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September 3, 2014,

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I'm going to do the pre-audition at the TV show The Voice.

As a sign of respect and integrity for my fans,

I'm going to make this little video.

To tell you that if...

I advance and it brings me to the TV show for the real auditions and the whole thing,

and if 0, 1, 1, 2, 3 or 4 judges, coaches, whatever, turn their chair around,

well I will stand up like a man like I always did,

like you guys have done since the beginning,

and I will not continue the adventure as a contestant.

If they want me to be a coach and it's very lucrative

and I can buy a helicopter, a boat,

a rowboat, whatever...

Well, I'll say the truth, then I'd do it.

But as a contestant, I WILL NOT do it.

One, it's not me. It's not you either...

And I also don't sing well.

And I even think that there's no booze on the show.

I don't want to see anyone judging me because if I do the pre-audition,

I may sing one of my tunes in front of 2 million people

and that would be good for me.

Thank you for being here everyone. I love you.

"LES PRODUCTIONS SCENE FINALE" PRESENT

IN COLLABORATION WITH "LES ENTREPRISES BOB BISSONNETTE"

HIS FAMILY

HIS CHUMS

HIS TEAMMATES

Bob Bissonnette is a superhero

HIS BAND

Rougher than Chuck Norris, rougher than Rambo

Worshipped by millions of fans

AND HIS MILLIONS OF FANS

Even hotter than Spiderman

A FILM BY BRUNO LACHANCE

(news reports - September 4, 2016)

A helicopter accident killed two people and injured one

near Campbellton, New Brunswick...

...The aircraft would have hit the electrical wires...

...ultimately ended up in the Restigouche River...

...through the help of good Samaritans. Michel Laplante was more fortunate...

...It creates a huge commotion in Quebec City, elsewhere too...

The former hockey player Bob Bissonnette...

Bob Bissonnette, singer and former hockey player...

Roberto Bob Bissonnette was a colorful, endearing character...

...A media and sports fan's darling, a media and sports fan,

an ex-hockey player who became a singer...

...Bob Bissonnette was a well known and beloved character...

...I think we can even talk about a phenomenon in Bob Bissonnette's case...

...an unbeatable unifying man...

...this guy is some kind of happiness dealer

like there are very few of them in a community...

...Bob Bissonnette, is a Rockstar.

Roberto was born in Venezuela

because, as part of my work at the Quebec Minister of Internat

the government sent me to Venezuela for a period of 3 years

as a cooperation counsellor at the Quebec delegation in Caracas.

As part of our plans as a couple we wanted to have a third child,

after a difficult pregnancy,

Roberto, a beautiful 8.5 pound baby

was born on April 27, 1981.

My parents made me during a trip to Venezuela.

Instead of buying me a postcard,

they called me Roberto so it lasted a lifetime.

And then in 82, we came back and we settled here...

It all started here for him, a year after he was born.

In the fall, Gregoire used to go to Ste-Foy to register the children.

You have all the fall activities...

Gregoire was leaving to go there and at 3 and a half years old,

Roberto had said: "Dad! Sign me up for fighting!"

Then we said, "Well, maybe we'll wait a little bit for that...

You're still small..."

We were looking at each other, "fighting lessons...!"

Some time passed...

Well, the next year, he said, "Dad, I want you to sign me up for the violin!"

"I look at Gregoire and said: "enroll him in the violin class."

At home, we used to work on a session basis.

When you signed up for something, you had to finish the session.

You had no right to stop along the way, we didn't want quitters...

Well, he played for nine years!

Roberto's exam practice, April 1993

(recording of Roberto's grandmother)

My grandmother played the piano in a magnifi-cent way.

She played during silent films.

We were always doing some kind of performance.

At Christmas, I remember, when my brother played the violin,

I played the guitar and my sister played the piano and our cousins as well...

It often ended with my grandmother playing the piano.

Then everyone sang and played music to finish the evening.

There were beautiful and very pleasant moments.

Family values were important.

We also wanted the children to study,

play a team sport,

and learn a musical instrument.

Discipline was very important in the family.

My mother was a teacher. You had to work!

He was a very well behaved student.

He was a very focused student.

He didn't talk much, but on the playground, he was a good player, a team player,

He expressed himself more while playing. While in class, he was polite and quiet.

He was even a little bit shy.

When we were young, we used to come home from school at 3:00, or 3:30.

My brother would drop his bag in the kitchen, so did I,

and then we would take the goals out.

When Bob says we probably played 1000 hockey games on the street,

it's not a joke.

We would call and let the others know when we couldn't play!

There was a considerable age difference sometimes even of 7 years.

My brother may have been 7 and others could be 14 years old.

We played in the street... Every game was like the Stanley Cup...

Especially for him, he gave it all he had.

Some people knew him in the Junior Major league,

motormouthed and giving a hard time to the others.

But it all started when he was seven years old!

One of the characteristics of street hockey was the battles.

Fights were legal for us.

There was one rule, that you could never hit in the face.

So we used to catch the other and punch in the ribs.

And the first to say "Ayoye", was the one who would lose!

At 9:00 in the evening I looked outside

and could see the goals were still in the street.

He had been there for eight hours.

Cars would drive around the goals, and then go through...

Let's just say...

He lived for it. He lived for hockey.

At school, all his sentences were about hockey.

"Dale Hunter is my favorite player. "

If it was 10 sentences, it was 10 sentences about hockey.

When he had to talk about something in an oral presentation

he would talk about a hockey player, talk about a particular game,

talk about hockey.

It was all hockey!

But at some point, we were are asked "What are you going to do later?"

And my brother had read the whole New Testament.

He even said he wanted to become a priest.

I think that for him, to be a priest,

he liked the fact of being in front of an audience.

That was the concept.

In the end... he didn't become a priest... it didn't work out that way!

In terms of values, we are believers, so we went to church on Sundays.

And the children would come with us

they didn't ask themselves any questions, they had to follow.

Of course, when we were young we would sit in the front with my parents.

And at one point we decided to sit in the back...

Being disciplined, I stayed until the end.

My brother and Yanick, one of his buddies, would leave.

"We're going to move somewhere else."

I was thinking, "We have the best place, why would you do that?"

Well, I knew afterwards that they were going in the car...

I don't remember attending a full service!

For 3, 4 years, we were there every Sunday

and we were in his car and Bob would remake the world.

I felt like I was discouraging him, but Bob, Pee Wee CC, said:

"I'm going to play in the National Hockey League!"

"I'll start by training."

And he knew that one of my neighbors was a Mr. Canada.

He went to see him and knocked on his door

to find out what one should do to gain muscle mass...

I think Bob's greatest quality is that

he always found a way to achieve everything he wanted in his life.

I introduced Job and Bob.

Now I can brag about it because both of them are like brothers, it's incredible.

If Bob was a vindictive guy, we wouldn't be friends.

I wasn't people's favorite, I was a...

I was a little unfriendly...

And I could even say I intimidated Bob when we were in primary school.

Thanks to Yan Fiset, they were playing hockey in the street.

And then one day they realized that there was one person missing.

Yan was my friend, and Bob's friend when we started high school...

Well of course for Bob, the memories about Steve were not very cheerful.

I started playing street hockey with them, I'll always remember it,

I can even tell you in front of which house,

he gave me a solid body check and I went into a car.

And then I got up and looked at him and he said, "Okay, now we're even."

From that day on, from that moment, we started playing street hockey.

We would stay after the games and talk to each other in the snowbank,

we got on well together very quickly.

The meeting of Roberto and Steve is, I think,

one of the most beautiful encounters on Earth.

Roberto found his alter ego, the person who could bring him further.

My brother had ideas.

He also had brakes in life, I was the same...

But Steve would say: "Hey good idea! I have a better idea!"

"And no, no, no, I have a better one..."

They would boost one another.

We used to play hockey a lot in the street.

We were 16-17 years old when we started playing roller hockey at Jouvence school.

With two goals, there were no boards,

if we missed our passes, we had to go and get it in the sand,

if we missed our shot, we would go and get it in the woods.

To surrender in life was not in Bob's vocabulary,

he knew that he had to go to the City Council,

on a particular day, in a specific place,

and would make the requests.

We were very, very young...

He asked to have a rollerblade surface,

because of course, no one ever took care of us.

And the next year, what you have to understand

is that we had our rollerblade surface about 500 feet away from there.

And then we started our rollerblading league in Jouvence,

on the surface which is still there at the Jean-Gauvin exit.

And it's here today, it's because of Bob Bissonnette...

He had it built.

One thing that struck me a lot was the 1997 Quebec Games.

And there were a lot of scouts who were watching this, who were present...

In the minutes that followed Roberto Bissonnette equalized,

much to the delight of the many supporters of the Quebec City area.

His team added one goal in a empty net to win 4-2 over Centre du Québec.

And win the Gold Medal in Division A.

At the Midget AAA level, he could see that he was a little slower.

So at that level, he was one of the only players who fought once during the year.

Because there, he had set himself a mission:

"I'm going to join the Major Junior League."

When you pick up a player, you look at him and see what he can bring to the team.

We knew that Roberto is a player who played robust hockey.

When he arrived at the training camp,

you could see that he was a guy who was willing to defend his teammates,

to make his place in the Quebec Major Junior League.

I didn't like that he was a fighter, but... they hired him for that.

The first training camp, he had to fight, I don't want to exaggerate,

it had to be three times a day for three weeks...

There must have been 40 fights.

He was injured... the joints...

he wanted to be part of the team so bad, he wanted it so much...

I found it hard to see him fight and take hard knocks.

But he would give them back and then get up again.

That's what Claude Julien had seen in him...

A warrior like him, you can't miss out on that!

So there, he gained respect.

After that, he wanted to develop even more as a hockey player.

But his personality and everything, with the way he behaved,

made him a leader.

Later the Olympics retaliate,

Jiri Fischer shoots from the blue line,

Jonathan Pelletier blocked two shots

before giving up on the 3rd return, a goal scored by Roberto Bissonnette...

Bob, was not overskilled...

There was no difference between the game he played in October

or the game played during the playoffs in May.

That was just the way he played the game.

Bob, you're one of the most punished players

in the history of junior hockey.

Where does this violence come from?

Uh, I don't know.

It's a resentment against the fact that I didn't have good skating skills

and I had to vent it on others.

He's a fighter...

and when you play a team sport

you want to have people who go to war for their buddies, for their partners,

and it's his DNA.

During his first seasons he had 200, 300, 400 minutes of penalty.

He was ready to go to war with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Every team should have a guy like that.

He was fighting to defend a teammate. He fought when he thought it was time.

He was fighting for the team... He would have blocked shots with his face.

He did everything for the team.

He had a way to keep the players relaxed,

but when it was time to play a hockey game, he was very intense.

Claude Julien was coaching me for the Olympics for the first two years.

And before the series, he had known that I played guitar at home, in my host family

and he said to me: "Biss bring your guitar".

We were doing a team building in a cottage in the Outaouais area.

And then I pulled out my guitar. We were all together.

I played a couple of my compositions at the time, and that's when I started.

Wait a little. Are you telling me it was Claude Julien who led you to singing?

A little bit. A little bit...

He could have shown me how to play hockey, maybe it would have paid a little more...

But that was it!

If I remember correctly, the first season, he scored 5-6 goals.

The following year, he gained more confidence.

On his third season with the Olympiques, that's when he really started to emerge.

He was winger on the first trio with Bruno Lemire and Ales Hemsky.

Then he was Hemsky's protector who had scored like 100 points that season.

He was selected by Edmonton in the 1st round...

When Ales Hemsky joined the team,

Bob went to buy a French-Czech dictionary so they could communicate.

Hemsky used to call at our house,

and he would say: "Hi. Me Ales. Roberto."

It's the only thing they would say to each other...

They would go down to the basement and watch hockey games,

they would talk, they would talk about what?

They didn't understand each other!

We felt that Hemsky, thanks to this, was part of a team.

It's not easy, you leave your country, you come here, you don't have any friends

you think that when you go into a hockey locker room, you have 25 mates,

but they aren't your friends!

He's a real one, he's a guy who did things right.

Bob would give his goal to a player

just because the guy was going to sign a big contract,

and that was a significant number,

whereas for him it would have been something like it's seventh...

The two players looked at each other and Bob said, "Hey, that's your goal!"

That's why people look at his career with a lot of penalties,

but that wasn't Roberto.

He was a guy who was on a mission.

He wore the "C", because he had all the assets.

He's a guy the supporters loved.

He's a player his teammates loved,

and he earned these things, they weren't given to him.

He did everything he had to do to deserve this recognition.

He was so proud of being captain of the Hull Olympiques.

It's one of the things that he was most proud of in his entire life.

As a result, he became the spokesman for the Gatineau Olympiques.

And it was wonderful because the journalists loved Roberto.

Because he had an answer, it wasn't the same sport cliché

"We just didn't get the bounces" and so on...

He was able to elaborate on what had happened and all these things.

When he was traded,

remains for me one of the most memorable events in my career as a hockey player.

After a training session,

we went to East Side Mario's in Hull, it was our place.

We would bring our bottle of Jack and we would hide it!

And we had all you can drink Coke.

And then during the evening we would mix it with a bit of Jack!

We would drink our coke and then ask for another refill.

And Benoit Groulx was the coach when he was traded,

it was in the afternoon,

he called the pension, he was not there.

He called a second place, not there...

The third place where Benoît Groulx calls: the chef of the East Side Mario's!

Right away!

We were having a nice beer after a practice, the chef came out: "Bob..."

He goes a little backwards, he grabs the phone.

"Boys, this is not good, I think I have to go to the arena, Ben wants to meet me."

We knew it right away...

We called the entire team,

and in the evening we went to the Bistro, it's a spot where we used to go in Hull,

and it ended with the Bro Hymn song, one of Bob's favorite songs.

I remember we were on the dance floor and we all had him in our arms like that

and we lifted him up.

Then we went to a teammate's house

and we played With or Without You the piano, another of his favorite songs,

and we sang all the boys together.

And then he left. He was traded...

The next morning I sat on the bench with all my equipment and cried like a baby.

I was like that...

For a good 10-15 minutes...

I couldn't believe they traded Roberto.

Then we had a shit practice, everyone was drunk.

But the coach understood...

It's normal, we were losing the soul of the team.

When he was traded, at some point, every time I talked to him

I told him said: "Be courageous Roberto"

but when he was traded,

I talked to him on the phone and he was crying,

I said: "Be courageous Roberto..."

There he replied:

"Dad, do you think I didn't have the courage to fight as I fought for them?"

With Roberto it was a very rocky start.

It was a game in Bathurst.

Between the Hull Olympiques at the time and the Titan.

I played with the Titan and Roberto was with the Olympiques.

But with the Olympiques there was also Maxime Talbot.

And as I passed behind Maxime,

I kicked him in the back of the leg with my stick.

But at that time I didn't know Roberto, but the people who know Roberto,

know that you don't touch one of Roberto's teammates.

Bob was staring at me... And it was intimidating.

And I remember, I was skating towards my bench

and I could see everybody on my bench standing.

They started screaming and pointing behind me.

I had just enough time to turn around and see a black glove.

I fell on the ice and felt someone on top of me feeding me good punches,

and it was Roberto...

Two weeks later, he was being traded from Hull to Bathurst,

and was sitting next to me in the room.

That's the first thing, he sat down, looked at me and said, "Kid, I'm sorry!"

Roberto became the soul of the team the second he set foot in Bathurst.

In the famous question:

"If you have a moment that you regret the most, what is it?"

In two seconds, he said to me:

"The time I cross-checked the guy in game 3 in Victoriaville...

"If I didn't do that, I think we were winning the playoff.

I think we were making it through..."

He wasn't proud of that gesture.

Today, a gesture like that would have been worth a lot more than 5 games,

it would have been something like 25

but at that point all it did was to put an end to his junior career,

because it was the final, and Bob was 20 years old, so it was over for him.

When we lost him for the final, it was the hardest punch we could get.

You're taking the soul out of a team.

You can't quantify nor explain

that a person's presence has a value in chemistry,

in cohesion, in everything that will happen in a hockey locker room.

And these are values that are very difficult to teach.

You either have it or you don't and even the person who has it,

to try to understand why, it's almost impossible.

You say to a player like that: "Just be yourself."

If you listen to the song, (I hang up my skates),

you can feel that he hangs them up but hangs them up against his will.

You know for me, this song... it says it all.

"I hang my skates, but that's not what I wanted to do.

I would have liked to continue."

No public demonstration as for "Émile Butch Bouchard."

No welcoming committee at the airport

Absolutely nothing to mark my departure

I won't be inducted into the Hall of Fame

Alongside Mark Messier and all my favorite players

No silver stick, no lithography

Not even a sculpture of me

My last match, my last lap on ice

It's now the end, I hang my skates

The lights are off, I made my last feint

I won't play tomorrow or the day after tomorrow

I hang my skates

All the times I've played injured

My ankle, my knee, my shoulders are weary

My knuckles starts to be swollen

My bruised arms hand on the torch to you

I may not be Guy Lafleur, but I've done hat tricks

The end of my career is being overlooked

That's it, I'm stepping down

My last match, my last lap on ice

It's now the end, I hang my skates

The lights are off, I made my last feint

I won't play tomorrow or the day after tomorrow

I hang my skates

I Have you been through a mourning process? Have you had a grief to deal with?

My biggest heartbreak at the time, I had others after...

But the biggest heartbreak I had was Junior hockey.

That's crazy. It's your whole life...

It's been a very, very big loss,

in the sense of a big mourning, that's it...

4 seasons in the QMJHL 143 points 1260 penalty minutes

10th most punished player in the League's history

After being invited to the Ottawa Senators' camp in the NHL

Roberto Bissonnette played in several hockey leagues

Always with pride, courage, determination and intensity.

Why didn't you play in the NHL?

Too slow...

Really, too slow? And yet Dave Morissette went to the National League!

What is remarkable among the players of the Major Junior League...

To finish his college while you're a student...

He completed it.

Because Roberto, if he arrived from Rouyn Noranda at 4:00 in the morning

and had a class at the college at 8:00 in the morning,

Roberto was at school at 8:00 in the morning.

I remember once, he was in Hull, and he said:

"Mom, I have a homework, I really need to do it,

we've been on the road...

My homework, I haven't had time to do it yet.

But I've been thinking about it. I have it all in my head...

But right now, I'd have to hand it over tomorrow.

Go to your computer, I'll dictate it to you and you'll type."

"Okay!" I wasn't saying anything, I was typing...

"Okay, well, it sounds good.

You do the layout and everything, and send it to me.

I have to hand it in tomorrow. So, you have to send this by tomorrow!"

That was Roberto... It had to happen!

My parents had studied for a long time,

so it was an intrinsic value of the family.

We never asked ourselves "do we continue or not in college?"

We just did it!

And so the perception that people had of Roberto,

they must have been saying at some point

"he's a goon, he's this and that, he's foolish..."

No, Roberto is one of the brightest guys\ I've ever met.

There were often things that seemed improvised,

but everything was well considered.

Roberto was a guy who was working with a plan.

So he knew where he was going.

It's one of my ways of being in touch with him.

When he would come here, he would say to me:

"I have this idea!" "Oh, yeah?"

I would sit down, take out a sheet of paper,

and then I'd say, "What are the costs?"

I made him work.

I felt like I was stimulating him, to make it happen.

So he first did his bachelor's degree in marketing...

A leitmotiv in the family was:

"First you do your bachelor degree,

and then you can do whatever you want in life."

He was a guy who attracted attention, but not a guy to dance on the tables.

I'd even say that he was a pretty discreet guy.

Bob would go to class prepared. He wasn't sloppy. He was organized.

And then, with some perspective,

I realize that he was always organizing himself, politely, ingeniously,

to give tasks and roles to others.

The work was done and done well.

He's the guy who taught me how to apply myself in college.

I was much more interested in partying than he was in college.

That's the moment where I discovered that he was very cultured.

We had fun listening to the radio.

He was one of Jeff Fillion's fans back then...

And then he said, "Why don't we have our own radio show?

We have something to say, we talk all the time. Let's do it.

"Yeah right, we're gonna have a radio show..."

A week later, we had an interview at CHYZ-FM...

Meeting the guy, he saw that everything was structured in Bob's document:

He had a theme for the show, an interview strategy...

He knew what he wanted to talk about with the guests. So you're like: "OK."

Welcome everyone to the French connection, on this Monday, March 28th 2005...

A broadcast that will be very spectacular...

After that, he did a master's degree in marketing.

He didn't complete his master's degree, he only needed to complete his thesis.

He was supposed to do his thesis on the influence of music in professional sports.

In the meantime I think he became a rock star, something like that...

It kind of got in the way of his thesis!

We started our first band, I don't know... in our early teens.

We were outside in front of our house.

And then we decided: "Well, let's make a music band!"

"What do you want to do?"

Pat: "Well, I'm going to play guitar." Then Bob: "Me too."

"Well, I'm going to do the drum..."

We all bought an instrument. We were quite bad at the beginning...

But Pat, we must say that he had played the guitar as a kid,

Bob and Pat's parents were well-disciplined about music.

I remember Pat was more of a showman than Bob, really...

He was very willing, but he wasn't the best!

I started playing the guitar when I was about 16 years old.

And I immediately started composing my tunes.

Not all of them were good, but I was starting to write my own music.

And then, one thing leading to another I had more.

I noticed at that time that...

it's not necessarily talent that gets people excited about you...

He would arrive and, people would be looking at him...

"Wow, what's going on?"

Euh, I wrote a song. For a city I love very much... Cap-Rouge.

We had just met a group of people from Cap Rouge.

He really wanted to make the crowd react,

because almost everyone in the audience came from Cap-Rouge...

So, he got there with his hit: (It's a hole)

The crowd there...

it's the same principle as (They are all crazy),

the people who shouted the chorus...

The chorus was "It's a hooooooole"...

The crowd was shouting: "It's a hole..."

But they were talking about themselves!

I couldn't believe it, was he really singing that?

The song (They are all crazy) for instance, is a very sympathetic song

I was told: "if you sing that, they'll throw tomatoes at you."

And in the end it's the favorite song of many women and young ladies,

and they have fun with it they don't take it seriously.

That's very friendly.

He often asked his mother to correct his texts

because Lisette was very good in french.

She was correcting his texts, and Lisette said to him:

"You're not going to sing this!"

He said, "Mom, I'm asking you to correct the lyrics, not to sing the song!"

Well, let's just say there may have been some things I didn't always agree with.

But in his songs, I liked a lot of them for example...

A few others I liked less.

And at some point, I went to Dan Dionne's place.

We were like 20 people there, and the guys were doing a show.

I thought of my father's garage...

"Why wouldn't we do that? Have a show in the garage?"

Then, at the end of the 90s, the Jobstock began.

Which really represents the birth of Bob Bissonnette.

kay I have some bad news to tell you, tonight's show has been cancelled...

I invite you to go home, it's over!

We were there, a group of old friends from Jouvence,

playing around a fire at Jobidon's place.

It was like, "We're doing Wayne's World 2! "

In the background there is a band playing. Bob sings. Bob's brother plays the guitar.

Eric Verret, Steve Jobidon's brother-in-law, plays bass.

And Dan Dionne, the guy who invests everyone's on the planet money,

plays drum...

And then everyone crowds in front of the band, we sing, we're into it.

It takes place in Ti-Gilles' garage...

And the next day, there are as many beer corks as there are stones in the entrance.

it's completely crazy!

One year, the Molson van had come the next morning

to pick up the empty bottles from the courtyard.

On the first Jobstocks, Bob always had a new thing:

a t-shirt too tight for him, stopping at his belly,

with something written on it.

People wanted to see a show and my brother would give a show.

There were small decorative banners from a beer company aside the stage.

And at one point I realized that he stuck his lyrics on the back of the banners...

It was amazing, it has always been like that, he didn't know the lyrics...

And it was no big deal!

We started to play his future successes there.

We performed his first hit "EA Sports", which was in English at the time.

Then we played "Hockey dans rue" and "Centre Molson",

which became "Toune de bière".

We played Bro Hymn from Pennywise. We also did some Offspring.

I was crazy about punk. Bob too.

But he was more into Millencolin, Pennywise.

We used to listen to punk: Offspring, NOFX, Pennywise... A lot.

My brother was mad about this group.

And from the french speaking side,

what was a little different from the others was Mononc' Serge.

He already told me that my song "Expos go back home"

motivated him to write songs about sport...

I found it a little surprising

because "Expos go back home" is actually an anti-sport song!

He probably saw the potential of this kind of songs,

it may have opened a breach in his mind to make the songs he did.

I always think of a campfire concept.

That's usually how I start them.

The first time I play a song is often in front of my friends

they give me their feedback and when there is a good feedback, I keep playing it,

and if I don't get a good response, I stop.

He would write something.

We would say say: "What you're doing is not bad, it's really good

you're not just a singer like any other who's going to sing Paul Piché's tunes!"

When did you decide to become a singer?

I've been a songwriter for a long time

the project really started at the Stanley Cup party for Max Talbot...

In the afternoon, I asked: "Bob, do you want to sing?"

During the parade, after the parade...

There were about 10,000 people in St-Bruno-de-Montarville.

And then he composed "Max le guerrier".

Ladies and gentlemen, Roberto Bissonnette!

In the evening I had my Stanley Cup party on an island it was incredible,

there was a stage on the water.

We had Les B.B., Dubmatique, Vilain Pingouins...

"Okay Bob if you want to sing a tune!"

He sang Chris Chelios.

Someone recorded it with his iPhone, 1st generation...

Put it on YouTube, and we made 5000 clicks in 2 days with my tune...

I said to myself, "I don't have 5,000 friends."

So there are people who really liked the tune and it has been shared a lot

so that's when I realized that maybe it was worth it to get into it.

I don't even know how the idea of funding came up...

"Let's go, go ahead. No stress!"

There he did some calculations

"It takes me X CDs, I'll give it back to you in X months..."

I never had any subsidies, I just went for it. Max lent me some money.

Another friend of mine, Alexandre Giroux, also lent me some.

But I never had any donations or grants, I always paid back my people.

When he gave me back the money...

At first, he told me it would take a year, I think he paid me back in six months.

He had already sold enough CDs.

He sent me a handwritten letter...

no one does that anymore, writing handwritten letters...

Bob, he was like that, because he cared about it and...

That's it... Um...

Sport and music are two passions that provide powerful sensations.

And well after experiencing the adrenaline of hockey,

former Gatineau Olympiques' team Roberto Bissonnette

launched a massive attack in the music scene!

I became an instant fan of the "Recrue de l'Année" album.

Because singing the Chris Chelios tune at a Stanley Cup party,

it is almost folkloric.

But to put it on an album and wrap it around,

to put a lot of meat around the bone, and make it sound good like that.

I thought the challenge was successfully met!

I'm proud to have had the opportunity to work with a guy like him,

he was coming in a little bit from nowhere...

And then to be able to bring him where we went,

I find it very satisfying.

This guy, I understood right away that he spoke one language:

the language of hockey.

It is a language that instantly becomes universal

for everyone who is directly or indirectly involved in hockey.

I thought, by sending a few albums to the Montreal radio stations,

that it could start playing on all the big networks...

But in the end it really doesn't work this way.

I realized that it's a very closed circuit.

One day Bob Bissonnette calls me to ask for some advice,

but he has no band, nothing, all he has is an album...

So I said: "Listen, one thing is for sure,

don't start running after record companies...

they just don't give a shit about you in the end...

Do everything you can do by yourself

then delegate when you start to feel you can't handle anymore."

There are people who have joined over time.

I recorded with a Montreal band,

they didn't follow when I started doing my shows.

Fred, whom I call Cam Neely in my shows,

Fred is practically with me from the first show.

He was interesting and he was funny so:

"Well, look... man, you look cool. Yes, I'll play with you!"

He says, "Don't you want to listen to my record first?"

I'm leaving with his record,

I'm coming home, I'm completely flabbergasted.

"What the hell is that? It's so fun."

I go home, I do my business, I'm a little nervous,

he sends me a list of tunes, I study, I do my stuff...

He shows up with a 24-pack of Coors Light, and his guitar...

He said, "Well, I'm here to practice!"

"Come on, a 24 pack of beer! There are 2 of us..."

"Well, yes, no problem, we'll look for some more if we don't have enough!"

The first year was tough.

We did a lot of things, like going up to play in Mauricie...

"Yes, yes, we'll pass the hat around, it'll be cool..."

And then come out of there, with 12 dollars... for the two of us.

The first year was pretty rough.

We would play wherever we could. Strange shows. Funky places...

At the beginning, he really split the province in two.

And we had two teams.

I used to play with Fred. And Todd used to play with Will.

We, folks from Montreal inherited the shows that were a little further west.

Because we were the ones who went up to Abitibi,

we were the one who used to, I will use the language he used,

develop and explore these regions.

In one day, between the 2 of us, we did 6 shows, 6 mini shows.

And then we were going to play in a garage league,

the guys were partying after the game,

Bob was coming so people would have a drink.

We were going to play elsewhere, in a car dealer...

The plan was mostly that at first,

we would perform shows like we were cabaret singers.

That way we're versatile enough, we could work everywhere.

We are able to fit in any situation.

It didn't have to be a stage... We played everywhere!

A year and a half later,

I find out a that he already has gigs on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays...

52 weeks a year, it's jam packed...

I hear about this Bob Bissonnette's madness!

So I call him back and I say:

"Okay, now I'm going to invite you to dinner

and you're going to explain to me what you did that I didn't understand!"

How are you, man? Damn, you're hard to get!

Here, give me that... Welcome!

Who is Bob Bissonnette?

That's him!

In music, you don't know the speed it can go.

At the moment I receive a lot of calls and emails regularly.

And now I'm booked here and there in the next few weeks.

It's going faster than I thought.

If people knew the work that went into it to get there, they would not believe it.

My name is Bob Bissonnette,

I'm going to sing two little songs for you this morning, do you feel like it?

Yeah...

It was tough, but it was so rewarding...

To conquer 10 fans...

At night we played for 50 people, and we had 10 new fans...

And then we sold 15 t-shirts and 12 CDs.

Okay... But the next time we'll go back, it's not 50 persons there, it's 250!

I didn't understand why it was so popular.

Not that it wasn't good,

but the speed and how constant it was in the regions.

The social networks helped a lot.

He was one of the first who really used Facebook.

He played hockey everywhere

so there was always a group of hockey players

who came because he played there because he had fought with one...

So, for my last song...

No, not yet, gorgée!

Bob, he's a punk.

You know, he's a real punk, in the pure sense of the word.

A guy who does whatever he wants.

A guy who doesn't respect established conventions.

Who decided he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted...

And, bloody hell, it works!

At first some people told me: "It's too specific, it won't work."

Well, I'm still going to try, and finally I realized that everyone loves hockey

and, in the end, I'm reaching a lot of people, so it's fun.

If you make good songs, you reach out to an audience in the right way

you'll never need the industry, the bureaucracy.

You're just going to write a good song, people are going to want to hear it so much

that they're going to carry it for you.

They're going to find it. Bob Bissonnette is proof of that!

I can barely explain why it's going so fast.

I can understand why people like it, but I don't take myself more seriously.

I still remain the same...

I don't pretend to be a great musician,

I surround myself with really good musicians, which makes me look more pro.

And I have nice and friend lyrics, and people seem to...

anyway, there are people who seem to like it,

so as long as the people want it, I'm going to play. It's just that.

I don't know anyone who hasn't said to a friend:

"Do you know Bob Bissonnette? I like it, listen to it."

I'm not saying that Bob has reinvented the way music is done.

But he certainly brought another type of clientele to the shows.

He built a clientele that didn't exist in the music world.

He attracted people who weren't going out for music

so, for a guy who studied marketing, hats off to him!

It was really very impressive.

The guy is good. He is entertaining.

Now the girls are getting on because the boys are going there.

"Well, I'm going to go check it out..."

At first it's curiosity...

When you go to see him for the fifth time,

it's no longer curiosity, it's because you like it!

When we went to see him the first shows, we were so proud...

It was like...

"My God Bob!" I was there, I was out of control.

For real, he's my buddy, everyone says: "he's my buddy we all know Bob",

but he's really my buddy,

we text each other every day, we talk every day...

He's the one who makes you all sing, laugh... I know him!

I offer you either Mexico from Kaen...

Or Chris Chelios!

The first time, it really struck me. I went to a show and there was a lineup...

I turned around, looked around.

They were no longer the people of the Jobstock,

they were no longer our childhood friends.

They were all people I didn't know.

I enter in the venue, it's full.

Hats, caps, young people with their phones.

It was an incredible party!

I said to him: "Surround yourself with friends

who will sell you as if you were Elvis the King!

People who believe in you and with whom you will ae happy to work.

People that you care about.

Jouvence quarter is a world in itself.

And it's fun because Bob has been able to surround himself with his people.

Bob was someone who cared about people, really...

He was able to see the best in you.

Not just to see it, but to make you see it too.

And he was a great salesman, so he could make you believe it.

He calls me... and then he makes some kind of half-hour intro on the phone.

"Well, I would like you to help me if you could,

come with me on my adventure...

Even if it's only to answer emails."

Well, I said, "Do you know what?

I'd certainly like that, but I don't even know what an email is!"

I didn't know anything about these things, I was a full time mom at home,

I wasn't working, and I didn't need a computer

and I didn't know what an email was!

So he said, "That's not a problem. I'll teach you that."

He bought me a computer, he bought me a cell phone,

he gave me his car...

And then he said, "Come on, let's go!

Maybe in the end, you weren't that good.

But he made you think you were excellent and you wanted to be...

He came to me and said: "Rick, I need a real roady!"

"What's a roady, I've never done that in my life,

I'm a claims adjuster, I have no idea what a roady is!"

He says, "Look, I want you to follow me...

We'll explain how it works, I need people I can trust around me."

The first time I met Bob

was not long after the release of the "Recrue de l'année" album,

through a mutual friend who put us in touch

to talk about the music industry in general...

And at the end of the dinner

Bob asked me if I knew someone who could shoot his first videoclip...

So I said: "Well... I'll buy the equipment, and I'll do it to for you!"

Sing loudly!

What?

Push it! Sing it for real!

2 days after the video was released, we had 30,000 views on Youtube,

we quickly reached 100,000 views we were completely amazed...

And it never stopped!

And from that moment on, the base for all videoclips remained the same:

Bob always wanted us to see known people.

It was also really important to involve your buddies,

I don't think there's a clip where you don't see Bob's buddies.

He was proud of his gang, he was proud of his friends,

and at the same time they were his most loyal fans from the start.

And it often involved dancing...

He thought dancing was very funny.

Bob, do you realize how much success you have on the web

or are you too busy counting your cash?

On the web I must admit that it doesn't pay very much

but it's starting to go quite well in shows,

especially in the various regions, where they are very enthusiastic.

When we were launching a videoclip.

or making our schedule, we could spend 10 hours sending private messages.

He could have hired firms to do that

but he knew what he wanted and how to do it

and which words he wanted to use.

When you call for him the first time, you better know what you're saying,

because he's next door and he's hot...

You really gain self-confidence when you work for Bob.

My brother brought the ideas.

And he needed people to put it into action...

The real concrete thing.

All kinds of ideas,

which start on a corner of the table, beside a beer, on a napkin...

And which became events,

and basically what happened during the event became secondary...

They were experiences,

and everything was done to rally the people,

bring them together, and have fun...

I thought he was really mad for wanting to rent the Imperial

to do a show for his birthday.

I thought to myself: "It's going to be a failure, a solid one!"

"The Ultimate Fight of Festive Songs" is Bob.

It's Bob Marketing, who creates events!

I've already done shows at the Imperial as a technician.

I've played Imperial before too, often...

It was the first time I saw it, full below and full above.

We are ready.

- Shall we go? - Oh yeah! Rock on!

You arrive on the stage, you make your first chord...

And you feel like you're part of the Beatles!

Because people are screaming so much, you can't hear yourself.

Bob, Bob, Bob!

We felt that the project was taking off, that it was accelerating...

And at the Imperial we started to believe in it.

We were like, "Yeah, now we're on to something".

And then after that, well, it never slowed down.

Filling the Imperial,

when you are not famous, where there are 1000 people...

and in addition you beat the beer record,

it's quite incredible!

Gorgée!!!!

Bob, yes, I helped a little to make him more widely known...

but if he hadn't been good... I wouldn't have been able to do so!

Bob had a particular talent on the guitar...

his melodies were incredible!

He's not the greatest singer, but he was quite a lyricist.

We would make fun of him all the time:

"You know Bob, for a guy who doesn't have talent, you're really good!"

I don't pretend to be a great author or whatever

but I do my stuff

and I know there are people who find themselves in my words, and I like it.

I know I'm a rock star, but I haven't composed all the best songs in the world...

So I play covers from time to time!

He always surrounded himself with musicians

who were superior to him musically speaking.

It is true that his band was more talented than him,

but he was the soul of the band...

He was the writer, it was his ideas...

You know, wherever Bob went, he was able to create an event.

You weren't going to see Bob Bissonnette in show,

you were going to experience the Bob Bissonnette event.

What's the hardest thing?

Composing music, varying music,

what is the most difficult thing for you?

Uh... it's the end of my shows!

I remember at first it was...

All the chansonniers used to say, "cheers", "salute", "lift your glass"...

For him it was "gorgée"!

Gorgée!

It's now part of folklore!

You know what I mean, that expression is associated with him!

He has made this expression his own.

We watched Bob drink his beers pretty fast.

And I like to drink and it impresses me when someone can drink fast.

And then Michel my manager says to me...

You know Bob he had drank like 38 beers in 27 minutes,

and then Michel said:

"Yeah, but it's a thing, half the beer falls on the floor."

And I said: "Yeah, but half of 38 is still 19, damn it!

He just drank 19 beers in 22 minutes!"

His famous saying "gorgée"... This saying made the bar owners very happy.

Gorgée!

The bar owner who hired Bob knew he was going to make his month in one night!

Goooooorgée!

I directed a festival in Cowansville.

Bob Bissonnette arrives with Eric Lapointe, my buddies never believed this!

"Fuck, who's that?

We're running out of beer! There is no more beer!"

It was 20 minutes to 9:00, we're three quarters into Bob's setlist.

In the 25 year history of the festival,

we never sold as much beer as we did that night!

He had this fundamental attitude that he was with the people...

He was on the stage but he was with them, and he was partying with them.

I had never experienced a show where people were so involved.

It was important for Bob to always have lighting

that allowed us to see people well,

to see the crowd well and to interact with them.

Seeing crowds who were really involved

and who knew the lyrics so well, and who really came for Bob

not just for the songs but also to see what was going on on stage,

and being part of the show, it was really a great experience.

It's incredible the kilometers we travel

as a joke we say that we're like truckers

who play a little bit of music during the weekends,

it's a lot of time in the van,

it's a life that's different, that has a lot of action,

but a life that I love...

Bob's life was incredible, it was extremely intense...

Not many people know about this,

but Bob was with the same person for like 15 years.

They even got married...

But it's clear that with the rhythm of life Bob had, the tours and all that...

At one point their paths drifted apart.

It is a way of life very difficult to follow

and I think that recently Marie-Pierre proved to be a perfect fit in all this

because she understood, she also had the same lifestyle.

I loved it.

I loved the life we had.

We truly had a beautiful life.

Seeing myself in that guy's eyes,

seeing that that guy loved me made me...

...feel great.

We had found each other in life.

We had found each other because...

he was leading a crazy life, he was living a particular life

and I loved being a part of that life...

And that's what's special about this human being,

he believed that you can create the life you want...

Do what you love to do...

If what you like is travelling.

It's going to meet the people you love.

It's travelling to see the people you love...

We made roadtrips that for most people would be

the roadtrip of a lifetime, or the trip of their life.

And we did it every year.

We went to Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh,

Buffalo, Toronto, name it...

He came to New York,

and I challenged him to get on the big screen...

He certainly succeeded,

he appeared on the screen, I think 4 times...

He had written: "Bruno I'm pregnant" in English on his sweater!

Bob! Fucking hell!

Hey, we don't see each other anymore, we don't see each other anymore.

Fucking hell, what are you doing here?

They're crazy!

Carl Bastien, Yoda. Stephane Gaudreau, Stephane Gaudreau...

war machine, war machine!

When we started working on "Les barbes de séries"...

They're crazy!

We started working on "La machine à scorer", and it really was...

everything found its place instantly.

And then we leave with the same... You know, you're going 1, 2, 3, 4

That's the first song we did,

that we recorded together for the second album.

And it set the tone for what's going to happen next...

We finished doing that and...

Everyone was dancing for the rest of the evening in the studio

and we started the party...

we were already celebrating the album with the first song!

I met Bob in the studio "Les barbes"...

and one night I was drunk and I said:

"Hey, I've been hearing Chantal Machabée played quite badly for 3 days now,

even if I'm drunk, I'll play it!"

There Bob was like: "You can't do that! "

"I'll do it for you, you'll see!"

And then I played the song twice,

and that's Chantal Machabée, that's the drum track!

He's a machine, he's machine! Come on!

OK! Well, that's good!

Bob, thank you so much, I love the song!

I give you a big kiss because it's really quite an honor.

Well, listen, we'll meet you in a few moments with the news from the Canadian,

for now Bob, are you ready? The song Chantal Machabée at "Le 5 à 7!"

I couldn't believe it! You know, this one is my tune.

I have always said that it was the most beautiful honour

I have ever received in my career.

There's a song named after me, it's going to remain, it's immortal...

There's nothing more flattering than that.

It's very funny, it's very Bob Bissonnette, it's very his style.

The music is amazing!

Sometimes I walk in the Bell Centre and I hear people singing it to me.

To say how much that song had an impact, but I find it extraordinary!

The pure term of the successful underground artist is Bob...

The number of t-shirt crates in the van

was more important than the number of drums,

and today I understand that.

At the time I didn't understand it,

I was always questioning that decision and...

I wanted to bring one more tom and he said:

"Shut up, that's not what pays your salary".

Go on, T-shirts, let's go!"

I was like, "Wow!"

A guy like Bob, who has an audience who likes t-shirts...

and he has logos, and he has a face, a visual identity, a theme,

that really has a graphic identity...

He can really make a lot of money with the merchandise

and this is extremely important for an artist, it's complementary.

It had to look professional.

Even if we're a little bit bric-a-brac,

even if we're breaking pitchers on our heads,

the image has to be pro, it has to look professional.

We didn't have any subsidies to make the videoclips,

there were no big budgets...

but it was always important to have an impeccable image.

Bob did not hesitate to rent a church, to have a gymnasium entirely lettered...

to have costumes specially made...

It was always very important to have his logo clearly visible.

Everything had to be perfectly coordinated.

He was a professional,

I heard that he could be rough with the people he worked with,

because it was his projects and he invested time, money and a lot of energy into it...

He was very inspired by the tough guys...

I've always called him my mini Steve Jobs.

You know, in the movie you discover who he is... But Bob, he was very intense.

There's a dark side to Bob there, it's that... it's that...

he thought so much, he thought so much, he had so much going on...

that... sometimes he thought he was going crazy...

Sometimes when he was feeling blue, it was like it was boiling in his head.

And then he had to come out with something...

So he called me, I said to him, "My God, are you okay?" He said, "Yeah."

He said, "Now call the Olympic Stadium..."

I say to him, "And what am I supposed to say?"

He says, "Call the Olympic Stadium, I want to know how much it costs..."

and he gives me a list of questions to ask...

he says: "I want to play there!"

Hey, I said to him, "Don't you think you're exaggerating a little?"

"No!" he was determined...

So you don't insist when he's like this, you don't try to change his mind...

"Yes, perfect, I'll call, get the information and come back to you."

So I called the Olympic Stadium...

I looked like a real freak because I had no idea what I had to say to them...

But I made him happy, I called, I took the information

and gave him the paper with the information "There you go!"

Even if it's Friday at 5:00 pm,

or when I've finally started my 2nd job on the weekend...

If he needed something, it was here. Not tomorrow. Right now.

I worked with him and told him I would never work with him again!

I already wept all the way up the Henry IV hill...

He's a very demanding person...

And when Bob is upset,

no one can support the tension, except Steve Jobidon...

Because listen, the tension becomes...

It becomes overwhelmingly heavy.

We'll do it again dudes, it's fine...

Play the fucking guitar in the solo!

I can't hear you... I can't hear you, play the guitar.

In everything he did...

He wanted to achieve the ultimate goal

so if he had to loose his nerves to get there,

he did it and it was okay for him.

We used to say, "You need something else...

To put your ideas elsewhere than just on your project.

Otherwise you'll go crazy"

He was so committed to things and he did things so intensely

that, rightly, you can't be moderate, something intense is a tornado...

So La Broche à Foin was a safety valve for him.

It was his ideas, in something completely new where everything had yet to be done,

where his creative side could really exist

because if he said something, I would do it...

January 2014 we went to San Diego, we went to a bar called the Shout House,

where Adam was playing that night,

he was the artistic director of the Shout...

We met Adam in January 2014...

and in my barn there was nothing

there was no floor, there was no stage, there was no bar,

there was no light, there was nothing...

But he already had a logo made, you know he had already had the logo made!

Let's go!

Louder!

He used to ask me, "What makes you happy?

Name five things that make you happy."

Who has ever asked you that kind of question?

He knew very well what made him happy...

Having friends around... doing BBQs...

sitting in a ball stadium...

going to Steve's on Sundays... it was sacred!

When he was fine, he would sit down and laugh "ah, ah, ah",

he would laugh, he would make a laughing sound.

For no reason... He was happy...

It filled him with happiness, simple things like that.

I don't miss Bob the musician, I don't miss the guy on the stage...

I miss my best friend, I miss my buddy...

I miss my Sundays here on the patio

having a drink and talking about everything and anything...

His friends, he is able to put them in boxes

where they are the best in the world in something.

The word "best in the world" comes back for the people around him.

When you are near Bob Bissonnette,

when you spend a day with him, life is beautiful.

He's a guy who's always going to have an extraordinary positivism.

Bob had this saying, that he used to say all the time:

"Today is the most beautiful day of my life"

whether you're at a party in the evening, or very tired the next morning...

he had this premise to say

"Today is the most beautiful day of my life."

Hi Fred!

Have a nice day my Fred!

Bob is the first person I've seen, from guy to guy saying he loved someone...

This guy froze me to death,

when he hung up the phone with me, he would say to me: "Love you".

A guy who says love you it had never happened to me before

so the first 4-5 times "eh, eh, eh, eh" I wasn't able to answer.

I wasn't able to tell him...

Just at one point "love you too damn it what do you want me to tell you!"

You know every 2-3 days we used to write to each other

I love you, I love you, I love you...

I think what's missing most to everyone who was very close to Bob

is the words he had for us, it was so good.

When he was part of something with someone...

there was no limit to happiness.

So it was like "it's the best day of my life,

we enjoy it and we live it as it is."

Otherwise it was a call every week or so, always for a $100 million idea.

He was this close to a billion-dollar idea and changing the world...

It was always like that, since junior league...

He must have done only half a thousandth of all of his ideas...

but it's still huge!

He had unrealistic projects that he was trying to achieve,

and that didn't work all the time.

But his faith in his project, and his enthusiasm for the project...

Makes you think, "Why wouldn't I have the same enthusiasm?

And why wouldn't I be willing to go for it...

And at the very worst, I'll go to 72% of my project, to 81%,

but I'll have tried and I'll have fun doing it."

He would say, even about a small project:

"It's going to be the best project in the world!"

And as soon as he was talking with you about a project,

I didn't feel like it was smoke and mirrors,

it was possible, you know.

It was possible...

I've never met anyone like that... who's not afraid of anything.

For whom fear does not exist...

It was beautiful to see!

He was never afraid to do something crazy!

What he did at the Palais Montcalm with the violins...

You have to be a little nuts!

When I turned 33, I rented the Palais Montcalm...

Uh, that was good!

The whole lower section was full, we were close to 500 people.

And I was the producer,

I lost a lot of money, but I don't regret it.

The Palais Montcalm had cost us a fortune.

He wanted to play there at the Palais Montcalm

and wanted to be elegant.

That's what he wanted, and he succeeded!

Bob who dressed up in fancy clothes, he had his suit made for the occasion...

We really organized this so that it would be beautiful,

we were proud of this show.

Are you currently working on the third album?

Yes, indeed!

Do you have many things already written? What style are you going for?

Uh.... It's gonna be wilder!

Wilder ok... Is your album only for 18 years old and over?

Yeah... I...

My life in the last period, you know, hockey was a lot at first,

I'm touring a lot everywhere...

You're going on the "lover" side ?

No, not really "lover"!

So the chords are these.

Go ahead, sing me your song!

Yes sir !

By the third album...

I could see that he was a little more aware of how it worked, what he wanted...

He had even more requests than before.

When we worked on the third album we were in the studio,

and Bob would say to me, "I'd like you to play like..."

and then he would sing it to me...

"Oh, like that?" "Yes, like that perfect!"

We worked like that, and it worked really well.

But I think you know you didn't do, uh...

Go ahead, I'm listening to you.

In the second part, you didn't make your little notes, you understand?

Seems to me you're smoother...

That's all!

He was very progressive, though, for his way of doing things.

When you look at his first album, versus where he was on the third

for the people who know music it was very, very different.

It's like the first one we switched to a kind of rock-punk,

after that to something else,

to go to Rockstar...

And it was only a small stairway, in which he had started to climb.

Well the answer is good so far, with the third album

we were second best French-speaking seller the first week,

and fifth the second week.

He was like that in everyday life...

In his music career, and even in hockey...

This personality trait of competing, of always pushing his limits,

it wasn't just on the ice...

It was as much in a hockey pool...

We played a ball game, even if Bob wasn't able to run,

he wanted to find a way to win anyway.

We used to say: "Oh God, he runs so bad, ahh, he runs so bad!" It was awful...

So he wasn't a track and field guy,

and baseball, I don't even know if he knew on which side he was throwing either.

I'm a baseball maniac,

I'm rotten at baseball, I won't lie to you, I'm not a good player...

What I want to announce this morning...

Is a project that has been on my mind for a few years...

Bob Bissonnette new shareholder of Capitales de Québec

...Mr. Bissonnette for those who were not aware

has started working in Les Capitales at the beginning of his career.

It's natural for me,

I've been involved with the club for a long time

when I was younger, I graduated from university,

I started working, my first job was there.

It's natural for me I'm really happy!

A rock star, you go to see a rock star and you do...

he's your idol and you go home.

With Bob people looked at him and there were some who saw him as their idol,

and there were some who saw him as their friend,

and most of them considered him to be both.

Everyone says that, when you met him,

you had the impression that you had known him for 28 years...

He gave everyone a chance, I thought it was admirable of him too.

Someone would come and talk to him and he was,

"Alright, let's get to know each other."

He had no preconception.

I always considered myself close to my fans,

and then I looked at him and said to myself, "I'm just a piece of shit!"

Because he took the time, and he treated everyone equally.

His fans saw him as a friend,

and he sometimes wondered if this was not the reason

why people didn't take him seriously.

Even if he was always the "good guy",

he wanted to be taken seriously in his approach,

I won't say in his artistic approach he never used this term

but, in "Gee, I move crowds... I deserve your big stage...

and I would be able to "fill it up".

He just wanted the opportunity to enter in the big leagues!

One of the biggest disappointments Bob had

was to never get a call from the famous Festival d'été de Québec...

It is true that the Festival d'été is something he would have loved to do

and he didn't understand why he didn't belong there...

There is a scene for 100,000 spectators,

that's not what he was asking to start with and...

He says: "If one day they invite me to play on the stage for 3-4-5000 the people...

It's going to be so jam packed, and I'll give the show of a lifetime..."

We highlight local talents, we highlight all that...

and we don't ask Bob Bissonnette

that everyone we know we could have done it a few consecutive nights,

it would have been full every night...

I have to tell you, he talked about it a lot and it bothered him.

It bothered him for a long time.

When you're not part of the gang...

And your business doesn't work...

No one is gonna piss you off. No one's gonna bother you.

No one's going to try to get you down.

When you're not in the gang and your business is working well...

that's when the game starts!

He never had the success he should have had,

for me Bob Bissonnette should have been a megastar on the radio.

And... only a few stations supported him.

There was like... there was an injustice on Bob...

You know that bothers! It bothers!

It bothers the industry

to see that Bob Bissonnette is in control of his career.

I rarely appear on the radio, I haven't been on TV often in my life...

This is really my way of keeping in touch

and communicating with those who love my stuff,

it's social networks, it's Twitter, it's Facebook, it's Instagram.

And my videos, I released a new one in the morning,

but these Youtube videos, these things...

it's my way of keeping in touch with my people.

Hey, I prefer to be nice, nice with the real people...

To be snubbed by the click...

but to have my business doing well!

It didn't matter what was happening elsewhere,

as he says in his tune: "we don't give a fuck, it's full in our shows."

It's true!

There are people you see on TV, that you hear on the radio,

but their shows don't rock!

We do shows, it's the party, it smells like beer, and sweat.

It screams loudly and it's fun and the people are into it.

Ste-Germaine de Boulé in Abitibi, it is 8-9 in the evening...

There are 2-3,000 people in the parking area...

Lots of people with Bob Bissonnette t-shirts everywhere...

They are tailgating...

There are bonfires, people are drinking, they are singing...

I said: "What the hell is going on here?"

Jonathan Painchaud who plays for the elderly inside, 1000 people...

All of a sudden, poof, they end up,

we arrive, super fast "changeovers", the machine is oiled...

3000 people enter in the arena, we start to play,

the girls pull out their bras during the first tune...

We are making record sales of merchandising, I ran out of stock...

Listen it was going crazy, 3000 people, Bob surfed on the second tune.

You know like... A phenomenon!

It was magical, in Abitibi sincerely...

First time I went there in my life and... Big night!

Beauce, Abitibi, Bellechasse, Gaspésie,

Lac-St-Jean, anywhere, name it...

Gatineau, Hull.

We were the kings of the white tents... We made them all in Quebec...

it became a standard

"Bob Bissonnette will fill your place, you will sell too many beers

and the crowd is too happy and it becomes an event..."

He never saw himself as a star.

The success he had, at no time did he say: "Yes, I did achieve something" no...

It was all the time: "Shit, I will succeed in breaking through in Montreal,

Gee, I will succeed elsewhere..."

Montreal takes longer, I think, because...

If you're not in the right gang, it still works with gangs...

while Bob, he managed to do it by himself.

Let's say I turn it around,

there are so many people who are just popular on the island of Montréal

and who are not popular elsewhere...

Maybe it's the same principle.

Montreal, he had never given up, he was looking for ways to do it,

He used to say all the time:

"Why don't I talk at "Tout le monde en parle"

Why isn't it me at "Tout le monde en parle"?

I'll show them how it works... they'll remember me, I promise."

He has often talked to Guy A. Lepage at "Tout le monde en parle",

in his van or in his shower.

There is a window here next to the yard where we park...

and sometimes I would see him coming

and then I'd expect him to enter in the next few minutes, seconds...

And he doesn't come in, and I look:

"Let's see what he's doing?" He's in his car and he's talking...

He's talking, he's talking... He's making gestures and he's talking.

And I know he's talking to Guy A. Lepage...

He's talking to someone he's going to convince of the entirety of who he is.

And there's one of his t-shirts that I really liked,

because he always had black t-shirts,

so when he didn't have a black t-shirt,

I said, "You're good-looking in it, it looks good on you..."

"No, this one is to go to Tout le monde en parle."

"Is this your favorite?"

"Okay, fine, I'll put it on to go to Tout le monde en parle."

That was the t-shirt to go to Tout le monde en parle.

Bob tells me:

"Well, now we're going to do the pre-audition of La Voix,

don't tell anyone about it...

It's going to be the only way I can be sure that Stephane Laporte,

who is a hockey maniac,

will have my 3 albums in his hands.

You never know, if we go on TV, it's going to be good for us."

We're going to do the brief presentation.

Bob Bissonnette, rockstar.

Your age and where you come from too.

33, I'm from Québec.

What are you going to sing?

L'Université a tune from my third album.

We're listening to you.

1 minute 42 seconds later

- Hey, thanks a lot! - Thanks!

Thank you Bob, have a good day, good continuity...

Bye...

It's weird to see how Bob couldn't make himself known to Montreal...

and when he arrived in Switzerland,

people were already fans before Bob arrived there!

Right now, he's here!

Of course, it's Bob Bissonnette, good evening.

- Hi! - How are you?

- Top shape! - Rockstar in Québec!

Yes, I'm a rockstar.

Knowing that there are many Quebeckers playing hockey in Switzerland,

well, there was already a network established there...

and we have a friend Vanessa who is there,

and she really gave us a hand too to try to develop this thing in all hockey clubs,

and at one point it finally expanded

and we managed to get to Switzerland, to do some show,

and there are people out there and it is the party

as if we were in Beauce, the same thing.

The first shows he was really surprised to see that so many people knew his songs.

With internet, Facebook, his videoclips...

it's true that people followed him, we learned the lyrics,

we sold CDs so they had time to learn.

And he was very surprised by that, and he really loved those moments.

We live in a region, a region...

we have a strong festive spirit and the way he did his shows there...

people don't necessarily understand all the words, it's obvious...

But it's okay, the energy Bob was giving out was crazy,

it created a great atmosphere and it was fantastic.

We were in Switzerland...

and almost all the girls in the audience

had Bob's merch underwear...

and it impressed me, I was like:

"Fucking hell, he's really big in Switzerland!"

There were... people was going crazy!

We don't hear Bob Bissonnette singing anymore,

we don't hear Bob Bissonnette singing anymore!

In Switzerland I think he realized it...

It was a whirlwind, it was going so fast!

But I remember the venue in St-Imier, where there are 600 people...

he didn't need to sing...

It's special...

It's beautiful...

Bob Bissonnette! Bob Bissonnette!

Ok that's enough!

Getting a room of 600 people to vibrate 6000 km from your place...

And not just vibrate in the sense that you have to win them over,

they are won in advance!

I asked Bob, I saw that he had once done a kid show in Quebec City,

and I asked him if it was possible to do one here...

He said, "Of course!"

He got there, he played 2 chords...

And when he started the first song,

all the kids sang the song with him, it was crazy!

He stopped for a while in his song because...

to see all those children on the other side of the world singing his tunes by heart!

Some a little phonetically, but everyone was singing,

everyone was screaming in this room, it was crazy.

Bob was really won over... It moved him a lot, it touched him a lot!

It's also an honor for me to go play not just for partying drunk guys

but to see that it reaches and connects

with the families of the partying drunk guys.

To see the number of children who know his songs...

It's amazing!

That's special... That's what I experienced too, to do a show...

To see girls showing their boobs...

And 12 hours later, there are children singing the words

with Bob censoring his lyrics because you can't say them in front of children

but all children sing the original lyrics!

I need a beer to relax, gorgée!

If you want to play in the National League, don't take that

otherwise you'll end up on a stage in front of a lot of kids when you're 31!

Gorgée!

I love beer.

I'm not an alcoholic, but I'm a "partyholic"

so I have a lot of opportunities to have fun with people.

Having a beer on the stage is natural for me,

I was doing it around campfires when I started singing

I kind of continued a little, what I was doing a little around campfires.

Fans want to see Bob...

Pouring a beer on his head, making 3-4 savoury jokes...

And then take the microphone and give all he's got

with the neck vein coming out when he sings.

Because he's in it, because he's completely in it.

Obviously, alcohol was a concern for us, the family...

Doing 3-4 shows a week sometimes...

Drinking so much...

We thought: "Gee, is there any other way?"

That was his basic concept.

It was hockey, beer, women, fun...

It was festive...

And it matched with who he was, he never faked this.

But...

Still, he was very aware that people came to see that too.

That's stupid, but he still had a pressure that...

wherever he was going it had to be the party of the century!

When you do 4 shows a week...

to be the strongest and most capable...

Well, there you burned the guy...

No matter if you jog 4 times a week, eat well, not eat bread...

But at some point it's not a life...

It was part of the show too. It's the positive and negative side.

But to play for people who are always drinking,

well sometimes it has more negative effects than just wanting to put on a music show.

Beer cans on the stage, please stop!

We do it as a team, okay? We win as a team we lose...

No, but it's because you throw a can,

I get it on my face, or one of my musicians, you understand...

He was someone who was already flamboyant,

I mean, he didn't try to hide it when he wasn't feeling it.

That summer, he was hard to deal with.

Bob was planning his next album,

and I think he was planning to make a transition,

but I don't know what he was planning.

He wasn't telling us very much about it.

I think he realized that there was something

that perhaps couldn't continue...

That we probably couldn't continue with the rhythm we had...

Well, over time it was getting exhausting...

Bob it's funny because you're still doing what you used to do, you still fight...

You fight, it's an industry that's difficult, so you fight...

I think your hockey helped you.

What you experienced in junior hockey is helping you today.

I would believe it. I would believe that. Kind of like...

My band, we're a little hockey club, so it's cool...

He managed to fill-up everything that could be filled

in terms of festivals, popular events...

And then he said: "I am getting older. I'm now 35 years old, and...

I mean I can't break two cans on my head when I'm 52, it won't work anymore!"

He needed security too, with the passage of years.

I know that... we took a trip to Maine in August 2016, and we had...

He had made some big decisions.

And he was very concerned about his career, his future,

the people around him,

who he wanted to keep, who he wanted to change,

he wanted to progress, he was very concerned about that.

I know he wanted to do a breakthrough in Montreal.

He had a plan for Montreal.

He knew that Montreal would be big, he had it in mind...

Right before his death he was supposed to do the Club Soda,

and I have a feeling that it would have started at that moment.

He told me sometime in 2016:

"I did everything I wanted to do in life,

the only thing I haven't done yet is... I didn't have children.

The only thing I haven't done yet..."

He loved his brother's and sister's children,

he loved Steve's children...

He was very close to Steve's children...

He would have been a...

a great person to be a father, really...

But... probably the first year I would have taken care of everything!

But then after that, I would see him with the kid...

he would have been exceptional!

The day before he left, we all got together...

You can't write that.

It's as if he had had the opportunity

to have a good time with everyone or almost everyone

less than 48 hours before his departure, and we had an extraordinary evening...

He was hanging on the beam at La Broche à Foin and he had fun

and we poured beer on each other...

It ended the way it always has been:

it was intense, happy, joyful, and in a group atmosphere.

That night, he hugged me several times and said to me:

"Gee we're so well tonight. Aren't we well tonight ? We are!"

He told me that several times in the evening.

Giving me a kiss on the forehead.

He calls me on the Saturday morning...

He only calls me to say:

"Steve, do you realize how great it was yesterday, it was hot, it was..."

There I said... a little hangover but you're right...

He said: "Steve no, it was completely crazy!"

That Friday night, my cousin Mimi works at La Broche à Foin,

she bought a laser...

And when the girls closed the kitchens,

they put on music, finishing the dishes...

They put on music, very loudly and they put on their laser,

like a kind of laser projector on the ceiling.

She bought it that weekend and she wanted to show it to me.

So she was closing the kitchen, we're in the barn,

I'm behind the bar, the party's going well...

my boyfriend is there with his friends, everyone, the whole gang is there...

We go into the house, and she puts our tune...

The song we love, that we really love...

And we start dancing, with lasers on that song...

And she takes a picture that I didn't see for a long time, but...

And we dance, and we look at each other, we love each other, we laugh, we laugh...

We make sounds of laughter, and we go back dancing with everyone and...

And I have this picture in life that...

That... You know we could have...

We were so happy, it's great...

Still, it's special...

He's with a bunch of friends on Thursday, he's with another gang on Friday,

we all get the chance to see him.

He's with his friends from Caraquet on Saturday and he loves that place...

And that day it's beautiful and when we're in the boat in the morning

all his favorite songs are playing one after the other!

And every time he's like: "Oh, come on, that's my favorite tune!

Oh, come on, that's the best song in the world!"

So we're having fun and it's just peaceful.

You know, not that Bob wasn't well, but...

He was always a little worried about...

"Yeah, I don't know..."

And I'm not an artist, but I imagine that having to make another album...

and then having to challenge the opinion of people who say:

"Bob, it's gonna be a temporary thing for him.

Will it work for two years?"

And then he has done 3 years, 4 years,

and he had found new ideas and all that,

but I'm sure it's exhausting to be like that

to have to be creative and to reach expectations and...

not that weekend.

That weekend, he was just fine with everything.

It was serene.

It was a privilege to spend the last moments w

Someone who was so happy...

He was serene, we had so much fun...

The morning of the accident he played a song about mothers-in-law,

and another one about the sugar shack.

These two will always remain a little special for me because...

And I loved it, and the atmosphere was incredible, it was a beautiful day...

and without knowing what would happen in the next hours...

So that's a little special...

There was one, on the terrace he did with my daughter that was...

That was extraordinary, they both went away, they practiced...

We didn't disturb them, we just heard...

A guitar and a little voice in the back of the terrace...

They practiced and...

And we were in the offices and we worked all day and there he...

He came to me and said: "Are you ready to hear it?"

"Of course, we're ready to hear it!"

And then we all gathered around Alie-Anne and Bob...

And... they sang this song.

Hockey is my whole life

I've been thinking about that since I'm a child

But now I have something new that I'm all thrilled about

I have a sweet little crush since last week

I met her outside, close to the Centre Henri-Leonard

I finally found my man

The team captain became my boyfriend

After a game the best player of the team sweet-talked me

I knew right away he was the man of my life

After that famous game against Rimouski

I found the rare gem, I'm dating the best player in the north

The king of the ice

The queen of the place

The best player in the league, I'm the one who got him

I love the little one in section 3

A great season

Oh an incredible love

We're going in finals

Bring me the Memorial Cup

I'm gonna do everything, baby

I know you're going to win

And as a matter of fact, we're champions

I jump around her neck when I get off the plane

The king of the ice

The queen of the place

I'm back from Kelona

I can't wait to jump in your arms

The king of the ice

The queen of the place

The best player in the league, I'm the...

I love the little one in section 3

This is the moment we've been waiting for so long

My dream since I was little

Got drafted by Chicago

He's gonna have to leave Baie Comeau

A beautiful story, but a sad one

Because it's more than just a goodbye

The two lovers, straight in the eyes

Must say goodbye to each other

I leave the place

Another ice ring

There I'll tie my skates, I'll think of you

I leave the ice ring

Another ice ring

You're the one who got my heart

In memory of Roberto Bissonnette's qualities of generosity and dynamism,

the Bob Bissonnette Foundation was created in 2018 to help young artists and athletes

to develop their favorite activities

despite certain difficulties they may encounter.

My buddy Bruno... Is making some kind of documentary film!

Bob Bissonnette: ROCKSTAR, All the Way.

I'm a rock star because of you guys, I love you, yes sir!

Tonight, I think is the best day of my life, yeah!

I think it is important to remember that...

He was a good person, he loved the world...

He loved people...

Uh...

He was a fighter, he worked hard.

Some only seek money and others are only looking for fame...

While he just wanted to be happy with the people.

And that... Let's say that if we've succeeded in that...

We're very happy with that.

After his death, it didn't bother me at all to listen to his music...

Nowadays...

It sometimes bothers me...

I can't explain it but some songs bother me...

There are things that remind me of memories...

It's special.

I played with Elvis...

Yeah... I like it...

If one day I can bring my children to have as much...

As much will as Bob had, no matter in which aspect of life...

To have the will and to find the ways to reach what you want...

If you want something, do like him, and I swear to you...

If you think a third of what he could think,

you will have it for sure.

That's what we must remember.

He's still alive...

With the passage of time,

he still lives in people, his music remains,

people still talk about him,

he has deeply touched a lot of people,

and the transformations he has brought in those people...

I lived a lot through my brother...

I followed a track in my life where I did what was expected from me.

My brother showed me what we didn't necessarily expect from people...

He had his own trail...

I really do believe that he was someone...

different.