“Montreal no longer has this reputation of being an affordable and artistic city,” says Chris Aitkens, founder of Sewer Spewer, who is known as the underground alternative music scene reference of Tiohtià:ke (“Montreal”). As the scene has just been through a particularly tense summer, due to the city’s changing nightlife policy, the connoisseur is speaking on their passion and devotion for the milieu that they believe is worth preserving.

Since 2015, Sewer Spewer has been showcasing emerging bands and alternative music through their platform. What started out as an alt radio show on CJLO 1690AM and then on punkrockradio.ca, is now, ten years later, an online guide to Montreal’s punk and metal scene. “It didn’t even start off as a Montreal scene radio show, I just wanted to play the music that I liked”, says Aitkens, known online as “Chris the Frog”. Every week, the content creator shares a list of alternative music shows taking place during the week, ranging from the most underground bands to the most renowned ones. Aitkens also creates weekly playlists on Bandcamp, as well as monthly YouTube videos where they share their favourite new releases from local bands.

In 2006, when 14-year-old Aitkens was still trying to break into the scene, their music teacher put up a poster for an all-ages Halloween show featuring three bands. “There was this one punk band that I wasn’t really interested in when I listened to their music on Myspace, but when I saw them live [at this show], they just put on this crazy performance.” Going to this show is what got the young metalhead hooked on the local scene. “There were two drummers in this band, who were on stage, and the rest of the band was on the floor, in everybody’s face. The singer was [acting] crazy, running around, screaming in people’s faces, grabbing people, spitting beer in the crowd. This was such a crazy experience. That band became my favourite band of all time. [It] was called Trigger Effect.” Twenty years later, Aitkens is known as the Montreal underground music scene know-it-all.

Today, it would be easy to take a look at the local alternative music scene and think that it is thriving, with shows taking place every day in venues such as Turbo Haüs, L’Escogriffe, Casa del Popolo, Piranha Bar, and Brasserie Beaubien, to name only a few. And now, even though these shows are still largely promoted by word-of-mouth, resources like Sewer Spewer as well as websites like “Montreal Ask A Punk” (montreal.askapunk.net) help them reach a broader audience.

However, with the cost of living increasing and rents becoming more expensive, it has become nearly impossible for local artists making weirder, less mainstream music to earn a decent living, with that being their main or unique source of income. “I don’t think I know a single person who is able to make a living off of their art, except maybe if they are working for a record label”, declares Aitkens. This hasn't always been the case. “Montreal was known as a place that was inviting to artists, for some time, because we had such cheap rent compared to places like Toronto, Vancouver or other cities in the US,” they say. “There was a possibility to be just an artist in Montreal, but unfortunately, that’s becoming less and less of a reality, as Montreal is becoming more expensive.”

Since the pandemic, small and medium venues have started to close due to the unaffordability of rent. Furthermore, with the new noise control bylaws targeting Ville-Marie and the Plateau-Mont-Royal proposed by the city in July, fines as high as $20 000 could be charged for receiving a noise complaint. Currently, fines are around $1500 (with a maximum amount of $12 000), and businesses are already struggling. “Even bigger venues like La Tulipe had to close because one person was making noise complaints”, criticizes Aitkens. With these new constraints, first-time offence venue owners would have to pay $10 000. This amount represents a 566% increase, as shown by MTL 24/24, a non-profit organization that advocates for better nightlife policies. According to Aitkens, this could lead to many culturally important venues closing, making the city “boring like Toronto”.

The noise legislation bylaw has been under revision since July, thanks to more than 13 000 concerned citizens who took the time to fill out an online public consultation form, an action lobbied by MTL 24/24. As the organization states on its website, “Montreal calls itself a cultural city. Let’s prove it.”

Besides, punks’ creativity and determination to keep their scene alive drive them to find alternative ways to play live music. During the summer, many bands organize outdoor PWYC (Pay What You Can) shows. Since younger artists do not always have the resources to get permits for these shows, they will often write the infamous phrase “Ask a punk” on their posters instead of a precise location. Aitkens notes that bands can also get booked at DIY (Do It Yourself) performance spaces that the community has built over the years. “We need these smaller DIY spaces because they are really a place where bands can cut their teeth, and do their art in a safe space, […] not hav[ing] to worry about selling tickets or getting a huge band, because for a lot of these venues, people will show up no matter what. I’m thinking of places like Trash Can, where if you do a show there, it’s almost guaranteed that at least a hundred people will show up.”

New artists need a place to perform, gain experience, and meet older, skillful bands that can help them improve or get booked. In fact, when Aitkens was younger, a band proposed to help them: “They didn’t get any money out of us; in fact, they probably got more headaches, but they were willing to give us a space for us to work and build our art.” Now, as Aitkens has been an active member of the scene for twenty years and is a screamer for the bands Pyrocene Death Cult and Guster, they find that it is their turn to “pay it forward” and help make these smaller bands known.

For the Sewer Spewer admin, third spaces, community-oriented social environments that are neither home nor school, are necessary for young folks. Diversity doesn't always go hand in hand with inclusivity; therefore, being a part of a community can be life-changing for someone who is used to being excluded. In fact, that is how Aitkens discovered their queerness and was able to come out as trans: “Being on stage allowed me to explore myself, and wear what I want without feeling like I was being judged”. Even though they can look scary, punks and “freaks” are also known for defending marginalized people and causes, by encouraging self-expression and organizing benefit shows, for example.

With the help of other members of the scene, Aitkens is organizing an anti-fascist black metal festival on November 28th at the Purple Room called Blood Moon Ritual. This event is a protest against a controversial popular black metal festival, as the organizers of this new event were “tired of being in the same room as a bunch of nazis”. In the midst of all this agitation, the locally renowned Sewer Spewer keeps their hopes high for the future of the scene: “I've seen venues open and venues close, I've seen bands form and bands break up, but I think my enthusiasm for the local scene has been the same for twenty years.”

To stay up to date with the city’s alternative nightlife, you can follow the Sewer Spewer’s page on Instagram (@sewerspewer), as well as on Facebook, TikTok, and Bandcamp. You can also follow @bloodmoonritualsmtl on Instagram for more information on their event. Finally, you can listen to Aitkens’ bands’ music on all platforms and, even better, go see them live!