The dream is over

>> Xavier Caféïne doesn’t believe
in computers or Tommy Lee,
he just believes in francophonie

ON THE ATTACK: Caféïne

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

“I would go to Europe or even Asia before the United States or the rest of Canada,” says Xavier Caféïne, pondering future tour plans. “Canada’s so big, and I know how the tour would go for us. It would be like most of the bands who tour Canada, where they drive for 12 hours and end up playing in a dirty bar with fucking 15 people watching.

“That’s the advantage of singing in French,” he says, “there’s a particular territory, and when you attack it well, it can be very, very fun.”

On the strength of his debut solo album, Gisèle, Caféïne and his band have travelled la belle province for the better part of a year, with one gig in Canada’s second most French province, New Brunswick. Having refined the punk rock sound he’s developed over the last decade, in the largely English-language bands Caféïne and Poxy, and evolved significantly as a songwriter, Caféïne has earned radio play, a stack of award nominations and significant media coverage in the province, facilitating tours and making each show an easier sell.

“It really changes the reception when people know who you are, they expect you to be what you are. It’s not like going to play a small town, wearing black eye make-up, and nobody knows what you’re doing there,” he says, recalling awkward gigs of old—the only recent rough patch was one Quebec town that reminded Caféïne of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

“But the band is a well-oiled machine right now, so even if the music is new to some people who see the band in a small festival, they can enjoy it. Our crowd has really opened up—we have way younger people and way older people at our shows now, so that’s pretty cool.”

Also cool is his recent contest win at a German radio station and record label, which will play and release Gisèle in Europe, and bring the band over to tour in the spring. Caféïne is also trying to tack on a few dates in Belgium, France and Switzerland, whereas playing the U.K. (despite its relatively tiny size) could prove to be just as impractical as Canada and the U.S., given the language barrier.

“I have no expectations or dreams of becoming an international anglophone star,” says Caféïne. “I like walking and I like biking and doing my martial arts and watching TV, the simple life—I don’t wanna hang out with Tommy Lee. I always say that, but it’s true, I don’t care about this man. Maybe I would get along with him, but I don’t even wanna know. I don’t expect to be going to the Playboy mansion anytime soon.”

Caféïne will remain on the road, however, straight through till next fall, when he plans to make a second album. He’s already begun to work on new material, hoping to match the quality of the initial batch of songs he wrote for Gisèle, from which all of the album’s singles were culled. But first he needs to downgrade his gear.

“I’m working on a computer for the first time and I hate it so much,” he says. “I’m gonna sell it and just buy myself an eight-track—that’s how I did my last album. To me, there’s no poetry in a computer. It’s just ugly.”

With Bonjour Brumaire at Club Soda on
Friday, Nov. 30, 8:30 p.m., $17.55, all ages