You may know him as Derek Madison; you may know him as Grasshopper — either way, the multi-talented man is one of the unheralded linchpins of this city’s independent music community. You’ve seen Madison around, even if you’re not familiar with his oeuvre. For almost two decades, Madison’s had a hand in countless creative projects in this city, but the guy is still best known as the brains behind seminal ‘90s noise-rock outfit Grasshopper.

If that name means nothing to you, fear not — this Friday, Sept. 19, you have an unprecedented chance to see a new-school incarnation of the act, with Madison backed by the rhythm section of Justin Peroff (Broken Social Scene) and Tara White (Elevator). It’s part of the two-night No Subtitles art-and-music show at Whippersnapper Gallery (587A College), curated by Peroff and Madison, and featuring work by tonnes of great local artists with ties to the music scene.

Around 1990, while Madison was still a student at alternative school SEED, he started jamming with pals including original bassist “Nasty” Nav Sangha. The lineup kept shifting, but Madison was a constant presence. A self-described “punk-rock hip-hop head,” he concocted a sludgy dynamic stew that he dubbed Grasshopper.

“At the time, Toronto music was just Blue Rodeo and the Tragically Hip,” snorts Madison, who cites hardcore icons Phleg Camp as one of his favourite T.O. bands of all time. “We used to play Elvis Mondays, because William New was the only guy who would book us. And he kept booking us. Thank god for that guy.”

In 1992, Grasshopper released their Born Loser cassette. In Jonny Dovercourt’s liner notes for the vinyl reissue of the album in 2005, he says, “in ’92 we all rallied around the G-Hoppa flag. We had our own Nirvana on our hands, or so we thought. But they never quite made the leap from the underground.”

Watch: Grasshopper perform "Born Loser" at the Yonge Street HMV in 1993

 “The industry thought I was really anti-industry,” Madison sighs. “It was kind of like we ended up facing off with hHead [Brendan Canning’s former band], like we were the super-villains and they were the superheroes. They got radio play on CFNY and stuff, and we didn’t, even though people were coming to our shows.”

So Madison moved. After Beck’s “Loser” became a hit, Bong Load Records summoned Grasshopper to LA, where they couch-surfed for four months and played a tonne of gigs. “The Melvins, Sonic Youth, Mike Watt — they were all coming to our shows and saying, ‘You’re so great! We can’t believe you’re from Toronto.’”

By ’95, Madison was “sick of guitar music altogether.” He hung out in Harlem before moving back to Toronto and discovered that the local hip-hop records he was crazy about — Saukrates, Choclair, the Grassrootz — were connected through the same producer, one Gadget. Madison quickly became Gadget’s right-hand man; you’ll find his name on countless Canadian hip-hop records released between ’95 and 2001.

He also launched Grasshopper Soundclash, a mellow, sample-based project that “was interesting for a moment, and then the moment passed.” And closer to his heart, he frequently worked as a soundtrack supervisor and composer in collaboration with film writer/director/producer Dawn Wilkinson, the mother of his child and the love of his life (though the two split earlier this year).

In the interim, he found time to play gigs with 10,000 Watt Head and ambient pop crew Still Life Still. More recently, he’s been doing DJ gigs, with stints as part of Shack Up.

Reforming Grasshopper was Peroff’s idea, Madison claims, but now that he’s been rehearsing with his new rhythm section, his feelings around the project have shifted. “Two weeks ago, I’d say it was a one-off thing, but they’re such great people, I think I’d like to do more shows with them. I could be up for a tour.

 “Y’know, it usually feels like nothing ever panned out,” he adds, “but every day someone tells me a Grasshopper story.”

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