My first Montreal apartment: Lori Morrison

This wonderful tale from the great Lori Morrison, 80s scenester-band-manager-gal-about-town, radio-darling Miss Ginger, current voice actress.

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Summer of 1987, 17 yrs old, street-smart smart-alek ventured off to my first apt with my best friend, Natasha at 2371 Hampton, top floor.
Right around when the "Miss Ginger" persona began to evolve out of the high school moniker "Chelsea X(TC)."
Natasha was in Two Men Laughing, but it was more jam stuff in the apartment with band members from...Bad Results? Denton? someone or other.
Moving away from evil and eviler was a Godsend. It was shockingly one of the first stable environments for me.
I grew up all over. Moved 20 times by the time I was 17. Lived in PEI, BC, Ontario, and all over Montreal from Point St Charles to Lasalle to Westmount (Sherbrooke and Greene, represent!).
Our place was at the corner of Sherbrooke and Hampton, a place owned by the Korean guy who also owned the Perrette's downstairs, if I remember correctly. We were never banned from the delights of the coffee ice cream filled freezer, contrary to what some were told. I do remember the cellar had a dirt floor, though...cough, yeah.
Natasha was the bassist in a band that I managed, and living room concerts were the norm. Neighbours would have hated us to bits if they weren't members of other Montreal bands (punk and otherwise). Touring bands also camped out on our floors through our stay in that building.

  How we paid bills: I was fresh out of high school and managed "Surprise" in Les Terrasses.
We had a magical cat, Armakitty/Armageddon Elvis. We had the occasional beach party, complete with sand all over the floor, and painted palm trees (later covered in black paint, duh, and fabric over the ceilings and door trims for the total "all the world is a stage" effect).
No fights with roomies or boyfriends, we were cool. We had this great futon (that we made, too broke to buy one) that was festooned with stick figure men. One stick figure added each time I had a new boyfriend. We also had markers and paint in the bathroom, where we'd welcome input onto the walls.
Cops were either fans of the band and jealous we never invited them, or some asshat called about 'noise' or some nonsense, as they were frequent visitors.

Like the time they showed up, no one heard them over the amps, so they 'let themselves in via door break," only to find a room full of costumed people but it wasn't Halloween.
Said door, was then brought to the landlord with a note, "I think we need a new door. Thanks, Lori."
The slice of greenspace across the street was then known as the unofficial Little Britain Park, where delightful people like Robbie Dillon would regale us with tales, and invites to parties we never attended, sadly.
We had Gassenhauer and the Discords living next door, and a whack of others (I'd love to name them, but some are dead, and do I really want to name them, anyway?). There was a great reggae record store across the street, too, and they made rotis in the back. "International" something?
Moved out of the 1st place when it was time to hitchhike across Europe to meet up with (haha!) skateboarding penpals, and ultimately end up bartending in Athens, where I learned my 1st Greek word: "Poso?" "How much?" It was in the brothel area, I learned quickly. Eeeeesh.

Read the entire My First Montreal Apartment series

• Snarchland: Neil Cameron's My First Montreal Apartment
• My First Montreal Apartment: John Allore
• Mike Boone: My first Montreal apartment
• My first Montreal apartment: Jack Ruttan
• Vava Vol - My first Montreal apartment
• My first Montreal apartment: Kate McDonnell
• My first Montreal apartment: John Hood
• My first Montreal apartment: Stephen Lack
• My first Montreal apartment: Taras Grescoe
• My first Montreal apartment: Dennis Trudeau
• My first Montreal apartment: Colin Robertson
• My first apartment - Daniel Richler