Jebediah Interview

1. You guys last played at YAC It Up in 2005, how do you feel about coming back to Perth and playing at YAC It Up again?

You know the feeling you get when you are ambushed while grocery shopping by a sociopathic platypus which leaps at you, knocking you to the ground, then slaps you to within an inch of consciousness with his tail before forcing you at spur-point to recite dialogue from Hugh Grant’s entire catalogue of romantic comedies?  And you don’t even get to choose the scenes?  Well needless to say it’s a very different feeling from that, much pleasanter and less bizarre.  Also I’m pretty sure last time we got our own tent, which makes us feel special and important and… erm, shaded.

By the way, the male platypus is one of only a handful of venomous mammals along with a few species of shrew and creatures called solenodons, which are endangered and primitive - speculated to be similar to very early mammals.  Also, there is no actual scientific evidence to link any of these animals with a predilection for Hugh Grant movies. 

2. How do you think you guys have changed since your first YAC It Up concert?

Why do I glance down at my gut when you ask that…  But really I don’t think we’ve changed in any way that somebody would notice from a fair distance. With a large, thick towel wrapped around their head.  Actually to be honest, we’ll probably seem pretty similar to last time, though we do have some new songs in the set list and I must say I think we’ve been playing quite solidly recently.  I’ve totally jinxed it now haven’t I! 

3.  What was your most memorable moment playing at the 2005 YAC It Up?

*sigh*  I was absolutely not going to bring this up at all but… look it’s not even important, it’s just that… okay, last time there were 3 GREEN peanut M&Ms in our bowl of BROWN peanut M&Ms.  I’m not saying it was malicious, probably just a massive oversight, or perhaps they were planted by a third party in an attempt to throw us off our game.  And it might even have worked, had we not struck upon a rather cunning solution – Just close your eyes! – THEY ALL TASTE EXACTLY THE SAME!  It is precisely this sort of cool-headed lateral thinking which has gotten us to where we are today.

4. Being a Perth band, how do you feel coming back to where it all began and playing at these local gigs as apposed to overseas concerts?

Yeah, Kevin was just saying on the plane back from Milan the other day how fearfully dull and provincial these Perth gigs feel now…  I’m just kidding, it was Rome.  We haven’t really played that much outside of Australia, and while it’s pretty exciting to travel to new places, we do love our home crowd – as I reckon any band must.  As you say, this is where it all began and pretty much where we’ve always been, and the fact that there are still some nice folk around who appreciate what we are/do is very gratifying, particularly as we sometimes aren’t that good.  Having said all that, if the antipasto plate on the rider isn’t top notch, we’ll probably refuse to play. 

5. How do you feel about performing at an all ages concert in comparison to the over 18 gigs?

When we first started playing gigs all-ages shows were very much a constant part of the scene in Perth and elsewhere, but these days unfortunately they seem somewhat rarer.  So they should be appreciated by both the bands and patrons as something a bit special.  Not wanting to get too philosophical here, but I think it’s important for young people to see music as more than just a passive and/or solitary experience, or something ‘other people’ do – to perceive it as something they can readily be a part of should they have an interest, regardless of genre, formal training or even inherent aptitude!  International touring bands probably do not convey this idea very well, and I would be happy to think that Jebediah and other local bands, as well as being hopefully enjoyable entertainment, could represent that accessibility to some.  Of course licensed shows are the bread and butter of most bands other than The Wiggles (respect) and many venues, but it’s great that people have a chance to go to some local shows of varying sizes before they start sneaking into pubs at 16 or 17. 

6. What should YAC It Up crowds expect from Jebediah’s performance?

Excellent value for money!

7. Tell me a little bit about the new album

There’s not much to tell, but I can disclose this much; we demoed eleven songs recently at a top secret location, Blackbird Studio, with mysterious and somewhat sinister local switch wizard and axe maestro Dave Parkin.  Two of them have been in the live set for a while now (not two Dave Parkins, two new songs).  It’s mostly harpsichord based fugal stuff – we’re going through a contrapuntal phase - but there are some more contemporary sounding pieces too so we’re feeling pretty happy with the progress.  It would be great to record another album this year.  At the moment we’re planning to approach it piecemeal so we can get started soon. 

8. What’s next for Jebediah?

Well I can’t speak of Chris’ upcoming rap side project because it’s a secret, and also because he hasn’t done much work on it yet - or in fact any work at all.  But we have a few one-off shows organized over the next couple of months.  We need to sit down and figure out how much time we can devote to it, I don’t know when another tour might be but hope it’s not too far away.  Continuing to write and sorting out a plan for recording will be high on the agenda.

9. Being local, where is your favorite place to hang out when you are back in town? 

I have to admit to being a bit of a homebody these days.  We got a new couch recently – a recliner with fold-down drink holders - and while I’m certainly happy so far with the way the buttock-indentations are taking shape there is still much work to be done.  Someone should consider bringing out pre-formed cushions, just to kinda get you started.  Or maybe that memory foam stuff would work well?  Anyway if I am in the mood for a night out, I’ll simply slip into my Fubu ensemble and loiter at a nearby fast food outlet.  You learn a lot about people doing this, plus you’re always up to date with the specials, which can save you quite a bit of money.