Interview: JF Robitaille
MYATS: The first thing I wanted to ask you because of your last name is, are you French Canadian?
JF: Yeah, I grew up here. I grew up in NDG. I’m primarily Anglophone. My mom is Hungarian and my dad is French Canadian. English was spoken at home and all my friends spoke English.
MYATS: Where is your favourite place for coffee in Montreal and how do you drink it?
JF: My kitchen, with my coffee machine. Sometimes, I make my coffee with a Moka pot; those things that you put on the stove top, for espresso. No milk, maybe a tiny bit of milk, and half a spoon of sugar. I love coffee.
MYATS: What are you reading these days?
JF: Right now I’m reading a bunch of histories, Civil War stuff. I just finished a book about Lincoln. I’m constantly reading and I’m reading a few things. I’m rereading The Remains of the Day; a book by Ishiguro. They made a movie out of it a few years ago but the book is just genius.
MYATS: Do you find a lot of inspiration for your music in what you read?
JF: Definitely, because I mean everything is inspiration and if I’m spending a lot of time reading it definitely seeps into what I’m writing.
MYATS: What are your other sources of inspiration?
JF: It’s just so easy for me to get inspired: movies, books, walking down the street, you know.
MYATS: What’s a movie that inspired a song?
JF: I wrote a song inspired by a movie called “Away From Her” directed by Sarah Polly.
MYATS: What song did it inspire?
JF: I wrote a song called “Goodnight, Traitor”. It’s not released yet. Hopefully, it will be on the next record if it makes the cut.
MYATS: When do you think you will be releasing your next record?
JF: I’d say confidently like a year from now since probably since this once just came out four months ago. But I definitely want to get on a roll. So I’m hoping to do something every year. Either an EP or an Album since I have a ton of material. I’m writing all the time.
MYATS: When did you first pick up/encounter the guitar?
JF: I was 12 and it was a friend of my mother’s who used to come over and he played guitar. I absolutely loved music but I dunno if I’d even thought about playing an instrument or anything like that. I’d taken a few piano lessons and everybody says I hated it. Wish I’d stuck with it now of course. That’s also what everybody says. For that Christmas, my Mom’s friend got me my first red electric guitar. Really ugly cherry red electric guitar.
MYATS: What’s the first song that you were able to play (successfully)?
JF: Um, well I think he got me the guitar and I didn’t take it seriously or pick it up very much for about another year. So when I was 13, I’d been into The Beatles, The Who and all the British Invasion type bands and then I really got into Bob Dylan. So, the first song I learned how to play was Girl from the North Country.
MYATS: What inspires you to create music and then what motivates you to share that music?
JF: At this point, I don’t know any other way or anything else to do. I would be doing something if it wasn’t for music to try and communicate. I think most songwriters aren’t the most comfortable communicating in other ways. I’d be a writer. I’m just constantly writing, songs, or anything else I guess. I mean thank god I’m writing songs or else I’d probably be writing poetry which is not a good thing. I’m kidding, I love poetry. We’ll edit that part out? We won’t talk about poetry.
As for the motivation to share, I want people to hear it. I get proud of the songs. I put a lot of work into what eventually comes out and it’s exactly what I want because I’ve gone over it so many times and at that point you want some form of validation. I feel like a few more people out there are like me and will enjoy it and I want to share that with them.
MYATS: What is your writing process like?
JF: Constantly having a guitar in my hand when I’m at home. That’s the only process I have. I’m just always playing, always coming up with melodies and then I’ll sit down and write the words. Or the other way around. Usually, it’s based around one line and a melody.
MYATS: What song of yours do you presently hold the dearest and why?
JF: Because I write the songs in bulk specifically for a record, they are usually pinned around one or two songs so I think that’s what you mean. It’s not necessarily my favourite song or the most meaningful to me but I kind of associate the whole experience around that one song rightfully or wrongfully. I think there’s two on this record: Everything is Broken Here and Modern Love Song. Modern Love was the first one that I wrote for the record, then I knew I wanted to make a record because I was pleased with that song. The last one I wrote was Everything is Broken Here. I was happy, that’s kinda where I was at the time, and it felt up to date when I put that song on the record.
MYATS: What do you think Calendar, being that it is like a book with song chapters, says as a whole?
JF: I think it’s a really inward kinda record. Like looking in not really looking out and that’s what the songs have in common. That same kind of mood. I think you’d prolly want to listen to it late at night. I find it a moody record. The songs don’t have anything to do with each other, but the overall mood and inward quality.
MYATS: Why did you choose Calendar as the title song?
JF: That was actually proposed to me by Murray Lightburn who was helping me with pre-production on the record and I was trying to find a title to kind of keep it all together. I really liked that song, I liked the mood. I think it was exactly what I wanted to do with the record the song “Calendar” expresses it pretty well.
MYATS: How was your experience opening for St-Vincent?
JF: That was great. I’ve been so lucky. I’ve had the chance to open for so many people that I really really admire. Like Jonathan Richmond from The Modern Lovers. He is one of my top five favourite songwriters and I got to open for him. St.Vincent was really cool, it was packed and exciting.
MYATS: What is your favorite Montreal venue to play?
JF: Casa Del Popolo. I feel comfortable here, it’s definitely the most accommodating comfortable venue. Feels like coming home playing here. Everything changes so much but this place kinda stays.
MYATS: I read that you had trouble with the release of your first album while in New York. How did that experience affect you as an artist?
JF: The label went out of business and the record was shelved and I wasn’t allowed to put it out on my own. So they just kind of held on to it and it never saw the light of day. I don’t get discouraged that easily because I really love writing. I think a lot of people would say this but by the time a record comes out you are pretty much almost sick of it and I had already been writing a lot more. So I was like you know, I’m just going to go back into the studio and it’s just going to be a hundred times better than that record anyway.
MYATS: Did any of those songs ever get released?
JF: No. Well, luckily, the EP that came out has the best songs from that session.
MYATS: Do you think that this experience has helped you grow as an artist?
JF: Absolutely. For sure. I really spent a lot of time and put a lot of care into Calendar and how it came out, the packaging, and how it’s presented. It’s a special thing when a record comes out and I don’t take it for granted.
MYATS: Any collaborations in the works?
JF: I’m always collaborating with my friend Chris Wise and my bass player Tavo. They are the first people I bring songs to in the past and hopefully in the future also. We bash it out. It’s also a collaboration with the person who is engineering the record. I’m pretty open because these songs are folk and are simple.
I’m really grateful with how this record has been received. I’m feeling a huge sense of relief and gratitude and I’m really looking forward to the show on November 18th which I think will be a huge milestone for me.
-Interview conducted by Pamela Fillion
MYATS would like to thank JF Robitaille for lending some of his time, and we suggest that you check out his show Friday, November 18th taking place at Jackie and Judy’s ( 6512 Parc avenue).
