Joe Algeri’s outfit, The JAC, launch a new single, Love Dumb, this Saturday, March 8, at The Oddfellow (Norfolk Hotel), with help from The High Learys and Pat Chow. BOB GORDON checks in.
The last 18 months has seen an increase in recorded output and live performance from you. What prompted this?
The convenience of being able to record at home has been a catalyst for me creatively. Without the pressure of having to ‘make it’ which comes in your 20s, I also feel more comfortable in my own skin now. I’ll keep doing the same old thing if I want to or something completely unexpected without giving a damn as to what people think. All I know is that I need to keep doing it.
Tell us a bit about the new original songs. Are they the bridge to an album release or are they flags flying on their own in the wind?
No, an definitely album is in the works and I’m also in the process of finishing an album for my other (international) band, The Britannicas. Many of the JAC songs such as Wherever You Go have their origins in an unfinished album about Perth that I wrote when I lived in Sweden.
Big Star’s 13 and The Scientists’ Frantic Romantic are covered on this release. Not afraid of hitting on the classics then?
No, nothing is, or ever will be, sacred in my book. With the confidence that comes with getting older I want to break more rules.
What happens now?
More recording and a few more local gigs with my new buddies – I haven’t been in a proper band in over a decade. My trip to the US last year was a good kick in the pants for me to play live again so there’s more overseas touring on the cards. I also want to reacquaint myself with the local scene that I feel I’ve neglected since the late ‘90s in my quest to become ‘massive in Finland.’
It’s 20 years now since you were the Davy Jones of the local power pop scene. How do you look back on those days on the roof?
Most fondly, I’ve embraced the digital/internet age but I’m happy I got my musical grounding in the era before it. It felt more real, more fun and there was a little bit more money floating about the industry, I’d hate to be starting out now. As for Davy Jones, the real one died, but I’m still here and I’m not going anywhere… there’s a lot more music to make.
