An Interview with Leonie Dishaw
Words by Sarah Morrison
Artwork by Leonie Dishaw
Photos by Bouchra Assou
Leonie Dishaw has been a member of the Montreal art & music scene for some time, leaving her imprint on the community before taking off to create a life in Berlin, Germany. Although artistic outlets took a slight pause while the artist/musician found their footing in this new land, Dishaw has returned to producing phenomenal paintings and will shortly be back to playing live shows and DJ sets with their band Lemongrab.
We had a chat with Dishaw to talk about their art, life in both Montreal and Berlin, Lemongrab, and the band's new start in a new country.
At what age did you start experimenting with different mediums of art? Which came first, painting or writing music?
I started drawing really young, but painting came a lot later, when I was around eighteen. At that time, we had the student strike in Quebec to fight the increase in tuition price, and I went to spend four months with my grandma in Victoria, British Columbia. I transformed her old chicken coop into my painting studio and got more comfortable with the medium, which quickly became my favorite! As for music, that came later. I think it took me (too) many years to find the confidence to even try to play an instrument. I was glad to find the perfect friends to start learning how to play.
Would you say it’s important to have a balance or variety of different forms of art to experiment with?
It’s a blessing to be able to go back and forth between mediums when you’re feeling stale in one or the other. I have my two personalities that come out, depending what kind of art I’m making. I find a relaxed self in painting, and listen to a lot of classical music and old garage and I’m walking around my studio like “ta ta ta” maybe strumming the acoustic here and there. But when I’m making punk, it’s a group thing, and I feel impulsive and loud and it’s a whole different side of me that comes out.
You were based out of Montreal, QC, for most of your life and recently made the move to Berlin, Germany. What sort of brought on that idea?
I’ve been very inspired by German painters and artists like Max Beckmann, Lotte Laserstein and Joseph Beuys. I think I developed this holy Berlin narrative in my head because of David Bowie and Iggy Pop’s time there and fell in love with badass musicians like Nina Hagen and all the other avant-garde artists who evolved in Berlin. Rock n Roll history seemed to point out that this was indeed the place to be for this kind of gritty edgy art.
I’ve heard that Montreal, QC, and Berlin, GE, are similar in many ways. What’s your opinion? Have you noticed a similar culture/lifestyle?
Totally. In both cities, people love to hang! Since moving to Berlin, I’ve met so many inspiring musicians and artists. Gotta say, one thing Berlin has that Montreal does not, is smoking indoor and drinking in the streets. That’s been chill as fuck, and now I don’t understand why it’s not like that everywhere. Citizens in Germany are given full responsibility for themselves, and they are trusted not to act like complete fools. That’s nice. Although on the flipside people in the streets love to micro-police you. Maybe I’m just reckless on my bike by their standards but hardly a day or two goes by without me getting yelled at by some old man in the streets for doing something wrong...
What was your first day out exploring the city like? What are some of your favorite spots?
I was so overwhelmed at first. The streets felt packed and chaotic, and going for a short walk was a wild ride full of misunderstandings and big German energy. On my first day, I tried to sleep some, but I was too excited, so I had coffee and then some beers in the streets and strolled around the canal in Neukolln. That ended up foreshadowing a lot of my leisure time in the year to come. I’ve since found some cool spots. One is a bridge out in Adlershof near my studio. I like to enjoy a little sunset and a beer there. Also, my friend Gaelle and I discovered a swimming spot on the Spree River where you have to jump from a concrete ledge to get into the water. Gotta take ashower after though... Some favorite bars are O Tannenbaum: there music is always dope there, and it’s so tiny you always end up talking to the person next to you. I also love Tennis bar (I have a painting hanging there indefinitely). They used to host cool gigs often. Now it’s more of a casual hang, but the owners Billy and Ryan are super cool and it’s a pillar of the Neukolln art scene. Another favorite is 8mm for my rock n roll needs.
Who are some artists and musicians/bands that you’ve discovered since moving?
I’m a big fan of Gym Tonic We had played a show together at Sled Island but it’s been great to see them live more often now that we live in the same city. Also I love the punk band Lassie from Leipzig They are somewhere between Devo and the Spits and it’s fucking rockin! Also fanning on the punk band SUCK. Their Ep is a sure shot, short and sweet. Also, my friend Dennis makes this epic music under the name CV Vision It’s both futurist prog and the soundtrack to your medieval dreams.
Who inspired you the most as an artist while learning your own aesthetic? What makes them standout and special to you?
One of my favorite artists is Philip Guston. I am mesmerized by his colours. His reds and greens are unforgettable and I continue to look at his paintings every time I paint to try and uncover more of his secrets. I love the thickness and the wetness of his brushwork. His imagery is dark and symbolic but approached through a lighter lense,. When I saw his work “Painting, Smoking, Eating” in Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum I teared up. I have always been attracted to colour and brushwork in a painting, so Guston is a definite favorite. While I was studying at Concordia in Montreal, I went to see a show by Margaux Williamson at Parisian Laundry and that was also unforgettable. She’s another painter who is painting “wet on wet”, which means working on layers of paint before they have dried, which gives a real spontaneity to the brushstrokes. I’m also hugely inspired by Nicole Eisenman, Kerry James Marshall, Maud Lewis, and many, so many more.
How has moving to Berlin influenced the way you work? Do you find you’ve stimulated a new way of working by being in a new city/country? Have you adapted new techniques that you might have not been experimenting with before?
It’s been a real game changer to finally have a large studio. It’s a little out of town, but that’s also a nice disconnect to have. I now have the space to have friends come over and model, which is always a good time! It took me around 4 months to find the studio, during which I went to many many museums and galleries and tried to educate myself about painting. When I finally got the space, I was inspired and ready to get to work.
Could you describe your studio space? How have you set it up?
I have two easels in the middle, my record player with a few vinyls which by now I’ve listened to wayyyy too many times, a little bed in a corner for nap time and my master chair to sit in and look at the painting in progress and reflect on my next move. It’s very cute. I secretly lived here during the covid lockdown with my best friend. We would read all day and light thirty candles in old wine bottles, listen to the same record over and over again and wear our matching bright orange hoodies.
How would you typically start a piece?
I usually just have an idea, sitting at a bar or laying in bed. If I don’t I’ll still start by building the stretcher and getting the canvas prepped and by then hopefully I’ll have thought of something. I might do a quick sketch, but most of the action happens directly on the canvas.
A lot of your new work is based around friends and those who will pose for the piece. Is having your work focused around everyday loved ones important?
It’s been a great blessing to have the space for friends to come model. I used to have to rely on photographs but that truly sucks. You can’t get any information from a picture like you will from the actual person. It has been important, and has made for lovely bonding moments as well as opportunities to have friends over in my private space. I’ve moved five times in the past year, but have always kept my studio and to me this is my most personal place. So it’s a nice exchange of intimacy.
Lemongrab, when did you start up this project?
Gaelle, Marilou and I started the project in 2016, off to a slow start, we tried to teach ourselves to play instruments and write songs together. We would meet up and have beers and tell each other stories of the past week and bitch about it and transform it into tunes. For our first show, we were so shy. We drove out 8 or so hours to Barrie, Ontario and played a 12 minute set. Best show ever. They wanted an encore but we had none!
I’m only assuming that the band names must steam from the ‘Earl of Lemongrab’ on ‘Adventure Time?’
You know it.
What is a ‘Naked Ass Marimba?’
One can only imagine...
Your debut album ‘It Doesn’t Sound Good but It Feels Awesome,’ was that a phrase felt quite personal to the way you felt about the album at the time?
For sure! Gaelle, Marilou and I have known each other for a long time, and before we even thought of seriously making music, we would always joke about starting a band. One night at Gaelle’s parents house, we made up a fake band, and pretended that we were gonna go into a random town and put on a show. We said we would put up posters everywhere that promoted our show and only said “It doesn’t sound good but it feels awesome” and that eventually felt like the very beginning of our band dream and the perfect first album title.
You actually managed to jump on some great show bills, but managed to tour with BRONCHO despite complications with a work visa. How stressful was the experience?
The experience was great. What I really love in the music scene is the connection you make with other bands and the mutual respect that people have for each other. It’s so inspiring. My friend Chloe and I met Broncho in 2015, so before I started to make any music. We became friends and hung out everytime they were in town, and eventually I was like : “Hey, I got a band now” and they were super stoked. So the following time they came to Montreal, we opened for them at the Ritz and they were just super proud and supportive and asked us right away to get ready to go on tour with them in the U.S. We didn’t want to get our hopes up but a couple weeks later the email came and we had to get ready really fast. It was honestly the best week of my life, once we passed the border. It was like living a dream no doubt. The stressful part may have been to find a place to stay after the show, but we always asked around and great adventures followed. In Baltimore we ended up staying at this lovely guy Danti’s house and he had five pigs and some chickens. It was dope. At night, we were all piled up in one room and he said goodnight to us and as he was shutting the light said : “aw, you look like my piggies when they sleep, I’ll show you tomorrow when we go wake them up together”. What a sweetie!
You’ve got a very close bond with the band. What’s made them the perfect group to tour around with?
They are so down to earth and caring, and I know how stoked they are that we had a dream and made it happen and they wanna do everything in their power to help us thrive and accomplish it even more. Also, I couldn’t be more excited to hear their music and dance to it every night. And the same for them, I think most bands would just go hang in the green room as they wait for their time but they always come and have a drink and support the opening bands and encourage everyone around them which is rare and beautiful.
The line-up has shifted a bit but has now more than ever due to the transition into Germany. Who is in the current line-up?
We have three new members, Teun, Jon and Caspar. It’s definitely a challenge to start over but we’re stoked that it’s happening. We met all of them in very natural ways and that’s important to us. The main concern is finding people that we can hang with and have a good time with.
You’ve been working on a new record over the past year or so, what is some gossip you can spill on the music to come? What’s maybe changed or not changed? How long did you chip away at it for?
Oh god! We recorded the album in Montreal last August before I left, so it’s been on the shelf for a long ass time. We finally finished the mixes in like February and just finished the mastering. It’s been slow. I think our main priority was to get the band playing again so we could have a record release show. To be continued…
Now that Gaelle [Cordeau] is in Berlin with you, what sort of plans do you have for the band? Once the world is healthy again, will you be touring around Europe/UK?
WE CANNOT WAIT!!!!! We will tour !!!!!!