biographical info
Found of sixties garage rock and of vintage gear, Le Chelsea Beat lands on the Montreal music scene in 2010 after a chance encounter between guitarists Stéphane Courval and Daniel Fiocco (Séquelles and Platon et les caves). Are later recruited singer Pat Meteor of local legends Demon’s Claws, bassist Pierre Chayer, drummer Francois Gagner and keyboard player Michael Cowan.
Early on, the band starts writing original material in French, while covering a few essential freakbeat classics in English from the Back from the Grave and Nuggets compilations.Their mission is simple: play groovy beat music so the kids can dance! Their sound? Vintage, not retro! So much that the band is soon discovered by local promoters Teenbeat Takeover who offer an opening spot for famous contemporary garage rock bands such as The Fleshtones and The Cynics. Then the local scene starts noticing: Skip Jensen and Le Kid et les Marinellis also invite the band to play. But it is during a show with two bands from Brooklyn, The Above and The Electric Mess that Killer Diller Records owner Charles Gaskins hears Le Chelsea Beat and exclaims,«I want these guys on my label!»
So here it is at last, Mesdames et Messieurs, Le Chelsea Beat, the first full-length release by the Montreal freakbeat sextet, featuring the ballad Avec les garcons with Poupée Fortrell (Call me Poupée) on vocals.
influences
60's Mod garage bands