Although brothers Jonathan and Éloi Painchaud are now thriving with the group Salebarbes, they experienced a lull at the beginning of their career while their group Okoumé became increasingly popular.
The brothers, who had barely left their hometown of Madelinot to make a living from their music, did not immediately reap the fruits of their labor. “We lived on nothing and stole half of it from grocery stores,” said Éloi Painchaud on Sunday evening in the first episode of the new season of La vérité nature.
Éloi Painchaud and Kevin McIntyre during their appearance on the program “La vérité nature”. Photo provided by TVA
“I remember there were five of us at a place where you could get three hot dogs for $1 and we were listening to our song Tell Me Not That on constant rotation. “It’s in the top 10…” the singer said before his brother continued.
“I borrowed $5 from my roommate and bought $5 worth of hot dogs for the gang. We're there eating our hot dogs, and there it is; We're like, 'Okay, this is what it feels like to be a rock star,'” Jonathan said while making lobster rolls.
Subsequently, the group quickly gained momentum in Quebec, selling more than 150,000 copies of their first work and also being invited on all televisions of the time, especially La fureur.
“Okoumé's first album is an extremely naive album. They are children's songs. We listen to it and sound like children, we speak like children, we write like children,” described Jonathan Painchaud, surrounded by his colleagues from Salebarbes, in Jean-Philippe Dion's chalet.
“I was made into something that was.”
After the breakup with Okoumé – which occurred after the release of the second work – Jonathan Painchaud, who was trying to break out as a solo artist, was told by a music program director at a major radio station that his music was a thing of the past and would never be played on the airwaves again.
Jonathan and Éloi Painchaud, Kevin McIntyre, George Belliveau, Jean-François Breau and Jean-Philippe Dion at the first meeting of the new season of “La vérité nature”, where the Salebarbes group gathered in the host's chalet. Photo provided by TVA
“I said to myself, 'My career is over… I'm going to go to the gym to get over this…'” the songwriter said. It was this period of his life that gave him the drive to write the song “Pousse, pushe” and that enabled him to participate in radio stations again.
“I was particularly happy not to have to look for another way because I don't know how to do anything else,” he then replied to Jean-Philippe Dion.
Find yourself thanks to Salebarbes
Before forming Salebarbes, the group's five members – George Belliveau, Jean-François Breau, Kevin McIntyre, Éloi Painchaud, Jonathan Painchaud – all had a moment in their respective solo careers in which they disguised their personalities in order to taste success.
Today, Salebarbes, named Group of the Year 2022 at ADISQ, allows them to present themselves without artificiality and reconnect with their roots and their dialects.
“I've never seen Jo so happy. “Dirtybears, it does something to Jo that borders on euphoria,” Éloi said of his brother.
True Nature is presented Sunday evening after La Voix and can be watched on TVA+.