INTERVIEW WITH

HUGO MUDIE

J.B: So I’m sitting here with Hugo Mudie of The Ste Catherines / Medic-tation/ Powernap and few other projects including founder of the iconic Montreal Punk Festival Pouzzafest.Hugo: What’s up?J.B: SO what’s new for Pouzzafest this year since you are in your sixth year?Hugo: Well we expanded the outdoor stage this year and is a much bigger setup and we have new partners which is Beau’s Microbrewery and Trou Du Diable along with Sailor Jerry of course! Who is bringing more of a beerfest feeling to it we will have over thirty different beers, Cider also with Le Vergers del la Colline and like more outdoor activities and I guess that’s the newer thing. And we got new partners to it use to be myself and Helene Mckoy running it and now we are a seven person team doing the whole thing. So people from Stomp Records are involved and Leather Face and some Lost Love and all of our friends it’s going to be bigger and more fun than ever.J.B: Last year you had Pabst Blue Ribbon as the sponsor?Hugo: It’s been Pabst since year one and we wanted to have better quality and more choices you know Beau’s and Trou Du Diable are the best micro-breweries around. We wanted to add diversity I mean like Pabst is fine but we wanted different types of beer and it’s going to be good for music fans and Beer geeks also which is great and more enthusiastic. It’s also support-ing smaller independent companies and smaller companies that care about the music scene and what we are trying to do. And you deal with actual humans than you know. Actual people that you can talk to and have idea’s with and actually care about the festival and all the artists. So we are very lucky and proud to have those official sponsors this year.J.B: So is there an Official beer?Hugo: There is! Both Beau’s and Trou Du Diable have a Pouzza beer both are in stores already and there will probably be some left still at Pouzza.J.B: Of course keeping with tradition and the Hot Sauce?

WITHIN PUNK ZINEINTERVIEW WITH

HUGO MUDIE @ MINI POUZZA TORONTO

APRIL 30 ,2016COURTESY OF

MELANIE KAYE PR

Hugo: Yeah! Of courseJ.B: did you design the logo again this year?Hugo: I didn’t design it! The last two years we had a contest for the logo for the hot sauce and I just got them this week. The guys from “After The Fall” shipped it from there house and I just got it and just seen it this week. And it’s a new flavor it’s the first year we’ve tried this flavor, I haven’t tried it yet but I have the bottle at home this flavor I think has a coconut thing going on? J.B: Coconut nice!J.B: I have been to many festivals and Pouzza is not only an experience but also an adventure since it is spread out across the downtown which makes it really stand out and if you have never been before really should check it out! Hugo: Yeah if you like adventures! Pouzza is the place to be.J.B: The venue themselves are amazing of course Fou’s and Katacombes along with the Piranha bar and of course the main stage acts, do you tend to focus the festival more on the smaller intimate venue settings?Hugo: No it’s the same focus for us it really doesn’t matter how big the band is or how big the stage is, a band is a band and they all get the same treatment and everyone is treated equally and everyone is happy with what they got. But like I was saying before the quality of a band has nothing to do with how popular they are and it has nothing to do with how they should be treated as human beings. I think everyone should be fed well and well intoxicated it’s all part of it. We focus the energy on everything we want those venues and

bars and everyone we work with to be happy and sell lot’s of drinks and have fun and be happy and make it a good fun festival. We hope that people that come experience the venues and the next time they come to Montreal or even if you’re a local you go back to that venue and that’s always been a big part of Pouzza and very important to us.J.B: Of course food is also a major part of the Montreal scene and Pouzza?Hugo: Yeah! It’s getting bigger and bigger the food aspect of it and it’s always been our goal and we’ve focused so much on the music that is was always left out. But this year there is definitely going to be some Food trucks and food at Pouzza at the main stage and also Foufones Electrique. Actually there is some tonight at Mini Pouzza with Chef Matt with a Vegetarian Pizza’s with ten large Pizza’s that will be free serving it to the people. I have to say it’s a meal that I invented and I was proud that I was the inventor of the meal that is to be served tonight from the co-inventor of the festival, So very important that you put that on my Wikipedia page!J.B: So Frite Alors is back again this year?Hugo: Yes! And they are going to do Pouzza again and it’s going to be great.J.B: Of course this year you are going to have Pouzzasana again with the Yoga and have Miguel from Teenage Bottle Rocket come down again?Hugo: Yeah he’s coming down with his finance who is actually from Montreal and they are going to do two classes on Saturday and Sunday morning. The other new thing is we have a baseball tournament on the Saturday from noon to four. So there are going to be four teams in a competition and they are go-ing to go against an all-girl team in the final round and the winner gets the…J.B: Covenant Crystal Pouzza Trophy? Hugo: Crystal Pouzza is that name?

J.B: Yeah!Hugo: I have to make that trophy I forgot! (Laughing) Ah..so that’s another huge thing we did there are some other new things but that’s pretty much it.J.B: Last year you did men-tion that there might be a street hockey game?Hugo: Yeah we tried but it’s hard to get the city to close down an entire street! So we went with baseball and I think it’s going to be great. We have an ex Expo and a Redsocks pitcher that will be there an ex Montreal Cana-dian who is going to play. So we have celebrities and all the people from bands that wanted to play and registered

so it’s going to be cool there’s going to be sports T.V there and all that. And it’s going to be more of an event all on its own. We also have a kid’s portion of it this year again Pouzza Bambino is on Sunday and we have inflatable stuff and games and fake tattoo’s and get your hair done. Ariane Zeta still playing songs for them and Nick Raz and Dj’s and all that and Ninja Turtles delivering piz-za. And of course that is all free it’s in the park it’s a kids event that’s kind of cool you know not only for kids but for parents too you know. We have kids and we go to a lot of kids stuff and sometimes it’s more like not cool (Laugh-ing).J.B: There is of course the whole thing with the party’s after too!Hugo: Yeah do the kid thing then leave them with the babysitter and come and party!J.B: Of course Stomp Record is a big part of Pouzzafest?Hugo: Yeah they always have been part of it and now they are part of the offi-cial organization of it. We deal with them on a daily basis for everything they are a great company and I grew up on listening to their music. Matt and Mike are two really great guys and we are very happy to have them on board and it’s a great company and great people.

J.B: Of course it’s Pouzza and of course The Planet Smashers are playing “Life of the Party” in its entirety?Hugo: Yeah Smashers are doing “Life of the Party” outdoors Friday night and of course “Big D and the kids table” playing “Gypsy Hill” in its entirety it’s a great night with the Beatdown right before that it’s going to be a great Ska night I’m very excited for that.J.B: Talking about the Beatdown question is are you going to be playing with them?Hugo: With the Beatdown? No (smiling) we play sometimes but not this time we are going to do more shows this summer. But at Pouzza I play with the Ste Catherines which is enough for me it’s a lot of stuff to remem-ber and I’m not that intelligent.J.B: But this year of course you are bringing back the Ste Catherines which is sort of a reunion tour?Hugo: Yeah of course sure! It’s not a reunion tour though we are only doing about six or seven shows this summer and it’s just to remember how cool it was when we were twenty five. I remember when I was twenty five I was skinny! (Laughing).J.B: So how’s the secret shows going to work this year again?Hugo: Yeah that’s the trademark of Pouzza we save spots at venues and this year we even have a venue that has a back room that’s empty and there’s no bands booked there so we are going to use it for secret shows. So what we do is we have a list of all of our favorite bands that we want to see and play a second set and then we go and see the regular set and then we bring them back stage and offer them shots of Sailor Jerry and get them drunk and “Hey man what do you think of playing another show”? And it’s like oh we playing another show”Ah man are we getting paid”? And we are like ya we will give you a bottle of Sailor Jerry! And there like ya sure! So that’s how we get secret shows but that’s a secret I guess I shouldn’t of said that (Laughing).J.B: But no Joey Cape this year?Hugo: I think he did four out of six Pouzza’s so it’s not bad.J.B: But hey you do have acoustic sets going on with Ray Rocket? And Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms?Hugo: Ray has been our go to for at least three or four Pouzza’s I think the only band that has played all the Pouzza’s is “The Hunters”. They are going to play this year as there tenth anniversary show and they don’t play much anymore and they play in another band that only sings in French and they are doing really well where we are from which is Quebec by the way. And then Joey Cape is the

most vigilant who played the most besides “The Sliders” and solo from The Slackers are the legends of Pouzza.J.B: Of course also you have The Suicide Machines” playing “Destruction by Definition” in its entirety?Hugo: Ya I love the Suicide Machines they are definitely one of my top ten bands of all times that I love I am big fan of them, I remember my mom bought me that record when we were on vacation when we were on vacation at the beach. I got that record and Voodoo Glow Skulls “Firme” on tape and that was in 94 or 95.So I have been listening to them since I was fourteen years old and then we played with them and caught up with them down the road and Jay is a Ste Catherines fan. So I asked do you guys want to play Pouzzafest and he said only if The Ste Catherines are going to play? So we got the bill together and we are playing “Dancing for Decadence” followed up by them playing “Destruction by Definition”. I am very proud of that and it’s going to be a very emotional moment for me like myself and my older brother we got into punk rock with those bands and he showed me all the other bands and he’s going to be there with me. It’s going to be very special for me to do a performance especially with him you know you grow up in a suburb of Montreal and speaking French and not knowing anything about Punk rock. And you end up playing shows with people like that and orga-nizing a festival that they play at it’s a very proud moment.J.B: I’m hoping that Less Than Jake plays ”Losing Streak” instead of “Hello Rockview”?Hugo: Hello Rockview is an old album but Losing Streak is even older.J.B: You also have some Hardcore in there with ‘Ringworm” and “Meurader” and ...Hugo: Sick Of It All!J.B: Yeah doing the 30 yr anniversary show! Hugo: Has it been thirty years?J.B: Yes of course with ‘Blood Sweat and Tears” that came out in 86 that’s what influenced me along with Black Flag of course.Hugo: That’s what I like about punk the variety of so much different punk sounds that is what I got into it, If you we’re to take say like Sick Of It All and play like “The Planet Smashers” people would be like this is not the same music at all if they never heard it before. But just the same they get on the same bills and everyone listens to it and I think that it is fantastic. It shows that is not about the sound of the punk but more about the lifestyle of it and the attitude and the spirit and that’s what we try to do with Pouzza.J.B: And you try to cover the scene quite well with pretty much every genre of punk at Pouzza.Hugo: Yep!

J.B: you also have some other bands on there like “Mansbridge” and Wasted Potential on there and showcase some unknown bands from smaller labels that may not have been heard?Hugo: Yeah we always look for these unknown bands and emerging bands and specially form Canada and Quebec and we want to know other scenes and what’s going in those scenes. It’s very wide we could book anything from a grungier band to more hardcore sounding or even more acoustic stuff or ska. We don’t care about the overall sound it’s more about the spirit of it all with Pouzza.J.B: Are you still running it out of the University for Pouzza Headquarters?Hugo: Yep! We have the headquarters at UQUAM and the lodging is there also it is known as the party place.J.B: Is there anything else in the area to check out that’s near Pouzza?Hugo: Yeah the sports stadium there’s street chess by the art museum, Ste Catherines street of course if you walk the entire length for the true ex-perience it starts French and ends in English. And there’s the new soccer stadium (Lol).J.B: Do you work year round on organizing Pouzza Fest?Hugo: Ya we start working on it in September and then straight through till Pouzza is pretty much over.J.B: Is there a link that bands can apply to from next year?Hugo: Pouzzafest.com is the main site and we start in September for band submission J.B: Last year you wanted to see “The Muffs” who is it this year?Hugo: Ah defiantly Less than Jake/ Suicide Machines/ Red Mass? The Beatdown/ Brendan Kelly I made a list of bands I wanted to see and it’s like twelve every day.J.B: Of course we always end with a famous book or quote that inspired your life anything come to mind?Hugo: I don’t have actual quote I don’t remember stuff but I will go free-style it’s poem by”Charles Bukowski” People that find excuses to create are not, if you have that inside you if wither you are a writer or a painter or musician you are going to do it in whatever condition you are in if your poor or have nothing. It’s something that I keep in mind whatever condi-tion I’m in whatever happens to me wherever I am I need to create I need to do something. Even though it seems it’s impossible at the moment.