Ask yourself
what you were doing at 20.
Then have a chat with Jonathan Séguin-Cabot, 20,
Pierre-Alexandre, 21, and his brother Jean-Sébastien,
23.
That should cure pretty well anyone of grousing about
the new generation being lazy and spoiled.
The trio lives, breathe and radiate music.
They listen to it all day long, play in a band, worked
at Archambault's Anjou music store, talk music all the
time, taught music, read the trades and are proficient
in several instruments each, all three having taken piano
lessons from an early age.
So what could have been more natural than launching a
music business after graduating from CEGEP in-wait for
it-music?
Jonathan, guitarist, Pierre-Alexandre, bass player and
Jean-Sébastien, drummer in their band, Myrage,
often talked long into the night about combining their
passion with a fulfilling career.
Thus was born Carrefour Musical
in Pointe-aux-Trembles, a one-step centre for all matters
musical: instrument lessons, bans practice, CD recording,
buying or selling instruments or learning techniques about
the growing trend of home recording. Their youthful energy,
single-mindedness and resourcefulness have overcome all
the obstacles thrown in their way so far-notably the incredulity
of bankers whenever they'd show up at a meeting.
«When they saw us in person, some of them wouldn't
even open our business-plan folder, » Pierre-Alexandre
recalled.
«They thought it was a 'youth trip', a vanity thing
that would pass quickly, » his brother, Jean-Sébastien,
added. «They understood nothing».
Determined, the three took a course to start a business.
With the help of some regional and mayoral bursaries to
aid young entrepreneurs, loans from the Caisse
d'écconomie Desjardins de la Culture, and,
it must be said, from mom and dad, they set about finding
a suitable venue.
Yeah, we built this ourselves(with friends and relatives),»
Jean-Sébastien and Pierre-Alexandre noted matter-of-factly
recently at their freshly painted premises, where the
brothers' mother Ginette is the receptionist- and who
bought the building to help her sons now and her own retirement
fund later.
«It meant 18-hour days, seven days a week, from
July to September, but it was worth it»,
Jean-Sébastien said.
The three floors look professionally finished, even classy,
with polished hardware floors and carpeting, all the current
¨ in¨ colors, maroon, burgundy, pewter and Arizona
earthen hues, on the walls. The airy reception
area leads to a corridor alongside which a row of doors
open into sounds-proofed instrument-practice mini-studios.
Retour en haut
Jonathan Séguin-Cabot, Jean-Sébastien
Goyette and Pierre-Alexandre Goyette of Carrefour Musical
have a message for high school dropouts: Get involved
again.
Musical
'Our passion is music',
but the engine behind this is business'
But the pièce de résistance
is the real recording studio upstairs, complete with isolators
for a singer, undulated ceiling for better acoustics and
a slightly raised platform on cushions for the drummer,
the better to absorb sound vibrations.
Launches last September, the centre now has 130 students
weekly and 134 teachers, or about one-third of its capacity
of 400 to 500 students.
This month, Carrefour Musical will begin the recording
lessons after the last few finishing ouches to the studio
are done.
The competitors are the well-known centers, said Pierre-Alexandre,
including Institut Trebas and Musitechnic, where training
can run up to $15,000 or $20,000.
« It's highly structured, which most students
don't need, » Jean-Sébastien argued.
«We're going to be much more condensed, and much
more personalized. »
Isabelle Leduc, general manager of Musitechnic,
replied that comparisons between her institution and many
such start-ups offering musical services «are like
comparing a dépanneur and Loblaws».
«We charge $15,000 for 11 months, but that's for
705 hours of training (compared with 60 for Carrefour
Musical), » Leduc said.
«But above all, we've been recognized for 17 years
and are accredited as a private college by the department
of education. »
«We'e in two different worlds» she said.
Kevin Thiffault, a 17-year-old whiz on
¸speed-metal electric guitar, likes Carrefour Musical's
personalized touch.
« Jonathan was my teacher before, so when I heard
he opened the Carrefour, I jumped at it, ¸the secondary-school
student said. »
« This is my best school yet. I like the organization,
the welcoming feel, the warmth of the place. »
« I feel like I'm with friends here. I'm
having some personal problems, but every time I set foot
in the place, it boosts my morale. When I leave my course
on Tuesday nights, I'm already thinking about the
next session. »
Said Jessica Tardif, also 17: «
I've taken singing lessons at several other places, and
I'm still amazed at this place. »
« Here, it's try and try again until you get it.
At the other schools it was always - Well we tried and
it didn't work, so that's it, we did our job. »
« Their approach belies the partners' love of music
», she added.
When the recording studio opens, Carrefour Musical will
offer two-hours-a-week, 30 weeks courses for $1,500, one-tenth
the price charged by their rivals.
« And icinsist on the fact that we're all-inclusive,
unlike other schools, » Jean-Sébastien added
« our price includes taxes, there are no hidden
fees, and we will not require you to buy the music sheets
from us at an exorbitant price. »
The two hours will be split between theoretical and practical,
responding to the needs and expectations of all but a
handful of students.
« Almost no one needs to know all the details the
schools teach, » said Séguin-Cabot, who has
the most studio experience of the three.
At the end of the course, students will have a recording
project, followed by an evaluation.
In due course, the music aspects will be supplemented
by broadening their community appeal, most particularly
via a cultural café.
« We want to tell school dropouts they can get involved
again, » Pierre-Alexandre said. « Those who
are not technically proficient, but who are interested
in dance, painting, writing or music. »
« You may be the best musician or writer in the
world, » he said, « but artists tend to be
solitary types, and if you're working away in you're basement,
it's hard to meet kindred spirits. »
That project won't see the light for at least a year or
two, but in guise of a start, Carrefour Musical already
hangs pictures on its walls from local artists.
As to which comes first, the music or the business, the
answer is ambiguous. « We know the risks of the
musicians world, » Jean-Sébastien, the triumvirate's
vocal partner, said. « The hours are long, not ideal,
and the lifestyle is hard. So we decided to combine the
useful and the pleasure.
« Our passion is music, but the engine behind this
is business. This is a lifetime project, not just for
this year. » |
