Martin Deschamps (born June 23, 1970) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

. He records and performs both as a solo artist and as the lead vocalist for the reunited Offenbach.

Young age

Deschamps was born with congenital deformities of all four limbs; he is missing both his left arm and right leg, and has only two fingers on his right hand. At the age of nine, his family moved to

Rawdon, Quebec Rawdon is a municipality located on the Ouareau River in southwestern Quebec, Canada, about 60 kilometres north of Montreal. It is the seat for the Regional County Municipality of Matawinie, in the Lanaudière region. Rawdon is part of the Jolie ...

. During his youth, his handicap was not mocked in school. He entertained his student friends in class and maintained good enough grades to be the first of his class. He started playing the drums when he reached 11 years of age, and by the age of 15, he was playing

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

and started singing. From 1989 to 1995 he was a graphic designer for Bell company. The first band he played in was called ''Any Way,'' as their drummer. Knowing he wanted to become a band leader, he formed his own group called ''Deep Freeze''.

Career

His musical career began in 1996 when, with that group, he was named best vocalist in the ''

L'Empire des futures stars An empire is a political unit made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) exer ...

'' competition. He was subsequently invited to join rock band Offenbach on a reunion tour as the replacement for the late

Gerry Boulet Joseph Gaétan Robert Gérald (Gerry) Boulet (March 1, 1946 – July 18, 1990) was a French Canadian rock singer.

, and immediately departed on a 50-show tour. He then released his own solo debut, ''Comme je suis'', in 2000. Selling 60,000 copies in Quebec, the album spawned three hit singles and was nominated for three

Félix Award The Félix Award (french: Trophée Félix or Prix Félix) is an award, given by the ''Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois'' (ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian p ...

s, for best new artist, best rock album and best single ("Quand"). For his second album, 2001's ''Différent'', he donated a portion of the profits to Montreal's

Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine The Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine) is the largest mother and child centre in Canada and one of the four most important pediatric centres in North America. It is affiliated with the Université de Montréal, lo ...

, and subsequently became a spokesperson for the province's ''Semaine des personnes handicapées''. He subsequently recorded two songs for the soundtrack to

Denise Filiatrault Denise Filiatrault, (born May 16, 1931) is a Canadian actress and director. Biography Filiatrault attained star status on TV in the 1960s, co-starring with Dominique Michel in the Radio-Canada television series '' Moi et l'autre'' (1967–71) ...

's film ''

Alice's Odyssey ''Alice's Odyssey'' (french: L'Odyssée d'Alice Tremblay) is a Canadian family comedy fantasy film, directed by Denise Filiatrault and released in 2002. The film stars Sophie Lorain as Alice Tremblay, a single mother who becomes drawn into the fa ...

(L'Odyssée d'Alice Tremblay)'' and a duet with

Lynda Lemay Lynda Lemay (born 25 July 1966 in Portneuf, Quebec) is a Canadian francophone singer-songwriter. Through her mother she is a descendant of Zacharie Cloutier. After winning regional awards in 1989 she went to France and regularly tours in Queb ...

, and mounted a successful concert tour in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. His third album, ''Le Désert'', was released in 2003. That album's single "Vérité" spent five weeks at #1 on Quebec's pop charts. Offenbach subsequently released the album ''Nature'' in 2005, and Deschamps toured with the band that year. He performed during the

2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Paralympics, or the X Paralympic Games were held on March 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST (02:00 UTC, March 13) at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The opening ceremony's them ...

. He performed at the

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

for

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on T ...

, deceased leader of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

, on August 27, 2011. He released a Christmas CD in December 2012. It features his daughter. In an interview with fellow disabled person Elizabeth, he cites Metallica, AC/DC and PATOFFE as his greatest musical inspirations. Martin Deschamps performed in 2004 for the anti-smoking group Commando Oxygene at la TOHU. He sang a cover of "I feel good" by James Brown. He began the performance by discussing his history of smoking, and after declaring that he was now a non-smoker he said "Boy, do I feel good" and danced on stage. He owns a custom made Harley Davidson, which has been built so that he can ride it without arms or legs.

Notes

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deschamps, Martin Canadian rock singers Singers from Montreal French Quebecers Canadian amputees Living people 1970 births Amputee musicians Singers with disabilities French-language singers of Canada Participants in Canadian reality television series 21st-century Canadian male singers