Julian Temple Band Newsletter Interview

What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?

Two gigs come to mind that are equal in satisfaction value. In the U.S. we performed at a renowned venue called Downtown Brew in San Luis Obispo, California… we had done heaps of promotion for this gig and it was our first album release and first tour in the states. The place packed out and the crowd absolutely went off. In New Zealand our album release of ‘Quiet Earth’ at Chicks Hotel in Port Chalmers was definitely the best show to date. You couldn’t have fit another head into the venue and the high energy crowd was literally jumping up and down for the 2 hours that we played. Plus we had one of our favourite bands support: the Biff Merchants. It was a good feeling!

What is your favourite NZ venue?

I couldn’t name just one venue because NZ has so many great ones. But what comes to mind is the Mussel Inn in Takaka, Redcliffe Cafe in Te Anau, Riverhouse in Wanaka, Hot Mamas in Motueka, Blue Pub in Methven and Chicks Hotel and Sammy’s in Dunedin. (We must be South Islander’s!)

What NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?

Biff Merchants and Left or Right… on their night they are two of the best bands I’ve ever witnessed play.

What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?

There have been heaps of embarrassing moments on tour unfortunately… slurring words, forgetting lyrics, screwing up songs… but getting known for the band that start bar brawls is the worst! Not that we do start it, it’s just that there have been some gnarly fights at our gigs over the years… two of which were full bar brawls where everyone was involved! Drunk people suck!!

How do you describe your music?

I don’t describe it very well. Music is hard to write about. Basically we smash through the outer edges of most genres, giving our music a fucked up shape that won’t fit into any pigeon-shaped hole. Troubadour songwriting, grungy rock and roll, latin spice, alt country and psychedelic, dubbed out, funky, jazzy beats all get smeared together for some air time. This diversity is probably our biggest strength and steepest street…"so, what kind of music do you play?" Um… Yeah… About that… Check the album, or better yet, check a live show. In short: "Let the music do the talking."

What can we expect to see from the Julian Temple Band over the next year?

We’ve just released our second album ‘Quiet Earth’ and are touring NZ extensively over summer with a stop off at many a small beach town and the Parihaka International Peace Festival. We’ve also got a third album in the pipeline being mixed and mastered by Tom Bell (from the Heavy 8’s) at his Tin Shack studio in Dunedin. If all goes to plan and we can save a bit of cash then we’ll release that some time next year…

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

If it’s what you want to do, then do it… but definitely don’t do it for the money or the fame… there is no such thing!! And when it’s time to leave this planet you can’t take any of that with you anyway. Oh yeah.. and suss your band name wisely… we had to change ours after touring and releasing with it for 3 years because of legal shite!! Totally pushed us back a step or two… THOUSAND!