Loaded Aftermath

I've been asked how our show went, last Thursday. I've got to say, it was our best show as Loaded, and everyone in the crowd and the band seemed to have a great time.

Here are a few of the comments I gathered, first from the performers themselves:

Patrick Hutchinson (guitar, vocals):

Well, that was a blast & a half...what a gas to be part of that huge throbbing wall of sound! Mighty kudos to Loaded co-conspirators Dave Lines (keys/vox) Luca Fantigrossi (guit/vox) Jordi Rosen (accordion/vox) Caroline Glass (cor anglais/oboe/vox) Sébastian Hell (guit/vox - completely nailed that Heroin!) JW Triangles Stuart (bass/vox) Allan Lento (guit/vox) all anchored, grounded & mainlined into the 220v by the incomparable rock'n'roll queen of la batterie, Jackie Gallant (drums/vox) !!!!!

Luca Fantigrossi:

"What goes on in your mind?" well, thanks for asking... I'd like to say that I'm still reeling with joy from last night's festivities! It's such an honor to play with such wonderful musicians... 

Mr. Hutchinson put it perfectly by saying "what a gas to be part of that huge throbbing wall of sound!" Thanks to Dave for bringing us all together last night, and his awesome band A Devil's Din, to Jackie for making our hearts throb with your drumming, to Jordi for your always inspiring presence and lovely vocals, to JW Triangles for rocking that bass and providing us all with a space to rehearse, to Allan for getting this whole thing started a few years ago and for allowing us to keep it going - also you sure can rock those songs! Thanks to Caroline for giving that special extra sound to the band, and to Sébastian for rocking the house as always as well, and to Patrick for all those wonderful leads that sore the band real high! 

Also, much thanks to L'esco, and all you wonderful people who came down to experience it with us! Much love, and happy holidays!

JW Stuart :

You think the last thing one would want to do after playing a Velvets tribute show would be to listen to them the next day. But the song below really moved me this morning. Partially because it represents Lou's love of 50's music... but mainly it got me thinking about the dear people I shared the stage with last night. 

Allan who started the whole shebang years ago. His Waiting For The Man and Venus are really mind-blowing. He is a truly kind and loving soul who has the gift of seeing joy and beauty in small things.

Dave - whose musical prowess still astonishes me. His calm admist the chaos, his sly sense of humour and contagious love of music.

Jackie - well what can you say about her. Humble, brilliant, and always spot-on. I loved last night so much because I turned away from the audience and watched/fed off her the whole night.

Jordi brings light and beauty to everything she does, and her voice at once innocent and wise gives me shivers.

Patrick - again where do I start with this madman. He's been plucking on stages across the city for decades, and his positive/giddy/talky- talky personality is a rare and beautiful thing. The moment I met him (for a slide lesson) I wished I had known him my whole life. A real treasure.

Sébastian Hell - he's quiet, wickedly opinionated, and a brilliant interpreter of songs. I can think of countless Sake Of the Songs performances that really should go down in local music history.

Caroline - a stunning and brilliant musician. And holy shit that Femme Fatale... again shiiiiivers... Keep your ears attuned to her, brilliant.

Luca - well you just want to hug that guy. He's an inspired and deep soul.
& yes I missed Will too.

I love you guys, look forward to the next time.

And a few choice words from folks in attendance:

Bill Gould:

Thanks! for a real swell time!,everybody got along so really well, I can hardly wait until the next time!

Mikhail Doborvlianski, who taped the show and whose footage is all over YouTube and Facebook:

It was a great show! Thanks to everybody!!!

Victoria Smutova:

Absolutely agree :) awesome guys, awesome performance! Thanks to everyone!

 And now, a few short videos from my friend Anne-Marie Martino:

Heroin:


We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together:


Who Loves The Sun:

Re-Plug: Loaded Sings The Velvet Underground, December 19th At L'Esco

It had to happen, and it will. Lou Reed left us, and left a huge void countless musicians are vying to fill, and tributes to the man's work came left and right.

In my neck of the woods, there is one collective that has attracted hundreds of people to their shows, specializing in his Velvet Underground era, the one I'm in, Loaded.

There will be absentees (Ingrid Wissink, Will Austin, Zuzu Knew, Cassie Doubleday), but enough will be around to make it worthwhile: grandmaster Allan Lento, maestro Dave Lines (also in A Devil's Din, who will close out the evening), Patrick Hutchinson, Jackie Gallant, Jordy Rosen, Caroline Glass, John Stuart, Luca Fantigrossi and myself, playing all the songs you'll want to hear, from Sister Ray to After Hours, from Heroin to Femme Fatale, from Pale Blue Eyes to White Light, White Heat.

The only ones we're forgoing are those usually sung by absentees and those off Squeeze, because, let's face it, it's not a real VU album.

Each musician will sing at least one, as usual.

Five bucks gets you in, on December 19th (2013), at L'Escogriffe, corner St-Denis and Mont-Royal.

''Introducing'' The Musical Stylings Of Jordi Rosen

I told you about my sometime-bandmate Jordi Rosen a few times already, but I'd like to mention she now has a blog/site - complete with videos and stuff, all as she is nearing completion of her most recent album.

She deserves the attention - and she's just going to get more, so jump on the bandwagon and go listen to her heartfelt eclectic sounds today!

Video Of The Week: The Sainte Catherines

It's really happening. As Montréal punkers The Sainte Catherines are pulling the plug on 13 years of ramen noodles, white econoline vans and getting drunk all over the continent, they're releasing their final video, the aptly titled I'll MissThe Boys.

Full disclosure: I've had the pleasure of working with two former members of the St-Caths, bassist 'Wood' Nadeau and drummer Mike Sokolyk for two of my own songs, including Hep C. We're talking about grounded, down-to-earth, socially active, bright individuals who were in a band that was a revolving door of such individuals. And they all love poutine.

The Sainte Catherines were legends that just went under-appreciated in terms of local recognition from the major media; like AIDS Wolf before them, they're just now getting a shitload of attention as they are promoting their farewell shows. They released an album on Dare To Care Records - a creation of friends Eli Bissonette and chief St-Cath Hugo Mudie - before releasing a bigger, international one on Fat Wreck Chords, only to have to go back to local company Indica Records for their final album.

It means they got respect from their peers, as all these labels are run by musicians, but those labels just kind of failed at broadening the band's exposure. GrimSkunk's fans already probably buy Sainte Catherines stuff; NoFX fans had already seen them in opening slots. What they could have used was help crossing over to other scenes, like Rancid's, or in Europe.

Or maybe I'm just sad that a decade's worth of honest music and quality shows is now the stuff of memories. Now, when I come across Mudie at my local Lafleur, I'll be looking at a full-time dad and husband who occasionally plays duet shows with Fred Jacques and whose country-punk-bilingual side-band Yesterday's Ring is on indefinite hiatus rather than the active punk superstar showman I saw in action the week before.

Maybe I'm reminded of my own mortality.

Or maybe I should quit whining and just be stoked that there is a farewell show on April 27th. See you there!

Plug: Getting Over The New Year Hangover

If you're in town for the day (well, the night, mostly!), you should definitely stop by Casa Del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent, right below St-Joseph - my favourite venue in the city) for the world premiere of my new band, S*H*A*L*L (yes, it stands for Stuart-Hell-Austin-Lento-Lines, our first choice was to call ourselves Godfeed You! Fat Senator?, but my friend Mauro from the actual Godspeed veto'ed it).

S*H*A*L*L is 5 of Montréal's best singer-songwriters, all former members of the Velvet Underground cover band Loaded, each singing 2 of their songs, swapping instruments and backing the others for the rest. Except me: I get 3 songs.

We're opening for the Caroline Glass Band - also a Loaded alumni! - and it's a measly 5 bucks, which also includes a sample of Miracle Fruit, should you be so inclined.

Bring your friends!

Facebook event link here.

Plug: My Saturday Show's In The Paper

Once again, we made the Montreal Mirror!

This time, the Mile-End Mission benefit shows organized by my friends at Four Minutes To Midnight (also called the Sake Of The Songs benefit series) got a full article in the Mirror, in which I was even mentioned as a regular in the series (a ''usual suspect'' if you will), alongside many others who were in our Velvet Underground cover project last year.

There's a different theme each time around, and this time it's a tribute to the Red Wedge movement and tour because organizer John Stuart feels there are too many similarities between Stephen Harper and Margaret Thatcher - and wanted to make a political statement about the Conservatives winning a majority during the last elections despite 60% of voters voting against them, meaning they got roughly 20% of the votes from the eligible electorate.

Plug: Drummer Jackie Gallant At Monastiraki On Sunday

Jackie Gallant (Lesbians On Ecstacy, American Devices), drummer extraordinaire and Montréal legend with whom I was lucky enough to play in the cover band Loaded not just once but three times last year is playing a solo show this coming Sunday, around 2PM, at museum/thrift shop Monastiraki (5478 St-Laurent).

A sight to behold, for sure. My favourite drummer not named Jack Irons, I tell you.

(terrific photo by Sandra Lynn Belanger)