Caped crusaders

>> Rock ’n’ roll renegades Mongrels fly
the freak flag high with their debut LP Oshawa

BEES IN THEIR BELFRIES: Mongrels

By JOHNSON CUMMINS

Psychedelic rockers Mongrels live up to their name, as these patchy mutts don’t seem to have any association with what people think of when they think of the Montreal music scene.

Sporting dual drummers à la Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers (former Local Rabbit Jay Tustin and Colin Burnett of Bliss handle the skins), Mongrels do sneak in some ’60s acid rock influences, but despite their deceptively gaudy garments, they hardly play the hippie card. A fuel injection of ’70s arena rock, guitar heroics (Andrew Dickson’s department), psychedelic panache and a dirty sense of dementia all show up, but what really makes Mongrels stand out from the cookie-cutter bands is the soulful howl of Amy Torok, who delivers spot-on Betty Davis/Tina Turner fury, served up with punk rock vigour. Blood Sausage bassist Steve Ludvik and recently inducted keyboardist Dave Lines, once of the Mother Funkers, round out the line-up.

Mongrels have little to do with the proven formula of the local success stories, and as their brilliantly titled debut record Oshawa clearly states, they couldn’t give a toss about what tastemaker blogs have to say about them.

“I guess we’re like the NDP of rock,” says guitarist Andrew Dickson. “Just the fact that we play rock ’n’ roll music is enough to separate us from any kind of scene, because there’s really only a handful of us doing it. I think also the careerism aspect of why we are doing what we do is a lot different from what I see in the indie rock scene right now. I don’t think we could really be part of any kind of scene because the band is made up of socially inept kind of outsider people, and I think that has really been the basis of what the band is about.”

Dodging the douchebags

Further distancing themselves from any kind of scene, Mongrels have chosen to release their debut record on WeirdBeard Records, headed by local promoter Greenland’s Caroline Bognar, with her husband Dickson pitching in and rolling up his sleeves as well. Upcoming releases on the homespun label include a collection of rare Tricky Woo tracks, many of which will be seeing the light of day for the first time, as well as releases from other like-minded bands. In case Dickson’s name hasn’t already rung any bells, he’s a Montreal music stalwart, having cut his teeth with the ever-evolving Tricky Woo and the psychedelic pop of Soft Canyon.

Having watched the honeymoon of label relationships deteriorate with both bands, Dickson is now celebrating the independence of co-owning a label for the first time, and couldn’t be happier. “In just about every aspect, there is more freedom putting records out on your own label. I guess the most exciting factor is that I just don’t have to deal with douchebags anymore. It took me about five years to figure out that most people in the music industry are douchebags. Tricky Woo was a victim of the great rock ’n’ roll myth of how things are supposed to work, and I’ve learned from my mistakes.”

Mantle illness

If Mongrels are challenging people’s current conception of what is indeed rock, they definitely like to twist the knife a little bit more through use of headbands, hippie garb, obscenely short cutoff jean shorts and Dickson’s custom-tailored cape, which would put any fan to the test.

“I guess the cape really came from a fascination with medieval things like Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons and stuff like that,” muses Dickson, “as well as other caped people I admire, like Sly Stone. I would always see bands that I liked, but if they would look like Johnny Winter with a cape, they would just automatically be better.”

If Mongrels do come across as a little, um, different, these miscreants insist it’s about time somebody unfurled the freak flag again and waved it high and proud. “I think most people should just be more comfortable about being total freaks, and if we can be a role model for that, then great,” says Torok. “I think mental illness is really one of our biggest influences. We feel like there is a swarm of bees in our heads that we have to let out and that’s what becomes our music. That’s pretty much Mongrels right there.”

CD launch with Kickers at Club Lambi on
Saturday, Nov. 24,9:30 p.m., $10 (incl. CD)