On Thursday, November 6, hordes of people piled into Bar des Arts (BdA), McGill’s weekly Faculty of Arts bar, to see a Jam for Justice show featuring multiple bands — one of which was Antics, a Chinese rock band. The five-piece group began covering English songs, such as “Head in the Ceiling Fan” and
“Shed” by Title Fight, and later transitioned to their Chinese songs, like ” ” (Ài mǎ) by No Party For Cao Dong, as the crowds grew bigger and more animated. Zhijian Jason Zhou, one of the lead singers, took to the microphone with a razor-wire rasp, while Declan Hoegner, Khalil Moola, and Ariel Chiam let loose on three electric guitars, with drummer Garma Yang accompanying them. The grunge-inspired band belted songs in both English and Chinese with raw enthusiasm.
Antics performs across McGill’s arts and bar scenes, sharing work shaped by their Chinese heritage and creating community around the love of Chinese rock. The band’s five members represent McGill’s
various academic faculties, ranging from computer science to nursing. Meeting through mutual friends, the band members bonded over their shared love of grunge and rock genres, selecting the name Antics for their playful and lighthearted approach to music. According to the band, not being
associated with the Faculty of Music can pose a challenge due to the limited access that non–Music students have to resources such as practice rooms and artist networks. This inaccessibility can make finding like-minded musicians difficult. Still, Antics’ members crossed paths and came together to form a rock band built on mutual connection and passion.
When Zhou introduce Chinese rock into their musical repertoire in September 2024, they quickly embraced the genre and incorporated it into their sets. Unlike the rebellious intent of rock in China, which often contests the government. For Antics’ members, Chinese rock is about the enjoyment of
performing and the community it creates.
“For me, it’s [for] my girlfriend,” Moola says, while Zhou adds that it’s about “making our friends happy.”
The band’s energy has caused listeners to fall in love with their music, although they often have to play genres that cater to specific venues, rather than their own choices. The music scene at McGill can be
fragmented due to the disparate nature of the university’s bar scene, which pulls focus away from artists and their music, instead highlighting the specific atmosphere of individual bars or events. At BdA, the riveted crowd displayed enthusiastic reactions to the Chinese songs, despite the language barrier separating most of them from the lyrics. Just as they announced that the next song would be Chinese instead of English, a member of the crowd yelled, “Let’s go!”
Zhou is proud of the way that Antics brings a piece of the Chinese diaspora to the mainstream McGill party scene. “[I’m] sharing the joy I felt when I first listened to [Chinese rock],” he says. Antics’ primary
objective isn’t to “make it” like much of the Montreal music scene. Rather, it is to create music in a fun, informal manner, not just for their own satisfaction but also for their loved ones, thereby spreading
their passion and unique fusion sound to the McGill community.
As Zhou puts it, “We should [remember] that university is not just about homework, coding, finding a job … but is [also] a place to be with friends.”
Antics can be found on Instagram @anticstheband.