Kambrones
This article originally appeared in NFH #20 in
the winter of 1991.
Keeping the Kambrones
standing up on a stage seems to be a difficult problem. In one show they played their
drummer fell right through the stage in the middle of one of their more energetic songs.
In another, they played outside in the rain and their singer took a shock from the PA that
knocked him unconscious and laid him out on his back for nearly half an hour, although the
band managed to finish the gig.
I can imagine where
the Kambrones would be quite a shock to anybody who hears them play...their music is a
very catchy and melodic brand of punk rock sung in French and dealing with topics ranging
from unemployment to girls to drugs to science fiction. Of course, most readers of NFH
will have to be satisfied with the message in the music, since understanding the stuff is
impossible, but there should be no language barrier in getting the most important drift of
the music...it's energetic, loud, guitar driven and a total blast.
The band name comes
from a French officer in the army under Napolean who during the epic battle with the
British at Waterloo shouted out "Merde!" (Shit!) at his enemy and promptly
received a bullet for his efforts. The Kambrones say that this word has subsequently
become a French expression signifying "good luck", although it is not clear to
me from the way they phrased this whether the word bearing this meaning is
"Kambrones" or "Merde", so I suggest you consult your Berlitz before
attempting to use this term of endearment with the locals when on holiday. Tourist peril
aside, the Kambrones now pepper their promo stickers and badges with a cheery
"Merde!" in addition to their name. This historical oddity and the fact that
having a name ending in "ones" placed them in the company of the Ramones,
Rolling Stones and Undertones were felt to be insurmountable arguments in favor of the
name. Who's to argue?
They formed while in
school, where by their own admission they were better known for being in trouble than for
academic progress. They started in 1982 playing covers of the Ramones, Stooges, Clash, New
York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Stones and Chuck Berry, whose influence is readily apparent in a
lot of the guitar playing. Gigs commenced shortly thereafter in schools and at local
YMCAs...which seem like rather conservative venues for a band that kicks as hard as the
Kambrones do. Perhaps it took them a while to reach their current state, though, as the
tape of their first self released lp isn't quite the powerhouse of their subsequent album
released by Spliff...it's nice enough three chord punk with a seventies sound, but it
doesn't have the swing and fluidity that the Spliff lp has.
The Spliff lp was
made on a shoestring budget, but it has a great sound never the less. The guitar is much
fatter and is doubled up in a lot of places with lead and rhythm parts, where the first lp
has only rhythm playing. There's also some good backing vocal harmonies that make the
choruses stand out. The songwriting is really great; memorable and catchy tunes bristling
with energy that manage to sound fairly different from a lot of contemporary bands with
similar leanings...like many of their countrymen, the Kambrones seem to somehow translate
a slightly different national musical heritage into a different interpretation of rock and
roll. It sounds the same but different in a subtle way.
A lot of that
uniqueness comes from singing in French. According to the band it's a lot harder to write
songs in French, but it makes the band more successful with French audiences to do so, and
for the band it makes more sense because they think it's stupid to sing in a language that
they can't even speak fluently.
Like many underground
bands in Europe, the Kambrones have a hard time getting exposure, gigs and crowds. They
don't have a business approach to the music, preferring to keep it fun. But that means no
manager, so they organize all their gigs, for which they draw an average of 100 to 200
people. The French music press beyond the fanzine world totally ignores them. Things have
been improving over the last few years, though, as gig organizers have come to realize
that they had to be more professional in their presentation of gigs (using lights and good
sound equipment) and the result is that interest in underground bands is increasing.
Despite constant
organizational hassles the Kambrones have had some memorable shows including one in
Toulouse where they played on a canal boat. There were apparently way too many people
attending the gig to fit on the boat, so many stayed on shore. But as the show progressed,
many of these decided they had to have a closer look so they dove into the water and swam
to the boat, which they boarded in a scene that reminded the Kambrones of some old Pirate
movie.
For the future, the
Kambrones want to record another lp, but their label Spliff has only limited resources and
thus they don't expect to get a chance to do another record for a year or two at best.
They've considered making this be a live album but it's so far off now that they can't be
sure what will happen when the time comes. In the mean time they continue to play live
shows and will be heading out to Belgium, Switzerland and Spain in addition to playing
locally. US fans will have to settle for buying their great Spliff lp entitled Kambrones...write
to Spliff at 15 rue de la Treille, 6300 Clermont-Fd, France.
