Interview with Biz (Loco Locass) Part 1

**I’ll do my best to explain the French as I go. I felt that it was important to the integrity of the interview to maintain the content in its original form. I apologize to those readers from the great state of Texas who can’t read French. To my anglo-Canadian audience, you have no excuse. We’ve been taking French since grade school and it’s an important part of our national identity—something we should all be proud of, so break out the dictionaries if necessary. You can find my introduction here**

There’s so much I don’t know about Loco Locass, and so much more to learn about Quebec, I figured I would start at the beginning. What does Loco Locass mean? Where are they from? How did they meet?

“Loco en espagnol, c’est « fou », puis locass en français, ça ne s’écrit pas comme ça mais ça veut dire bavard, ça veut dire qui parle beaucoup comme loco ici, c’est un mot qui veut dire… qui parle beaucoup. Puis loco, ça fait référence aussi à locomotive, locomotivum, le mouvement puis le fait d’être local aussi, qu’on parle beaucoup du Québec et de ce qui se passe au Québec. Donc, on a des problématiques locales, donc on est locaux aussi, on s’intéresse à ce qui se passe chez nous. Donc, ça fait un peu référence à tout ça, là, en fait.” he explained, essentially “Crazy Talkers” with a reference to both movement and the sense of being “local.” The word Locaux (the plural form of local) is phonetically similar to the Spanish word “Loco,” for those less familiar with French.

“Le fait aussi de mettre un terme espagnol, ça fait référence aussi au fait qu’on est préoccupé aussi par toute l’Amérique au complet, le continent américain aussi. C’est pas juste… Même si on est préoccupé par le Québec, on a une ouverture aussi sur le reste du monde.”

“Batlam, c’est un ami de Québec, c’est vraiment un très vieil ami du cégep, ou high school on dirait. On avait donc des amis communs, puis on se réunissait autour de la radio, on faisait de la radio au cégep. D’ailleurs, Loco Locass au début faisait une émission de radio au cégep puis très vite on a été très attiré par la langue, en fait l’écriture. Lui écrivait, moi aussi j’écrivais. Aussi on lisait beaucoup, puis on aimait beaucoup la littérature, la musique aussi. On écoutait du hip‑hop français puis graduellement, moi, j’avais le goût d’écrire des textes.” Biz said.

“Quand on a rencontré Chafiik par l’entremise d’un ami commun, on avait déjà quelques textes de faits. Lui nous a fait des musiques, on a dit : « okay parfait, on va faire un disque. »”

He and Batlam have known one another since high school and met up again because of a radio show they did in cegep (like a combination of community college and/or university prep), also called Loco Locass. By the time they met Chafiik through a common friend, Biz and Batlam had already written a few songs. Chafiik took care of the music part and they decided to make a CD.

The group itself formed a little over 10 years ago, so I wondered how things have changed over the years, as far as goals and vision for the group. Not a lot, apparently. The goal had always been to put out good music, with a distinctively Québécois accent. They wanted to give a voice to the issues that concerned them, namely the protection of the French language in Anglophone North America and the political independence of Quebec, all the while putting on a good show.

“La vision originale, je dirais qu’elle reste quand même assez intacte. Évidemment elle a pris plus d’ampleur, si tu veux, mais au début, là, ce qu’on voulait faire, c’était du rap en français mais vraiment québécois parce que nous, ce qu’on écoutait au début en `95, c’était du rap français de France. Il n’y avait pas vraiment beaucoup d’artistes qui le faisaient ici au Québec en français avec l’accent du Québec puis avec des problématiques du Québec. Donc, à partir de là, nous, ç’a toujours été de faire de la bonne musique avec l’accent québécois, puis de la musique originale puis des bonnes chansons qui parleraient du Québec, puis des préoccupations qu’on avait à l’époque c’était la langue française, l’importance de la langue française dans un contexte minoritaire en Amérique puis l’indépendance politique du Québec. Ça, c’était les deux fers de lance, je dirais, propres au début. Ça, c’est resté… Puis d’ailleurs, notre premier album, on l’a appelé Manifestif, qui est un peu le manifeste, la prise de position politique, puis « festif », ça veut dire à travers la fête, à travers le party, à travers le plaisir, en fait. Donc, dans nos chansons ou dans un spectacle, quand tu viens à un spectacle, il y a cette notion de fête, de plaisir, mais aussi la réflexion continue sur l’identité puis ce qui se passe au niveau socioéconomique et politique.

Je dirais que la vision d’origine, en fait, elle a… La mission, si tu veux, là, ça n’a pas évolué. C’est juste que ç’a pris beaucoup plus d’ampleur évidemment parce qu’au début on était dans l’est de Montréal puis on travaillait; personne ne savait qu’on faisait de la musique, mais plus personne ne voulait entendre parler de la souveraineté après le Référendum de ’95, puis le fait du rap, le rap ça n’existe pas au Québec, personne ne connaît ça, y’a personne qui va aimer ce qu’on fait, en fait.

Finalement, au début on a eu un succès médiatique. Les médias étaient très intéressés à nous parce que ça portait souvent les tuques en forme de fleur de lys. Donc ils disaient, il y a donc des jeunes qui s’intéressent à la politique dans une forme moderne avec du hip‑hop. C’est curieux, on va aller voir qui ils sont ces bêtes‑là. Ils se sont intéressés à nous. On a vendu à peu près 10 000 disques du premier album Manifestif. C’est quand on a fait l’Amour Oral, notre dernier disque, qu’on a eu un succès plus populaire, plus réparti à travers tout le Québec.” he recounted.

They were a novelty when they first came out in 1995 since no one wanted to talk about language issues or independence after the Referendum, but the media took an interest anyway. After all, here were young guys, trying to use hip-hop to discuss politics. The attention was nice and they sold 10, 000 albums, but it wasn’t until their 2nd album that they really took off.

In preparation for the interview, I decided to read through the lyrics of a few of their songs. The one that caught my eye was L’Empire du Pire en Pire. Being a Classics major, I appreciated the references to ancient Rome and the parallels drawn to the US. But in hearing him talk about his mindset, I realized that I would probably have hung out with him, had we gone to the same high school growing up. You’ll see what I mean in a moment.

“Dans l’Empire du Pire en Pire, on fait référence effectivement à l’empire romain. Moi, ç’a toujours été… j’ai toujours comparé les Américains aux Romains, moi, par ce que c’est une puissance. Tu sais, on parle de la domination des Américains en ce moment sur le monde, mais les Romains, faut pas oublier qu’ils ont contrôlé un empire qui est plus grand, en fait, que celui que les Américains contrôlent en ce moment, en imposant une langue, le latin, une culture, des architectures, des cirques romains. Tu sais, tu te promènes en France, même dans le sud de la France, y’a encore des colisées romains où il y a des corridas, ça fait plus que 2 000 ans que ç’a été construit, ça. Donc ils ont été vraiment impérialistes, en fait, militairement et aussi culturellement. Puis je trouvais qu’il y avait un parallèle à faire entre... Un empire ça se déploie, puis ça se construit, puis ça meurt aussi, toujours de la même façon. Moi, ce qui m’intéressait, c’était faire le parallèle entre les deux et donc de pouvoir aussi annoncer le déclin et éventuellement la mort de l’empire américain exactement comme on avait observé celui de l’empire romain. Les Romains ont construit plein de routes, en fait, qui ont permis d’aller envahir les Barbares. Mais après ça, pendant qu’ils étaient occupés avec du pain des jeux, ils étaient complètement décadents à la fin, les Romains, ils ne construisaient plus rien, ils allaient au cirque puis ils mangeaient gratuitement puis, pendant ce temps‑là, les Barbares ont envahi Rome – un peu ce qui s’est passé avec le 11 septembre, à savoir les Barbares sont entrés dans Rome. En ce moment, je trouve que les Américains sont très très décadents… À mon avis, c’est une nation qui est sur le déclin en ce moment, vraiment sur le déclin. Ça me faisait penser à l’empire romain, finalement.

Puis, dans une autre chanson aussi sur Amour Oral, qui s’appelle La bataille des murailles, j’ai écrit sur la… comparé le Sommet des Amériques, je sais pas si ça te dit quelque chose, ça. En 2001, à Québec, il y eu un grand sommet qui a réuni toutes les nations d’Amérique. Il y eu des grosses manifestations dans la Ville de Québec. Ça me faisait penser à… y’avait un périmètre de sécurité, y’avait les monarques qui étaient dans leur château. Ça faisait penser à l’époque médiévale avec un château, les paysans qui veulent se ramasser au château, y’a un combat entre… y’avait même des catapultes, ils lançaient des vraies catapultes. Moi, ça m’a toujours intéressé d’utiliser des analogies soit avec l’empire romain ou l’époque médiévale pour expliquer, en fait, que l’histoire humaine est toujours la même, souvent. Ça tombe toujours en… C’est toujours les mêmes grandes opérations, les mêmes grands trucs. Dans le cas de ces deux chansons‑là, c’est moi qui les ai écrites les deux, ça me préoccupe beaucoup, les analogies historiques, mais j’ai pas étudié en histoire ou quoi que ce soit, j’ai joué beaucoup à Dungeons & Dragons, alors je connais le nom des épées puis des armures. Ça me permet justement d’utiliser ça dans mes chansons. ” he said.

Yes, you read that correctly. Biz used to play Dungeons & Dragons. He had just as “geeky” a hobby as I did. Amazing the sorts of things y’hear, eh? Tomorrow I’ll resume this and we’ll get into a bit of politics and Biz’s take on Quebec. Til next time… Continue to part two.

Interview with Biz (Loco Locass): The Introduction

Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to congratulate Biz and his wife on the birth of their first child, Louis. I hope that he grows up happy and healthy.

A little over a month ago (Easter weekend, in fact), I decided that I wanted to do another interview. I was still basking in the afterglow of my interview with Chéli Sauvé-Castonguay and, quite frankly, was feeling lucky. So I went over my mental wish list and decided to try and get in touch with Loco Locass, specifically Biz. I had decided on Biz because I knew he spoke English and I couldn’t make the same claim about the other two of the trio, Batlam and Chafiik. Plus, it would have been more than a bit overwhelming to deal with all three.

So why Loco Locass? Who are these guys? I know the majority of my readers have no clue who they are, but that’s part of the appeal, for me anyway. I first heard about Loco Locass during my sojourn in Trois-Pistoles 2 years ago. As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, my old animateur, Fred, has had a profound influence on my explorations of Québécois culture. My first Québécois CDs were all bought based on his recommendations, for instance. Well, Loco Locass is one of Fred’s favourite groups. He’s even analysed the lyrics of a few of their songs for some essays in years past. So I figured I’d give them a quick listen.

I’m not normally into rap, let alone Francophone rap, but their song Libérez-nous des libéraux is really catchy. I didn’t understand much more than the chorus, but I could probably say the same thing about a dozen Anglophone rappers. Personal language limitations aside, it sounded pretty good. And much like the rap of the mid to late 80s, there’s content to their lyrics, presuming one takes the time to read them. There’s also an intricacy and complexity to their songs that would make many a grammar teacher smile.

Did I mention they’re Quebec nationalists? Interviewing Biz had the makings of a fun afternoon, that’s for sure. So I dropped a quick note to his management company and requested an interview. I figured it would probably take a few weeks to sort out details and whatnot, but to my surprise, I found an e-mail in my Inbox the next day asking me to call him. I left a message on his voice mail and the next day he called me back. I was absolutely giddy. Unlike my failed attempt to do the interview with Chéli in French, I managed to carry out the phone conversation en français and arrange for an interview the following day.

Here’s where it gets a little bit embarrassing for me: despite having listened to their songs and seen some interviews, I wasn’t entirely sure which one of group I was meeting. They always seem to do the interviews together and I usually spent more time listening to what they were saying than identifying which was which. All I knew for sure was that it wasn’t the one with the shaved head. That’s Chafiik. Some google searches didn’t clear things up, either. So I just trusted I’d be able to figure it out when the time came and headed down to Le Café de l’Apothicaire sur la rue Beaubien in Rosemont.

I was pretty nervous, as one can clearly tell if one listens to the recording of the interview, but this whole Quebec experiment is meant to broaden my horizons and allow me to experience things I would never have the chance to in London, Ontario. So I took a few deep breaths and got my head together as I waited. Before long, I noticed a pregnant woman come strolling in, followed by a tall, skinny guy in a bandana, a Puerto Rico football jersey (that looks oddly similar to the Alouettes jersey) and the typical hip hop-style baggy jeans. Chances were pretty good I had found Biz. So after he and his wife had settled in, I went over and introduced myself.

**Tomorrow, I'll get into the interview itself. Til next time...***
To continue to the first part of the interview, click here.

My oh my...

What a difference a week can make. It's merely minutes after the Cavs stunned my beloved Pistons in Game 5 in Detroit. It seems that the Pistons have completely lost all composure and may very well get bounced from the playoffs by LeBron. How has this happened? What's gone wrong? Cleveland is showing more grit and determination than I (or anyone else) has given them credit for and LeBron is showing that he may already be the best player in the league. Wow. That's all I can say right now. Just wow. I'm going to have to curl up in the fetal position for a while to recover from this loss. Man... well, Game 6 is Friday, I believe, and since I'll be driving home to London, I'll miss it. Damn.

the Women of Quebec

I’ve been bouncing back and forth on this blog, alternating between semi-serious content and, as Morgan would describe it, the utterly ridiculous. Well, Morgan, this one falls into the utterly ridiculous category, if only because I miss your razor-sharp critiques of my views. This particular topic has been in the works, in one form or another, for the past 2 years. Though I’ve already dabbled in subjects like the “Perfect Woman,” I’ve neglected mention of the sexiest women in Canada (if not the world): les Québécoises!

So why have I decided to put fingers to keyboard now? Well, it’s inspired by a conversation I had recently with a new acquaintance (Hi Ver!). I haven’t the foggiest idea how we got on to the topic, but I tried to quantify what it is about les Québécoises that has captured my attention so thoroughly. Now thanks to the wonders of the internet, you’re all privy to the discussion as well! So what is it about them? What makes them so different from, say, the women in Ontario?

It really starts with the collective attitude. This is where I start making gross generalizations, based entirely on my perceptions. Since I subscribe to the idea that one’s perception is one’s reality, this is my reality. Canada is blessed with 2 major cultures within its borders: Anglophone and Francophone. As a result, we don’t need to look to other countries or cultures to find someone with exotic appeal. We have about 3-4 million of them right here in Quebec!

Let’s start with the accent. C’mon guys, admit it! We like accents. We like hearing the cute ways they pronounce different words. For me, though, it goes back to hearing the accent when they’re speaking their mother tongue. When I hear a woman with a québécois accent, my knees get weak. It doesn’t matter if I have seen them yet or not. I could overhear a conversation in French outside my office door and I start to melt. It’s like I have it hardwired into my brain… must be the calls of my ancestors or something.

Next there’s the style. Quebecois women have their own style, like some sort of trendy cross between skater punk, hippy chic and haute culture. They can be casual or sophisticated and carry it off in ways that Ontario girls just don’t. Line up girls from Toronto and girls from Montreal and I guarantee you’ll see a difference between the 2 groups. Fashion choices are more a reflection of their personalities. Women from Ontario seem more likely to follow American trends than Québécois women. Les Québécoises put their own spin on things.

My old friend Chris used to say, “It’s what’s inside that counts.” Mind you he was talking about the rather substantial contents of a girl’s blouse at the time, so let’s talk about that. I believe that Québécois women are genetically predisposed to having amazing bodies. When one looks back on the “traditional” Quebecois foods, one finds a variety of high sugar, high carbohydrate dishes that make me wonder how the whole province hasn’t gone into insulin shock. La tarte au sucre (literally “sugar pie”) is exactly that. So how is it that there are so many tiny, trim women here? Natural selection, I tell you. And à mon avis, nature has chosen wisely!

So now we’ve reached the final piece to Al’s ramblings about les Québécoises: personality. When I see, listen to, or talk with a Québécoise, I see something very obvious in their personalities. There’s a passion and fire there that is lacking in most Ontario women (Sorry, girls! You know where to send the hate mail/comments). They’re like little balls of fire. God help you if you get into an argument with one of them because they’ll dig in their heels and fight for their point of view, even when proven wrong! They’ll keep at it anyway. There’s just something intangible that appeals to me.

I think an anecdote is in order to try to illustrate my point. One day in mid March, I was walking down Avenue du Parc on my way home after work. The snow had been melting and the grass went and muddy on either side of the sidewalk. From the other direction, I see a couple of teenagers walking toward me, a guy and a girl. As they got closer, I heard the girl speaking with the accent I’ve come to know and love. By this point, we’re probably within 20 feet of one another when, out of nowhere, the girl bodychecks her unsuspecting companion into the mud! I smiled, laughed to myself, and thought, “Now THAT’s a Québécoise!”

So there you have it. I have no clue if I’ve managed to make my fascination with these women any more clear than before, but at least I tried. So til next time…

NBA Playoff Action

It’s that time of year again: Playoff time in the NBA. Few things in life get my blood racing in quite the same way. Those of you who don’t care for my NBA observations should probably just skip to the next blog. This has been quite a week in the NBA. We saw the exit of Employee Number 8 (Enjoy the golf course, Kobe!), the crowning of the league’s MVP in Canada’s Steve Nash, and a ridiculously dominant performance by the Pistons in 5 of the 6 games they’ve played so far this post-season. Oh, and Big Ben managed to snag his 4th Defensive Player of the Year nod, just for good measure.

This year’s MVP was probably the worst kept secret in league history as someone from the Head Office seems to have leaked the winner a couple of weeks before they made the announcement—just in time to try and stoke a rivalry between Kobe and Steve Nash. Coincidence? Unlikely. Though why they would need to hype the series any more than they already had is beyond me. Personally, I don’t enjoy watching Kobe win. Yes, it’s most certainly jealousy creeping in, as I would love to have even a 10th of the ability he has on a basketball court, but there’s something exhilarating in watching him lose. Again. I would be quite pleased if he never managed to win another championship for the rest of his career. That being said, I’ll have to admit that he was probably a better choice for MVP than my countryman. He carried the Lakers back into the playoffs and put a helluva scare into the 2nd seeded Suns. But all his heroics went for naught as his team folded like the patio set Maddog is forced to hose off on a weekly basis out in Ilderton.

In the meantime, the Pistons have kept rolling along. Sure, there was that hiccup in Milwaukee as they got blown out, but the Bucks played above their level. It happens. Now we’ll get to see if they can carry things through against Lebron and the Cavs. There’s no way the Bad Boys will put up the kind of numbers they did last Sunday when they tore the NBA’s “Next One” a new ass, but I don’t think the series will go beyond 5 games. There would have to be some pretty serious developments for that to happen.

I’m still not willing to make any bold predictions about the eventual Championships because, let’s face it, there’s a lot of basketball left to be played. But rest assured, the afro wig and jersey will see a lot of daylight over the next month or so. Til next time…