Shortpants Romance

Shortpants Romance, a three-piece Montreal band, offer something a little different in the way of crafting informed art. Amid a burgeoning Montreal music scene, rife with “experimentalist” avant-garde rockers and electronic acts, very few musicians take the time to contextualize the history behind their craft.
The Concordian dropped by the band’s apartment for some coffee to talk about the Montreal music scene, chocolate penises, and their up-coming show on Feb. 21.
The band started off with guitarist Ralph Elawani and drummer Simon Guérard making their way to Montreal from a small pastoral Quebec town, the name of which they refused to disclose. Elawani later met singer Catherine Vien-Labeaume at school, whom later became his girlfriend. As the band slowly became established, they struggled to find their place in Montreal’s crowded musical landscape, where getting gigs and gaining popularity is often attributed to who you know.
“As long as you have the right contacts, you can do lots of stuff with little talent,” says Vien-Labeaume. But Shortpants Romance’s members definitely enjoy living and playing in Montreal. They find the city to be comparatively more laid back than Toronto or other larger centres, and also say it’s friendly towards musicians. “It’s so easy to make a living here in Montreal when you play music, [it seems]nobody has a real job in Montreal ,” said Elawani.
The band has a mix of musical influences – the two dominant appropriations being Shoegaze and Garage – which are quite contrasted aesthetically and musically. “Musically, we’re constantly evolving,” Elawani said, despite never wanting to please anyone but themselves. “My mom always says, ‘You have to write a hit song!'” Vien-Labeaume jokes, “and I’m like, it’s on my to do list.”
Shortpants Romance embarked on a tour of the Maritimes last summer, playing an ill-fated show in Charlottetown, PEI. “We ended up playing for the bartender, the bouncer and the bus boy,” Elawani said. The promoter was then reluctant to pay the band after the poor turn-out, telling them he would at least get them drunk. Elawani ended up getting so drunk that he passed out on stage in the middle of a song, waking up to Vien-Labeaume slapping him on the face. Elawani said fans should expect upcoming shows to be a little different, “It would probably be me laying on my back with a chocolate penis in my mouth,” he joked. Such was the scene at a Shortpants Romance show last Valentine’s day with some salacious confectionary props shocking the crowd.
Playing poorly promoted shows isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. Elawani affirms: “Take a band like Sonic Youth, these guys played thousands of shows in front of almost nobody, driving 13 hours to get to the venue, to play in front of four or five disinterested people. You learn about humility that way.” Catherine adds, “Every crappy show is worth it.”
Make sure to stop by Quai des Brumes this Saturday to see Shortpants Romance play alongside Vicious/Delicious.