Anna Wessel had a chat to Jebediah's drummer, Brett Mitchell about their new album and what it's like to be an Aussie sensation. - Popstar Online Zine.
AW: So your new album comes out in early March I believe?
BM: Yes, the 4th of March
AW: That's right, and you've got a couple of singles out at the moment: Fall Down and Nothing Lasts Forever. How do you think this album differs from your last two albums?
BM: Umm, I think that it is much more up-vibe than the last one and its better performed and produced than the first two.
AW: OK, and you've gone with an Australian producer on this one, did that have a bearing on it do you think?
BM: I'm sure it did, umm, it's kind of weird that we hadn't done that earlier I think, but I suppose it comes down to pressure from record companies, you know. They want something marketable and they think that by getting an American producer in or whatever, that they'll end up with something that will be easier to sell overseas. But that's never really been the issue anyway as its turned out, 'cause we've never had too much in the way of releases outside of Australia. So I think it's long overdue, and working with Magoo [the producer of Jebediah] was a pleasure, an unadulterated pleasure.
AW: Good to hear! So, you were talking about how there's sometimes a little bit of pressure from the record company. Do you think they pressure you to appeal to that certain kind of a youth market, or anything like that?
BM: Umm, we try not to think too much about markets and demographics, although obviously those words do crop up. Umm, I don't know, I guess that perhaps we've been a bit lucky I think. Maybe Sony have realised that we're best sort of left alone to our own devices, at least in Australia. I mean, when it comes to marketing something overseas it's a whole new ball game and we don't really know too much about that… about what's possible and how to achieve it. No, we haven't really had any pressure from Sony directly as far as what we should be writing or those kinds of things.
AW: OK, and with your songwriting process do you generally find it's a relaxed kind of thing, or do you lock yourselves away in a little room and it's sort of intense? How does it normally work?
BM: It has to be relaxed. I mean that's how the band started - the four of us in a room playing our instruments, albeit incompetently! Not too much has really changed, we're a little bit more competent but I wouldn't over stress that! But yeah, it's just relaxed and it's probably still the thing that we get the most satisfaction from. Just the four of us in a room making noise.
AW: Excellent! That's probably the best way to do it isn't it?
BM: Yeah, well I know that every band works differently and some bands have a principle songwriter…
AW: But you don't have a principle songwriter? You all just kind of add your own thing into it?
BM: If there was a principle songwriter it would absolutely be Kevin, but that seems a natural thing anyway 'cause he sings and plays rhythm guitar which is, I guess, the sort of root of the structure of the music that we do. But as far as writing parts, yeah, we do our own thing and if we have to comment on what someone else is doing then that will be spoken and heard and…
AW: So there's a bit of free communication?
BM: Yeah.
AW: Good, good. So tell me why is this album called Jebediah? Why have you self-titled this one?
BM: Everyone asks that! I still haven't really got a good answer except to say that we're happier with what we've done this time around than with anything that's gone before.
AW: Yeah, well I've heard that it wasn't as much of a relaxed process for “Of Someday Shambles” , your last album. That was a bit stressful?
BM: No, that was quite tense.
AW: Yeah? You didn't work well with the producer maybe?
BM: Umm, perhaps it was just circumstantial, maybe it was just a function of what was going on in our lives at the time. There were some technical problems there as well. I think it was just a combination of things that seemed to be working against us.
AW: Well, there is the theory that the second album is the hardest.
BM: Yeah, it definitely was for us. But yeah, he was a really nice guy who we were working with [ Mark Trombino of Blink 182 fame]. I think that when it came to actually working there were just a few problems. It was OK but it wasn't as much fun as we would have liked, or as we think recording should be.
AW: So you think the process for this album was a lot better?
BM: Yeah, it was very relaxed, but once again it could just be circumstantial. We were feeling really good about everything leading up to it when we were writing and the location was fantastic…
AW: Where was that? Where did you record it?
BM: “Mangrove”…so yeah we were isolated…it was sort of out bush and the accommodation was all part of the studio set up. It was sort of like a little holiday! And Magoo is very relaxed, a very easy-going guy, very easy to communicate with and open to different ways of doing things. You know, some people will come in and really try to impose their methods on you, whereas he would have been open to anything that we suggested, which is what you want. Open communication, as you said before.
AW: Excellent! So tell me a little bit about your American tour that you did last year. I noticed on your single that you included a couple of live tracks from New York. What was the basis behind that?
BM: Well really, to be honest, we were just fishing for B-sides! That might have been the only gig that was recorded in that US tour. It was sort of part of a music festival that was a whole series of gigs and came under the banner of this festival.
AW: And did you have a good time over there?
BM: Umm, sometimes!
AW: Yeah?
BM: It was certainly the hardest tour we've ever done and I'd have to say that at times it got…well… it probably pushed us closer to breaking point than anything we've ever done before.
AW: Is that just because you're music isn't as well known over there?
BM: No, it had nothing to do with that at all, although I guess that has consequences and it has implications for the way you actually tour. But it was just a long train of highways, budget motels and venues. There was really no time to stop and look around.
AW: Well touring is obviously a tiring process and everything is so much more expensive there, with the exchange rate and everything, so did that put a lot of pressure on you?
BM: Oh, yeah it did. I think actually being able to sell CD's and T Shirts probably saved our arses financially on that tour.
AW: Yeah? You can't beat the merchandise! It comes through for you!
BM: Yeah, it did 'cause obviously we weren't getting much for the shows so really that was what saved us. 'Cause it's not really done in Australia, you know, selling CD's at shows, which is pretty much just a function of the industry with charts and stuff like that, but we were signed to an indie label out of Boston in America so we could do pretty much anything we wanted. That was different.
AW: So people who may not have heard of you might have seen the show and been able to buy the CD there, which is a good thing.
BM: Yeah. It would be nice to go back and try to follow up on the small inroads that we've made.
AW: Have you found that you've had to change anything about the band specifically to suit the American audience? I mean, Shihad have had to change their name for the Americans. You haven't had to do anything drastic have you?
BM: No, well our name doesn't mean anything anyway, so we're pretty safe there! Umm, the cover was changed, of the album, of the last one but I guess that's pretty common.
AW: OK, and you have an Australian tour coming up in the next few months called the State Of The Nation Tour I believe.
BM: Yes.
AW: Yes, and you're looking forward to playing to the Aussies again?
BM: Fantastic, yeah, it seems like the last year or so we haven't really done much at all. There was the recording obviously, which was all good, but that's only part of it. We've felt a bit, sort of, at a loose end recently. But just with the two singles coming out you know, the ball feels like it's starting to roll again so yeah, we're really looking forward to getting our match fitness up for this year.
AW: And what's your favourite crowd? Is it the Perth crowd?
BM: Oh yeah, the sentimental favourite!
AW: Of course!
BM: Definitely the best crowd, but that's to be expected. We love our crowds everywhere!
AW: Of course all the Aussies love you, so there's nothing to complain about! And you're touring with Pollyanna for a lot of it and you've played with them quite a bit in the past.
BM: Yeah, we've done quite a few shows with them. We've never sort of toured with them as such, but we have been on a lot of the same bills, yeah.
AW: And do you become good mates in that kind of relationship? Do you hang out with them much?
BM: We have done a little bit, yeah. I think that by the end of this we'll certainly know each other a lot better. But they're great people so there's no problems there. Yeah, it's going to be good. We'll share a few drinks with them for sure!
AW: OK! And with the new album obviously there's going to be a lot of analysis of it and you'll have both good and bad criticism. How do you react to criticism? Do you look at it constructively or is it more of a kind of 'I don't care what anyone else thinks, we'll just play what we play'? How do you personally deal with criticism of the music?
BM: Yeah, you pretty much do have to take the approach of pleasing yourself and hoping that, you know, it will please other people. As far as criticism goes it's so rare really that…I mean music is music and it's a personal interpretation and so really there's a limit to how seriously you can take any criticism, good or bad. We try to take everything with a grain of salt, and it's so rare that you read something where you genuinely think 'wow they've got a good point there, we should think about doing that' or 'we did do that wrong'.
AW: Have you ever heard a really inaccurate description of how you sound, or anything really offensive?!
BM: Well no, because we sound how we sound to whoever wrote that, you know? I guess there are times where there might be some but, you know? I guess there are times where there might be some ulterior motives but it's hard for me to be specific about that. I really don't know!
AW: That's probably a good thing then!
BM: Yeah, it's just something that you learn to accept as part of what you do, reading other people's opinions. I can see how some people could be quite affected by it, because I suppose to an extent you are making yourself vulnerable by putting out music that is personal and comes from a personal place.
AW: Yeah. So how do you think your fame has affected you on a personal level? Do you still feel like the same person you were back when you won the National Campus Bands Competition in the mid 90's?
BM: Well, whether or not I was in this band I'd be a different person now to what I was then anyway.
AW: True.
BM: So I think the core of it is the same for us. I mean, the things that surround us have changed but really we're still doing it because we enjoy it and I guess that's the most important thing for us. Which sounds obvious, but I think you can become much too caught up in the extraneous stuff and really forget that you're lucky to be doing what you are doing.
AW: Well, if you're enjoying what you are doing, I guess that's the best thing about it!
BM: Yeah.
AW: Well, I kind of have to wrap it up, so just as a closing statement, what is your advice to young Aussie's hoping to make it in the music biz? What would you say to them?
BM: Umm, the best advice I could give to aspiring bands is: don't break up!
AW: Don't break up?
BM: Don't break up.
AW: Keep it together?!
BM: Yeah, because that's the end of the band isn't it? If you hang around for long enough someone will notice what you are doing.