Q&A: Hugo Mudie Discusses Round 4 of Pouzza Fest
In its fourth year, the Montreal-based Pouzza Fest will once again be a city-wide affair for punk rockers to let loose with genre veterans and 
upstarts looking to etch out a larger place within the scene.
This year, Pouzza boasts The Hold Steady, Mad Caddies, Reagan Youth, SNFU, Dillinger Four, Chixdiggit, The Flatliners, The Menzingers, The Dayglo Abortions, CJ Ramones, Tim Barry, Mustard Plug, Drag The River, Morning Glory, and The Brains, to name but a few. In all, more than 200 bands will roll through nine venues from May 16 through 18. Ticket packages ranging from $20-$100, are still available.
Ahead of the festival, Riffyou.com caught up with Hugo Mudie, who along with Helene McKoy, are charged with bringing punk rock loyalists into the city they call home and showing them one hell of a time.
RY: So that we are 100% clear, could you provide us with a quick history of Pouzza Festival’s origins and where the idea for it first came from?
Hugo: “We were inspired by The Fest in Gainesvillle, FLA. My band The Sainte Catherines have played it since Fest 2, and we thought it would be cool to do [something like that] in Montreal, where people like punk rock and having a good time. So, we did it.”
RY: From my seat, I can sense a great enthusiasm from the independent punk rock community regarding Pouzza. What do you think it is about your festival that generates such excitement from the artists performing and/or attending it?
Hugo: “I think people really like the city of Montreal, so it’s cool for them to hang out in the downtown of this beautiful city with a bunch of other tattooed bearded men. Also, the fans are awesome, the women are highly intelligent, and the food is great. We also treat bands real well and make sure they have the best weekend of their lives.”
RY: How complicated are the logistics of putting a festival of this size and scope together? How does your team handle what must be a crazy workload?
Hugo: “It’s pretty crazy and stressful and stupid. But, at one point, someone whose been doing this for a long time told me ‘just do your best, there will always be problems. Try to fix them as best as you can, and remember why you are doing this. And that’s so other people can have fun.’ We try to live by that.”
RY: How much staff/volunteers do you have in place to make sure everything goes off without a hitch?
Hugo: “Close to a hundred people are volunteering at the festival. Without them it would be impossible to do this thing.”
RY: Why does Montreal make sense as the location for Pouzza?
Hugo: “People here love punk rock and music in general. There are a lot of live venues; the downtown area is fun to walk around; there are
lots of restaurants and parks and things to do. It’s like I’ve said before: Montreal is a great spot for vacation, so you might as well go when all your favourite bands are playing.”
RY: Can you foresee a time when this festival takes place in a different Canadian city? Or, is this going to forever be a Montreal festival?
Hugo: “We’d like to bring it on the road and we’d like to do it in other big Canadian cities, yes.”
RY: You’ve managed to balance your lineup nicely with notable scene veterans and upstart and/or growing acts. Why is it important for you to have that mix?
Hugo: “That’s the whole goal of the festival. We want to please old school punkers, but also make sure they discover new acts that are still in it for the right reasons, and are still representing what we always liked about this thing called punk.”
RY: When it comes to making sure each day is well-attended, how much focus is there in spreading out the headliners over the three-day stretch?
Hugo: “Doing the scheduling is one of the hardest things for me, and the other people in charge of booking. We think it’s very important that every day has something cool, something big, and something that people will not want to miss. But tastes are hard to understand sometimes.”
RY: Do you believe that more festivals, like yours, with a focus on a certain segment of the rock community are needed in Canada? Why or why not?
Hugo: “Needed, I don’t know. I think we need more homeless shelters, open-minded people, honest politicians, electric cars, women in power and trees. But, I think it’s still a good thing to have a cool weekend of enjoying yourself and forget about all those things you need more of, and that there’s another Walmart in your old hometown.”
RY: By industry standards, your festival is pretty fairly priced in terms of passes. How does your festival manage to maintain financial stability?
Hugo: “We do our best. This is the hardest part. We think that at some point we will sell enough passes and have enough cool sponsors to make it financially sound. We are getting closer and closer.”
RY: When people are at your festival, what do you hope they take from it?
Hugo: “I want them to meet new people, discover new bands, enjoy the old bands they haven’t seen during the year, fall in love, eat great food, laugh, and think about coming back next year.”
RY: What else should our readers know about Pouzza Fest?
Hugo: “Here at the office, we listen to more Katy Perry than The Exploited.”
-Adam Grant
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