THE BIG MOVE:
A broken heart and a job offer in 1981 leads him away from Vancouver to Montreal. After a few years in public relations, he gets drunk one night and wakes up next morning with a new career: cabaret artist. During his world debut poetry reading in 1985, he downs a thermos full of Kahlua. Later, he meets a improv guitarist whiz - Sylvain Coté. Together, they form a ‘poetry/music ensemble’ and call themselves Rhythm Activism (RA).


THE RHYTHM ACTIVISM:

Rhythm Activism's first show, 1985

Rhythm Activism: Norman Nawrocki & Sylvain Côté, 1986

RA's first gig in Montreal, 1985

THE MUSIC NEVER STOPS:
By 2001, Norman joins 1-Speed Bike (the drummer from Godspeed you black emperor!) to form 'Bakunin's Bum' - a beat-heavy, drum and strings duo. They release a benefit CD for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty on G-7 Welcoming Committee Records. 'Engaging & empowering' concludes the monthly Exclaim! With his long-time violin partner from the klezmer band, he records DaZoque!  - an all-instrumental east european flavoured, self-titled CD. Montreal's Le Devoir calls it 'astonishing, audacious & delicious.' The sextet plays a sold out show at Montreal's International Jazz Festival. Norman plays the avant guard Musique Actuelle Festival in Victoriaville, Quebec, and continues performing spoken word shows across Canada. He accompanies himself on his amplified/sampled violin with a vibrating dildo & other toys.


THE FILM, THE PLAY, THE BOOK:
Norman is one of four Quebec artists featured in a 2002 Radio Canada TV documentary about 'rebel music.' He's commissioned by CBC Radio to write a series of six 'telephone theatre' plays about the life of a talking payphone in one of Montreal's poorest neighbourhoods. He continues to give workshops across the country at universities, colleges about 'Creative Resistance: how to use music, poetry, theatre & humour to address serious social issues,' and lectures as well on questions of literature, music, and popular theatre. His newest book, 'The Anarchist & The Devil do Cabaret' (Black Rose Books, 207 pages) is published and is his first foray into the world of short stories. Critics love the book and call it "an anthem for social justice"(Amazon.ca), and "outrageously funny & profoundly moving" (Vue, Edmonton).


LESSONS FROM A 7ft PENIS:
Norman starts 2003 touring a new solo talk/performance ,‘Lessons from a 7ft Penis.’ It’s an
hour-long motivational presentation that showcases some of the best material from his ‘sex’ shows, and summarizes his experiences touring North America as a giant, talking, dancing penis, butt plug and vagina.

DaZoque! plays the prestigious Guelph Jazz Festival & Canada’s largest Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Toronto, The St-Vladimir Institute. Norman continues to tour Canada with his newest book, performing live readings while accompanying himself on violin. In Montreal, he reads anti-war poetry on a street corner for his largest ever audience: a 200,000 strong peace demonstration against the war in Iraq.


HOLLYWOOD COMES TO MONTREAL:
In the Summer of 2003, Norman has his first brushes with 'Hollywood.' As an 'extra' during Montreal area feature filming, he gets pushed to the ground by TIM ROTH and merits a thumbs up from ANDIE MCDOWELL for portraying a distraught farmer father opposite her (in the film THE LAST SIGN); gets to make out opposite gun-toting ANGELINA JOLIE, KEIFER SUTHERLAND & OLIVIER MARTINEZ ( in the film TAKING LIVES); and gets a nod & a wink from LL COOL J ( in the film SLOW BURN). In none of these scenes is he allowed to wear his giant, 7ft purple talking penis costume. He finds a 1956 PHILLIPS portable turntable in the alley & can finally listen to his collection of vintage XAVIER CUGAT LPs.

2004 MUSIC EXPLOSION

        DaZoque! performs 70 minutes of traditional, Ukrainian/Canadian, vodka-friendly, 'DaZoquified' dance hits to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of St Vladimir's Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Toronto. They learn that their name, spelled backwards in Ukrainian ('Zadoque'), means 'buttocks.' DaZoque! celebrates with a collective spanking. Their live show awaits a CD release as 'Perogy Party Hits Vol 1: spanking music.'

     Norman, with New York trumpet prodigy, Aaron Shragge (ex-Montréaler) & soundscape engineer/DaZoque!/Loco Locass guitarist Gregory Anderson Smith forms an experimental, instrumental jazz improv trio, 'The Montreal Manhattan Project.' Normbo plays sampled viola & cello. The MMP release a dark & haunting debut, self-titled album, & perform a few rare, live shows in Montréal, christening a new underground venue, 'The Dirty Brown Door.' The way cool, super talented harpist from the Québec Symphony Orchestra, Isabelle Fortier, joins Norman to form another new experimental, un-named contemporary music duo. Isabelle plays her harp through distortion pedals & a guitar amplifier, using metal objects and a whip. Norman adds amplified violin & viola, bells, whistles and French texts. Norman continues solo music/spoken word performances & his 'sex' shows across Canada.

      DaZoque! receives a Canada Council grant to create a French musical about housing rights. They collaborate with a radical, Québec-wide coalition of over 100 housing rights groups, 'FRAPRU' ( 'People's Rights Over Urban Development'). For over 20 years, FRAPRU borrowed Québecois traditional and pop songs, re-writing the lyrics to address questions of tenants' rights & social housing. They sing them during street demonstrations & occupations. DaZoque! re-writes & rearranges some of these songs and composes and writes new ones. They help organize a FRAPRU choir of 12 tenants' rights activists and hire a choir director. The band expands to 10 musicians. The Montréal performance of 'FRAPRU en musique' is a huge success, and is repeated in Québec City & Sherbrooke. Political activists reluctantly agree: music is fun.

      Meanwhile, Norman releases his first ever solo CD, 'Duck Work.'  The anti-war, anti-Empire spoken word/music album is cited as one of the top 10 local releases by The Montréal Gazette, alongside CDs by the Arcade Fire, The Dears, and Sixtoo. Three of the city's top recording engineers & producers - Larry Cassini, Gregory Smith, & David Sturton - help make the album a critical, dance and DJ friendly masterpiece. "Heavenly looped violins, warm percussion & insightful spoken word...Never a dull moment on the disc"  - Urbnet.
     The Québecois ska compilation 2TONGUE #5, includes a new contribution from Bush's Bum: 'Une messe pour les masses' (A Mass for the masses). Norman revisits his childhood church experiences - Baptist by chance.

      For the fifth annual Montreal Anarchist Bookfair, Norman brings together seven local anarchist musicians, and songwriters for 'Music, Anarchy & the Word,' a panel discussion/show. The singers are articulate about the why's, hows and tribulations of anarcho songsmiths. The audience sympathizes.

     Norman creates a new solo show spoken word/live music show based on the life of  Mohamed Harkat, an Algerian and one of 'Canada's Secret Trial Five' detained under Canada's Security Certificate. He reconstructs Mohamed's pre-prison life as a personal diary and accompanies the text with new, Arabic inspired loops, samples & viola.



2005 THE DEVIL SIGNS A RECORDING CONTRACT

       Norman begins recording a new, solo spoken word & music album with letters from 'The Anarchist & The Devil Do Cabaret.'  Concordia University's School of Community & Public Affairs invites him to teach a grad-level course: 'The Arts, Radical Social Change, & Community Economic Development'. Norman rediscovers the pleasure of academia. On tour performing his sex shows & 'Creative Resistance' workshops across the country, he by-passes the Shania Twain museum in Timmons. He buys his first set of cowboy boots - used - in Sudbury.

       With the help of three local musicians, 'Duck Work' hits a Montreal stage as a live band. For the 6th annual Montreal Anarchist Bookfair, Norman pulls together a panel discussion/ reading with six, hot, local anarchist authors of fiction ( Peter Dubè, Bruno Massé, Tara-Michelle, Vincent Tinguely, Claudine Vachon & David Wormaker). Anarchist fiction rocks the house.

      Bored Chapman Stick Bass man extraordinaire, Sylvain Auclair joins Norman (violin/viola) to form SAAN - a new improv duo. They make funny noises in the studio and release a limited edition self-titled debut CD.

      On the west coast, Norman discovers the joys of playing with G7 Welcoming Committee Records label mates, the quite melodious and heavily tattooed Submission Hold. Later, he works with the 'Vancouver Strings X6,' a hot string sextet, featuring Vancouver violin icon 'Sexy Pierre Lumoncel.' Norman introduces a privileged Montreal audience to his favorite virtuosic Ukrainian/Canadian band, Edmonton's Kubasonics. There's talk of an Edmonton/Montreal new alternative Uke/Canadian music festival to come.  DaZoque! works with La Maison Virevolte (a family drop-in centre from the poorest part of a south shore suburb) to produce a concert with a 20 voice women's choir, and a new, expanded DaZoque! Former Rhythm Activism guitar god, Sylvain Côté, and bassist, Sylvain Auclair join DZ for the fun. The choir members, mostly poor, single moms, re-write popular Quebec songs to describe their lives as women living on welfare or with low-paying jobs.

     Never bored Norman plays the role of 'Eddie,' an alcoholic, Saskatchewan Ukrainian Canadian farmer discussing art, in a Montreal theatrical show. Local film-maker wizard, Donald Goodes, bases the show on a film-script. Eddie was his uncle.

     Meanwhile, Montreal almost witnesses a one-show only reunion of the legendary Rhythm Activism. RA last played together in 1998. The idea is born. The ultra-hip, orgy of word-power, Montreal's 'Festival de Voix d'Ameriques' invites Norman on stage. The venerable weekly Montreal Mirror says: 'Every city should be so lucky to have a Norman Nawrocki.' Hee hee!

 

THE KIDS, JAMES BOND, & SOAP in 2006

Nawrocki playing 'Uncle Eddie' in a dramatic reading of Donald Goode's film script, 'Uncle Eddie's Guide to Art Appreciation'

     Norman starts teaching kindergarten, primary and secondary school students across Québec as part of a provincial government program to parachute artists into schools. He teaches everything from short story writing to improv theatre, comedy, & conflict resolution. He's blown away by the kids' creativity, and shocked by the workload of teachers.
      In a locally shot movie, Norman stars 50 feet away from the new, unpopular James Bond replacement (before the dude got his JB part). At home, Norman fends off a hungry squirrel that tries to gnaw through his front window. Among his more memorable performances, he entertains Polish students at the Polish Consulate in Montreal. The students applaud Norman's efforts and his vodka tinged Polish humour. He records and releases his 19th album, 'Letters from Poland/Lettres de pologne' - a 14 track, English/French/Polish spoken word cd with tons of new music. Norman plays piano, accordion, tsymbaly and strings, while his Dad sings a genuine Polish drinking song.

      Norman re-writes an act from one of his older musicals ('Eddy - The Guy over There') for Montreal's first ever Anarchist Theatre Festival. 'Overdale' is a short, 15 minute piece about resisting gentrification in Montreal and the shortage of affordable housing.

     'The Anarchist & The Devil Do Cabaret' is translated into French by Claude Brouillard & published by Lux Editeur as the 300 page 'L'Anarchiste et le diable, voyages, cabarets et autres récits.' At the Canadian Organization of Campus Activities national conference, Norman is nominated as one of the top speakers for the year, alongside George Strombopolous, a hypnotist and a drag queen. Back  home, Norman plays his first Moroccan baby party for a friend's newborn. On the set of an unnamed, cheesy Quebec TV soap, Norman stars as a mute violinist. His newest secret weapon: a modified black violin called 'The Black Madonna.' At the Hillside Music Festival in Guelph, Norman breaks the Festival record for carrot cake consumption in a single sitting. He swears it was the best carrot cake ever.*

Videos & Films

ALIVE & KICKING - 1995, LPN, Montréal
THAT'S THE WAY WE TIE OUR SHOES - 1996, Unbend Films, Amsterdam
MUSIQUES REBELLES - 2002, Productions Multi-Monde, Mtl.

Books

RHYTHM ACTIVISM 'LIVE', 1987, LPN, Montréal
RESIST MUCH - OBEY LITTLE, 1987, LPN, Mtl.
REBEL MOON, @narchist rants & poems, 1997, AK PRESS, San Francisco/Edinburgh
CHASSEUR DE TORNADES, 1998, Edam/LPN, Mtl.
NO MASTERS! NO GODS!, 1999, Smarten Up!/ Get to the Point Publications, Vancouver
THE ANARCHIST & THE DEVIL DO CABARET, 2003, Black Rose Books, Montreal
BREAKFAST FOR ANARCHISTS, 2003 No Bar Code Press, Montreal

(plus numerous anthologies, like City Lights, La Vache Enragée, RESIST, etc.)

>> return to top