I practiced and practiced and finally realized what it was all for.
I was ready to do it I had taken piano lessons all my life. I’ve always said, for me, Men Without Hats was progressive rock keyboards with a beat from disco. Then towards the end of the ‘70s disco came. I was a teenager in the early ‘70s and grew up with bands like Genesis, Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Yes. KL: How did you guys go from punk rock to synth-based music? Did you look to other styles like progressive rock as a bridge for you? We were doing Cramps and Contortions covers. The first incarnation of the Hats was all guitars with no synths it was a bona fide punk band. It was late ‘70s and everyone was starting a punk band and that’s what we did. VHS machines were just starting to come out. I came back and enrolled in the brand new film program it was the first year it was starting at McGill. I was studying law at the University of Nice in France and decided that wasn’t what I wanted to do. ID: McGill was cool it was basically where I met all the musicians who I formed Men Without Hats with. KL: What was it like studying at McGill back in the day? The director of the program had worked with guys like Brian Eno and had a good c.v. The music faculty was giving electronic music courses with a lot of really cool teachers. She was actually the one who encouraged me to go into the film and communications program there. But after I left, she started becoming my vocal coach. She wasn’t my teacher while I was there, though. My mother taught there for twenty-five years. KL: What was it like having your mother as a teacher at McGill University? We’re all Victori-ites, or whatever you call us. My brother Colin moved out here first, then my parents, then me.
I got tired of being forced to wear a hat in Montreal. ID (Ivan Doroschuk): (Laughs) The weather was one of the main reasons I moved out here. Living on Vancouver Island now, do you find when you come back to Montreal you like to wear a hat? KL (Kyle Lapointe): Your band’s name is a reference to how you used to be fearless braving Montreal winters when you used to live here. I got hold on frontman Ivan Doroschuk to discuss just how he can create such sticky songs, as well as the band’s past and future. They are the kind of band that undeniably has that ability to get their songs hopelessly stuck in your head, no matter who you are or where you’re from. With their singles “The Safety Dance” and “Pop Goes The World,” they achieved international success, even topping the Billboard Dance Chart. It’s difficult to talk about great Montreal ’80s bands without bringing Men Without Hats into the picture.