The Box Band Tour Bus

Montreal, QC - EvilGentleman - Friday, August 11th, 2006 : goo

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When I saw some very tall white clouds yesterday, I was naturally drawn down towards the river, where the best views could be found. I wound up along the river in Lachine, at the park by 34th Avenue.

Once there, I saw this bus (actually an RV) belonging to Jean-Marc Pisapia, the lead singer for The Box, a Montreal band best known for prog-rock hits such as Closer Together and Ordinary People, among many others. Jean-Marc was also a keyboardist for Men Without Hats before forming The Box. Sass Jordan was a backup singer for The Box, as well.

I wandered off down the pier to take pictures of the lighthouse, then came back to the parking lot, where my curiosity finally got the best of me, so I called through the open door of the tour bus and asked if I was interrupting, but I was curious if this was the same band I had heard of in the 80's.

Jean-Marc answered me, and I started chatting with he and his wife for a while, maybe 20 or 30 minutes. It turns out that he had re-formed the band recently and they have just released their first new album in 15 years.

As far as celebrities go, I must say Jean-Marc is one of the friendliest and most easygoing I have ever met, not to mention intelligent. He was so welcoming and warm, that I felt perfectly at ease just chatting casually in the parking lot with him about his music, and a bunch of other subjects. So many people become aloof when they achieve stardom. Not Jean-Marc. He's one of us, with a fun job that takes him to many interesting places.

He was mentioning that his main source of income these days is making music for radio and TV commercials, but it quickly becomes obvious that he is happiest when playing with The Box. He let me know that he is going to be performing a free public oudoor concert in L'assomption tomorrow (August 12), and that I should go see it. I definitely will.

He also asked me to make sure I posted the link to his website, www.theboxband.com. Also check out The Box (band) on Wikipedia.

Jean-Marc, thank you. Best of luck for the future.

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