Pataphysical graffiti

>> Les Sans-Culottes have France in their underpants

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Their hearts may lie in Paris, but their jam space is in NYC. Les Sans-Culottes echo the glory days of French yé-yé, of Gainsbourg, Dutronc, Gall and Hardy. They nonchalantly toss around all the things we, uh, "love" about Europe's cultural bronze medallists: crass sexuality, ludicrous theatricality, arrogance, pretension and fashion choices that register on the Richter scale. The Mirror conferred with flamboyant frontman Clermont Ferrand about rock 'n' roll returned to sender, German linguistic butchery and rumours that les Sans-Culottes are merely a bunch of dumb Americans faking the French.



Mirror: What exactly is the raison d'être of les Sans-Culottes?

Clermont Ferrand: We are a Frawnch supergroup, composed of some of ze most talented seengers from ozzer Frawnch bands. We came togezzer to breeng ze music of Frawnce to ze Americas, to les États-unis and Canada, because so much we are haveeng American music which ees coming to Frawnce, but eet ees not so often we are haveeng Frawnch music which ees coming back to America. Eet has a differawnt kind of energy and playfulness. And a sexuality, oui. Zees ees why, for ze people in New York and ozzer places, because zey have an Anglo-Saxon culture, a puritanical culture, somewhat, zey like zis thing.

M: Do New Yorkers truly appreciate what you have to offer, or is it merely pearls before swine?

CF: Zis is ze one-meellion-dollar question. I sink zat hopefully people will come to understand ze beauty of eet all, but eef we are serving zem ze finest champagne, and to zem it is sparkling water, well, perhaps eventually we will educate zeir palates.

M: This brings to mind Stereo Total, the German group who make nods to French pop. So who butchers the French language worse, the English or Germans?

CF: Again, zees ees an excellent question. Zere's two people wis ugly languages trying to speak Frawnch. Two ugly languages wisout ze grammar--zey are not even ze language! But zis question, I leave to ze scienteest. Eet ees too difficult to know.

M: What kind of bands do you find yourself sharing stages with in New York?

CF: Zey are all terreeble! Because les Sans-Culottes are so unique, eet ees deeficult for zem to find a band wheech ees of our calibre. Zey put us wis many terreeble New York bands--jokey bands, psychedelic bands, garage rock bands. Eets a completely wide variety.

M: Having discussed les Sans-Culottes, over coffee and Gitanes, with friends here, it is apparent that many regard les Sans-Culottes as jokey as well--what we call here a "fuck band."

CF: A fuck band! I don't mind ze term "fuck band," I sink zis might be accurate, I'm not sure. Ze joke band, I sink ze people should come see for zemselves whezzer or not we are serious. What we are trying to do iz someseeng a leetle differawnt wis ze music. Eet's a joke een ze sense of ze pataphysics of Alfred Jarry--what metaphysics ees to ordinary physics, so ees pataphysics to metaphysics. So, as Frawnch pop ees to Anglo pop, les Sans-Culottes are to Frawnch pop. It ees a meta-level commentary on what some of ze American bands would like to be.

With More Plastic and Monochrome Orchestra at Café Campus on Friday, Sept. 28, 9pm, $7