by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
What: Julius Airwave and Crash the Satellites Live
Where: Eclipse in Avondale
When: Christmas, December 25
Julius Airwave is one of those bands that always seems new, even though they’ve been playing for more than eight years, which is several generations for most bands. They’ve evolved, but they’ve always managed to be on the cutting edge of indie rock. They are more reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand or The Strokes these days than the Beatles, but that is not to say they are a carbon copy or even a hip-off, they are one of the best kept secrets in town. Of course those secrets are kept because there is a lack of fan support for the local music scene these days.
If you are looking for a show that surprises you, Julius Airwave and Crash the Satellites is the way to go. The Eclipse has a great sound system and both bands play a caliber of indie rock that is at least at a national level. Fortunately they are home for the holidays, and not out on the road, so they can provide some jingle bell rock for the river city on the Riverside.
Like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in a relay race with the Psychedelic Furs, Julius Airwave brings the dramatic throaty singing of the underground bands from the eighties, and sings it over washed guitars ala My Bloody Valentine, but all with an indie pop flare that is distinctly their own. Their diverse set is not only fun, it’s chick-friendly. The Airwave is Richard Colado, Chris Gibson, Mark Hubbard, Jeff Mehlhoff, and Jeremiah Johnson. I emailed Colado a few questions and this is what he said:
EU: Where did the name Julius Airwave come from?
RC: It’s a mystery, I think it’s from an old TV show. Something with bears that drove a spaceship around the bands of Saturn looking for the origin of Santa Claus.
EU: The Beatles influence used to be obvious in your music, what artist would you say is the most apparently influential in your music now?
RC: Most apparent may be the Strokes, Nobuo Uematsu, Sigur Ros and the Flaming Lips. But there’s a lot of other stuff in there, mixed around. Some of it I couldn’t even tell you.
EU: What is the writing process like for Julius Airwave?
RC: It usually starts with a song I’ve written, then I take it to the guys and we all arrange the other parts around it together. Then, during the recording process, I may have another go at it, depending on how well it translated into the recorded format. Sometimes I end up with a Frankenstein, sometimes it’s perfect right out of the womb.
EU: It seems like there is always a buzz about Julius Airwave on the cusp of getting signed, what would you say is the biggest struggle for a Jacksonville band when it comes to major label attention?
RC: It’s a struggle to keep your head above the water without getting it chopped off. I try not to let it worry me much anymore, I just want to write music.
EU: One of my favorite Jacksonville pieces is a song that you and Chuck Smyth of The Cadets collaborated on, do you collaborate with any other artists these days?
RC: Recently I did a song with a friend of mine, Mitch Cheney, the guy that got us signed to Sickroom. He was also in the band Rumah Sakit a while back. The song was named ‘Children Watch As The Colors Fade’. The base of it was put together by Sweden’s David Wenngren, Mitch did some guitar samples over that and then I wrote some lyrics and sang on top of that. Like a sandwich.
Also, I played drums in “BioWulf” with the guys from Positive Bongo, Nowlen Andrew Thenner and Boat Dad.
EU: What is Julius Airwave working on now? Is there a tour or album in the works?
RC: We just finished recording an album called The City The Forest, it’s coming out in the spring of 2007 on Sickroom Records. We’ll probably be doing some touring when it’s released. Other then that we practice regularly and have been working on some music videos.
EU: What should people expect from the Christmas show?
RC: People should expect nothing, then they’ll be a lot more surprised. Maybe even write down in their planners or phones that they need to go to Eclipse on Christmas night, but then don’t put the reason why. Kinda set themselves up for a surprise.
EU: What is your favorite Anime?
RC: Mostly all of Miyazaki’s movie’s. My favorite would have to be “Porco Rosso”, it’s about a pig that flies an airplane in post WWI Italy.
Remember the days of The Cadets, Julius Airwave, and Clarity selling out Jack Rabbits? Of those bands, the Cadets has recently re-united (and will release their new album in February), but Julius Airwave is the only one that has stayed at it without breaking up throughout the years. Clarity’s Paul and Julia are now in Crash the Satellites, and Crash is performing with Julius Airwave at the Christmas show, so there will be an element of that nostalgia, but both bands are very different than they were back then. Get away from the family for a while. Go see a good show.
|
