(Saint-Lazare) You will have to arrive early in front of the Bell stage on Friday during the opening show of the Francos, because the Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project is arriving in Montreal after having sold out its three run-in shows of its tour Boom Bar Panther, last weekend. QRBP’s big return to the stage took place on Friday at Chez Maurice, in Saint-Lazare, and we can confirm that “the party had a bad time”!
The Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project is one of the most popular Quebec groups although it is unknown to a majority of the population. A reality which arises from the thoughtful choices of the group, fiercely independent since its beginnings, but also from a series of combinations of circumstances which contributed to its success, while creating a certain distrust among those who know nothing of the unique journey of this group Saguenay made in China.
In the joyful crowd awaiting the arrival of JP “Le Pad” Tremblay and his colleagues Nicolas Laflamme, Madeleine Bouchard and François Gaudreau, many are unaware that the group was formed in China in 2007 and that its name is inspired by a farce linked to the festive reputation of this group of young Quebec iconoclasts based in Kunming. “It hooked me because I like ski-doos,” immediately admits a fan of the group, Patrick De Bellefeuille. I knew a guy who made me listen to the song Pantera Arctic Cat Triple 800 ; I played it with my friends and then one tune led to another. It’s good music, it moves, we like it. »
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PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
In front of a homemade scenography, the Saguenay-Jeannois musicians embark on a busy evening!
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PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
A compact and pumped-up crowd was ready to meet the members of QRBP during the passage of The Press in Saint-Lazare.
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PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
The group gave the first of its three run-in shows last Friday evening before performing at the Francos this Friday.
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PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
We find JP “Le Pad” Tremblay with his guitar and his voice in the group Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project.
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PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
Madeleine Bouchard, violinist of the group
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PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
Nicolas Laflamme, mandolin – and guitar player
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“To understand what he sings, you have to be introduced to it. The rest of us are that kind of guy, we have three-wheelers, we ride on them! The last images in my phone, it’s my Big Red! », continues the strong fellow from Beauharnois, showing us his new purchase.
Many of Jean-Philippe Tremblay’s lyrics refer to motors, drunken evenings and hunting and fishing parties, with a colorful play that may seem obscure to some, but enjoyable for those who identify with it.
“This rural side is the poetry of the Pad,” explains mandolinist Nic “Captain Cool” Laflamme, contacted by phone a few days after the Saint-Lazare show. I have also met several people over the years who have told me that the beauty of the text, the way in which he delivers it, sometimes brings a bygone era to life. It brings to life a vocabulary that tends to run out of steam over the years. I even met CEGEP and university literature teachers who told me that they studied JP’s texts! »
Beyond the motor-loving group
Talking about the challenges of a 15-inch lay in loose snow might seem futile to someone who has never ridden in a regional trail, but you have to make the effort to go beyond that. beyond the first glance to discover what is hidden behind the group’s image.
“The lyrics, when you listen to them, yes, it can be comical, but it has a meaning,” says Guylaine Beaudette, from Saint-Rosaire, who arrived with her group of friends formed precisely by rubbing shoulders regularly in shows of QRBP. “The Pad is someone who is very educated, very cultured, but who conveys his message in colorful and often saucy language,” she continues.
PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
From left to right: Yannick Lemieux, Pierrick Denoncourt, André Martin, Guylaine Beaudette and Martin Gagné met for the group’s first concert of the summer.
To those who say they don’t like this type of language, well, I say they’re hypocrites; if you live in Quebec, it’s not true that you’ve never heard of it that way!
Guylaine Beaudette
The group has already briefly thought about changing its name, just to get rid of the redneck label which has nothing to do with them. But we decided to continue to ride the joke, preferring to write the opposite in several of their texts – there is even an appendix in their latest book-album I drank, which definitely sets the record straight. “A musician friend with whom I collaborated admitted to me that he had difficulty meeting QRBP because of the name,” Nicolas Laflamme tells us. But he told me that when he listened carefully to the lyrics, he realized that it wasn’t redneck in the true sense of the word. Conversely, there are plenty of people to whom it really speaks, who are really proud of it. For some, it creates a bond of compatibility with us, without saying that the people who follow us are racist rednecks. »
There is indeed no sectarian feeling emanating from this joyful and welcoming crowd. In fact, everyone was happy to talk to the journalist for whom it was the first Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project show ever.
PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
The atmosphere was festive last Friday at Chez Maurice.
Nicolas Laflamme does not hesitate to speak of the QRBP family in this way; in reference to this loyal crowd who follow the group in the numerous festivals which bring it to all regions of the province each summer, but also to the quartet’s entourage, who takes care of the technique or the promotional material – the group deals directly with the creators of its superb t-shirts, posters, but also the decorative elements found on stage for its new tour.
The energy of the audience
A bar, a warning siren, light boxes and a tripod topped with a flashing light now accompany the Pantera Triple 800 snowmobile which still sits in place of the battery that the group never had. “We’re talking about a scenography created in-house, in the garage at Le Pad, but we worked with people we didn’t know at all,” Nic Laflamme tells us with a laugh. They were recommended to us by mutual friends, they wrote to me via Facebook to tell me that they had returned to Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean a year ago, after spending 25 years in Montreal, partly in because of our song my girlfriend asked me, which speaks precisely of returning to the region, of returning where we come from. »
On stage, the group meets occasionally around this bar to toast the health of the public, which transmits a contagious energy. “We are still as crazy, as free in our art, and when we are on stage, there is nothing that exists anymore,” insists the musician who also holds a master’s degree in international relations.
“That said, our realities have changed naturally, the subjects of the songs have also evolved with us. So it’s normal to tackle different subjects and if that allows you to talk to even more people, that’s great. I mean, every show, we have new people come up to me and tell me they just discovered us. »
We bet there will be thousands of new converts on Place des Festivals on Friday in downtown Montreal.
Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project is hosting the opening night of the Francos, on the Bell stage, Friday, June 14 at 9 p.m.
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