The Redmond Barry's

Dans un univers culturel où l’industrie n’est plus aussi prédominante qu’autrefois, c’est souvent le public qui prend les choses en main. À l’image de La Petite Boîte noire, mise sur pied par trois Sherbrookois passionnés de musique, Bellevue-Beauvoir est l’œuvre des amis et mélomanes Alex Lys et Dominic Tardif.
«Bien des gens parlent encore avec nostalgie du Téléphone rouge (NDLR ancien bar de la rue Wellington Sud qui était réputé pour accueillir des artistes émergents)», explique Dominic Tardif, coorganisateur de Bellevue-Beauvoir 2011. C’est d’ailleurs dans l’établissement de la rue Wellington Sud que les deux mélomanes se sont rencontrés, il y a de cela quelques années. «Beaucoup de gens se plaignent qu’il ne se passe rien à Sherbrooke. Arrêtez de chialer et faites de quoi si vous êtes pas content!, s’exclame-t-il.
«Moi et Alex on a compris que si on voulait voir certains groupes à Sherbrooke, il fallait qu’on prenne les choses en main.» C’est ce qu’ils ont fait.
En mai dernier, les deux mélomanes ont été à l’origine des Grandes Fourches 2011, un «marathon musical» qui a donné la chance à quatre groupes de rock indépendant de se produire sur la scène du Boquébière. Après le succès qu’a connu la soirée, les deux amis ont eu envie de réitérer l’expérience en organisant une deuxième édition.
Toujours dédié au rock indépendant, «le festival» Bellevue-Beauvoir accueillera cette fois-ci des artistes appartenant à la scène musicale anglo-montréalaise. «Les groupes anglophones de Montréal ont peu de visibilité au Québec, surtout en dehors de leur ville. Ce sera l’occasion pour eux de se faire connaître à Sherbrooke», explique Dominic.
Même s’ils ont travaillé en collaboration avec le Boquébière et le Théâtre Granada, c’est eux qui ont contacté les groupes et entrepris les démarches pour les accueillir à Sherbrooke. «Dès le début, les artistes se sont montrés très enthousiastes en ce qui concerne notre projet. Bien souvent, le problème n’est pas que les groupes ne veulent pas venir ici, c’est que personne ne les invite», explique Dominic.
C., le batteur et chanteur des Redmond Barry’s, groupe qui se produira lors de l’événement, confirme ces propos. «À l’exception d’un show à Toronto le 9 novembre, ce sera notre premier spectacle en dehors de Montréal. Ça va vraiment être une belle opportunité pour les quatre groupes, même si on a des styles différents», explique-t-il.
Le déroulement de la soirée sera certes assez singulier, puisque quatre groupes différents se partageront le temps de scène, mais les organisateurs assurent qu’il y en aura pour tous les goûts. «Les spectateurs vont peut-être se saouler, mais ils ne se saouleront pas de la musique!»
L’événement Bellevue-Beauvoir aura lieu le samedi 19 novembre prochain, dès 21 h, au Boquébière, 50, rue Wellington Nord. Prix d’entrée: 12 $. Pour des informations supplémentaires sur l’événement ou pour découvrir les quatre groupes qui seront présents, visitez le bellevue-beauvoir.com. - lecollectif.ca

C. chante et martèle les tambours. V. chante et punit sa guitare. Réunis sur la même scène, ils se font appeler The Redmond Barry’s et convertissent les masses au muff rock (c’est leur terme, pas le nôtre!), un genre musical qui, si on comprend bien, s’appuie sur les riffs acérés et les rythmes nerveux. Célébré par les blogues musicaux montréalais pour ses concerts tapageurs, louangé par la presse spécialisée pour son premier EP (1949 MURDERS) s’abreuvant au grunge et aux brûlots des Pixies, le duo fait l’irréfutable démonstration que deux musiciens bien résolus suffisent à alarmer tout le voisinage. Comme on dit à Lennox: less is more. - LE BELLEVUE-BEAUVOIR

Power duo composé d'une batterie nerveuse et d'une guitare aux riffs accrocheurs, C. et V. agiteront les doigts de pieds de tout humanoïde. 1949 MURDERS est leur premier album, sorti cet été.

The Redmond Barry's is a two piece band consisting of C. and V. A raw and unique brand of rock-and-roll that combines addictive drum beats and adrenaline-producing guitar riffs. - Pop Montreal

Montreal rock and roll duo The Redmond Barry’s popped up on the indie music radar only recently, with the release of their debut EP 1949 Murders (stream here) this July. The band plays a brand of music that they lovingly call “post-muff” – merging complex drum rhythms, garage rock guitar riffs and addictive vocal melodies. They’ve been building up a lot of buzz thanks to their energetic live shows, and are scheduled to play the prestigious Pop Montreal festival later this year.
We speak to Chris Briard and Varun Chopra about their EP, the Montreal indie scene and their puppet friend Randall.
You’ve known each other for a decade now. When did you decide to get together and start a band?
V: After seeing an astrologer who read our palms and checked our collective prostate, the stars aligned and it was time for The Redmond Barry’s to be.
C: I wanted to take things to the next level. Something started when I was allowed to move my drums into V’s basement but the occasional covers didn’t cut it after a while, so I pushed to get things off the road and he eventually saw my reasoning.
I’m curious about your name. Is it a reference to Sir Redmond Barry, the judge responsible for the Kelly outbreak?
V: I’m not sure to be honest. The astrologer gave it to us.
C: We knew this girl called Kelly in high-school. An outbreak of her would not have been pleasant. Multiples of her just running loose… Scary thought. I heard she became kind of a skank though, so I guess it all worked out for her in the end. Let’s just say Stanley is our father and Lord Bullingdon is our bitch.
What is this ‘prom incident’ we keep hearing about?
V: I think it’s something Randal made up to create some kind of weird intrigue. That or he wants people to question whether or not we’re gay.
C: We try to avoid going into details. It was a life altering incident that occasionally comes back to haunt us on sweaty summer nights.
Who are your musical influences? What are the bands you grew up listening to?
V: The Libertines are a big influence. I spent much of a drunken youthful summer playing all their songs in bus shelters, basements and bathroom stalls with a friend of mine who eventually died of an overdose. He’s still around though. I’d say Cursive too. If Pete Dohery and Carl Barat were a two-piece with Pete on drums but with the angst of older Cursive they might sound like The Redmond Barry’s.
C: I think we both had pretty varied types of music while growing up. I was raised on Zeppelin, Stones, etc. but other than having a predelection for rocking music I wouldn’t count the early things I listened to as influences. Jimmy Chamberlain’s drumming had an influence on my style.
So, what exactly is “post-muff”? Are you taking the piss, or are you just fans of neologisms?
V: It’s a little bit of both. I don’t know if we should give too much away. Chris?
C: We had muff, then we shaved. Post-muff is the type of music we play.
What do you think sets you apart from other bands in the scene?
V: There are a lot of two-pieces all over Canada right now and a lot of them are making amazing music. What stands out about us is that we’re both songwriters and we’re both vocalists so you have more dynamic songwriting within a song as we both bring different influences to the table. We also find people are always blown away by Chris’s ability to sing while playing much more than just a back beat on drums.
C: We aren’t choosing style over content or vice versa. We are trying to write lyrics that aren’t dumbed down or devoid of meaning. We’re trying to push the limits of the two piece combo by having not only interesting riffs and drum beats but also interesting vocals from two singers. I feel like we are bringing some raw, big sounds and not just playing off of a shtick.
You’ve built up a decent fan base thanks to your high energy live shows. How has the response to your debut EP 1949 Murders been at home?
V: The response was sweaty. We made people sweat that night of July 22nd, 2011. I think people loved it. Everyone was very excited to get the EP pack. I’m proud of the package we put together. Having said that, we had been sitting on the EP for close to a year and the full-length will be different. Our songwriting has evolved and we want to be more in control of the production this time around.
C: I’m very proud of our package. The response was pretty great, the place was packed, lots of energy and heat. Nobody has returned our calls since, so that’s always a good sign.
So what are your plans for the future?
V: I want to get a tour going around India or get on the Indian festival circuit. We’re playing Pop Montreal this year which is a big deal to us but I feel like we’re going to spend most of the next year finishing up writing work on our full-length before we can get around to booking a serious tour within Canada and The States. We’ll be in Toronto and Ottawa very soon though.
I love the concept of the Redmond Barry Show. Tell us more about Randall.
V: Randal is our friend… I think. He’s not around as much as he used to be and at this point I have my doubts. His role in the band is that he’s a bit of a manager but I think he’s just trying to reap the benefits of being associated with a band.
C: Well, let’s be honest for once. Randal asked us to make a personal ad type video for him to help pick up women. He has less and less time for videos as he’s been picking up more and more women. We offered to take his overflow off his hands but he didn’t accept.
How is the Montreal indie scene? What’s trending there these days?
V: It’s really diverse. There’s some great bands. We recently played this show with this band called The Cast of Fictional Characters which consists of a monkey on bass, a singer from the planet India and John Smith. They’re a bunch of weirdos but they’re really fun. One of our earliest shows was with this alt-folk dude that plays under “Clementine”. We love both those acts so we invited them to play our CD release party with us.
C: A lot of shitty music seems to be trending right now in Montreal but a few are breaking free from the mold like the… I got nothing.
You’ve stated that you want to stay independent and plan to start your own record label. What do you think of the increasing overlap between indie and mainstream music?
V: I was much more of an elitist when it came to those things when I was 16. Now, I think it’s great. Anything that can give indie bands more exposure so they can keep making great music.
C: I think it’s a good sign if there is starting to be a bit more of an overlap between indie and mainstream music. It means more people want more interesting, less pre-fab music. Britney’s hit song ‘Not a man, not yet a woman’ was a real turning point I think.
Top five albums you’ve heard this year.
V: There were quite a few albums I was looking forward to this year. The five that stand out would be Goblin by Tyler, The Creator, Dye It Blonde by Smith Westerns, The People’s Key by Bright Eyes, The King of Limbs (our review) by Radiohead… There’s a whole bunch I was disappointed by and a few that I still need to listen to but there’s four albums I can stand behind.
C: There are exactly five albums this year that really blew me… away. Every Time I Die’s latest album The Big Dirty really blew me. ‘Didn’t I Blow Your Mind’, the single by this new band The Delfonics, Crystal Castles II, but I think that album came out 20 years ago, Is Is EP by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, their latest, and Manual For Successful Rioting by Birdy Nam Nam. Also, Manu by this brand new to the scene French artist Renaud. That makes five.
Varun, you said in a piece I read that you want to get more desis into rock. What do you think about the indie scene back in India?
V: Desis in India definitely seem to show more enthusiasm for both rock and independent music as opposed to most of us in North America. I often find myself being the only South Asian at any given rock show or festival that isn’t working security. I’m proud that India has such an active independent scene and great festivals.
Listen to the band’s debut EP 1949 Murders here.
- Indiecision

1949 Murders EP Sans réinventer la roue, C&V (2 protagonistes) joue très bien avec les limites du "Guitare/Batterie" ? 8/10

Frédéric Bussières - Poste d'écoute

Les duos guitare-batterie ont fait leur temps, mais pas le rock bien fait. Qu'importe, donc, que ce tandem montréalais ait ou non les quatre cordes du bas registre. Premier point fort: la guitare du dénommé V. (qui partage le chant avec le batteur C.), un agréable giclement tout en fuzz informé par le grunge des Foo Fighters première époque, le blues trash des Black Keys, les Pixies et le stoner rock. Second atout: des compositions mélodieuses, savamment modulées et agencées en dépit de la facture minimaliste. Sur les six titres de ce premier EP, le duo ne fait jamais fausse route, opérant particulièrement bien dans The Demise of..., rageuse et solidement "riffée", et la plus légère Two Can Play. Une bien belle carte de visite. - Voir

Today's free download was sent in by a local rock n' roll band, The Redmond Barry's. (Yes! We are taking submissions from Montreal bands. As long as you host the download, we can to link to it. Send to me at acoates@montrealgazette.com or Basem at bboshra@montrealgazette.com. No guarantees we'll post everything, but we'll try.)

The band is giving away the song Woke Up Dead off their upcoming EP 1949 Murders. Check it out right here. - Montreal Gazette

Ce jeudi, Le Terminus reçoit le duo The Redmond Barry’s en entrevue. On parlera entre autre de leur EP 1949 MURDERS qui sera lancé le 22 juillet prochain.

Soyez à l’écoute dès 19h sur CISM 89,3 ! - Le Terminus

Montreal’s The Redmond Barry’s came up on the radar recently and boy are we glad they did. The duo is set to release their debut EP, 1949 Murders, in the coming months. If you head over to their website, you can download Woke Up Dead absolutely free of charge. We’ve had the chance to listen to the rest of the EP and trust us when we say, you will want to pick up a copy of this one when it’s finally out. - The Indie Machine

According to a recent interview, Varun Chopra just wants Desis to rock. And not just uncles in his native Montreal who remember the Beatles. His band The Redmond Barry’s is Varun’s attempt at bringing the musical style back, and not just as a generic reflection of its past. In a piece in India Abroad, Varun spoke of the perception people have of rock. The truth is, there’s rarely an example of new bands playing rock music or calling what they do rock without any caveats. The Redmond Barry’s sound is straightforward, not bogged down in labeling, just energetic and accessible.
The Montreal duo’s debut EP 1949 Murders is slated for an early 2011 release, but in the meantime you can hear one track for free. “Woke Up Dead” is about waking up in a nightmarish circumstance and wondering if you’re actually dead. Either that or it’s an illustration of a zombie movie premise. Oh, Walking Dead TV adaptation. You started out so well. - MTV Desi

Getting signed by a label is the biggest dream of most new musicians, but not Varun Chopra and Chris K-Briard. The Redmond Barry's goal "isn't to get signed to a label, but to do as much as we can independently, and run the creative and business sides of it on our own," said the Montreal-based Chopra. They hope to start their own record label, and step 1 comes this month with the release of their first album.
The 22-year-old is a first generation Indo-Canadian vocalist and guitarist, who dabbles in piano and music production when he is not studying music at Concordia University. Having traveled to India several times, he believes rock music is more popular with Indian in India. "In North America, rock music just doesn't click with the Indian community," he said. "Older members of the community seem to be more excited by the thought of a rock-and-roll band as they were most likely exposed to the music... growing up and are aware of the connection that genre of music has to India with bands like The Beatles, Donovan and other 1960s acts who made their way to India to learn more about the Indian culture, music and religions." The Redmond Barry's, Chopra said, want to work with music producer Sikh Knowledge and singer Humble the Poet. "I approached Sikh Knowledge to work on a remix... to expose desi kids to a genre they usually have hang ups about," he added. "Desi kids associate 'rock' music with white culture and end up writing it off as something negative... A Sikh Knowledge remix would be the meeting point of something familiar with something unfamiliar." - India Abroad