won’t necessarily listen to what dad likes because kids need their separation from their parents, so for them, it’s like old folks’ music. As if they would have us listen to Country music when we were younger, whatever they were into. I don’t push that much but I always ask, what are you listening to? And I always get the same response from these kids, “Uh, I don’t know. Anything.” They listen to Tik Tok and they listen to seconds of songs instead of whole songs. It’s crazy how they consume music today. They don’t take the time to appreciate a full album. They don’t even take the time to appreciate a full song. I mean, not everybody, but there’s this whole new generation of Tik Tokers that just listen to seconds of shit because they can’t concentrate for more than a minute. I was an English teacher at L’Ancre Des Jeunes in Verdun, doing one on one, and to keep their attention for 45 minutes was so hard. You always have to bring it back, and bring it back. I realized a lot of them are just spaced out. So I don’t try to push that much. I will subliminally bring in a song or two here and there, talk about The CLASH or CHUCK BERRY…I always start with Rock ‘N’ Roll, LITTLE RICHARD, and go from there because that’s the way we did it back then. But I don’t preach that much. To each their own, but I do give them some pointers.
How did your musical taste evolved throughout the years, from when you were a kid, all the way through now? What were five landmark albums that made you discover a new world?
The first one, I would say BEATLES Live At The Hollywood Bowl. That came out in 1980, so I must have had it around when I was 12. This is a record that they recorded at shows between ’63 and ’64. The screaming female fans were so loud, that they couldn’t mix the band properly. The screams were louder than the band. It took George Martin and his team 17 years before he could actually take the track by track recording and actually mix it enough that the band can be audible. When you put the needle on, it goes “…And now, here they are, The Beatles *yaaaaaaaaaah*”. All you hear all along is those screaming fans and then the band in the background. It’s incredible, intense energy and it changed me, like, “this is what I want to do. I want to be part of this amazing and exciting thing called live music.”
Then my mom was nice enough for us to subscribe to Columbia House, you know, one cent for ten records. It was really amazing because we were in boarding school, my brother and I so we only got access to music during the weekends. It was a huge moment for us, we had to take it all in two days instead of the whole week, because we had no means of listening to music at school, at night. I discovered BLACK SABBATH, Master Of Reality, their third record, that’s how I became aware of Heavy Metal, and where it came from. Back then, it was the doomiest record I’ve ever heard, of course. Again, the sheer energy and sound of that band, with Ozzy’s voice and the way it kicks in with the coughing on Sweet Leaf, it was mesmerizing. My mom would let my brother and I listen to a full record as we were falling asleep. She would shut the light and we were allowed our two sides of a record, and that was the one we would listen to constantly. There was something evil and mysterious about that band, and the riffs are just so amazing. I was always a big Sabbath fan. To this day, The Beatles and Black Sabbath are my favorite bands.
Then, I have to put a FRANK ZAPPA in there because I’m absolutely fascinated by this American composer. I still can’t believe the amount and the quality of music this guy put out in his lifetime. I mean, we’re still finding records that he never put out. Maybe the greatest modern American composer ever. So this live record called Roxy & Elsewhere, which was released in ’74, and is some of his older material, all rearranged and mostly new stuff. That would probably be the best band I know, that formation that he put together in ’74. Absolutely incredible musicianship. I know there are some overdubs in there, but you can feel the energy of the crowd and you can hear him goofing off as well. As complex his music is, there was always an element of humor to his approach. He calls it the eyebrows. I love the humor side of music as well, that’s why I love Hardcore so much, and the silliness of it sometimes. Zappa had that silliness to him, which alleviated the whole complexity of his composition. This particularly song called Village of the Sun, which me and my gang from Beloeil used to listen to constantly during parties, and we were able to sing it by heart, all the instrumental parts and everything. *Humming it* like this for over 20 minutes! *Haha* It was amazing. I mean, how long did it take us to figure that out? It took us years! I used to mow lawns for a living, and I would just repeat the song over in my head until I learned all the parts by heart. It was fascinating. At that point, I had to tell myself, “I don’t think you’ll ever be as good as these musicians.” Everybody has their own limits and I figured out my limits through complicated music like that. I was good with what I could do. There’s just people better than others, right? So I stopped searching for perfection in playing and in performance. I thought it was a good thing for me to be able to know my limits and work with that.
There’s also a record by my friends GrimSkunk, their first self-titled record. I’ll go with them because they changed Alternative music in Quebec forever. From ’89 to ’94, GrimSkunk were my favorite band, and they were my best friends as well. When they put out that record, after the Exotic Blend EP and the Autumn Flowers cassette, side B of that record is some of the best music ever composed in Quebec, I would have to say. Watchful Elms, Circle Square Triangle, Texas Cult Song, Le Dernier Jour and Rooftop Killer, that sequence of music for me is unparalleled. To me, they were at their top and they couldn’t do no wrong. I would get shivers. It was like a black mass when you saw GrimSkunk back then at Foufs, there was something otherworldly going on. We all knew this was a special moment, and this was a special band. It was amazing for me to actually be able to be part of that band many, many years later. But that sequence of music man! I was there when they were composing it in their jam space, we were hanging out, and it was just getting better and better. I couldn’t believe the quality of musicianship and composition these guys were developing. I was like, “You guys’ pot is better than mine!”
I’m going to stay a little closer to today with my last one. My new favorite band for the last many years is LES HÔTESSES D’HILAIRE. They’re from New Brunswick. This is a perfect example of being introduced to a band live. I was filling in playing bass for CAROTTÉ because their bassist’s girlfriend was having a baby. We had a tour and we played with Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire in Rimouski, at Coop Paradis. I was destroyed from the night before because we were up all night drinking. I was out of it totally but when they played, something changed. They represent everything I love about a band. They’re psychedelic, they’re amazing players, they have one of the funniest frontman ever, Serge Brideau, he’s like PLUME LATRAVERSE and Zappa in disguise. Amazing sense of comedy to him. They are from l’Acadie in New Brunswick and there’s something musically about l’Acadie that always gets to me, they have a very, very strong musical background, these people close to the ocean. A lot were deported to Louisiana and became the Cajuns, their story is kind of hard but they’re fighting hard to keep their culture alive. A bit like Québec and the rest of Canada, they’re really adamant about speaking French and singing in French. They have this song called Super Chiac Baby, where they propose that Canada’s official language becomes Chiac, which is a mixture of French and English. French people and English people get together, they fuck and they have Super Chiac Babies. What an amazing way of seeing it. They have these stories in their songs. They put out a lot of records. They had a Rock Opera called Viens Avec Moi, which they absolutely nailed but to me, they put out Live Le 15 Août, which is the date of the Acadian Day. It’s like a best of of their four records, only live and I think they are at their best live so I would have to say my new favorite record of this year is this album.
The majority of these are live records. Are you generally a fan of live records or it’s a just a coincidence?
I am not that much of a fan. I love studio versions and the work that bands put into studio versions. The number of hours and weeks and years they put into their craft. The Beatles one is because it was my introduction to them, and it’s like a best of, only in front of 20,000 screaming fans. Les Hôtesses, it’s also like a best of and for me, the best live show right now is them so it captures all of that craziness into that record. But usually, I’m not that much of a fan. I prefer to see the band live than hearing them live so it’s kind of a contradiction that I would put those in there.
Is there any example though of stuff that you actually prefer the live version than the studio version?
I like DEEP PURPLE’s Made In Japan, which I think that to this day may be considered the best live record in Rock ever. They have a version of their song Lazy which goes for fifteen minutes instead of six minutes and they show you the depth of their performing skills. You have solo after solo by Blackmore on guitar and John Lord on keyboard, it’s just not stop, but they maintain that energy for 15 minutes. I think that is why it’s considered such an amazing live record because they show you the extent of their abilities. They’re not afraid to jam it out forever. Les Hôtesses are like that too, they could jam for ages, no worries. I mean, they’ll play the songs and when the encore kicks in, they just go for it. They understand each other. I love bands that have this synergy together, as if they’re connected spiritually together and they just know where to go. That takes a lot of skills and it takes a lot of talent to be able to gel with four or five musicians in that way. It seems as though they’ve been doing this forever and it’s the first time in their lives to actually do that jam. I have tremendous respect for that.
It reminds me, I met a classical violinist once, she did the music for Le Violon Rouge, we were doing a show at Le Lion d’Or back in the day. I was talking to her. She’s classically trained and you give her a piece of paper and she’ll rock you Mozart, no worries, but she says, “I can’t jam. If I don’t have my score in front of me, I don’t know what to do. I’ve learned to play the violin with notes in front of me and I’ll play anything you give me but I’ve never jammed around a fire.” Really? Wow. To me, that doesn’t make sense. I can’t conceive not jamming on your instrument but she had never done it. From our talk, before her show, and then I was playing with GALAXY 500 -my first show with them- and she decided to improvise. She fucked up monumentally and she left the stage crying. She was in my arms, like, “Oh, no, I tried, I couldn’t do it. I feel like I’m not a good musician.” I was like, “Oh, my god! No, no, no. Good on you to have actually had the courage to try out. So what it didn’t work? It’s your first time!” Maybe that was not the best context for her to start jamming, but she tried it. I told her, “Don’t stop. Just go find a fire somewhere. Find your friends and just go for it. Feel it up.” It was amazing to me that such an amazing talent could not figure out how to improvise. Then you have people who’ve never went to school like myself, who just know how to gel with people because that’s what they’ve done all their lives.
When shows start again, who’s at the top of your list of bands that you want to see?
Well, Les Hôtesses would be my first because I really miss them, although I’ve seen them maybe 35 times. But you know, at this point, I won’t be too picky. There’s so many great bands in Quebec. I was mentioning ZOUZ, ATSUKO CHIBA, MILANKU…QUEBEC REDNECK BLUEGRASS PROJECT, some of my favorite people, they put out this amazing book/record called J’ai Bu, and I can’t wait to see them again. I just can’t wait to be part of a gang, where we have our arms in the air, like we just don’t care. Let loose.
Is there any bands that you’ve always wanted to see, but never got a chance to catch them?
Yes, I would love to have seen PANTERA back in ’92-’93. When they were vicious, when they became the Pantera that we know because it used to be a Speed Metal band back in the day. I never saw them and that would be top of my list. I pretty much got so all the bands that I wanted to. I got to see RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE in ’93, man, that has to be one of the best shows I ever say. I saw TOOL. I saw BLACK SABBATH. I saw YES. Well, if you have to go back in time, I guess that doesn’t count, right? I would have loved to have seen IRON MAIDEN in ’81. I saw them in ’82, as I said my first show but I’m a big fan of the Paul Di’Anno era, the first two records and they played Le Club, which became Spectrum, back in ’81. It was one of their only two headlining shows because there were supporting JUDAS PRIEST in the US and they came to Canada for just two gigs. They played the whole two records, I guess, I would have loved to see that one but I was only 14. I missed Back In Black by AC/DC by this much. I got to see the next tour, For Those About To Rock. They were always one of my favorite bands as well. Those records with Bon Scott, they age so well. They still rock out like crazy. It’s amazing how they sound so gritty and so full. I just love everything about those first AC/DC records as well. I’ve seen so many concerts, it’s incredible. I mean, thousands. It’s what I do, I live downtown, I can walk anywhere. It’s easy for me to see concerts, it’s easy to come back. I’ve put myself in a position where I can see as many concerts as I possibly can.
What are some of your favorite venues ever to watch a show?
I loved the Spectrum back in the day. It was a perfect size because it was the bands that could not play the Forum. In Montreal, we never had that four or five thousand seater. Now we do with La Place Bell in Laval but we didn’t have that before. So between the Forum -and this is before Metropolis- and the Spectrum, there was nothing so you go from 15,000 to 1200. So you had the first METALLICA concert in Montreal, when they came with Ride The Lightning, I saw that show. I saw Metallica at Spectrum, fucking incredible. I saw SLAYER at the spectrum back in the day. The POLICE played the Spectrum, I miss that. That would be a good band I would love to see. There was an intimacy about it but it’s also a big venue. It sounded really good. You had the best of both worlds, you could easily get up in front and rock out and touch the band if you wanted to, or you could be in the back and enjoy the good sound of it. There’s something mystical about the Spectrum. It was a great place to play as well, even though their manager was a dick, it was a great thrill to be able to play there. Especially that now it’s a pile of rubble and will never be built again.
I really really enjoyed the Metropolis, once they changed the PA. At first, I’d never like the sound there but my friend Monk who actually does sound for GrimSkunk and Groovy, is the guy who had the mandate to rearrange the PA and rebuy one. He did an amazing job. He angled everything perfectly, so that you have great sound on the mezzanine, you have great sound upstairs, you have great sound on the dance floor. Once that was in place, man, I saw so many amazing bands there at Metropolis. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE played there as well. That MR BUNGLE show was incredible. We saw PORCUPINE TREE. The list goes on and on, MONSTER MAGNET played there, and Groovy Aardvark and GrimSkunk played there many times. Some of those shows back in the day, when I was a fan, were legendary. I mean, GrimSkunk was so popular back in the day when they put out a Field Trip in ’98, that they did three Metropolis in a row! Three! That was incredible. Nobody does that anymore, in Alternative Rock. I like the Metropolis too because you can go upstairs and it sounds really, really good because they have that big dome roof that just seem to amplify the bass. Even in the bathroom upstairs, it sounds amazing. Also the floor in front of the stage is curved up to be at an angle so smaller guys like me, you can actually still see well.
Then the Rising Sun, that was the first Hardcore shows I saw. They remain some of magical moments. Then of course, I can’t pass Foufounes Électriques. There’s something about the place. Also, they put the subs under the stage so when you’re on stage, and you hit a kick drum or a bass note, it just resonates into your body, and actual hair will grow on your chest! *Haha* There’s an amazing connection between fans and bands at Foufs and I have many many, many memories as a fan and as a the player, it may be the place I played the most. I think Groovy Aardvark played there 27 times or something like that, plus I must have played another 20-30 times with other bands so it might be the place I have the best connection with.
Side note about Groovy Aardvark and the Spectrum, we interviewed a couple months ago John McEntee from Incantation and he actually mentioned travelling to the Dead Brain Cells, Soothsayer, Groovy Aardvark show there.
Yeah! Festival du lundi noir. That was amazing. I’ll tell you exactly, it was February 13th, 1989. Musique Plus were sponsoring that show. They had us up for interview, that was the first time we were on television. Musique Plus and Paul Sarrazin and SolidRock were so generous with young bands, like we were, they were so into it. They would sponsor that shit. They were the big media that would be behind us all the way. They always helped us a lot. It gave us such a big boost and to fill up the Spectrum, the only band of those four that had a record was DBC, they had put up that record on Combat. Otherwise, The AFFECTED, Groovy and SOOTHSAYER, we only had demos, and we were able to fill that place up and it was a lot because of Paul Sarrazin and Musique Plus. When I do see Paul from time to time, I always thank him for that.
Is there any classic or universally acclaimed artists that you missed out on when they first came out and discovered way later?
Yeah, I missed this band TAME IMPALA, from Australia. They’re like a Psychedelic, 70’s band, which I discovered much later. They were playing at Casa Del Popolo (note: less than 100 cap venue) and I was jamming with GrimSkunk at Indica, you know, about 100 feet away, and I had no idea they were playing. I missed Tame Impala at Casa Del Popolo, can you imagine that? Next time I saw them was at fucking Bell Centre.
Well, KYUSS never came. I was a big fan of them, but they never made it. MASTODON when they played Spectrum on first couple of tours. I didn’t know them that much but people like Fred Fortin and Olivier Langevin from Galaxie, they were huge fans and they would tell me about how amazing those shows were but I missed those. I know PANTERA played the Spectrum as well, I missed that. SLIPKNOT played the Spectrum, I missed that. There’s a lot of those. I would have loved to see The POLICE back in the early 80’s. I know PETER GABRIEL played the Spectrum once, it’s like secret shows, but I guess I could have figured out a way. I missed out on MERCIFUL FATE, this NWOBHM band from Denmark, King Diamond’s first band. I love Merciful Fate and I missed that show at Spectrum as well. I was living in Beloeil with my mom, I didn’t have money so you had to choose. I was buying records, but by buying so many vinyls, I couldn’t go to certain shows.
Is there any examples of stuff that you didn’t like or even hated at first but then it grew on you to become some of your favorites?
I think Merciful Fate is a great example of that, I hated his voice at first. I didn’t get it, that *humming in a high-pitched voice*, it was just so weird for me. I loved the band but I couldn’t dig King Diamond’s vocal range, especially in those high notes and then, at one point I just got it. Oh my god, this is fucking brilliant. It’s genius. And that’s what I like about it now, nobody does it like him and he made an amazing career out of that. I saw King Diamond a few times and I don’t know if his vocals are backtracked or not but he has perfect pitch. I think he’s helped by machines there because it just sounds too perfect to me but hey, maybe he’s that good? But back then. I was too young to actually understand, it was just weird for me. Zappa too, at first, it was too weird for me, but I just didn’t have the musical background honed enough to understand the whole scope of it and how amazingly well crafted his music was. It takes a certain time. You know, I love ABBA. I would have loved to see Abba. Maybe my favorite Pop band, we grew up on that stuff. As much as we’d love BLACK SABBBATH, I always had a soft spot for Abba. To this day, I think the music is amazingly well crafted, the singing is impeccable…talking about perfect Pop songs. I think Abba created at least 15 of those. I love Sweden in general, I think they have some of the best music out there. The HIVES are from there, The HELLACOPTERS…there’s a lot of amazing Rock from Sweden. We got the chance to play there a few times with GrimSkunk and it never disappoints.
But I have to say, I never was into The RAMONES at first, I thought it was too simple and bubblegum. It took me forever to start liking The Ramones and now I love them. I was into Fusion Rock and Zappa and all that shit and to me, The Ramones were just too easy. I just didn’t get it. Then, when you start figuring out how important they were in the Punk scene in New York, and the rest of the world, you realize, wow, these guys were amazing. They were geniuses to do it that simply, and they never had that big radio success, but they could have because everybody knows, “Hey, Oh, let’s go!” To me, I preferred the SEX PISTOLS, which was simple, but I thought it was it was more vicious.
You mentionned never seeing Kyuss, but you did see Kyuss Lives!, right? (Note : The band’s somewhat controversial reunion, as done without main songwriter, Josh Homme)
I did see Kyuss Lives! and I have a pretty cool story about that. I went to SoundCentral and I bought six tickets. As soon as I came out of there, I lost them. I had no idea what the fuck happened. They were in my pocket, then the next thing, they were not. Then it starts raining, pouring. I’m looking in the pouring rain, I’m soaking wet. I cannot find the tickets to save my life. I go back inside and I’m like, “Did you guy give me my tickets?” “Of course we did Vince.” “Sorry, I just lost ’em.” So it’s raining so much, I stay inside and watch the Simpsons, I go back when it stops raining and I found them in a puddle of mud, like 100 yards away from where I was. They were literally floating in mud. “I found them!” They were still attached together. *Haha* So I saw Kyuss Lives! but I was not a big fan of the Belgian guy’s guitar tone, I prefer Josh’s guitar tone. That was the only thing I didn’t like so much. It was great to see Scott Reeder. Olivieri couldn’t get into the country and Reeder was my favorite bassist of the two so it was amazing to be that close.
I did get to see QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE at Foufs for the first record. That blew my mind. That’s the reason why we started Floating Widget in the first place. I was a big Kyuss fan but nobody else was, then my friend Stéphane Vigeant, whom I started Groovy Aardvark with, back in ’86 and eventually Floating Widget in ’99, I had to convince him that Stoner Rock was the way to go. He did not like it, he thought it was too sloppy, and then I brought him to see Queens of the Stone Age there and he looks at me and goes *thumbs up*. He got the live impact of it. The next day, we started Floating Widget, in our elated state of coming out of seeing QOTSA. I got to see Queens time and time after that, I don’t think I missed any of their other shows. I got to see them grow from Foufs to Cafe Campus to Metropolis a couple times, then to Centre Bell. They really have an amazing career. They build it so well, with great record after great record…Like Clockwork was their last great record though, I didn’t like the last one too much. I think he was at his top writing crafty, heavy Pop songs.
I talked to Josh that night, I told him thanks for Kyuss, thanks for the new record because that night we were all expecting a Kyuss song. We could not believe he didn’t play one and we were kind of pissed off, but he told me after, “Dude, I gotta move away from it. Because if I play one, then people are gonna want more and more. I’m on my new thing now.” I realized that he was doing the right thing. He had to put a clean break between him and Kyuss, and he did the right thing. But as Kyuss fans, which we all were in ’98, we were really heartbroken that he couldn’t even play one. He had to explain to me why and yet he was right. Let bygones be bygones. And you know, I was just lucky he even answered! *Haha*
I got to see all those bands but another that I have to say blew my fucking mind was The MARS VOLTA. The first record De Loused In The Comatorium came out in 2003 and that changed everything for me. I could have put that in my top five actually. I got to see that tour. They jammed for hours. It was almost too much jamming but I appreciate bands that go there. It’s your choice to follow or not as a fan but I’m always ready to take a chance and you have to jump in the deep end with these guys because they just don’t care, they jam and jam and jam. I appreciate Omar Rodríguez-López’s career, he’s like the new Frank Zappa, he just puts on record after record. I got to see those guys early on, and watch every show after that. I was lucky enough to be able to do that and now I live in between L’Olympia and Le National. KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZZARD WIZARD is another one of my favorite bands in the last couple years. I got to see them three times.
Talking about a band that seemingly releases a record every month!
Yeah, they released five in 2017! *Haha* There’s another one coming out in a couple of hours actually. I had my tickets for their show last year and it’s been postponed twice. I think now it’s in October, if we’re lucky. At National, right next door. I don’t know if they still have the two drummers. I was fascinated by the two drummers and how tight they could stay the whole show. It’s really amazing. I don’t think they have a click their ears, they just go by feel. I hope they still have two drummers because I know one of them quit, I don’t know if they replaced him or not. But anyways, it’s like a trance *humming their trademark drum pattern*, they are non-stop and a bit like Mars Volta, they suck you in and you come out of there all sweaty and a different person.
What band or artist do you believe has achieved the most perfect discography?
Oh, well. I think RUSH has pretty much been flawless. Even though they changed styles at will, they always maintain their fan base. What’s amazing about Rush is that you have people that prefer the 90’s stuff, people that prefer the 80’s stuff, and people like me who prefer the 70’s stuff. Rush is not all about the Prog stuff of the 70’s, which I thought was but no, you have people all over the world that prefer Counterparts and Hold Your Fire and Presto and these records that I don’t listen to. It’s not the sound that I like about that band, but it’s amazing how every song live will get somebody. I think they’ve maintained that perfect career because they were always true to their beliefs in giving good music with great lyrics. So I would have to say Rush is maybe one of the best discographies ever, even though I don’t like every record.
I would also have to say, The BEATLES have a perfect discography. They don’t have a bad record. They put out many records in such a short period of time. It’s always absolutely incredible to think that the Beatles’ career is only eight years. Think about that, ’62 to ’70, eight and a half years and every record is so different from each other. And every record is pretty much close to perfection. The way they were able to get on board with the sign of their times and not only be as good as the time but change the times themselves. They created their own psychedelic self, they created their own acoustic stuff, like the Bob Dylan type stuff on Rubber Soul. To me, that’s a perfect discography right there. It’s hard to debate that The Beatles are not the biggest band in the world. You could say the ROLLING STONES, but they have a million records and I don’t know the songs as much as I do with The Beatles.
I gotta be a hard ass on this one, though. You can only pick one, is it Rush or The Beatles?
Oh, The Beatles. Yeah, definitely. I mean, if you give me a desert island choice, I’ll go with the Beatles.
(Note : These following questions were answered by email, after the interview.)
You move to a desert island and can only bring 5 artists/bands’ entire discography. Who are they?
1- BLACK SABBATH
2- THE BEATLES
3- BOB MARLEY
4- FRANK ZAPPA/MOTHERS
5- KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZZARD
Can you think of a band or artist that put out only one fantastic release (album, EP or demo) and then disbanded? One that you really wish would have kept going?
From Hamilton and signed to Indica Records: RACE. Good friends, and Ronee ended up singing with GrimSkunk for a few years. Amazing band, could and should have been huge, physically dangerous to each other though… too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak. They imploded and will never return…
What are your ten favourite albums of all time (all genres)? Name a standout track on each of these albums.
1- THE BEATLES – Live At The Hollywood Bowl ’63-’64, 1980 – Boys
2- BLACK SABBATH – Master Of Reality, 1971 – After Forever
3- ROBERT CHARLEBOIS – Charlebois, 1972 – Fu Man Chu (CHU D’dans)
4- IRON MAIDEN – Killers, 1981 – Murders In The Rue Morgue
5- ZAPPA/MOTHERS – Roxy & Elsewhere- 1974 – Village Of The Sun
6- THE SEX PISTOLS – Never Mind The Bullocks…,1977 – Pretty Vacant
7 – SWEET – Desolation Boulevard, 1974 – Set Me Free
8- RIOT – Fire Down Under, 1981 – Don’t Hold Back
9 – HARMONIUM – (Si On Avait Besoin D’Une) 5e Saison – En Pleine Face
10 – NOMEANSNO – Wrong, 1989 – It’s Catching Up
(11- KYUSS – Welcome To Sky Valley, 1993 – Gardenia
12 – AC/DC – Powerage, 1978 – Riff Raff
13- VAN HALEN – Van Halen, 1978 – I’m The One
14- SUPERGRASS – I Should Coco, 1996 – I’d Like To Know
15 – GRIMSKUNK – Grimskunk, 1994 – Texas Cult Song)
A few more bands I would have loved to see live but never got the chance :
THE RAMONES, ZAPPA, VAN HALEN (with DLR), HOT SNAKES, JAY RETARD, SUPERGRASS, HARMONIUM, TROPICAL FUCK STORM, THE STRANGLERS, LA MANO NEGRA, DEAD KENNEDYS (with Jello)…
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