Final Flash

Like they say, timing is everything. It was only two years ago that Joey Chaperon was knocking around Montreal playing “super-heavy stuff, almost grindcore” and going nowhere fast in a band he’s too embarrassed to name. Cut to December 2008 and the vocalist is a few days away from a trip to Vancouver’s Transmission conference as a featured artist with an outfit—Final Flash—that has barely celebrated its first anniversary. Talking to the Straight from his Montreal home, Chaperon can only speculate about the reasons for such a swift change in fortunes. “Maybe it’s the right kind of music that people want to listen to right now,” he offers. “I guess we’re just making music that’s sincere, and people can tell.”

To put things in perspective, Final Flash had a whopping two shows and zero records under its belt when it started to cut a swath through CMW, Pop Montreal, and the Canadian Music Café. At the last event, which is part of the Toronto International Film Festival, Chaperon and his four cohorts found themselves approached by—of all things—Disney. “I was like, ‘What?!’ ” Chaperon says with a chuckle in his heavy Québécois accent. “I pictured myself playing in The Lion King 3.” The band ended up walking away with a publishing contract from L.A.’s North Star Media, which, weirdly enough, counts Cher, Rod Stewart, and Bobby Womack among its clients. “I don’t know what we’re going to do with that yet,” Chaperon remarks casually.

So what’s the big whoop? The answer is on the band’s MySpace page, with its four basement-tape forays into new, weird Canadiana. “The Rain of Stones” recalls Black Mountain’s “Stormy High” off the top, before snapping seamlessly into the much lighter, blue-sky territory of classic West Coast folk-rock, and eventually doubling up into a beautifully tense chorus of martial snare hits and clanging piano notes. The histrionic “Shine” pits a circular Hammond organ figure against Alexandre Girard’s combustible guitar and slashing violin parts. “Waiting for the Sun” is five minutes of down-stroked, lo-fi indie psychedelia with a wailing-cat chorus, part Wolf Parade and part Spacemen 3. And best of all, the quick-stepping “Welcome to the House on Fire” seizes the listener with a jaunty piano hook and Robert Smith–style basket-case vocals, all collapsing into a half-time shout-along chorus while Chaperon rides over the top with a bad case of the flutters. It doesn’t take long for all this to get under the skin, and you’d probably want Final Flash at your festival, too. Meanwhile, Chaperon remains admirably unaffected by the attention. So unimpressed, in fact, that he’s willing to confuse matters with a name-change once the band’s Jace (Besnard Lakes) Lasek–produced debut arrives sometime next year.

“We just think we could find something that’s more rock,” Chaperon says. But he’s obviously unacquainted with the on-line Urban Dictionary’s definition of Final Flash, which, believe it or not, reads, “The ultimate act of kicking ass.”

“What?” he exclaims. “That’s awesome! Ass-kicking? Wow. We’re ass-kickers. This name is getting some points now.”

Final Flash plays a Transmission Festival showcase at 151 West Cordova Street tonight (December 4).

Publish Date: December 4, 2008
- By Adrian Mack / straight.com

Final flash is a young 5 piece indie-rock band from montreal, canada. Their
first shows, begun a little over a year ago, have garnered great reactions
and feedback locally, and created a buzz and offers from local events and
promoters such as m for montreal, pop montreal, blue skies turn black and gillet. All this
in a few short months.
Their music is a textured mix of indie, rock and psychedelic with a 70's feel, with strong melodic vocals loosely resembling black angels, arcade fire or wolf parade, with influences of neil young and pink floyd. Their debut album is set for recording later this fall with jace lasek from the besnard lakes producing.
Final Flash recently received rave reviews from music supervisors for their
short set at Canadian Music Café as part of Toronto International Film
Festival. - http://www.transmitnow.com/featured-artists

Fans, festivals, fortune and fame - you name it, Montreal's Final Flash has a great story about it all.
These psychedelic rockers are anything but ordinary. Be prepared to meet someone eccentric, hilarious, and original if you're planning a rendezvous with any of these five free spirits. After spending over a month in the studio, and more than a decade mastering their craft, the boys of Final Flash stopped by Toronto to reveal the details about their debut album, Homeless.
During the making of Homeless, the fellas teamed up with Jace Lasek of Besnard Lakes to create a unique and fresh sound for 2010 - a sound that could really help brand the group.
Front man Joey Chaperon Cyr says the album was inspired by "everything" around him, however, primarily the record had two main focuses. "It's really about being on the road and our human nature," he says.
It is no surprise that the album finally came together after being on tour though. Despite being considered fresh faces to the music scene, Final Flash are no strangers to the big stage - spilling a number of tracks during the South by Southeast Music Festival, Pop Montreal, and Canadian Music Week.
The five-piece collaborative has visited some of the largest venues and music celebrations across Canada, but there is one experience they won't soon forget - an experience that took them half way around the globe. As a part of TRANSMIT China - a ten day initiative that enables artists, music professionals, and stakeholders from related to build long-term relationships with Chinese counterparts - FF took to the stage in front of hundreds of enthusiastic fans.
"China was crazy! We played at a venue there and everybody had these light sticks and they just started throwing them at us for no reason at all," laughs Cyr. "We enjoyed it and it was super fun. So we just took them and threw it back."
And that is only the tip of the iceberg. From clumsily planned flights (which inevitably caused a small chaos between the boys) to something Cyr called a "spinning fart" (we were scared to ask), the boys have certainly had some wacky adventures while traveling.
But in between the laughter and goofiness, FF has undeniably put their sweat and tears into their sound. They recently signed a publishing deal with Los Angeles' North Star Media - an outlet who represent the catalogues for artists like Rod Stewart.
Homeless will hit shelves in mid-April. As far as the future is concerned, "Expect strobe lights, smoke and maybe some spinning farts," jokes Cyr. - www.yourmediapass.ca

Final Flash are big in Japan. Well, at least they will be after playing the Fiji Rock festival later this year (they've already toured China). Not bad for a psychedelic folk rock quintet who haven't even released their debut yet. Produced by Jace Lasek of the Besnard Lakes, 'Homeless,' will be released this spring by EMI. The guys have been making the rounds of festivals from coast to coast and are definitely a band to watch at the year's SXSW.

Describe your sound in your own words

Rock is the core, and we've dabbled in different styles of rock. In terms of our first record, we'd say rock, psychedelic, with a touch of folk and pop. Recording this record came at the right time cause we felt we were discovering and getting comfortable with a sound that felt more like our own, and are now evolving from that.

How did your band form?

Joey (singer), Alex (guitarist) and Matt (keys) met in college about ten years ago playing in noise bands together, Joey met Max and Andre randomly at bars and parties in the last five years, and they joined forces a few years ago, forming this band.

What are your musical influences?

Between the five of us, pretty much every style -- as long as it's done with heart. We even have an appreciation for stuff we hate,' cause that helps us define who we are.

How did you come up with your band name?

Drunk in a bar. Everyone in the band has a different interpretation of the name and rather kept it left open to interpretation.

What's your biggest vice?

Getting drink in a bar! But, yeah, drinking on the road is the hardest thing for us, and most bands, to control ... with shows lined up one after the other, you meet new people and want to party at first. But after a few shows it's more about dealing with a hangover than appreciating a drink.

What's in your festival survival kit?

Baby wipes, booze, water.

Who was your first celeb crush?

Marty McFly's mom.

Beatles or Stones?

The band will break up if we try to settle on an answer to this one.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

Salvia. Can't really say much more than that. Anyone who's tried it will understand.

Posted on Mar 10th 2010 4:51AM by Simona Rabinovitch - www.spinner.ca