thegoodfellas/blogset-br huggingface dataset:
Quick recent interview with Nic Cester while we wait for the next show.Source: Australian TimesJet taxi into LondonAs Jets European tour comes to a close, frontman Nic Cester tells Shannon Crane why the boys were so keen to rock out in London before heading home.Shannon CraneITS been ten months since Jet paid their loyal UK fans a visit, but the Aussie boys promise to make up for their absence with a fun, mixed bag in London on Sunday.The Melbourne-raised rockers took a break from touring early this year but theyre getting back into the swing of things with some of Europes biggest summer festivals.Frontman Nic Cester was looking forward to a bit of fun at their Shepherds Bush gig, Jets last stop before they head back to Oz.Londons always been really positive, he said from Lisbon, Portugal last week.No matter how well things have been going, the crowds and the shows have always been good.We try and make it as much fun as possible, its always a pretty mixed bag. Its got to be fun for us as well as for everyone else.The four-piece Nic, his brother Chris, Cam Muncey and Mark Wilson - shot to fame in 2003 with their debut album Get Born. It sold a massive 3.5 million copies but Jet were unable to match that success with the albums Shine On (2006) and Shaka Rock, released last August under their own label, Real Horror Show Records.Jet have copped a fair amount of flak over the years for trying to mimic the greats like Oasis and The Beatles, but Nic says the boys havent let it get them down.Weve been getting all kinds of reviews since we started. Im aware there were some bad ones but there were also some really good ones as well, he insisted.You only concern yourself with the opinion of those that actually matter to you.Touring and living abroad has seen the band unearth strong fanbases in some unlikely places.Canadas always been really strong for us, Nic, who spends much of his time near Milan, Italy, said.There are certain pockets in Europe that do really well and then there are other pockets that arent as strong.Its always surprising to me. It keeps it interesting.Theyre about to leap back into the music scene Down Under, supporting long-time buddies Powderfinger on their farewell tour from September.I just said it in passing as a joke to Bernard (Fanning), like, so are we going to do a tour together or what?, Nic recalled.The very next day he was like, you know what, thats a good idea, lets do it.I didnt realise at the time they were actually planning a tour at all, let alone their last one.Its going to be a fun way to wrap it up.Jet rock The Shepherds Bush Empire in London on Sunday, July 18th. For tickets go to www.gigsandtours.comTchau. Before we go to the interview, let me just recomend you to take a look at Damndogs facebook. They post pics, talk to the fans and give a heads up on what's going on with the
band (they don't have interviews though! so don't stop visiting us here!).So, this website Laptorockers was doing a remix contest of Damndogs songs a few days ago and the band was interviewed. Here it is:Chris Cester and Mark Wilson already made name & fame as core members of the Australian rock outfit Jet, but have taken a different direction as DAMNDOGS. Completed by longtime friends Mitch McIvor and Louis Macklin, the band doesn't produce rock music a la Jet, but a unique style of their own.Currently DAMNDOGS are running a remix contest here with us at Laptoprockers, offering a perfect opportunity to have a chat with Chris about what's driving him.With Jet you guys more or less enjoyed the status of rockstars. The direction you took with DAMDOGS tends more to have an underground scope. How does that feel?"With DAMNDOGS, people are more interested in the sound we are making than how quickly we 'made it', or how much money we earned or what we are trying to sound like, or any of that crap. It's clearly not in a Jet sort of 'realm', sonically speaking."Is that why did you started DAMDOGS in the first place - or did you become sort of Jet tired?"None of those reasons. DAMNDOGS has nothing to do with Jet at all. It started because my cousin Mitch and I had always wanted to make music together and Jet had some time off...so off we went."Do you think DAMDOGS will get you back into the charts?"If it did, that would be an incredible coup, given that at the moment the charts are full of formulaic nonsense, it's all the same song to me. No - we are on our own mission. We'd rather have a packed room of people who are having their minds blown than an interview with Matt Lauer. We're winning respect as an interesting band with a great live show, so those are our charts."Why did you decide to put up 5 brand new tracks in a remix contest?"We thought it would be a great new way for people to hear the band and also to differentiate DAMNDOGS from Jet. This EP is perfect for remixing, because the tones are cool, and the songs are quite sparse, which means there is plenty of room for imaginative remixers to do something interesting with it."What do you expect or hope remixers will do with your music?"Really I think we just want the people involved here to throw away the concept of the original song and give us back something that's inventive and interesting. The winning remix is going on our remix EP, and there are some stellar remixes already going on it, so I'd want people to really push themselves. We're all really excited to hear what people have done with this."What will be next from DAMNDOGS?"It's gonna be a big year for DAMNDOGS. We have some festival shows coming up in Australia this summer, which is December....but even before that, we have some more US shows lining up, on the East Coast. Following that, we
As promised, I'm gonna begin tonight a round of posts with interviews Damndogs did over the last few months. Also, this blog is soon gonna become a website with its own domain and new looks! So keep checking back!Before we start though, I'd like to fill you up with their tour dates. Right now they're in New York City playing a round of gigs for the CMJ Festival (more info here and here) and they're also on the line-up of Homebake 2011 to be held on December 3rd in Sydney, Aus.We're gonna begin with an interview for the Examiner where Chris and Louis give us an idea of what they're aiming with this new project. The formation of Australian rock outfit DAMNDOGS was completely organic and born wholely from the pure, deep-rooted passion of four talented musicians. Chris Cester, Mitch McIvor, Mark Wilson, and Louis Macklin set out to create a sound so unique, so interesting, and driven solely off their love for music, that it would defy genre chategorization- and they succeeded. Wanting to separate themselves from the mainstream melodies of Cester and Wilson's other band, the highly successful Jet (which Macklin has also been touring with since 2009), DAMNDOGS deliver weird, dark, danceworthy, tunes that are impossible not to get addicted to. I recently spent an evening with Cester and Macklin, two of the nicest guys I have every encountered, and they filled me in on playing shows, the human-to-hipster ration in Melbourne, and just how much they love this new band.The guys have been through Denver before, but not with DAMNDOGS. DAMNDOGS have never been to Denver, Cester shares. Jet went through Colorado a couple of times in the last two years alone. One of those times happened to be in Colorado Springs with Denvers own Photo Atlas providing support. At the Black Sheep? Macklin asks. That was a great show! Its a strange town there. It has a spectacular backdrop, but it's really weird. I really remember that show, Cester marvels. And I hate to sound cocky now, but I particularly remember we were f****** on fire that night, it was a really good gig. We rolled up to the venue and were like, What the f***? This place is crazy, whos going to come out to death alley and see a gig? But people were there and it was rocking.The musicians found Colorado Springs to be a bit weird, but how do they feel about Denver? Its beautiful, Cester shares. As far as the town goes, I havent really had a chance to spend time there. You know, youre there for a day and then you wake up hung over, go to soundcheck, play the gig, then you leave. Its difficult to get out and explore. But the fans are good.Though he currently lives in Los Angeles, Cester is originally from Melbourne, Australia, where Macklin still resides. Since I have never been to Australia, I wonder what the music scene is like over there. Its more backstabbing in Melbourne than it is even in LA, Cester reveals.
Its a strange juxtaposition of support and discerning crowds, Macklin concurs. Everyones in a band- absolutely everyone. So someone could be in the back watching you play, with their arms folded thinking to themselves, Im having the best time of my life, this band is incredible, but not expressing it in any way. There is no sense of camaraderie really, Cester chimes in. Its pretty poor. Everyones got something sh**** to say about you. Unfortunately, what Melbourne has going against it as well, is it has probably the worst human-to-hipster ratio on the planet, Cester explains and we all burst out laughing. Im serious," he relays. "The hipster to human ratio is f***** up down there. I dont want to paint a horrible picture of it, its my home and I love it more than anywhere else, but it can be quite snobby. Sometimes thats good, it inspires us. Ultimately it forces you to work harder, Macklin adds. It forces you to play your ass off when theres a sense of competition.DAMNDOGS released their debut EP, Strange Behavior, in August and the music is already receiving superlative reviews. We arent expecting to sell one million copies of it, Cester admits. This is a first step for us. Were doing this on our own right now and weve had opportunities to get into bed with companies- record companies, publishing companies, and that sort of stuff- but so far weve stuck to our guns and not gotten involved with any of them. So for us this is a really important first step in just announcing our existence to everybody. In the short term, its an album, Macklin shares. The EP songs were recorded about a year ago and its such a common predicament for bands to be in because it takes so long to release the music.We really want people to hear about this band organically, Cester says thoughtfully. Ive been in another band where that wasnt the case. When companies get involved they can get in and f*** that up and really steer you in directions that are out of your control. We want to be massive, everyone does. You dont do it unless you want everyone to love you. If you dont think its worth peoples attention, you dont put it out at all. We have a lot of belief in the band, but at the same time this is a really organic process and its been a real pleasure to do it in this way, to grow it the way were growing it. We were in my backyard two weeks ago hand-stamping our EPs. It was great."In support of the EP release, DAMNDOGS played a string of California shows, as well as a couple of sold-out Australia gigs. It was amazing, Cester says. The shows were really great. Theres something really freeing about what were doing. Its a little bit more genre defying then what I was doing before and so theres two great elements to that: one is that people who come expecting a rock and roll band arent getting
it and I enjoy that confusion; and two, people who dont know anything about us are hearing something theyve never heard before. So the shows were great. Thats exactly what I was going to say, Macklin agrees. We played totally diverse venues as well. In San Francisco we played in a dirty punk club, you know, and here in LA we played in a couple of small, hip bars.It is obvious in hearing the gentlemen talk about DAMNDOGS that they're riding off of sheer love and fervor for the music. When they write songs for this band there is nothing inhibiting them, no one telling them to do it in a particular way, no industry folks telling them the music is too weird. Besides, in their minds, the weirder the better. We try not to be a rock band, Cester says matter-of-factly. Were not a rock band. I dont even want to put any tags on it because that just fuels the fire and you end up answering questions about genres for the rest of your life. Its definitely not a rock band. Weve said to the people that are helping us build this that were not interested in going down that road- we want it to be as weird as possible. In my conversation with our manager I said, I dont want to play in rock clubs, I want to play in gay bars, bowling alleys, I dont care'. Youve got to go where youre not wanted. Everyones seen a rock band. These are strange times as well, so why not be strange?DAMNDOGS are currently in the writing process, but soon enough they will hit the road again. And when they do, you will not want to miss an opportunity to see this band perform. Between their one-of-a-kind hooks, their contagious energy, and their kind, friendly, laid-back personalities, this foursome is headed for greatness.Tchau.
Two shows on the last two days. That's how busy Jet is and I've got some things to show you.On the 15th, the guys headed to Switzerland to play at the Gurten Festival. I can say I had a hard time trying to read the websites in German (is that German?) but I found some pics:I've gotta admit that some pics were only updloaded so you could check Nic's new hair cut and his disastrous pair of shoes. Source: Tilllate.comAnd yesterday they were in Austria, also known as Australia, attending to the Forestglade Festival. Again, the language barrier was tough but Youtube is always a good friend:Very good quality video!So, tomorrow Jet is playing at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in my beloved London. So jealous! I can't wait to put my hands on some footage!Tchau! I'm really sorry to say this, but honestly I can't keep up with JETthefuckingband.com anymore. Jet is a fantastic band and especially for me cause music plays such a big role in my life. But some bands, even when they sound amazing, they just don't deserve the fans they have. And that is sadly Jet's case.Therefore, I took the tough decision to shut down JETthefuckingband.com. The people who have been reading my posts know that this was really important to me. But it's just so hard to keep up with the enthusiasm when the band doesn't give a fuck about playing to you. And I'm sure I can say this on behalf of many people, cause today you all could see the tons of people asking about a South American tour and Chris just pretended they weren't there (yeah, I know, WWE Music didn't show them up as well but all he had to do was read his timeline). So, as many fans were let down today, I was and continuing to do this makes no sense to me anymore. So, thanks for everyone who have been reading my posts for all this time, since JETBrasil.com and all. It was much fun!Cheers!Andie. Hello, it's been a while! So, in case you're wondering, I left this blog a year ago and a few days later I was invited to run JETtheband.com, which I did until June this year. I "quit" it cause I like to do things my own way, you know. And I decided to come back because... well, I missed it. There, I said it.Let's make it less about me and more about Jet, the fucking band. Well, the band itself has been on a year break. But it's not like its four members die or go into a coma when they're not a band. They naturally have gone into something meanwhile. And that something is called Damndogs.This project came about in June with the release of the video above. Just a quick sum up if you haven't been updated yet, Damndogs is comprised of Chris (here on vocals and jumpsuit), Mark (bass), Mitch McIvor (guitar and Chris's cousin) and Louis Macklin (you've seen him if you've been to a Jet gig, he's been Jet's
touring keyboardist since 09) and they play some kind of disco, pop, I don't know how to define music. They've released an EP in August called "Strange Behaviour" and they've done a few gigs in the US and Australia.I don't wanna be an ass and post the links to the EP songs on Youtube so I'm gonna do better than that. One of their gigs in Australia, in Melbs to be more precise, had a few songs filmed. So take a look at the Damndogs:LowLoveDaughterWonder WhyWell, that's it for now. Over the next few days I'm gonna post some of the interviews they've made so far. The comments are opened as always and I might give the blog a little change on the looks, but I need some help with that. So let's see.Tchau.
Damndogs has finished their round of gigs in NYC for the CMJ festival. We don't know what their next steps are gonna be but meanwhile I'll leave you with some pics from their first gig in the city on Oct. 18th, click here to check them out.Finally, I'll post another interview but before that let me just remind you all that the Damndogs EP "Strange Behaviour" is available on the Itunes here. Don't forget to buy it and leave a review. Now let's take a look on a interview for Thevine.com.au:Not every drummer is content to sit behind their kit while the band gads about, blissed out by beats as their face contorts into strange concentrative grimaces. Some are itching to get out and take control. Some like Chris Cester from Jet.With older brother Nic and guitarist Cameron Muncey off enjoying Jet's unspecified hiatus, the almost 30-year-old drummer and songwriter has broken away with bassist Mark Wilson, touring Jet keyboardist Louis Macklin and best friend/cousin Mitch McIver, to form a new band distant from Jets radio friendly meat and three veg rock. And this time hes holding the mic.After playing their first gig in an LA strip joint, one reviewer slapped DAMNDOGS with a Gorillaz procreating with PiL label, and it has to be said there is a similarity between Cester and Johnny Lydons curt, sleazy vocals. Marry that to dark, fuzzed out bass, sinister dubby synths and catchy dance hooks, and youve got a recipe that may leave Jet fans scratching their noggins.Back briefly in town for a gig to share his new baby, Cester took a break from rehearsals to discuss hash-induced revelry, partying with Scott Horscroft, producing Japanese bands in kimonos and his joy of not being boxed in by Jet.--How long are you back in Melbourne for?Two weeks, just for a week of rehearsals and then theres a week in between the Melbourne and Sydney shows, so I get to go to a footy game.Who do you support?(Hesitates) Umm Collingwood, sorry. Everyone fuckin hates Collingwood, I dont understand it. In the modern era, theres no more bogans.Well I must know a lot of bogans...So how long have you been back home?I live in LA. I got back into town a couple of nights ago and Ive been trying to get back on schedule. Its horrible that flight. Ive only been in town for a couple of days and were pretty much straight into it. We had everything going pretty good when we did some shows a couple of months back, but you need some refresher courses, yknow? Just like surgeons have to do it.So you guys played your first gigs in LA?We just sort of went there on the back of the Aussie Invasion South by South West tipthey take a bunch of bands through LA and they had one band drop out. And since Mark was already in town working on new stuff with me, we went 'OK, well just get the other guys over here and well just do it.'It was so last minute, we got
everything together in a week and because of the few people that have heard bits and bobs of what wed done, we were all of a sudden getting all these gig offers. We went and played at Crazy Girls (LA strip joint) which was the weirdest show Ive ever played my whole life. It was bizarreplaying weird, spaced out, ice age like, super refined tunes to a crowd that probably expect Motley Crue. And obviously thats pretty surreal for me having the background in Jet and everything.They wanted a rock band to get up there and turn it up, but it was so different. And also trying to concentrate and remember all the new lyrics...they came up to us at the start and they were like, 'Do you want the girls to be grinding on you and stuff?' That was so ridiculous. So the girls didnt actually get up on stage but it was bizarre to say the least. A surreal gig. That was a warm up and then we did the Aussie Invasion show at Echo Park and then we did a closing show at a place called Harvard and Stone. It was just great, we sort of surprised ourselves, it came up quickly and we got it all together and how natural everything sounded.How did DAMNDOGS come about?Louis Macklin was Jets touring keyboardist and percussionist for the last few years. So we became really close on Jet tours. And Mitch is my first cousin and has been my best friend since we were kids.So Mitch and I started the band and I would go on Jet tours and we would talk about it with Louis. And then Mark (Wilson, Jet bassist) perked his ears up and got wind of it and was really into it. So we basically just talked the band into existence for a couple of years. We just didnt have time to actually get it together. And then finally when Jet decided to go on a longer break...Im not good with doing nothing, yknow? I cant just sit at home and wait for something to happen.So we just ploughed through, kept working, and visiting each other. Id come down, we went and tracked the EP at Big Jesus Burger in Sydney. And then some of the guys would come back in dribs and drabs to LA and wed work on stuff. We just slowly put it all together. People just started to take notice so it became real pretty quickly.Wheres the name DAMNDOGS from?That happened in Marrakesh... there was one tour I think Jet played a couple of dates with the Stones, and after that there was a little break and Id just broken up with my ex girlfriend and didnt really want to come home to an empty house. So Mitch came out and met me in Morocco, and we basically just had the craziest time. It was such a surreal place to hang out on the other side of the world with your best friend.One night wed been up drinking wine all night and we