PARIS – Outside a closed café in the alleys of Montmarte stands Jacques ‘Johnny’ Gaffe, lead singer of French punk legends Les Gaffes. At six-and-a-half feet, Johnny casts a foreboding shadow on the cobblestone street in a turtleneck and a pair of oversized dime-store sunglasses. In between sips of Turkish coffee, he tells me about the band’s latest project: an attempt to recreate Dirty Projector’s Rise Above (TMT Review) from memory in Les Gaffes’s own unique style.
“Yes, ziz is our favorite song to do. Zo we decided to make a... how you say... cover song,” he says with palpable indifference. “I have zeen the album cover in a garbage can while I was pizzing in ze street one day, and zat is all ze research I have done. The rest iz from memory.”
“Ve are wrestling ze essential French... ehh... punkrockness from zis American album.”
The origin of Les Gaffes is, as much of French history and culture, shrouded in mystery. But with the upcoming release, there seems to be big things in the future for Les Gaffes.
“I don’t know if we vill ever go to America. Ze wine and cheese is shit I hear. Ziz is important for ze punk rock.”
TMT Exclusive: Les Gaffes - "Histoire de Police" (a reimagining of The Dirty Projectors' "Police Story")
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