Trigger Effect ends to begin again

Nick Babeu

It came as a shock to the local music scene, to the fans and to those who were close to Trigger Effect when it was announced last November that singer Nick Babeu has died a sudden, accidental death. On top of the personal grief and loss felt by all those who were close to him was a tragic professional twist: the band was on the cusp of a celebratory world tour.

“Because we weren’t going to put out an album, this was going to be the year we toured for the 10-year anniversary of Trigger Effect,” drummer Mike Niro explains. “We had already started practising [prior to Nick’s passing] last year, and the plan was to do Montreal this week.”

A decade working the indie DIY punk circuit is no small feat, and against the odds, the remaining members of Trigger Effect decided to go ahead with the show, which is being billed as the band’s grand finale.

“We want to pay tribute to this awesome band that we’re in, that Nick was a part of, and we want everyone to celebrate that,” Niro says, “but it’s also very personal. We’ll never get to play these songs again, and we also want to do it one last time.”

On vocal duties will be a succession of guests, some of them musician-friends of the band, others ex-Trigger Effect members from the very early days, before their line-up solidified.

“When we told our friends that we wanted to have people come in and sing Nick’s songs, people started lining up, saying, ‘I’ve always wanted to do this song,’ or ‘I’d love to be a part of this.’ Honestly, within a few days of deciding we wanted to this show, we had everybody lined up.”

Guitarist Pat Bennett took on the task of pairing singers with appropriate songs. “Nick’s vocal range was incredible — he could sing, he could scream, he would do it all on key, go really low or really high, all while being kicked in the chest, usually,” Niro reminisces.

And after this? New Order style, the rest of the band is regrouping and reimagining their sound.

“We always said Trigger Effect would only ever be the five of us, so I don’t think it makes any sense to continue without Nick, nor would we want to,” Niro says. “We very casually have been working on new stuff already, so after this show, we’re going to start focusing on what this new project will be. The stuff that we’ve been practising — some of it is where Trigger Effect was heading, some of it is completely different, and I have no idea where we’ll end up. But it’s kind of exciting.” ■

Trigger Effect’s 10th anniversary & final show happens, with openers Hashed Out, Dig It Up + a special guest, at Foufounes Electriques (87 Ste-Catherine E.) in Montreal on Friday, April 4, 9 p.m. For more on Trigger Effect, visit them on Facebook.

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