Albert Marcoeur

1958 to 1966: Studied clarinet at the National Music and Drama School of Dijon (teacher: Roger Desoomer)

“I'm glad I did it. I must have learnt a thing or two…"

1963: "First band, first gig. The clarinet on the rack of the push bike, I pedalled with my knees wide apart, to avoid getting grease on the bottom of my suit pants. And flower pots around the stage."

1965: "Numerous contests were organised in the area. Rock bands would compete and the best one won… oh, something like 150 euros in today's money. Each band played two pieces. Equipment changes between two bands had to be done in a matter of minutes. There was no sound system facing the audience. The voice and saxophone microphones were plugged into the guitar amplifiers. What took longest were the drums: a snare drum, a cymbal, a bass drum and two nails, but it was fast enough. Sometimes we couldn't drive the nails in, if the stage was concrete or sloping. All the bands knew each other, spied on each other, were aware of their own worth. We knew that the guitarist of the Bristol's Boys had joined the Crews. We also knew that, if the Cherokees were at the next contest in Chalon-sur-Sa�'ne, we'd be defeated yet again!"

"But we went. We thought that maybe the last piece we'd been working on would impress them."

1967: "Wanting to leave the regional nest .

Wanting to work with brass.

Wanting to mix rock, rhythm 'n blues and I don't know what.

Wanting to play the clubs in Paris.

Wanting to go abroad.

Wanting to back black American singers.

Wanting to write our own music, making a record.

Wanting to do nothing else."

1974: "We worked as resident musicians at the studio Frémontel ( Le Fidelaire, 27 190 Eure). Jacques Dejean, the studio owner and orchestrator, needed to have musicians on the spot to make things easier for his clients. When the studio was available, we could compose and record things there. Listening to what you play, correcting the clumsy bits, the imperfections, discovering the multi-tracks, getting familiar with the recording techniques, all that was probably crucial for what happened later.

The track "L'utile à l'agréable" (that can be downloaded with the purchase of the first album) was recorded on a 4-track Ampex and mixed on a 2-track Scully." Source: Albert Marcoeur

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