Pollen

Websites:  No
Origin: Montréal, Québec, 🇨🇦
Biography:

In 1972, Tom Rivest and Richard Lemoyne decided to form a progressive rock group. They were joined the following year by Serge Courchesne who suggest that they recruit two keyboardists, Claude "Mego" Lemay and Serge Locat. It was too late for Locat though as he already had committed to join Harmonium. The group thus pursued its destiny with four musicians. The name of the band came by chance when, in the kitchen of the house where they lived together, spotted a jar of flower pollen. It didn't take anything more for them to adopt the name and imagine a more creative concept.
In 1973, Pollen gave its first performance at Cégep Maisonneuve. Thank to Alain Simard, their agent at the time, and with the help of talented visual designers like Jacques Lamarche and Jean Saro, the group's concerts featured sophisticated light shows, and visual elements and scenic effects of rare beauty. In 1974, the group's manager, Jean Bertrand, announced that they would tour Québec with Gentle Giant. However, a few weeks prior to the tour, Courchesne quit the band due to the pressure. It was too late to break in a new drummer, but the band decided to complete the tour anyway. They divided the drum set among themselves, playing percussion and their regular instruments simultaneously. In 1975, drummer Sylvian Coutu joined the group, and Pollen continued performing to sold out shows at venues like Cinéma Outremont, L'Évêché and Café Campus.

In the spring of 1976, Pollen finally released their self-titled album. By then, Rivest, Lemoyne and Lemay had become proficient multi-instrumentalists, playing pieces with complex arrangements, and with keyboard and guitar duels to leave one breathless. The album was launched during a show at the Grand Théâtre de Québec where Pollen shared the headline act with Caravan.

Unfortunately, the group split-up towards the end of 1976 as the music industry was rapidly changing. In 1979, Rivest released his first solo album, featuring Pollen's original line up. He continued his career becoming Jo Bocan's musical director, winner of a Felix award for best performance of the year. Rivest also penned many songs, such as "Les femmes voilées", which became a hit, and composed soundtracks for theater, film and television. Coutu joined jazz-group Uzeb, while Lemoyne was musical director for Richard Séguin and other well-known artists. Lemay became Celine Dion's keyboardist and later her musical director.