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Anarchy and assholes

François Gourd remembers, more or less, the creation of Foufounes Électriques

by CHRIS BARRY

Ah, you’ve just got to love the anarchic arty French-Canadians who call this city home. Montreal would be a far less interesting—let alone comical—place to live without them. François Gourd is one such arty troublemaker. Not simply the inspiration behind last year’s distinguished Symfolium: Hommage à Masturbation celebrations, Gourd, along with Bernard Paquet and Norman Boyleau, was one of the founding fathers of Foufounes Électriques, the Ste-Catherine street institution which I suppose needs no introduction. A man of few words—for me at least—the Mirror caught up with Gourd, last interviewed by Marian Macnair for Fouf’s fifth in 1988, to try and probe his memory about the early days of Foufounes… the key word here being “try.”

Mirror: Do you remember how Foufounes came about?

François Gourd: Sure. We were in a music theatre group and decided to open our own place. This was 1983. And it was very good.

M: Foufounes has always been a fairly unique club, were you guys…

FG: Yes, we did all kinds of shows then, like… the ass, we had a lot of live ass painting back then—always trying different things than just music.

M: Were you moved to start up Foufounes because you recognized a hole in the market and felt a cool venue was something the city could use?

FG: I didn’t do it because the city needed it or anything like that. I just did it.

M: Was it hard finding the money to launch it?

FG: No, we opened without much money. No banks were involved.

M: Do you remember what it cost?

FG: No.

M: Did you ever turn a profit with the place?

FG: No, I left after five years. We had a lot of debt so I sold my share for practically nothing.

M: Really, huh? I suspect they’ve made money since.

FG: Then I’m glad for them.

M: Why did you leave?

FG: Five years of selling beers and cleaning was enough for me, I’m more of a creator than a cash register so I just left and went to live in Paris. That was very nice.

The new new Montreal film fest!

M: So what do you do now?

FG: Oh, I’ve done a few things, made a few movies. Soon I will be launching a movie I made at Café l’Esperanza, corner St-Laurent and St-Viateur.

M: And what is it called?

FG: Café l’Esperanza.

M: No, I mean what is the film called?

FG: Yes, I once made a movie there in one day with 39 comedians called Le Pharmacie de l’Espoir, because you see, l’Esperanza used to be a drug store.

M: Alrighty—then, lemme try and get this straight, what’s the title of the movie you’ll be launching again?

FG: It was shown at le Festival des Films du Monde and it will probably be shown at the first Festival International of the Independent Cinema.

M: Uh, what’s that?

FG: Well, there will only be one movie screening at the festival this year, my movie, because I’m starting this festival. So this year there will only be one movie, but maybe the next year there will be 10, and maybe the year after that there will be 50.

M: It must feel kind of good to know that with Foufounes you’ve left a significant mark upon the city’s cultural history, no?

FG: I’ve been doing that for 30 years. I was a member of the Rhinoceros party, I’ve put together music festivals. I’ve got to go now.

M: Oh yeah? Um, okay, one last thing: Do you know whatever happened to that big fat bouncer guy who worked at Foufs, Gros Michel?

FG: He’s dead. Been that way for five or six years.

M: Did you hire him originally?

FG: Yes. I don’t remember how or why but he just appeared. He just climbed out of his little hole and came to work for us. I have to go now. Bye.