Quebec singer-songwriter Louis-Jean Cormier was born and raised on the North Shore in Sept-Îles. Since May 31, he has been closely following the development of two forest fires north of Sept-Îles, where his mother still lives. This year she had to leave a week earlier than usual to spend the summer at Gaspé because she likes to rediscover her Gaspé roots. He would have liked to have met John Lennon, whom he discovered through his musical influences.
Her father taught at the seminary in Baie-Comeau.
My late father, Marcel Cormier, was a priest and taught at the Séminaire de Hauterive in Baie-Comeau before moving to Sept-Îles to pursue his career. While my mother, Carmel, was studying with the Carmelite nuns.
The music brought them together.
Dad conducted the choir my mom was in. My father then resigned as a priest to see my mother. They married and had three children: Benoit, Amélie and me.
Music has always been part of your life.
I think I was barely three years old when my aunt gave me my first music lesson. I took classical music lessons until the end of my secondary school.
Which school sent your aunt the lessons?
I was surprised to learn that my aunt was giving me the music lessons sent to her by Laval University and the Vincent d’Indy School of Music.
The three children, you were musicians.
My brother was a violinist, my sister and I were pianists. Occasionally I played the guitar.
Your father reminded you of Bernard Derome.
My father loved culture, reading and classical music. The quality of his French was impeccable and his voice, which echoed around the house, reminded me of Bernard Derome.
You want your mother to write her cookbook.
My mother is a warm woman from Gaspésie. So imagine how much kids would love to have his recipe book. However, we have a problem, she doesn’t have a recipe book, she relies on her memory.
Your mother was a home teacher.
Before the children came, she taught in kindergarten. However, she loved children so much that she opened a daycare center at home.
You liked this idea.
No doubt because my friends came to my house, which allowed us to play ball hockey on the street or soccer and baseball in the park in front of our house.
You gave up baseball to skateboard.
Sometimes an injury changes your career. That said, I was the team’s pitcher, but after getting hit in the nose by a rocket ball, I decided to focus on skateboarding.
Hockey was your favorite sport.
In Sept-Îles we had the Guy Carbonneau and Steve Duchesne arenas. I loved playing hockey, but I never went to a Canadiens or Nordiques game when I was young. I wanted to watch the junior games.
At school, your father dated a famous Quebec singer.
The music of his friend Gilles Vigneault made me fall in love with Quebec songs.
You played heavy metal music.
What a contrast to my dad’s classical music especially the Beatles music which I played on guitar, Madonna, Michael Jackson and heavy metal.
Besides music you only had one job.
In my youth I worked as a museum guide and quickly realized that it was music that I loved.
You studied music concentration.
I was spoiled in high school because focusing on music allowed me to explore my passion for music even more. However, I neglected my math class, so I had to work harder to improve my grades and go to college.
You have visited Cégep Saint-Laurent.
I wanted to pursue a career in music and Cégep Saint-Laurent offered a very good music course.
Was it difficult for you to leave your home and settle in Montreal?
No not at all. It gave me the opportunity to learn about different cultures.
Her first car was a Volkswagen with a manual gearbox.
Although less common in North America than they used to be, manual vehicles in Europe allow me to drive a car as they often have a manual transmission.
An artist and an athlete in the family
My daughter Camille loves music and wants to continue her music studies at Cégep de Saint-Laurent. In the summer she takes part in the Camp chanson de Petite-Vallée. While my son Édouard is an athlete at heart. He loves music, but not enough to make a career out of it. It’s the sport that excites him. He enjoys playing hockey and attends the Joël Bouchard Hockey School in the summer.
You are lucky to have your children.
Incredible luck. I’m so proud of them for always rising to life’s challenges. I have the opportunity to talk to my children about my two passions: music with my daughter and sports with my boyfriend. However, I have to admit on more than one occasion that maybe my daughter keeps my schedule because I tend to forget. Actually, I simply love my children Camille and Édouard.
