LEAD VOCALS, BASS, TAURUS BASS PEDALS, 12 STRINGS ACOUSTIC GUITAR, SAGE OF THE HILL, ALSO SUFFERING FROM ALL KNOWN AND UNKNOWN LEAD SINGER RELATED DISEASES

Biography

Even though I never lived in a musical environment, my first attractions for music came when I was about four or five. At the age of ten, my cousin gave a guitar to my older brother who never became really interested in it. As for me I felt a strong drawing for this instrument, even before thinking about fame, fortune and groupies. Whenever I had a chance to put my hand on it, I would hide in a closet and try to pull some sounds out of it. My brother noticed my attraction for his guitar and gave it to me.

My first meeting with rock was with my older brother’s records. Deep Purple’s "Fireball" and Black Sabbath‘s "Paranoid" knocked me down literally and I never got up.

 Toward the age of eighteen, I met another guitarist, Robert "Bob" Lapointe, we started to play together and I quickly learned that I had a lot to learn guitar-wise. I then changed instrument. I opted for bass playing, thinking that there would be fewer difficulties as for the number of cords" Well I was severely chastised!

Back then, Bob had as principal influence the Pat Travers Band in which played a bassist named Peter "Mars" Cowling. I was in ecstasy hearing him play and I still am. I started playing bass by trying to copy him.

Years went by.  After countless hours practicing with records, tapes and radio, I formed my first band with an idol of my youth, who I used to spy through his basement window when he practiced.

In 1981 I was stuck on a hospital bed, after a really bad accident, my older brother (yes him again!) gave me a Walkman. It’s that way that I met "Exit stage left", a live album of Rush.  Listening to the song Freewill, I found out that the "King" was not Elvis Presley. Geddy Lee left a stamp on my musical life and my playing style.

In 1985, the band formed with my idol François Poirier and the drummer Sylvain Trottier, friend in progress, lasted for only one show. A show that was made of 1 song from The Police, 1 from Genesis and 19 from Rush.

It’s in 1987 that I met Denis Jalbert (guitar). Since that day we have formed countless groups, played a ton of covers, took part in a few original projects, played in the clubs circuit, biker’s meeting and all sort of weird places.

In 1996, I was taking part in a project where we interpreted some Genesis, Yes, ELP, King Crimson and Gentle Giant and it’s because of this that I met Jocelyn Beaulieu. With Denis and Yves Jalbert we dragged him out of his hell of sex and drugs and we formed the first embryo of what would become Hamadryad.

Music has always been omnipresent in my life. Even if today I am in my fortys and many dreams have vaporized, I still have hope that someday my musical "voice" will be hearded by way of Hamadryad’s music...