(Sainte-Catherine) A music store or a popular culture museum? The question arises when entering Dianorgues La Rock Shoppe.
The walls are lined with photos and memorabilia. More space on the walls? There is always the ceiling!
Each photo is a story. Here is one with former Prime Minister Bernard Landry. “I had rented a piano from them, the gentleman had left and Mr. Landry had asked me to continue. I played boogies and then all that on the waterfront in Verchères. »
We recognize her with former Canadiens. Larry Robinson. Bob Gainey. Jean Béliveau, obviously. A young Réjean Houle. “It’s getting old, huh? We no longer recognize them. I used to have a wasp waist. There, I have the size of a gadfly! »
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The walls of Diane Bibaud’s music store are lined with memories of her many encounters.
And Toe Blake. “He came to see me upstairs, I played to him Bye Bye Blackbird. It was his tune. The store is a bundle of memories. »
Here, a letter from the Philadelphia Flyers thanking her for welcoming her to the Forum in 1987. There, a message sent by the New York Rangers, who received her in 2014.
Behind the cash register, the photo with a Céline Dion from around thirty years ago inevitably attracts attention. “She didn’t have much to say, but she has a lot of discipline. She was so focused. Look how sick she is today, it’s valuable,” regrets Bibaud.
Fellow photographer Martin Tremblay immortalizes it all, before stopping between two shots. “You have met so many people. »
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Among his encounters, that of Ginette Reno is the most striking: “Because I think she looks like me. We have the same temperament. »
— It’s terrible!
— What was the most memorable meeting for you?
She heaves a big sigh, as if she were out of breath thinking about all the stars she’s crossed over in her four decades of career.
“Ginette Reno. Because I think she looks like me. We have the same temperament. I’m not bad, but we have a quick temper, we say what we have to say. »
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Diane Bibaud shows a photo of her younger self.
When she was younger, Diane Bibaud cherished three dreams: owning her own music store, marrying a technician and playing music for the Canadian. “The three have arrived!” »
Here is The Press at the music store in question, on a quiet Monday afternoon following a storm. Diane Bibaud finishes serving a client, an intensive care nurse. The conversation is going well. ” Thank you for being here. We need the rest of you,” she says by way of greeting.
It’s shorter on the phone. “Dianorgues La Rock Shoppe, hello. Yes sir, with pleasure. » Clack! In just 11 seconds, the call is over.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Telephone conversations with Diane Bibaud are often brief: “I respond quickly, I am very expeditious,” she admits.
“I respond quickly, I am very expeditious. Sometimes I put them upside down! “, she admits.
This store is his baby, born in 1987 on the same land, but in premises that are much more cramped, with supporting photos obviously. “It looked like a Ponderosa!” People said to my husband: she thinks she’s going to make money from this, but she’s going to go bankrupt. »
Originally it was only Dianorgues. “I added La Rock Shoppe, because organs are no longer sold. What do you want us to say? It’s dead. It’s like the big tanks. »
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The Dianorgues La Rock Shoppe brand, in Sainte-Catherine
His passion for music is not new. A turbulent little girl, she was sent to a convent by her adoptive parents at the age of 7.
I inflicted people, I bit the sisters, I set off the alarm… But in the convent, there was a piano. When I sat down at a piano, I was as wise as a picture. I ended up getting kicked out, but the principal told my parents: make him learn music, you’ll be doing him a favor. And to society too!
Canadian organist Diane Bibaud
Medicine also interested her, and we understand that her parents would have preferred that she follow this path. “On her deathbed, my mother said to me: I know you want to be a musician. Do me honor and I will follow you, I will always encourage you. Make a good daughter of yourself. »
The day of our visit, the Canadian is playing a home match. Even though a six-hour evening awaits her at the Bell Centre, the 64-year-old lady stops by the boutique.
It must be said that it is well installed. Entering on the left, its keyboards are configured exactly as at the Bell Center. This is where she practices, because no, despite her experience, she does not spend her evenings on autopilot.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The keyboards in Diane Bibaud’s boutique are configured exactly like those at the Bell Center. She can therefore practice it between matches.
“Today, I’m not in the world, I’m nervous. It’s true, it’s within. Ask Lise. » We turn to the Lise in question, who nods. “It’s not in the world!” »
“It’s stage fright, I don’t know why. And there are always last minute deals. It’s not the Canadian’s fault, it happens in big organizations. »
When the time comes to leave, in the middle of the afternoon, she does so with peace of mind. She has five teachers on her team, who offer classes on her premises. Among them, Marc. “He teaches, he does studio work, he does floor work. And he endures me! »
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Dianorgues does not only sell organs. “I added La Rock Shoppe, because organs are no longer sold. »
That’s without forgetting Lise, his faithful sidekick, who almost always accompanies him to the Bell Centre. “Lise does all the paperwork, deposits, payroll. This is our life. We are like two fingers on the hand. She lives with us, we are together 24 hours a day.
— Are you related?
– No. It’s a very strong bond of friendship. We’re not a couple, and I have nothing against that! She was alone, she had a condo, my husband was gone and my house was paid for. I told him: come and stay with us. »
The husband, rather the ex-husband, because they have been separated since 1993, is Marc Bélanger, “the name of a conductor”, a tall, thin man who appears in a few photos. “That’s in Italy. He was 6’4. I tell the world that’s why I didn’t get pregnant, it came up to my navel!
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Several newspaper clippings are displayed in the store.
“I’m not ashamed to talk about it. He was an extraordinary guy. But he was bipolar. He was interned for four months, was never violent. It’s not complicated, it’s a serotonin deficiency. It needs to be diagnosed and medicated.
“I call him every year at his party. This is the disappointment of my life. I will always love it. »
And yes, he was a music technician, just like she dreamed of. “A technician, for me, is like a doctor for musical instruments, because it’s logic. It’s current, continuity. »
She sees herself for “five or six more years” at her shop, proud of all the storms she has weathered over the years. She cites the pandemic, obviously, but also the Oka crisis, with Kahnawake just a stone’s throw from her business.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Diane Bibaud sees herself for “five or six more years” at her boutique. “The day I go to sell, I won’t pass by here anymore. I’m going to be in so much pain! But I haven’t gotten there yet. »
“I sold harmonicas to the police, I went to play the drum keyboard, I went to entertain people on the side of the railway. People came to look for things to play with. Look at the police tank, it was on the side of the track. I made the world sing. I did some stupid things!
“I pay myself a salary like everyone else. My pension fund is the building. The day I go to sell, I won’t pass by here anymore. I’m going to be in so much pain! But I haven’t gotten there yet. I’m going to walk on all fours before I sell. It’s like the Bell Centre. »