Très Bonne Missoula

From my instagram

“New to the Zoo, got into a little monkey business on this one. Tres Bonne is opening downtown (corner of Higgins and Front) and I still have no clue where else you’ll find a place like this. French tropical house has definitely been a “most listened to” genre for me over the years and I personally feel like this spot embodies that vibe. “ (cont.)

“Was going along the lines of what I was describing as “Street Art Deco.” From away it feels deco wallpaper/stained glass-y but there are little drippys and some sweet, Hallmark™ moments you’re more likely to find in the alley. Tried to capture a dash of our primate-ness and many interesting behaviors. Whether the Jungle’s fantastic or concrete, it can be both serene and treacherous at the same time, with no shortage of mating rituals. For the highbrows out there we even explore complex mysteries like McKenna’s stoned ape theory; where the monkey that ate a mushroom started wearing a cowboy hat.” (cont.)

“As a triptych for a brunch to nightlife spot, it seemed logical to have morning, day and night as the jumping off point. I’ve been lucky enough to spend a little time in the Peruvian Amazon and that experience definitely returned to my mind on this project. I’ve never been somewhere as alive in every direction, every square foot felt like it had a bazillion different organisms just doing their own thing. I’ll never forget how powerful the way the entire soundscape shifted the second the sun set that first night. “ (cont.)

“As always fun to play with styles and themes, like playing a different genre of music or something. Not sure why I keep referencing sound so much but they do have a DJ booth. And really most larger projects I end up with memories tied whatever I was listening to while working on them. Sometimes I think the music or audiobook or whatever factors into random moments on a piece. Ultimately though most projects are shaped by the vision for the space, colors ofc but often I’ll try to incorporate elements from the light fixtures and whatnot to help tie things together. “ (cont.)

“I made some buddies with a few (mostly)Venezuelans who were working on this project using my sophisticated form of Spanglish (A+ level charades with the occasional French word spoken with some latin flare.) It started with “Quireo musica? Musica de donde?” sort of shit. But I know we officially entered vato-bro territory not when they offered me a beer at the end of a Friday, but rather when one started showing me random pictures on his phone asking(~98% sure) if I wanted to marry one of his cousins. And while my Spotify recommendations are now entirely Columbian bangers this phrase we jaja-ed over comes to mind as a nice way to sum things up.
“Todos el Mundo entiendo mono pipi.” And that my friends, is the power of art. “ (cont.)

For a logo they were thinking something along classic Miami-Deco flamingo vibes but we’re in Montana, famous for our Great Pink Herons so that was an obvious duh. I even saw that one who’s always chilling in that spot on the far side of Brennan’s when I was crossing the bridge working on this.