Régal (garage/Bruxelles) au Ravelin, Toulouse, 03.2016

13 Mai 2016

Regal is a four piece post-garage-punk-psych-country band formed originally in Lyon, France. Their music holds a good deal of melodies combined from country and post-punk influences, giving a richer touch to the whole "garage etiquette". These various influences add a very strange specter of feelings to the music they play in which can be heard songs about hate, love, freedom, perdition…
Regal is probably the only french garage band whose members met on World of Warcraft. Very quickly confronted to their own limits of skill on banjo, Xavier (drummer from “The Last Rapes” and “Le Pécheur”) and Caelan (Toulousain and New Zealander) put their folk aspirations aside and called upon Maxime to play bass guitar. The trio asked Antoine Marchalot, the “living good of comical comic strips” still unknown at the time. His sense of humor,equal to his sense of rhythm -personal and unexpected- doesn’t stop the band from organizing several tours in Europe and release two albums, “Possible Endings” in 2012 (Frantic City/Azbin) and “Misery, Redemption & Love” (Azbin) in 2013 (Azbin Records being the label that Xavier erected in 2011).
It is during the end of the year’s festivities that Maxime retires from Regal and from his bass amp to pursue other passions: the observation of the cosmos. The band then turns to Fadi, a Syro-Lillois metallurgist often present in “La Barrière”, thick and aging building in the ghost town of Chercq (Belgium) where Xavier and Caelan live.After a tour of 30 gigs in 31 days in May, Caelan and Xavier go back to the studio to record the band’s 3rd album, out on Born Bad records in March 2015.

Régal est probablement le seul groupe de garage français dont les membres se sont rencontrés sur World of Warcraft !

Très vite confrontés à leurs propres limites en matière de banjo, Xavier (batteur des Last Rapes et du Pécheur) et Caelan (Toulousain et Néo-zélandais) remisent un temps leurs aspirations folkloristes et font appel à Maxime à la basse. Le trio recrute Antoine Marchalot, le « dieu de la bande dessinée drôle » encore inconnu à l’époque. Son sens du rythme, à l’image de son sens de l’humour — personnel et inattendu — n’empêche pas le groupe de réaliser plusieurs tournées en Europe, et de sortir deux albums, “Possible Endings” en 2012 ( Frantic City/Azbin) et “Misery, Redemption & Love” (Azbin) en 2013, Azbin Records étant le label créé par Xavier en 2012.

C’est pendant les fêtes de la fin de l’année 2013 que Maxime se sépare de Régal et de son ampli basse pour s’adonner à une autre de ses passions : l’observation du cosmos.

Le groupe se tourne alors vers Fadi, un métallurgiste Syro-Lillois qui fréquente « La Barrière », l’épaisse bâtisse vieillissante de la ville fantôme de Chercq (Belgique) où vivent Xavier et Caelan. Après une tournée européenne mi-figue, mi-raisin de près de 30 dates en 31 jours, Caelan et Xavier retournent en studio pour enregistrer le troisième album du groupe “Two Cycles & A Little More’ qui sortira fin mars sur Born Bad Records .

Membres du groupe :xav / caelan / antoine / fadi / tom / jayjay / arthur

Maison de disques : Born Bad / Frantic City / Azbin... E-mail : regaloflager@hotmail.fr

Site web : http://azbinrecords.fr/v02-regal.html

Tag(s) : #live, #concert, #2016, #belge, #garage, #rock