Family celebrate life of Montreal musician killed in fire

MONTREAL – Luke Rachwalski was a gentle spirit who was determined to make his mark on Montreal’s burgeoning music scene.

“This is what my son was born to do,” said his mother, Terry Rachwalski, just a day after arriving in Montreal to make funeral arrangements.

Rachwalski, who died in an apartment fire in the Montreal neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grace (NDG), was in a jazz-rock band from Victoria, B.C. called Canvas.

In pictures: Remembering musician Luke Rachwalski 

He and his three bandmates worked in clubs there for three years before acquiring an old school bus, gutting it, and hitting the road in an effort to follow their dreams in Montreal.

“They just decided they were going to go to Montreal. It’s the Mecca of music and if you’re going to play jazz, that’s where you go,” his mother said.

The ride into town wasn’t always easy.

The bus broke down frequently and the band lived in it for the better part of a month after they arrived in early October.

At one juncture, they would wait until a Wal-Mart in Montreal closed, at which point, they would park behind it and jam using the store’s electrical hookups, before falling asleep and pulling out before it opened the next day.

The band found an apartment on St-Jacques, near the corner of Giroard, in early November, moving in just before the cold set in.

Within a little more than a month, Canvas had found some success, opening for Canadian songstress Serena Ryder in mid-December.

“It was like, the page was turning for them because we knew they had such a string of tough luck,” said Maurice Rachwalski, Luke’s father.

One trying period for the family occurred immediately after the fire.

RELATED: 2 dead following NDG fire; police investigate

Initial reports indicated that the fire’s first deceased victim was a man in his forties.

Thinking her son may have survived, Terry Rachwalski started phoning hospitals in the city Friday afternoon.

“By the time Maurice got home from work, there were no more hospitals to call,” she said.

The worst was confirmed when the family got on the phone with an investigator, who told them that Luke Rachwalski had died.

His parents characterize their son as someone who gave everything to live his dreams.

“How cool is that? You’re young, you’re full of life, and you just wanna go out and taste the world,” his father said.

Their only regret is how his journey ended.

“The fact that this ended badly, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a wonderful story,” his mother said.

A memorial page has been set up on Facebook for friends, family and fans to leave a message.