RC: First off... Les Breastfeeders. That's a pretty funky name. What spawned that?
S: The lack of motherly love as children and two of us, Luc (singer) and Johnny (tambourine hero), seeing a topless female neighbour through the window while thinking of a fictitious band name. The "Les"is very important. The name sounds cool in French, especially when you don't know what it means.
RC: What brought you all together?
S: Alcohol. A few girlfriends we had in common. Oh yeah, and the love of rock'n'roll.
RC: And you guys are from Montreal. It's not something we hear about much in the states, but does Montreal have a pretty thriving music scene?
S: You'd be scared. Just put your big toe in the pool, and the piranhas will get the rest of you.
RC: Just based on what I caught at the Montreal showcase at SXSW (where you guys tore it up by the way)...
S: Thanks
RC: ...it seems like the music coming out Montreal is pretty varied. Is there something that's considered typical of the "Montreal sound"?
S: Yes, the huge roar made by hundreds of mothers and boyfriends begging for their daughters and girlfriends to come back home after a Les Breastfeeders concert. Aside from that, many English-singing bands here seem to have a few musical influences in common...I'm not sure who exactly.
RC: You guys have a heavily garage-influenced sound. Who/where do you draw your influences from?
S: From our lifestyle mainly. Being poor, hanging out in bars and back alleys, and playing our rock'n'roll together, a mixture of '60s garage and French music, '70s punk rock, new wave, '50s rockabilly,...
RC: Here in Detroit, we're pretty heavy into garage, too. Are you familiar with any of the Detroit garage bands?
S: You mean Iggy, MC5? Yeah. Meg and Jack too, and the Detroit Cobras I like a lot.
RC: You guys are getting a really solid response in the States, despite the fact that a majority of your fans here don't speak French! First off, what do you think it is about rock and roll that bridges the language gap?
S: All the screaming! No language required. Also the energy. People get it as soon as we hit the stage.
RC: For the people who like your sound even though they don¹t understand what are your songs about, do you deal with consistent themes, or are you all over the place?
S: I'm not sure about that. Luc and Johnny write the lyrics, and they make sure to hide the meaning in codes and historical references.
RC: What's next for Les Breastfeeders?
S: Invading you guys again. But first, France and the UK (April and May 2007).
RC: Is there anything you'd like to add?
S: A few rocks in my glass of rum would be nice. But we don't add, we take from.
