Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Sister Jane

Sister Jane, a Jim Morrison/Doors-sounding band, got its start in Blue Mountains, west of Sydney Australia.

“Three out of the five of us worked together in a suburban retail store and spent so much time talking about the music we loved to play and listen to that we decided to start a band,” Dan Davey, lead singer said.

The band’s musical style is a mix between blues and rock ‘n roll, which refers back to some of their influences such as Freddie King, Gram Parsons, The Smiths, The Stone Roses and more.

“Sister Jane’s music is like finding an old tree stump with its roots deep in the electric blues and country and gleefully grafting it with the indie rock we all grew up listening to,” Davey said . “From the outset, we took older music styles and dabbled in blending it with what we already knew just for the pure joy of doing it, which is probably why some of it is kind of sixties sounding.”

After the band started to play some gigs, they signed with Broken Stone Records.

“One of the owners of Broken Stone Records came to our shows and loved us and we became like an unofficial member of the Broken Stone family,” Davey said. “So it was only natural that when we’d recorded our LP, we’d play it to the guys at Broken Stone. They loved it and took us in from the cold."

"Most of our shows are in grimy old beer-soaked hotels up and down the east coast of Oz. We rarely get invited to festivals and such, but we kind of like it that way. In a small, sweaty venue, it’s like you own the stage, and the audience owns you, and it just feels so good to play and jump and go nuts.”

Their first LP, “Mercy” was recorded over a three-year period by their guitarist Liam Judson, according to Davey.

“We had all the gear at our disposal, but it was just a matter of fitting in time whenever Liam wasn’t working on a paid job,” Davey said. “It was tremendously frustrating at times when we just wanted it finished and out there, but in the end it made for a more interesting record.”

Along with their LP, they released a single called “Be Kind.”

“It wasn’t our first choice for a single, but the label really responded to it and their instincts proved right because people seem to absolutely love that song,” Davey said.

The band plans to record its next album in an old school house.

“(The school house) is owned by a relative of one of the label guys and is in an isolated bush location in northern New South Wales, called Wauchope,” Davey said. “It offers the chance to live within the recording process for extended chunks of time. We’re taking two months off playing shows and have begun rehearsing the new material ready to head up north for a week or two to start tracking the songs. We are very excited about it.”



http://sisterjane.net/



How did Sister Jane get its start? Where are you from?

Three out of the five of us worked together in a suburban retail store and spent so much time talking about the music we loved to play and listen to that we decided to start a band. Soon after that the store went broke and we lost our jobs so the band was all we had for a time. We’re mostly all from the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, which is kinda a string of small townships along an extended ridgeline with cliffs either side. It really makes you feel like you’re living on the dusty outskirts.

How do you describe your music and who are your influences?

Sister Jane’s music is like finding an old tree stump with its roots deep in the electric blues (Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Freddie King) and country (Glen Campbell, Kris Kristofferson, Gram Parsons) and gleefully grafting it with the indie rock we all grew up listening to (The Smiths, The Pixies, The Stone Roses, Mazzy Star, My Bloody Valentine, The Brian Jonestown Massacre).

You guys have a great sound. Did you always play this type of music, or did you experiment with different genres?

From the outset we took older music styles and dabbled in blending it with what we already knew just for the pure joy of doing it, which is probably why some of it is kinda sixties sounding, it’s the same approach those artists took to make their music.

What inspires you to keep your music going?

It’s the unbridled thrill of creating something. It’s like tinkering in the infinite nature of the universe, really, it’s like something mystical takes place and you’re like “wow that was fun, let’s do it again”.

What were your goals when first starting your band? Did you reach them?

Well at first it was like “maybe we can get a gig”, then it was like “maybe we can do some recording” and local radio picked up on our first demo and played it endlessly and gigs led to more gigs and then we were like “maybe we can tour the east coast of Oz” which we’ve now done a few times and it’s kinda where we’re at now.

How did you get your record label?

One of the owners of Broken Stone Records came to our shows and loved us and we became like an unofficial member of the Broken Stone family. So it was only natural that when we’d recorded our LP (which we were determined to do on our own and in our own way) we’d play it to the guys at Broken Stone. They loved it and took us in from the cold.

Did you have any musical education? What is your musical background-who taught you?

We’re mostly self taught. Although Liam, our guitarist, was trained to play trumpet as a child. Everything else comes from doggedly listening to records, emulating those sounds and learning our chops the hard way.

How do you come about your writing and recording process?

We’ve all written songs for the band, though Dan (Davey) does most of the writing and brings new material to rehearsals where it takes on a life of its own. The arranging of everyone’s different parts is where it really all comes together and it either feels good, and we keep the song, or it doesn’t and it gets thrown outside with weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Where have you been able to perform and where do you hope to go?

Most of our shows are in grimy old beer-soaked hotels up and down the east coast of Oz. We rarely get invited to festivals and such but we kinda like it that way. In a small, sweaty venue its like you own the stage, and the audience owns you, and it just feels so good to play and jump and go nuts. We’d very much like to get ourselves to the US next year and do a small run of shows. We have a feeling you guys know how to have a good time and we reckon you might really go for it over there.

What was it like releasing your first LP and what is the story behind it?

‘Mercy’ was recorded gradually over a three year period by our guitarist Liam Judson who does a lot of producing and mixing for other bands with his mostly vintage tape and outboard gear. So we had all the gear at our disposal but it was just a matter of fitting in time whenever Liam wasn’t working on a paid job. It was tremendously frustrating at times when we just wanted it finished and out there, but in the end it made for a more interesting record.

When releasing your first single, “Be Kind,” did you get an automatic response?

Yeah, it wasn’t our first choice for a single but the label really responded to it and their instincts proved right because people seem to absolutely love that song.

How did you create the video for “Great Highway?”

It was made by a friend of ours, Ian Backer from Portland OR, who painstakingly pieced together the clip from hundreds of hours of royalty free stock footage. He had a real feel for the song, and the free-spirited emotion behind it all, and came up with a real gem.

How did you find the old school house?

It is owned by a relative of one of the label guys and is in an isolated bush location in northern New South Wales called Wauchope (aka ‘Timber Town’). It offers the chance to live within the recording process for extended chunks of time without annoying the neighbours or paying for an expensive studio.
I heard you are starting to work on a new album. What are your future plans?
We’re taking two months off playing shows and have begun rehearsing the new material ready to head up north for a week or two to start tracking the songs. And we are very, very excited about it.

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