A human experience through the magic of music
A hot summer day on Wellington Street.
An iced coffee in hand at the Premiere Moisson terrasse. Sunglasses on the tip of my nose barely concealing the scorching sun from my eyes. I pick up my book, hoping to finally start with Johanne Harris’ Chocolat when a commotion a street away peaks my interest instead.
The unmistakable riff that starts Scorpions’ infamous “Rock You like a Hurricane” has me putting back the novel in my bag, and I sense myself walking towards the sound.
It’s early morning, the sun comes out
Last night was shaking and pretty loud
As I get closer, I notice a crowd forming, and progressively increasing in size, near the Catholic Church of Montreal. People of all ages cheering, whooping and filming a group of musicians on a small outdoor stage. Musicians who were matching the crowd’s energy tenfold, basking in the voices echoing the popular song, and effortlessly raising the heat on an already hot summer day.
Above them, stands a banner that reads “IMMERSION ROCK MONTREAL” in collaboration with “MUSIKOPRATIK” and “STUDIO SOPHRONIK.”
Born out of a night-in with a daughter and a Jack Black movie, Immersion Rock Montreal (translated to English, “Rock Immersion Montreal”) is a haven for youngsters who wish to experience what it’s like to be in a Rock band.
When the pandemic hit in early 2020, founder Patrick Mainville was watching School of Rock with his daughter Marilou, when she expressed an interest in learning the electric guitar, eventually forming a Rock band with her best friends, similar to the one portrayed in the movie.
School of Rock is a 2003 movie starring Jack Black as Dewey Finn, an adult lost in his ways after being kicked out of his band. Unemployed, borderline homeless slumming it up at his best friend’s apartment, Dewey answers a phone call from an elite elementary school calling his friend back for a substitute teacher position. Sensing an opportunity, he embraces the role, initially planning on loafing around behind a desk and collecting a bit of cash. Instead, he forms a bond with his 10-year-old students, and exposes them to the Rock’n’Roll world — eventually forming a full-fledged band.
The inspiration wheels began rolling in the Mainville household.
Marilou takes up guitar lessons, and eventually goes on to form a Rock band with her best friends. Upon witnessing that, Mainville goes on to envision the same opportunities for Montreal’s youth.
Thus, Immersion Rock Montreal, Montreal’s own School of Rock, was born.
The program offers an array of opportunities, from after-school specials to Rock camps, for people aged 7 to 17.
“Patrick was very adamant on making this program work even during the pandemic,” says Annie-Claude Nadon, Immersion Rock Montreal’s operation director. “He wanted to try to bring back a sense of human interaction.”
Annie-Claude Nadon, professionally known as AnnieClaude is a singer/songwriter who has been with Immersion Rock Montreal since February 2021. Guitarist, pianist, and well-rounded artist, she has been passionate about music, and active in the field ever since she was 18 years old.
“Music practically saved me,” she confesses. “I’ve been singing from a young age, recording myself on cassette tapes, singing to the styles of Whitney [Houston] or Celine [Dion]! Even though I began professionally singing a bit later, it has always been a part of my life.”
Initially, Mainville approached her for a different project.
Recommended with high regards by Simon Walls, one of Immersion Rock Montreal’s coaches, Nadon was asked, to be part of an initiative to make studio Sophronik and Musicopratik become a sort of headquarters for young artists — a safe community for all musicians. And with that came the possibility of working on Immersion Rock Montreal.
Studio Sophronik is a recording, mixing, editing and producing studio in Verdun, QC, and Musicopratik is the only spot in West of Montreal to offer practice and rehearsal studios for amateur and professional musicians, with state-of-the-art equipments.
Blink and you miss it, at the intersection of De L’Eglise and Wellington St., is the door to the vibrant studio.
A stairwell to the right and a few steps down a hallway, and you’re taken by the welcoming warmth of the reception, where vinyl covers, ranging from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon to Tattoo You by the Rolling Stones hang on the wall. Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan loom on the other side, where three young girls in school uniforms sit on a couch, feet dangling, smiling from ear to ear. Across from them is another young student, a bit older, clad in a leather jacket, looking every bit the part of a rock star with two drumsticks sticking out of her school bag.
“Immersion Rock Montreal gives the youth the chance to experience music as a band,” Nadon says.
The official name is Immersion Rock Montreal, with an array of activities:
- Immersion Rock: a bi-weekly summer camp, with several editions available throughout the months. Its first edition was in Summer 2021, and was a great success amongst youngsters and their parents for two years in a row, as it was reprised in Summer 2022.
- Rock Libre (Free Rock): an after-school rock program at Musicopratik, giving the Montreal youth a chance to experience band practices as an extra curricular activity following your school work.
And a new, upcoming program will be offered in the upcoming year 2023: Relache ton Rock (Let your Rock go).
It is an intensive practice camp happening during Reading Week in Quebec (27 February to 3 March), where students of all levels, between the ages of 7 to 17, get to learn one song as a band. Its main objective is to get them to work together as a team while also advancing in their own personal levels.
Why the Rock genre specifically?
“We wanted to present the possibility to touch upon the Rock formula, that is to say, the band formula in particular,” Nadon says. “The type of band work we offer is something mostly Rock bands do. Because it’s embedded in group work.”
One of the reasons why Mainville insisted on making the project work during the pandemic was to remind people, especially the youth, of the importance of human interaction.
“Everything was in slow motion during the pandemic, so it allowed us to really develop the program with a lot of care before Summer 2021,” Nadon says. “It was also complicated because everything was closing again, and curfew was implemented, but we made it work. This program allows kids to chill together, to see people, and be part of a social activity and to feel like they belong.”
Nadon is amazed by how fast kids were sometimes able to bond through music, to the point that a single day together allows them to develop connections and friendships — but at other times, it wasn’t as natural.
“Kids really suffered during this pandemic,” she says. “And we’ve noticed it this summer, especially. It really had a negative impact on their social skills. Isolation prevented them from being able to develop social relations. It took some pushing forward, but eventually, their natural instincts came through.”
One of the most important aspects of getting the Montreal youth excited about music is to provide them with enthusiastic teachers.
Stéphane Héroux is a towering heavily bearded figure, with a loud laugh, an infectious smile, and an affinity for colourful clothes. He is Immersion Rock Montreal’s program manager and coach, with over 10 years of teaching in his pocket.
“I find it hard to describe my tips and tricks on how to teach kids because it comes so naturally to me,” he says. “I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I am meant to do this and this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Héroux was a music teacher for middle school and high school students for most of his life, and has even worked at day camps for six years. Merging his two passions is as easy as breathing, for him.
“Music is an outlet,” he says. “It allowed me to evolve as a person and as a musician. It’s hard to believe, but I was quite shy in primary school. And when I discovered music, it gave me a way out of my shyness.”
So when Mainville approached him earlier this year asking him to replace a coach for one week, it was a no-brainer for Héroux.
“He basically pitched it to me as ‘go play Rock music with kids,’” he laughs. “I mean who is gonna say no to that?!”
Seven days were enough for Mainville to offer him an actual position within Immersion Rock Montreal.
“He just went ‘listen, you know what you’re doing, you’ve got this. I want to meet with you and see what you can do with the school.”
Héroux’s experience in both fields allows him to morph his teachings to fit with whoever is standing in front of him.
“I won’t say it’s easy, cause it’s not,” he says. “But let’s just say that throughout the years, I’ve developed this shell that allows me to support the youth I coach and help them.”
He focuses a lot on personal development and self confidence, something he believes music does best because it is very tailored and personal.
One thing that puts Héroux at an advantage to be a fitting coach is just who he is.
“I mean,” he chuckles, “I have a loud voice, I have a beard and I’m very tall. All I need to do sometimes is say “Hey!” and everyone just settles down and goes, “Oh! Okay, Steph needs us to pipe down.”
Not a single age is difficult to teach for Stéphane Héroux.
“If a kid wants to run around in circles for a while, well shit, I’m gonna run with them,” he says. “And when it’s time to work, I try to approach each kid in a tailored fashion that’s gonna work for them. I listen to the kid I’m teaching. Even if to some people, they’re saying complete nonsense. I teach while also making sure the kid enjoys it. At the end of the day, I’m teaching Rock music. If I don’t keep it fun, what the hell am I doing?”
Rock Libre offers students four trial weeks where a full-fledged formation is done.
Each student is set to learn all the instruments offered by the studio, from guitar to the drums to bass, in order for them to be exposed to everything. Following those elementary courses, if a student has a preference for a certain instrument, coaches are there to encourage and guide them.
“We are capable of matching their energies,” Héroux says, “and since most of us [coaches] play all kinds of instruments, we can help them out with whatever questions they have.”
Some students might present a bit of a challenge — especially teenagers.
“Teaching teenagers comes with the small challenge where they want to question authority,” Héroux says. “And once you understand that it doesn’t come from malice or a place of evil, then it becomes easier to navigate. They need to sense that you’re here for them. No matter how hard they push back, I always make sure to let them know that ‘Hey man, I’m here for you. Test me as much as you want, but you’ll quickly notice that I’m the winner here cause no matter what you do, I’m here for you.”
Being surrounded by youth and the willingness to learn is a refreshing, and beautiful sight to see. And for AnnieClaude, it also inspires the musician in her.
“Now I have more faith in myself, to apply myself and devote myself to my music and try new things,” she says. “Even if I don’t have the experience, seeing children who are fearlessly putting themselves out there gives me courage and confidence. Even teenagers who actually have that self-conscious blockage inspire me. Because I see it melt away the moment they begin to feel comfortable with their surroundings and instruments. It’s an extraordinary thing to see.”
Having wrapped up their Fall 2022 session just recently, Immersion Rock Montreal is set to really pave a beautiful rock’n’roll road to Montreal’s youth.
“Allow your youngsters to be part of this,” Nadon says. “To be part of a band in a spontaneous way. To have a human experience through the magic of music.”
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