Bran Van 3000 preparing for the Montreal Jazz Festival dominates the party

It was like old days outside the rehearsal space at Pointe Saint Charles last Friday afternoon. Sarah Johnston and James Dean Bio finished writing each other's writings, laughing at each other's jokes. I tried to explain the continued charm of Montreal's mythical party band, Bran Van 3000, 25 years later.

The crew will meet again on Friday night for a free outdoor show on the main TD stage of Placedes Festivals. As part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

Johnston had just driven in from Nova Scotia, where he currently lives. The mastermind, Disalbio, was L. a few weeks ago. A. I was flying from. This is an inspirational setting for the band's biggest hits, and he's been based for some time. The rest of the group was deceived from around Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.

"It was really, really, really fun," Johnston said. "There were a lot of things that weren't interesting. You know-many personalities. I think it feels different now. It doesn't matter to anyone anymore. We're older.

"I think I was younger than the ego," Disalbio added. "Everything was very unknown when we started. I didn't mean to make a band. Everyone knew who I was and who I was as a musician. Like a family or a musician. It can be difficult to change when establishing dynamics, but there is a lot of love there. ”

As the BV3 origin story progressed, Disalbio, in the mid-'90s, He took Payshek from directing a video of his fellow genre loops and spent it on music equipment in New York. He invited a crew of Ragtag, including his fellow Blanc Van co-stars Stephen Moraille, Jane Hill, and rapper Stephen (Liquid) Harley, to track through his fledgling home studio. Was laid.

After a painstaking editing process, the end result was the band's debut, Gree — a thrilling chambolic committee through hip-hop, folk, pop, alternative rock, trip hop and more. Excursion by. Drinking in L. A. It is supported by a smash single called.

Disalbio compared any approach with his first participation in Coachella.

"I said," This is what I was trying to do in the band. Iggy Pop over there, Bluegrass over there, (DJ) A-Trak over there. That's all about Gree. We were obsessed with Johnny Cash, Fela Kuti, Liz Phair, Curtis (Mayfield) — it never ends.

"At that time, everything was much more. It was formatted. There was such awe in America. I had to be in awe of New York and LA hip hop. "With a hard beat, Thunder. Let's talk about Bay and make it a country. "

Branvan was a big deal even before the first show in 1997. At the crowded Montreal punk bar Foufounes Électriques as part of a jazz fest.

"Thanks to Moby, Geffen and all the American labels were there," said Di Salvio. "I gave him a tape of the (Gree) white label in New York. He gave it to the guy in Geffen and the word spread."

DiSalvio is in charge of Geffen A&R I received a call from someone. He loved music, but wondered if he could play the vast sounds live, that is, if there was a real band. yet.

"We said," Please give me six weeks, "" recalls Disalbio. The

show was as messy and lively as the album, like an uncontrollable house party. The makeshift ensemble went around Jack Daniel's bottles, throwing money at the crowd, singing and rhyming their bursting hearts.

And things got really crazy — "a total of three months, complete madness," Disalbio said.

Branvan realized he was in the midst of a major label bid war and culminated in a bash thrown by Madonna following the MTV Video Music Awards. The eve of that big decision.

Disalbio said they had signed to Capitol Records, home of The Beatles, Sinatra, (Pink) Floyd. "The label that defeated Radiohead and the Beastie Boys."

After years of steady tours, Branvan's second album, Discosis, was released in 2001 by Grand Royal, a subsidiary of the Houses of Parliament. Released on Beastie Boys) and soon went bankrupt.

"Wow"Johnston said, imitating a popping sound effect.

Twenty years later, she and Di Salvio are philosophical about the world-dominant Branvan brush. This coincided with the end of the old music industry and the rise of peer-to-peer music sharing software, and preceded the arrival of a new Montreal flagship band called Arcade Fire.

"It was definitely fast and spoiled," Disalbio said. "We thought it would be forever — the bidding war. As Sarah says, we were the last wave of punk. Maybe we went too far and overproduced (Discosis). I We might have been more inflated in the conference room and more drooling in decision making, but we're here. We didn't become Maria's pop stars, but that's in our plan. It wasn't. "

" I think part of it feels like we don't really care about that part, "Johnston said. The

band reunited in 2007 for their third album, Rossé (and the 2008massive jazz fest explosion). The fourth, The Garden, arrived in 2010 (followed by Osheaga).

There is talk of a new album and there will be a world tour in the fall. But for now, I have a return home. There have been several shows around Quebec over the last few weeks and fans are singing to every song.

"It got into my body," Johnston said. "I trembled."

"I think we're all surprised at how easy and smooth it is," said Disalbio, who resumed from where he left off. ..

"I was a little skeptical about coming to the rehearsal," Johnston added. "But everyone is very open-minded and open-minded. It's like a jacket you loved and misplaced and fits very well. You're like" Why did I put it in the closet? " is.

At a glance

Bran Van 3000 We will have a free show on Friday, July 8th at 9:30 pm. At the TD stage of Placedes Festivals as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival. For more information, seemontreal jazzfest. Please visit com.

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