Since music is such a big influence in your life (and your livelihood) lets start with that. From what I'm told, you pretty much came out of the womb playing an instrument. When did you first decide this was what you wanted to do?
Well, I started piano lesson at age 5 and then switched to organ, picked-up the saxophone at 12 playing in the local concert band which led me to meet other much older musicians who got me playing weddings and other end of season bowling parties at age 13 and so on. So I guess I never really decided to this. It's just something I was already doing.It became sort of more serious when I went to college to study music. Maybe this was the turning point of me deciding to become a professional.
From what I understand (and I didn't catch any of the conversations in French) your father was an engineer of sorts.. how did he respond to you wanting to be a musician?
My father wasn't an engineer but rather worked for Hydro-Quebec, the electricity company for 40 years. He's always been very supportive. Surprisingly, my mother who actually is the one who pushed me through music lessons was the one who had the most concerns about me become a musician. She wanted me to have a more "standard" diploma in my pocket. I never did of course. I thought that if I were to become anything close to a decent musician I would have to devote my entire time working on it, which would leave very little time to pursue another career unless I didn't mind getting out of school at 40.Do you want your kids to play instruments?
Maybe. I frankly haven't thought about it yet.In the United States, many of the schools are getting their budgets for things like theater and music cut completely out. How important do you think is music education for the masses?
Well I think it's important for kids to be exposed to it at some point during their education if only from a cultural point of view. It can also help some kids to discover that they have a talent for it. A lot of those students don't have any opportunity at home to explore that possibility, for various reasons, and they get to try stuff for free at school.Also taking part in music activities at school often (in my days anyway) means extra-curricular activities if I use the term right. Keeping busy at doing something creative helps keep kids out of trouble. It certainly help me and thinking back about all of my friends who were busy with music rehearsals, I can't think of any who got in trouble.
Miles Davis or Louis Armstrong?
I guess I would have to say Miles Davis. They both made enormous contributions to the music world but Davis is closer to my time.You told me once you were in an 80's cover band.. did you wear eyeliner and hairspray? (hey! You agreed to be interviewed by ME!)
I did not wear eyeliner or hairspray. And that's probably what caused my demise in the cover bands' world. It was a very good experience at the age I was when I did it. It wasn't a very good band because we didn't spend the time it would have needed to make it good because nobody really believed in it I guess. But again it was an invaluable learning experience.I heard your play the tuba. do I get a sample the next time I'm in Las Vegas?
If you bring a tuba I'll more than happy to oblige.Was music a big influence in your family?
Aside from my mother constantly listening to Engelbert Humperdinck, there wasn't really any big musical influence at home and fortunately no permanent scars left from hearing to much Humperdinck or Tom Jones or any other of those '60s crooners. No one else played an instrument in my family.Did you go to clown college?
No but I attended work-shops given by professional clowns. Clowning is much more difficult than most people realize.How did you get involved with Cirque Eloize and Circus Knie? What was your job/jobs?
How did you get involved with Cirque du Soleil?
Those two questions are related. It actually all started with Cirque du Soleil in 92. I was hired as a musician to be part of a production that was going to be presented by Circus Knie in Switzerland. More precisely, Knie had bought the rights of the first Cirque du Soleil show. But all the cast and production team was Canadian. A most memorable experience.Cirque Eloize came after a gig with the Canadian Fantasy Circus in Japan. The core of that show consisted of acts from the performers of Cirque Eloize which was still in its infancy then. After the Japan show ended never to heard of again, Eloize was looking for a sound technician who could play live music at the same time. They didn't have money to hire a band so all the music for the show was recorded except for some the links between acts and some moments here and there during the show. This being a circus show flexibility was very important. From a human point of view Eloize is certainly my best experience with circus.
What's it like being the bandleader for O?
It helped me realize that I wasn't the hot headed intolerant young musician that I once was and that with age, my values had shifted and that I didn't need that shit in my life. Things are very very different in the band now than they were in my days so I guess it would be easier now. Sure I was making a little bit more money but I can now certify that going to work stress free is priceless.Being in Cirque Eloize and Circus Knie has sent you all over the world. What have your learned about different cultures and customs and how do you apply that to your work?
Indeed circuses made me travel. Just to brag a bit, so far I have visited the following countries: Canada (don't laugh. It's a huge country and not so many people can say they have traveled it from coast to coast) USA(18 states though many times the same) Mexico, Cuba, France, Belgium, Ireland, Switzerland, Japan and Taiwan.So not that many countries but what makes it different than your regular vacations is the amount of time I spent in each of those country which in turn gave me the opportunity to get the feel of each places and meet people you wouldn't meet in the tourist circuit. And if you stay long enough in one place, say a month, and then you start living the life of the locals.
That said, I think tolerance is what I got from those travels. Bear in mind that most of the time we were left by ourselves since to local producers would certainly not take us all by the hand to show us around. This is your hotel, the theater is here, show call is at 6.00 pm. don't be late. Good-bye. Figure the rest out yourself. So I had to learn fast and most of all ADAPT. When in Rome you do as the Romans do. If you understand that you'll have the most memorable trips.
What other interesting jobs have you had?
Pizza man, worked in a golf pro-shop for many summers, learned a lot of English there and I did guided tours in an historic resort in Quebec. I liked it so much that I considered that as a second career if things didn't work out in music.Have you been with O from the beginning and what did you think/feel the first time you saw it all come together? Do you still get anything like the same feeling seeing it now?
I have been with O from the beginning. I'm trying hard to remember what it was like when the show "came together". It took 6 months of rehearsals, re-rewriting, last minute changes etc. and working from the inside I never really saw it. In general, I remember that we were happy every time a dress rehearsal would go smoothly. We were much more concerned with the technical aspect of the show than the performances.I saw the show sitting in the house for the first time last July. All I saw was a series of cues or miscues and I remember being bothered by the sound quality. You have to understand that what I hear during a show and what the audience hears is two very different things. So I spent most of the show thinking: "why am I not hearing this part? Where is the bass? Is THAT the way it sounds when I play? Etc. It kind of spoiled the experience for me. Maybe after I leave and wait a couple of years , enough to forget all the technical details, I would be able to appreciate the show from an artistic point of view. But for now I'm too close to it.
What's your favourite instrument to play or does he have moods for playing them?
That's a really interesting question. You see, music is a job for me so I don't really choose which instrument I will play but rather play the one that I'm required to. I rarely play for fun anymore. Sad but true. But the last time I did (for family and friends in Montreal last December) I played saxophone. I hired some professional musicians I knew and an excellent sound man, we set up in a smoky bar in my hometown and we played jazz. That was fun.If he could live anywhere in the world, where would he live? And what would he being doing in this ideal place?
Yes indeed "what would I be doing there": that is the question.(Start violins here)
I have sipped over priced coffee on the Champs Elyses in Paris, stood atop the Eiffel Tower, ate Gruyere cheese IN Gruyere, Switzerland, a most beautiful medieval village on top of a hill, rang the bells of Buddhist temples in Kyoto, ate soup in the middle of Taipei while listening to Celine Dion on the local radio, seen the sunset on the Mediterranean Sea in southern France and saying to myself: "I could live here!"
But then a mini-me character dressed like a banker would pop-up an whisper in my left ear:" Yeah. And then what?"
(Stop the violins and insert the sound of a needle scratching an old vinyl record)
So I guess that my answer to your question at this point in my life is that the ideal place would be where I can make a living regardless of the beauty of the scenery.