Pleased To Meet Me: Manon Fatter / BluChikn
Introduce yourself... (Where are you from, what band do you play in etc..)
MF: My name is Manon Fatter, sometimes Manon Blue (on FB) or Onebluchick (on IG). Yes we are living in confusing times! I started making music in Montreal, my hometown, with my sister and friends, way back in 1977. The two bands that I played drums with were Blue Oil (until 1990) and Ginger Snaps (1990-1992).I went on a music hiatus for about 25 years and then decided to have fun with it again in 2020. I started experimenting with the incredible recording tools that are now accessible to everyone that wants to create music at home.
Blue Oil Photo (Manon, left): Michel Belisle
Why do you play music?
MF: The magic word is FUN!
What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band?
MF: Coming out of adolescence at the beginning of the eighties, bands that were emerging from the UK and the States were my influences. The Pretenders, Blondie, The Clash, The Ramones, The B-52’s, Xray Spex, The Sex Pistols, and also The Selecters, The Specials etc. So I guess what really made an impact on me at that time was the renewal of rock through punk, ska and new wave. Had to stay away from Disco!
What’s a favourite book or film?
MF:I only listen to audiobooks right now. I highly recommend the biography by The Lunachicks that came out a couple of years ago. In the audio book version, each member of the group reads her own recollection of the events that make the story. Uncanny, bold and totally hilarious sometimes.
As for film, The Punk Singer, is one of my favs. It follows Kathleen Hanna from her Bikini Kill days, to the creation of Le Tigre and the band The Julie Ruin. Epic! The L7 documentary “Pretend We’re Dead” is also in my top five. Still waiting to see “Pretty Ugly”, the documentary on The Lunachicks which is still not available in Canada. Argh!
Do you prefer the recording process or performing live?
MF: With Blue Oil, we toured a lot between 1980 and 1985. Then we played gigs here and there until 1992. It was fun but also very demanding. As of today, I am most comfortable when I am wearing a pair of headphones… creating stuff, while learning the recording process is what I like.
What would be a dream collaboration?
MF: I just had a great collaboration with the members of my favourite Montréal band, The Taxi Girls!They did the backing vocals on my latest track “Something Better”. That was a highlight! Marie-Martine Bédard, my old pal from the early Blue Oil days, directed the video.
Marie-Martine Bédard
…with Taxi Girls.
Joe Gagné & Manon Fatter (Photo credit: Lynn Poulin)
Aline Batmanian, the very first Blue Oil lead singer, did the cover art. Also, I was very fortunate to have Joe Gagné from The Breastfeeders engineer the drum and the backing vocal tracks. Iain Booth (founder of Studio Hot Biscuit, educator at Musitechnic, guitarist in the 80’s band (Nasty Habits), worked on the mastering in January 2025. Sadly, Iain left this earth in February and I have a special thought for him every time I hear the song.It goes without saying that this song turned out to be a very precious collaboration on many fronts.
Describe a favourite album.
MF: The latest by Gina Volpe, “Delete the world” is one of my favourites of 2024. Gina is well known for playing guitar in The Lunachicks and her new solo album is just the right amount of crunchy guitars, great melodies, electro beats, with inspired songwriting and a top notch production by Barb Morrisson. I also have to mention the first solo album by Kim Deal «Nobody Loves You More» (TheBreeders, The Pixies, The Amps). So good to see that she can still surprise us with such unique melody lines and beats. It goes from lounge orchestra arrangements to lo fi beats, tender ballads, grungy Breeders style to surfy guitars on a bed of Mexican horns.
What's your favourite local haunt?
MF: During the last year I have been discovering many live music venues that I have never been to before. I love L’Esco, Turbo Haüs, La Sotterenea, Petit Campus, La Sala Rossa and Théâtre Fairmount. Still more to discover…
What's your strangest experience while performing live?
MF: This must have happened more than 40 years ago. For what I remember, Blue Oil was booked for weekend shows at a club south of Montréal, could have been in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. This was the local bikers hangout and I think it was called Satan’s Club. Red decor inside and mirror tabletops. The patrons were really looking forward to having us play for their weekend crowd. But our guitarist, Martine, had hurt her right arm some days before the show and had to wear some sort of a cast. Needless to say, she could barely play guitar. Cancelling the shows would have been a dangerous thing to do. Someone came up with a solution and a friend of ours, a guitarist extraordinaire, played all the shows, hidden from view, backing up Martine’s efforts to play it cool. These sets felt like the longest we ever played. Couldn’t wait for it to be over so we could leave town discreetly…
Any sage advice for young musicians?
Be curious. Be bold. Be patient. Have fun in practice. Learn one song a day. Make the music that you love. Godspeed!
Check out BLUCHIKN’s Bandcamp below!