puff and the pillpoppers
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puff and the pillpoppers

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Simon Bergeron at Missy Bar"

Hudson/St.Lazare Gazette
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
Simon Bergeron at Missy Bar April 15

Simon Bergeron, above, says he doesn't set any boundaries with music.

Music is not an extension of Simon Bergeron's life. It's not a hobby, or a passion, but something that reaches farther and goes deeper.

"It's like talking for me," Bergeron told the Hudson Gazette. "I'm just an artist."

The natural flow of Bergeron's lyrics is evident as soon as he picks up a guitar. The St. Lazare resident and father of two has been writing and performing his own songs for as long as he can remember. At the heart of it, this is how he communicates. And he does it very, very well.

Born in Manitoba, Bergeron and his young family travelled all over North America before settling in St. Lazare last year. A busy dad with a day job and a family at home, music knits the different aspects of Bergeron's life together. Next week, he'll take to the stage of Missy Bar in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood. He doesn't just like performing. It's a part of who he is.

"I need to perform," Bergeron smiled. "I have to."

Bergeron said Montreal is a perfect place to do exactly that. "Montreal has an incredible music scene right now," he said. "You can read about it all over, in Rolling Stone, even. It's really amazing here"

It's hard to label Bergeron's music. The chords emanating from his acoustic guitar definitely highlight elements of punk, folk and funk, but there's a depth to his music, and the strong strains of his rich voice bring it all together.

For Bergeron, a label would be too limiting. Instead, the music just guides him. "I don't set any boundaries with music."

The lyrics themselves are varied, too. Some songs are sung in French. Others are written in English. But there's always a story between the lines. That could mean a song rich with the history of Bergeron's native Manitoba and the struggle of the Métis people. Or it could be something else entirely. With Bergeron's music, you never really know what to expect, and that's half the fun.

Bergeron has considered different opportunities to take his music to a more commercial level. But in the end, he's always decided to keep things on a more basic level. He's not willing to change his music. When you hear him sing, you'll be glad he didn't.

Simon Bergeron is performing with members of the band First Chapter at Missy Bar on Friday, April 15, at 9:30 p.m. - Gazette


Discography

Puff and the Pillpoppers, live at the missy (03/06)
The Night of the Wake (11/05)

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Simon Bergeron: Singer/Songwriter and founder of Puff and the Pillpoppers. He remains an active collaborator for a Montreal indie band called Dopamine. Before relocating to Montreal he was a member and songwriter of Futureboy, an alternative rock project based in New York.

Rob MacIsaac: Rob the drummer is the newest Pillpopper. Before relocating to Montreal he lived in Halifax, where he played in Stone Ground with noted busker Ken Falloon, in Dickstitch with NCRA-charting metal guy Steve Kokic,
and in a number of projects with Steven Slater, the ECMA-nominated mathom of the East Coast experimental music scene.

David Finch: Bass

Caroline Daigneault: Vocals. She is also an accredited Artist/painter in her own right. Some of her works were displayed in the Cegep de Valleyfield where she studied Art.

Fannie Pelchat D'Ascola: Organ. [bio to come]