Interview with The Jezabels
| 2011-09-12 03:47 | Written By: by Ned Hepburn
The Jezabels are a band. They are more than a band. They are like five bands rolled into one. That is how good they are. They're poised to have a great year this year at the Jagermeister awards. We spoke to drummer Nik Kaloper (bottom right) about a plethora of things. Here's what he had to say.
Nik, What's the best part about being an Australian indie band? What are the hurdles?
My favourite aspect about being an independent band in Australia is being in direct connection with the music industry. You learn quite a lot about how the industry works when you have such a clear view of how your band bolts onto the industry at large. It's made the entire experience of growth feel a little more grassroots and organic. We've never been a band that's been vehemently opposed to record labels or what it is they're able to do for bands - but the whole journey has felt a little more personal and valuable then I imagined it would've been with a label. We've had complete autonomy in the creative, fiscal and practical decision making processes, opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them.
What about biggest hurdles for an Aussie indie band?
I think money is any independent band's biggest challenge. It's sort of a chicken or the egg deal… you need to play in front of people and make records to be able to play in front of people and make records. It all costs money… and on top of that if you plan on doing that band full time, you need to pay yourself enough for a place to live and a bit of food.
The Jezabels are a female fronted band. Do you find Australian music scene helps female musicians?
Ha! I feel as if this question was intended for a female member of the band (vocalist Hayley Mary or keyboardist Heather Shannon), but I'll give you my opinion anyways. I certainly don't feel as if the Australian music scene does anything to hinder the progress of female artists. I think the hurdles female musicians face are broader and more culturally engrained, and not constrained to the music scene. Looking at contemporary media, television, magazines, music etc.. it seems as if females are required to have at least a certain level of sex appeal, and no more than a certain level of strong headedness to be widely accepted as a likeable figure. I fear that females who don't feel as if they can meet these requirements also feel as if they have no place in the Australian music scene. I realise however, my limited view on this matter, seeing as I haven't had a female's experience with regards to the Australian culture of music scene.
You've received considerable airplay in the US. What kind of pressures are there to perform well overseas?
I think this is all self imposed pressure. There was never any new pressure, at least for me, when we realised we might be able to go overseas and play shows in other countries. Every show is met with the same intention, which is simply to perform as well as you possibly can.
What's the biggest misconception people overseas have about Australian music?
Well, it's hard to say. Just last night I met an American guy in Manchester who was able to talk about how much he loved Washington, Boy and Bear, Gotye and a whole lot of Australian acts. But last time I went to America someone asked me if there were cows in Australia.
That seems to be more based on general ignorance, then, huh?
I think some people are simply aware of Australian music and others are not. Those who are aware don't seem to have any misconceptions.
What are the differences between the Melbourne scene and the Sydney scene?
One thing that comes to mind, is it feels as if we're running out of venues in Sydney. There seems to be a distinct lack of medium size venues for bands to play at in Sydney, which makes opportunities for bands to get infront of people a bit more rare and harder to come by. This seems to be a bit different in Melbourne. Other than that, I think Sydney and Melbourne have a great mix of bands to offer Australia and the world, there's no genre I'm aware of that seems to thrive more in one city than another. With the Melbourne audience it seems to be a bit difficult to tell if they are enjoying themselves!
How has social media affected how you you get your music out?
It has been such an incredible influence on us as a band, and enabling our music to travel long distances almost instantly. And on top of that, we can witness this by seeing what type of people are listening to our music from where with Youtube and Facebook, etc. I think social media has been the single largest influence on the recent transformation of the music industry by far. It's given a lot more power to the smaller independent bands - I've listened to a lot of metal music over the years, it was incredible to watch how many of them were able to go on tours across the US having only gaining recognition through their myspace page. I also find a lot of value in how it lets you communicate with fans and make it a more personal experience. I love scrolling through the Facebook comments and answering questions or saying hi to people, it's a lot of fun.
Any fears about piracy? Does this help or hinder an indie artist?
It is a little disconcerting at times, knowing that I could obtain anything we've released for free in less than 60 seconds if I wanted to - but at the end of the day it doesn't concern me. While any form of revenue makes it easier for bands to continue touring and writing music, there are still other avenues available to make a band a sustainable business. It sort of depends on whether you have ambitions to own large properties and expensive cars.. which never concerned me. If anyone feels as if they should get your music for free so be it - trying to police it will only make people resent you anyways - and there's always that instance where someone would've never come to your show and bought your shirt if they didn't copy your albums from a friend's hard drive. I see it as simply the way things are at the moment.
Define "independent" in your own words, given that effectively 'indie' is still a business model.
As far as my understanding is concerned 'independent' simply means not having a record deal with label. It's home grown and it's hands on. We've chosen to stay independent in Australia, but have recently signed with PIAS for help and expertise in the European market. The broader your vision is for the future the more people you need on board to help organise and fund your overseas adventures. This felt like the right move for us as we were keen to play in different parts of the world more regularly.
Favorite musical moment of the last year?
In May 2011, it was our first visit to Europe and we had some amazing gigs around the UK, including a small gig in Cardiff on a week day, where loads of people came out to watch us play, it was really special. By the time we made it to Germany we thought life couldn't get any better, when we played an amazing club in Hamburg where we had somehow managed to sell out the gig. Everyone there knew all the words to the songs, they were jumping around dancing and having a great time - it was pretty incredible moment for us, to think our music had made it all the way to the other side of the world. I remember I was quite happy with how I played that night, and the crowd essentially forced us to play a double encore, at which point we were almost running out of songs and had to play some that we hadn't rehearsed for a while. It feels great when a crowd is on your side, and there's no question in your head of whether or not they're enjoying themselves. It was a very memorable evening.
Sydney indie rock band 