I caught up with Liverpool indie-rockers The Jackobins at their buzzing Newcastle gig, to chat about music, romance and their upcoming performance at Kazoopa Festival.
Describe your sound in three words.
About to change...
Which British artists and bands have had the biggest impact on you?
Ah this question is making me a bit nervous, I feel like people are going to judge us for our music tastes.
Led Zeppelin, Kasabian, Bowie, Nick Drake, George Michael are all good shouts though.
Where do you see yourselves in two years time?
Realistically speaking, a big support tour would be great. If we could be supporting someone like Blossoms, Cabbage or Catfish and the Bottlemen on their next tour, I'd be really happy. Maybe we'll get an album out by then too.
So you're reaching the end of your tour, where's been your favourite city to play so far?
Ah it's all been good to be honest. Glasgow, Newcastle, obviously Liverpool, have been particularly good.
Brighton was a great to visit but the gig wasn't as good as the others. I'd say that we have the best crowds and atmosphere when we play Northern venues, the people that come along are way more enthusiastic and energetic. Even little towns like Sunderland are good to play.
People seem to appreciate gigs more up North, like they get up and go out of their way to go to gigs. I was reading an article in NME about the North-South divide in the music scene at the minute and I could totally see where they were coming from.
You recently released a new single, 'Outside', what's the inspiration behind the track?
It's about how a lot of people are living in and through social media. People compare each other's lives using social media, but nobody's online presence is an accurate representation of their life.
Everything is airbrushed on social media, and people get jealous of these almost fake lives.
Nobody puts the bad stuff on Facebook and some people feel left out because they're not leading these amazing lives, but it's all just a bit artificial.
It's quite a deep song, which makes it fantastic to play live. I feel like an actor getting into a role, like when we play it we hone in on specific parts of us and exaggerate them to become a character. And it's this character that plays this really deep song live. It's like we have a bit of an alter-ego when we play it.
How has your sound evolved since your first ever band practice?
Well for starters, we've got a new bassist and drummer. Tom and Sean aren't necessarily better musicians, but as a band we gel more and have a better, more coherent sound. Before our sound was a bit all over the place. If you listened to our stuff, it sounded like it was two or three bands, rather than one. Different threads have come together and we've found our own distinctive sound.
As a group, you're fashion choices are quite diverse. Like tonight, there's Van McCann, Rat Boy, Alex Turner and George Michael inspired looks. Do you think it's important to have a certain aesthetic as a band and what's inspired your fashion choices?
Well, any bunch of wankers can head to River Island and buy some matching outfits, but that means fuck all, it doesn't make you a band. I can appreciate that the indie scene is ultimately a sub-culture and there's some distinctive clothing choices within it, but it has become a bit cliché.
Everything has been done nowadays, so it is hard not to fall into a label. A lot of band images can be quite contrived and uniformed. If you play punk you don't have to stick safety pins on everything or if you're an indie group you don't have to wear striped t-shirts and denim jackets.
If it comes naturally, and it's just your personality coming through, then I'm all for it. But don't be something you're not just because other people do it.
What's the most boring or annoying thing you get asked as a result of being in a band?
"Bet you're making loads of money" or alternatively "Are you getting paid yet?". "How's all the groupies" is another annoying one. Being in a band isn't as glamorous as it seems.
Do you have any quirky traditions or rituals as a band?
Lots of double espressos, weirdly they have a calming effect which helps with the pre-gig nerves.
What do you think your strengths as a band are? Is there anything you wished you did better?
We mess around really well. Like no matter what we always manage to have a laugh and enjoy ourselves. Supposedly we play well together as well - which is a bonus for any group of musicians.
Something we could definitely do better though, is checking that all our gear is working before we set up for a gig. We've had a couple awkward moments with stuff not working, which is always a bit embarrassing,
Imagine you've got a hot date, and you've decided to impress them by making a mix-tape. Which five tracks would definitely be on it?
Careless Whisper - George Michael
Book of Love - Peter Gabriel
I wanna know what love is - Foreigner
Everything I do, I do it for you - Bryan Adams
God only knows - The Beach boys
Funnily enough, I was thinking about something not so different to this when we were on our way home from Reading Festival. Everyone else had gone to sleep and I had stayed up, shivering in my favourite leather jacket and all I could think about was how much I missed my girlfriend. I put my headphones in and played Apple Music's 'Love songs' playlist and there were some belters. The Bangles 'Eternal Flame', Chaka Khan 'Aint nobody' and loads more.
Which bands have you seen lately that you were really impressed by?
Trampolene, they're good mates of ours but they're honestly killing it at the moment.
So at the end of November, you're playing Kazoopa festival. How're you feeling about it?
Ah we can't wait! Last month we had a two week tour with the headliners, The Wholls, so we're looking forward to having a catch up with them. They're amazing live and honestly such nice lads.
It's always great to play Kazoopa, they've really nailed the inner-city festival. It's good to see loads up-and-coming bands from across the country in one place and it's a really good laugh.
Any final words?
We've got a few gigs left this year, and we've got some exciting things booked in for 2018. Maybe an E.P. around February time. Stay tuned....
UPCOMING GIGS
18/11 - Liverpool Arts Club
25/10 - Leeds Kazoopa Festival
FOLLOW THE JACKOBINS
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