Playing to the beat of his own drum
Country Connection
There are not many people who are aware that Daniel Togo Bélanger got his nick name from a professional Japanese wrestler, better known by his ring name, Dick Togo. A neighbor started calling him Togo when he was about four years old and it just stuck, but the truth is that although he was a bit chubby, he was never a fighter.
Bélanger was born in La Tuque and grew up with two sisters and a brother. Nobody else in the family was a musician, but they all loved country music and often listen to it in the house.
His father worked at the Canadian International Paper, an English manufacturer in La Tuque. Bélanger was exposed to English music early on in life and he developed a love for rhythm.
“My parents had a turntable and many records of mainly American country artists,” he remembered. “I recall making circles out of play dough, which I placed all around me and used as my drums. Following the beat of the music on my make believe drums was an activity that I enjoyed quite a bit.
One day, when he was about 13, on his way back from school, Bélanger was following two older students who were talking about music. As soon as they mentioned that they had to find a drummer, he told them he was interested and could do it even if he was very shy at the time.
“I didn’t have a drum, but the girl owned both a guitar and a drum. They invited me to come practice with them and I did. This is how it all started,” Bélanger explained.
A short while after that, the trio started performing with two guitars and a drum at private events, parties, and weddings. Belanger gained a lot of experience and abilities and as he got better, to his surprise, he started getting phone calls for jobs.
“Some much older and skilled musicians started calling me, offering me jobs in hotels, bars, dance hall and since I wasn’t of age, I had to sit in the lobby with a chip and a soda pop during the intermission,” he shared. “From the very first gig I played, I knew that I was in the right place on a stage. I have always felt an easiness performing on stage, contrary to how uncomfortable I felt with people off stage.”
For quite a few years, Bélanger and his friends formed little bands, mainly to practice and hone their skills. When he turned 18, he met Gaston Tremblay, a member of the local band The Aquarels, who told him that if he ever moved here, to give him a call.
It was already a part of the young man’s plans to move to Sherbrooke, first for the proximity to the US border and the many country bands around here, but also because he had seen the band Big Foot perform on television.
He thought that the chance to play with great bands was much bigger if he was here in town, so along with his childhood friend Rejean Letendre, he decided they would come live in Sherbrooke.
“So I moved here and I called Gaston Tremblay asking him to introduce me to country musicians,” Bélanger said. “The first musician I met was Yvan Moreault, who, in turn introduced me to Huson Grenier. The three of us played about a year together.”
During that time, Moreault and Belanger met many musicians with the intent of finding some top players to form a band. During their search, they did quite a few gigs but the one gig that was the most impressive for young Belanger, was to leave on tour with Terry Sutton.
“I remember when we left on tour with Terry. I thought at the time, that it was the real deal. My dreams were coming true. To all get in that van and hit the road for a long period of time, playing different venues in different cities was sensational. It was really exciting for me as a young musician,” he recalled.
Of course, Belanger went on to tour many other times in his life, but this first experience was fabulous. He and Moreault finally found the right musicians to form the first edition of the band Texas Quebec, including Michael Goodsell, Mike Savoy, Jacques Jobin, and Bob Boisclair.
“This is how we formed Texas Quebec. I must say that I learnt a lot from Moreault about the importance of what goes on the stage, as well as the business part of the music industry,” he said. “Yvan always was a go-getter and not as shy as I was.”
The guys invested a lot of energy in reaching the top. Back when they were playing at the Bar Ouest in Sherbrooke, Belanger recalled that after the bar closed at 2:30 a.m., they stuck around and practiced until 6:00 a.m. This goes to show us that even when you are very talented, hard work is important if you want spectacular results.
Texas Quebec was on its way to stardom. They did the Festival in Dolbeau, which got them a lot of attention, as well as gigs all over the province.they really reached the peak when they opened the Petit Nashville Bar in Sherbrooke. The place was packed four nights a week, but then came a change of musicians: Rejean Letendre, Alain Carpentier and Roger Gravel joined Moreault and Belanger for the second edition of Texas Quebec.
“The funny thing is that Carpentier and Letendre were also natives to La Tuque just like me. A lot of musicians came from La Tuque and funny thing is at one point during that period, most of the bands around had at least one musician from La Tuque” Bélanger said.
At that time, many variety shows were recorded at Tele 7 and when the artists were staying in Sherbrooke overnight, they looked for a bar with entertainment like the Petit Nashville. Every week would bring some new faces at the bar.
The rumor that many artists were visiting the bar started to spread, drawing bigger crowds and raising the awareness of Texas Quebec. The group was the first live band to perform at the Michel Jasmin talk show.
For quite a few years, the band was constantly on tour performing in every festivals and often accompanying artists who did not have a regular band. The musicians were tight, the harmonies perfect and the musicianship was unbelievable.
“One day we decided to open Musikville (music store). We sold everything that had to do with music, but we also had an equipment rental department and guys who specialised in sound and stage lights. That kept us quite busy until one day, when Carpentier and I went on tour with Alain Morisod and Sweet people” he shared.
Eventually they became too busy with different other aspects of their career and decided to sell the store. Bélanger didn’t know but his life on the road was far from being over.
“Quebec singer Pier Beland got in touch with me, and I agreed to go on tour with her,” he said. “I was also responsible for everything that had to do with the tour. It lasted ten years. Every summer, we did at least 20 huge shows and we toured all over the province”
Bélanger is cool, calm, collected, and a very friendly person. His ability to work with a team and adapt to almost anything served him right. So did the fact that he was a perfectionist. He’s no longer the shy young man who came to Sherbrooke years ago. The man is talented, personable and an excellent collaborator for those he works with.
After such a successful career, he now picks the gigs he wants to play. He loves music and he wants to have fun doing it. According to Bélanger, the best quality for a drummer or any musicians is the ability to listen to the others musicians playing on the same stage.
To conclude, he said that after all these years, he is still in amazed at how he was kindly greeted by the English community, despite the fact that when he moved here, he barely spoke the language. Belanger is forever grateful for all the lasting friendships he has made here and traditional country music is still his music of choice.