The 222s
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| The 222s | ||
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| File:The222s.jpg
The 222's playing in Montreal in 2010: Cerrato, Barry, Rondeau
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Canada | |
| Genres | Punk Rock | |
| Years active | 1978–1982, 2010–present | |
| Labels | Rebel Sonik's Chicken Shrimp |
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| Associated acts | Acrylic Nudimension Bram The 39 Steps Pillbox (NYC) Southern Death Cult The Throbbing Purple |
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| Website | www.the222s.com | |
| Members | Chris Barry Pierre Major Joe Cerratto Louie "Louie" Rondeau |
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| Past members | ||
| Music sample | ||
The 222s are a Canadian punk band that was active from 1977 to 1981. They are among the first original Canadian punk bands and most likely the first glam/punk band to emerge from Montreal. They are most famous for their 1978 single "I Love Suzan".[1] They temporarily re-formed in 2010 and still occasionally play [primarily] festivals in their native Canada.
Contents
History
The 222s, who took their name from a Canadian pain killer of the same name,[2] were formed by guitarist Pierre "Al Cleann" Major and singer Jean "Frisson" Brisson in the summer of 1977. A few months later, bass player/drummer Angel Calvo and drummer, keyboardist and singer Louie "Louie" Rondeau, joined the group. This early line-up played a small handful of gigs around Montreal, mostly in high schools and regularly in support of Danger, a popular francophone rock and roll band often mislabeled 'punk' by a predominately clueless local media.
Within a few months Calvo was replaced by bassist Christian "Chris O'Bell" Belleau while original singer Jean Frisson relocated to NYC to be closer to that city's comparatively thriving punk scene. Less than a year later, an impoverished Frisson [who noted Quebecois singer/songwriter/poet Lucien Francoeur once wrote a popular album about, Le Retour de Johnny Frisson] temporarily put music aside and started 'hustling' as a gogo boy in Manhattan's meatpacking district. Frisson's abrupt departure from the band coincided with the recording of the 222s first single, I Love Susan b/w The First Studio Bomb, so drummer Rondeau [aka Louie Louie] took on the lead vocals.
Released in the fall of 1978 on their manager François Doyon's Rebel Records, I Love Susan b/w The First Studio Bomb was the first DIY punk single ever released in Montreal or the province of Quebec.[3]
Just as their single was coming out, Chris Barry, a charismatic 16-year-old high school student, joined [4] the band after being introduced to the other guys by Rational Youth/The Normal's drummer Tracey Howe after the release of the 7". Not long afterward, Barry brought his friend, Joe Cerrato, a juvenile delinquent, into the group to replace Christian Belleau on bass, to complete the classic 222s lineup. Doyon then came into contact with some gangsters from Laval who wanted to try their hands in the music business. The band had been doing a cover of Michel Polnareff's La Poupée qui fait non at their shows for more than a year and the gangsters wanted to turn that song into a provincial hit. This was similar to what garage band Les Sultans had done in 1966 to market the 222s to the teenybopper public, so they offered to finance the band's second 7".[3][4]
They recorded in one of the gangster's house but weren't getting along with them, considering they didn't know anything about music. After a few days of fighting, the mobsters showed the band a gun and told them that there wouldn't be any more fighting. The band finished the record in fear the same day, quit the mobster's house and never went back there.[3][4]
The 7", which featured an instrumental version of the song on the B-Side, was released in 1981 on Gamma Records [5] and was a minor regional hit, getting a fair amount of airplay in Quebec. The band was ashamed of it and thought it sounded terrible,[3] among others because the mobster's replaced Barry's voice in the choruses with his sister's voice and his own. This accelerated the demise of the group, which went their separate ways shortly after, in November 1981, because the band members didn't agree about the direction they should take musically.[3][4]
Over the course of their career, the 222s toured Canada as extensively as any band could. They even toured in the USA where they toured with the Nuclear Accidents and ventured off to play at the famous Max's Kansas City in New York City on several occasions.[2][6]
The 222s have kept a legendary status as Quebec's first punk band to release a record and a series of TV appearances. The TV appearances were in the late 70s and early 80s on a local Community television show called The Musi-Video show, which was produced by Doyon's business partner Marc Fontaine. These shows have since resurfaced on YouTube and elsewhere and have sparked a renewed interest in the band.[2] Similarly, Montreal label Sonik's Chicken Shrimp Records released an anthology of the band's demos in 2007 under the name "Montreal Punk '78-'81" which also sparked interest.[2]
Other Projects
- Guitar player Pierre Major joined Montreal band The Dazzlers in 1982 and eventually decided to move to Toronto for different musical projects before returning to Montreal after losing everything in a blazing fire.
- Drummer/Keyboard player Louie Rondeau teamed up with the 222s assistant manager Marc Fontaine in 1982 to form the successful synthpop group Nudimension. Together they composed a top 10 Quebec chart hit Amour Programmé and with Peerless Records in Mexico the dance hit Rendez-vous(La Coqueteando)[7]
- Lead singer Chris Barry was briefly in a band named Bram with Michael Bramon after the demise of the 222s. They recorded a few demos but Barry finally decided to move to England, where he would join with ex-Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock and ex-Generation X guitar player James Stevenson in a band called Hot Club.[4] It didn't work out. Chris joined the Southern Death Cult, trying to become the new singer following Ian Astbury's departure but that didn't work out either. In the spring of 1983, he was about to start a band with former The Police guitar player Henri Padovani, former Clash drummer Topper Headon and former Pretenders bassist Pete Farndon but the project abruptly stopped when Farndon drowned in his bathtub after overdosing on heroin.[4] Chris then started a solo project with ex-Generation X drummer Mark Laff.[4]
- Chris Barry was homeless and returned to North America after CBS Records had listened to some Bram demos and decided to pay for his plane ticket. Not getting along with Bramon, Chris kicked him from the band and reformed the 222's in Montreal with former members Pierre Major and Joe Cerrato in 1984.[4] With the addition of drummer André Gagné and guitar player Richard Paul, they became the 39 Steps and released several albums [2] as well as playing themselves in the Woody Allen movie 'Hannah and Her Sisters', playing the 222's hit "Slip into the Crowd" at the CBGB.[3][4][8] After that, Chris moved to New York to join the band Pillbox (NYC).[3][4][6] He was back in Montreal in the 90's, where he started to study at the university as well as writing a weekly column for the Montreal Mirror.[4] He also started the band Acrylic[3][4] with bass player Roger Dawson, drummer Dave Jones and guitar player Klaus Frostell. Acrylic recorded an album that was never released because the record company went bankrupt.[9] He then started The Throbbing Purple[3][4] in the 2000s with Dawson and Unruled guitar player Michel "Wax" Cyr" and ex-Subhumans drummer Dave "Salty" Macanulty. The band released the "Let it Writhe" CD in 2006 on Sonik's Chicken Shrimp Records but Cyr and Macanulty were soon replaced by other musicians a few months after the CD was released.[4]
2010 Reunion
In 2010 the original lineup of Chris, Louie and Pierre reformed and have been performing mostly at several successful Festivals such as NXNE in Toronto, Osheaga in Montreal and FME in Val d' Or.
Personnel
- Chris Barry (lead vocals)
- Pier Major (guitar)
- Joe Cerrato (bass & back vocals)
- Louie (Louis) Rondeau (drums & vocals I Love Suzan & First Studio Bomb)
Discography
Singles
- "I Love Suzan"/"The First Studio Bomb" (Rebel Records) (1979)
- "La poupée qui fait non"/"La poupée qui fait non" (instrumental) (Gamma Records) (1981)
Albums
- Montreal Punk '78-'81 (Sonik's Chicken Shrimp Records) (2007)
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Psyquebelique 2009
- ↑ Jam.ca The 39 steps
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
