by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Longtime Montreal garage-blues mainstays Scat Rag Boosters are putting the last-minute details on their upcoming tour. Unlike a lot of bands on the verge of a tour, they won't be going through the regular checklist of getting the van road-ready or packing sleeping bags. SRB are part of an encouraging trend among Montreal bands (le Nombre and Shalabi Effect likewise come to mind) - forging across Europe without having to deal with even one cross-Canada tour (meaning unappreciative Sudbury audiences and such).

"We've done a few shows in the States, but touring Canada is just too hard," explains Scat Rag drummer Édouard Larocque. "In Europe, they have everything already set up. We have a booking agent travelling with us and a driver, guaranteed money, food and places to stay. In Canada, that would never happen. We already have 24 shows booked over 25 days and we're playing France, Holland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium. For our first tour, that's pretty good."

Actually, the Boosters' blues-fuelled punk finding support in Europe rather than Canada's frozen tundra should come as no surprise at all. Europeans have always been a bit more hip to garage rock and when SRB were looking for a label to put out their record, Italy's Hate Records was the first to step up to the plate. If the band's main audience is in Europe, this trio hardly minds. "Our main goal on this tour is just to go over well enough with people who are into this kind of music so that we can develop enough of a fan base to start going back there on a more regular basis."

If you are hoping to see Scat Rag Boosters live, you'll have to wait until they come back from their tour, but you can catch a glimpse of their side projects Royal Routes and Stack O' Lees at the upcoming SRB benefit, proceeds from which will be going towards offsetting tour expenses. "When we started this band eight years ago, we never thought we would be able to tour anywhere, let alone in Europe," says Larocque. "It's really pretty amazing."

Royal Routes and Stack O' Lees at l'Escogriffe
on Friday, Feb. 13, 9pm, $5

>> Music Listings