Eskimo Joe - A Day in the Life
» Beat Like A Drum with Eskimo Joe - February 22, 2007
» Eskimo Joe - Albert Hall, Tas - May 20, 2007
» Eskimo Joe - City Hall, Tas - May 19, 2007
I read the news today, oh boy. About a lucky band that made the grade…
Some of you may be thinking that I’ve just bastardised a classic Beatles track, but rest assured, I’ll refrain from continuing on that tangent. The “lucky band” are West-Australian darlings, Eskimo Joe. The band members Kav Temperley (bass/vocals), Stu MacLeod (guitars) and Joel Quartermain (guitars) have progressed along the road to musical success since winning a campus band competition and wooing audiences with their debut and sophomore albums, Girl and A Song Is A City, respectively. However, it was album, Black Fingernails Red Wine that afforded the band their first number one album and whose title track won them Single of the Year at the ARIAs. Stu MacLeod spoke to The Dwarf ahead of their upcoming tour.
The “Beating Like A Drum” tour begins in May and traverses Australia. This tour will be a special one, as the band will play some older tunes by revisiting songs from their first two albums and rework some newer material that will be complemented by colourful visuals, for an overall intimate and pleasant live experience.
Comedian Wil Anderson once said that audiences who do not live near the East Coast of Australia are generally pleased that you are performing in their town but at the same time are also “a little glad that you aren’t John Williamson.” Stu agrees, “There’s always a definite feeling of relief in the crowd when you walk out on stage and you don’t have Blundstones and an Akubra on.”
It is easy to hypothesise about what would transpire in their songwriting session, but in real life this does differ. “Kav writes the lyrics and the general melody lines. Joel is great with the song arrangement and structure and I’m more of a riff man, with a few string arrangements thrown in. We all write the music, but those areas are our strong points.”
Stu’s description of the songwriting process is similar to one he had described in a previous interview likenening it to Kav drawing imaginary lines and he and Joel colouring it in with musical layers. They say a picture tells a thousand words so how would an Eskimo Joe picture appear?
“Early on in our career it would have been a picture with a lot to look at. It would have been crammed with faces and colours, every centimetre filled with something. These days I think it would be much more simple, with a lot more time spent painting each face.”
With Eskimo Joe continuing to build upon their catalogue, Stu admits that his favourite song does change and that it is often the most current one that they are working on, as it can plague their thoughts. In addition, he also cites songs ‘How Does It Feel’ and ‘New York’ from their most recent release as standout tracks. When prompted about his favourite song from any artist, his choice is a clear one. ‘A Day In The Life’ by The Beatles, is one of the greatest songs written by any band.”
MacLeod is definitely the trio’s principal Beatles fan and his biography on the band’s official website once boasted that he has an affinity for the Fab Four. I mention that Stu’s peers, The Sleepy Jackson were recently asked by Yoko Ono to rework a John Lennon track for a forthcoming release. Stu agrees that he would rerecord one of Lennon’s songs if asked, and that his choice would be Instant Karma!
In the meantime, Eskimo Joe are content to sing along to some classic tunes at karaoke. “If you like laughter, you have to like karaoke. Best tunes for me personally? Anything by The Beatles, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ by The (Rolling) Stones and ‘Ms. Jackson’ by OutKast. Of course, the inevitable will always happen, those being ‘My Way’ and ‘Ice. Ice, Baby’.
On a more serious note, some music journalists have suggested that the song ‘Black Fingernails, Red Wine’ had an underlying political message. Stu disagrees, “I wouldn’t call it a political song, there’s no political message there. It’s simply an observation that a lot of people disagree on who or what God is, but they all seem to agree on hell.”
One would hope that Stu is able to reflect on the past decade for the band in a more positive light. “The best way to summarise the last ten years is wake up, check out, drive, set up, wait, sound check, wait, eat, wait, play, drink, sleep and repeat ad nauseam.”
Rather than focusing on the monotony of touring, MacLeod is content to draw inspiration from music. “Some people are inspired by lyrics, I’m inspired by music itself. Melody. Melody is king.” He also offers an interesting lesson to budding musicians. “Listen to good music. You are the sum of your music collection.”
The interview draws to a close and MacLeod reveals that they are heading to the US for a few months before possibly exploring other territories overseas. You can wish the boys well at one of their upcoming shows before they leave for their overseas sojourn.
