Communications

The many faces of Montreal’s punks

Martin Lussier doesn’t sport a Mohawk or dye his hair. Nor does he seem to have any tattoos or piercings. “None, I swear!” states the doctoral student, smoothing out his wrinkled black T-shirt. The former drummer of Marmottes Aplaties sure doesn’t fit the stereotype of a punker. A PhD student in the Department of Communications at the Université de Montréal, Mr. Lussier is currently exploring his roots through his thesis on punks in Montreal.

The first punks emerged in Montreal’s concert halls in 1978. They were the heirs to the British working class punk movement of a decade earlier, although Mr. Lussier argues that the movement may well date back to the 1960s. Punks usually have a problem with power, authority, money and consumer society. Many advocate self-management, encapsulated in their ‘do it yourself’ slogan. More recently, pacifist anarchists have hit the scene, rejecting violence and steadfastly opposing the Nazi values of certain skinheads. Many are recognizable by their attire: dyed hair, piercings, Doc Marten boots and army pants.

Mr. Lussier, however, resists any attempt to define the movement. “Why must we categorize punks? All that does is reproduce stereotypes. Yes, some do advocate anarchy, but others don’t have any opinion on the topic or don’t even know what the word means. Same thing goes for the punk look: there is no punk dress code.”

Many, between the ages of 18 and 21, will clean your windshield for money, an occupation that goes well with their desire for independence. These squeegee kids often live on the street. Once again, Mr. Lussier refuses to associate the punk movement with the squeegee kids, even if the two do intersect. “In my thesis, I focus more on the way we try to draw boundaries in order to define punk, and how we perceive this ‘reality.’”

While on the face of it, the researcher notes that most punks are under 35 and constitute a marginal group in society, this motley group has not been quantified and no study has provided it with a hard and fast definition. “There are punks who sleep in parks, others who live with their parents, and some who even have a briefcase and the job to go with it,” states Mr. Lussier.

In Montreal, there are, however, certain places and organizations that attract or target punks, including concert halls, record companies, informal concert networks and media. At the heart of these associations is a music that is deliberately provocative and concerts that defy conventional rules. “Sometimes, the musicians aren’t that great, they scream instead of sing,” explains Mr. Lussier who, as a musician, ranks himself among the worst. “But there are other punk musicians who are true masters, including spectacular drummers, stunning guitarists and outstanding singers. Then there are those who are even worse than me.”