Troy sings, "Follow me, baby," and the boys and girls all go, "Doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo doo..."

Troy Charles Chenier (2nd from right) and co. perform at Peppers Pub, July 23, 2011 as part of FOUR,
counting down our fair 5 Seconds of Decision. Audio recorded by Corey Bonnevie. Photo by Nick Cameron.

AUDIO: Troy Charles Chenier - Stoppin' In

So poor ol' Vincent Gallo is retiring his rather precious films from the public eye, if we are to believe the enigmatic auteur's recent declaration to this effect.

[Note: In light of rioting in the UK, this all seems painfully trite this morning, but celebrity certainly affords people the comfort to do aesthetically audacious yet relatively meaningless things with great safety. Rioting is a much more seismic and complex act already familiar to these pages, and is something we'll likely be discussing later this week...]

No doubt eliciting a range of responses amongst the filmic masses, from rolled eyes to gnashed teeth, the infamous director continues to baffle and entertain, even if arguably indulging in little more than a bout of temporary bathos. The greatest thing about this announcement however is his eagerness to not participate.

Now waitasecond, I thought all this 5 Seconds Familyhood business was all about participation? Well, yes, it is, but more importantly we are all about agency and the will to act. Announcements such as this, however you might interpret it within your own thinking, are if nothing else refreshing when placed alongside the conga line of shills and cuckolds of commercial oligarchy, especially within the hyper-magnified mis en scene of celebrity.

The devil director made me do it.

Too often, celebrity agency and authenticity are rare things to behold, apparently even requiring quasi-legal action to facilitate, as was the case recently when Julia Roberts' airbrushed maw was thankfully banned by watchdogs in the UK due to the inherent deceit of mass advertising, not to mention her own hubris. Personally, I jockey between stifling a laugh and holding back my lunch when I hear tell of celebs bemoaning their scrutinized lot on one hand, while enthusiastically pouting and posing for the camera on the other. The only thing that makes it all the more embarrassing is when such celeb fiction befalls the pups shamelessly nipping at the likes of Robert's heels (here's looking at you Courtney Taylor-Taylor*).

Sometimes it feels as if celebs are actually intentionally illustrating Marxist estrangement, but that would only make them somehow interesting. Hell, it even happens to folks right here at home, if you can imagine. It's like some kitchen sink Sisyphus, but instead of mythos it's just your trendy neighbour. How fucking sad is that, huh?

So it is with great pleasure that we share the above Soundcloud posting with you, the 5 Seconds Family Massives, the first recorded nectar of such agency, the morning dew precipitating a wellspring of audio liquid rushing soon to fill a pair of ears near and dear to you (yours, of course!), in this case celebrating one of my own local heroes (and I say that with the straightest of faces), Mr. Troy Charles Chenier.

From the glitchwerk desk of jeTprojecTlabs.

For as long as I can recall seriously playing music, Troy has proven himself nothing short of innovative, ingenious even. My first exposure to Troy being his anti-pop trio Jet, I soon learned that music was a subjective experience when filtered through the mind of Troy. Over the years, I watched Troy evolve through numerous personas and projects: the glitchwerk door-slamming-sampling of jeTprojecTlabs, the electro-shapelessness of The Weird Guy, the quiet campfire serenity of T. LeChe, the avant-stoner enormity of Stabby Dancers and, most recently, the improvisational narratives of The Way Down.

Even the posted track, Stoppin' In, a longtime dreamy refuge in Troy's repertoire, flared up at his sudden behest as this snappin' little toe-tapper.

Troy has always represented a bastion of agency and musical bravery in Saint John, ever pursuing some unknown muse, often to the utter confusion of those watching agape, but knowing it or not at the time, absolutely always to their benefit. I was terribly lucky to have the opportunity to perform with him at this show (playing a typewriter no less!), and from inception there was a clear need to feature him in this series. Please enjoy this track, also featuring local talents of Luc Gagnon, Anthony Debly and Matt Benoit, recorded live at Peppers Pub July 23 at FOUR, the most recent 5 Seconds of Decision event.

Look for more audio in the coming days and weeks with compliments to Mr. Corey Bonnevie, as we upload music from Construction & Destruction and Adam Mowery leading up to our next ever descending display of dynamic electric spectacle, at THREE this Friday, August 19, featuring Moncton's Cop Shades, locals The Wayouts and the return of yer erstwhile hosts, Wooden Wives.

*I will, without fail, eternally respect those who ritually sabotage themselves whilst maintaining some tragic sense of integrity, over those who overextend and out their corporate selves reaching for the low hanging fruit of success. For all its faults, the film DIG!, featuring the unfolding rivalry between Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, is a grand if flawed exploration of such dichotomy.