Haute-Loire. Humor, commitment and offbeat songs, they are the Fatals Picards

The editorial team wanted to know more about this band that doesn't get much press, but fills venues. We contacted Laurent Honel, the band's guitarist. Raised against his will in "a family of notorious communists," he says, he was "forced," from a very young age, to listen to Georges Brassens, Jean Ferrat, and Renaud, to read Goscinny, Fred, Tardi, and Franquin, and to watch Apostrophes . We're intrigued...

You're coming to play in Yssingeaux on August 29th, a town where many Saint-Étienne residents come on vacation or to live there. Saint-Étienne is home to ASSE, but also to Bernard Lavilliers, an artist you feature in one of your songs. What do you criticize about "Nanard"?

“When we wrote this song, it was initially Paul’s idea, the singer. He used to say “Don’t be a Bernard Lavilliers” when a friend was a liar in middle school or high school. We’re big fans of his as a musician. I discovered him around the time of Gringo , I listened to all his albums. He played in the video because he understood that we were musical fans. But, as soon as we saw a documentary or an interview, we had the impression that he was everywhere: in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chile… His Saint-Etienne Che Guevara side made us laugh. We made him an omnipotent and omniscient character. That’s the principle of caricature. I don’t know how he took it at first, but he came to play his own double in our video. Few artists have a song in their name. We have immense respect for what he brought to French song.” He does so many things that are true that he deserves to have done some that are false.

Les Fatals Picards don't fit into the mold of classic show business. Your trademark is offbeat humor and rock music across the board. Is that the recipe for intergenerational success?

"That may be one explanation, but I would add the creativity and the concerts that made our reputation. What is quite curious and rare is that we found ourselves in the early 2000s around common and humorous textual references and not around music. We were fans of Pierre Desproges, Monty Python, Les Nuls, Raymond Devos, Charlie Hebdo , Hara-Kiri , Goscinny... We are now between 47 and 57 years old, all these people taught us to step aside and be out of step."

You're never where you're expected. Proof of this is that you participated in Eurovision in 2007. Do you have fond memories of it?

“Generally, yes. Warner, where we were at the time, asked us to participate in the selections. We wrote L'amour à la française and we were selected thanks to the public vote. We were in trouble, but it was a great experience and a big boost for our career and for selling out theaters. When I talk about it today to my children, they find it surreal that we participated in an event of this magnitude.”

You also deal with serious subjects, but always in a casual manner. This is the case with My Tree (the unhappiness of peasants) or My Father Was So Left-Wing . Is this your way of getting messages across?

"I've always preferred humor and the offbeat. We're less dogmatic, less soothing, and less preachy. My Father is one of our big hits. It's almost an educational song. It talks about Maurice Thorez and Jaurès, and reminds younger generations of important names in the history of social struggles. Regardless of the ideas we may have, the song tells of the power of the memory of our childhoods. Even if we're no longer left-wing or if we think differently, My Father Was So Left-Wing brings back a lot of memories and touches a lot of people."

The Fatals Picards are 25 years old. Is your goal to beat the Rolling Stones ' record (63 years) in terms of longevity?

"The problem is that we started later and we don't do drugs. But our luck, for now, is that we have a growing audience and we're a real family. We get along extremely well and we're always creative."

Before going on stage in Yssingeaux, do you have a message for the audience?

Given the world we live in, we promise people they'll live on another planet for an hour and a half. We'll play Bernard Lavilliers , My Father Was So Left-Wing, and Job Security .