Stuart MacLeod - Eskimo Joe (17/09/2011)
Eskimo Joe are currently touring their fifth studio album, Ghosts of the Past. Discussing everything from Splendour in the Grass to pre show rituals, Stuart MacLeod (Eskimo Joe’s guitarist) was kind enough to take some time out of the bands busy schedule to chat to The 59th Sound.
The tour has started now, what are you most excited about?
After doing some smaller gigs, it’s now nice to get some proper mileage under our feet. Hanging out back stage and the camaraderie of touring is always a buzz.
What is the weirdest thing you have requested before a show?
Nothing too weird, smack and hookers are always a favourite.
What about your rituals before a show? Could you tell us what goes on before you hit the stage?
We always try not to eat too much just before we go out on stage, however we always try and eat out for a meal before a gig. We always hang out, and relax and play iPod wars and swap stories. Usual stuff.
I’ve seen "outfit" changes from album to album - does the music style influence your "Stage attire" or do you just wing it?
Kav is more the chameleon of the group – for me its just goes with the music but Kav is definitely one who has his particular outfits.
How do you choose a support band?
We often will get given a shortlist from a promoter, from that we will narrow it down. Occasionally one of us will have heard someone and come up with an idea for them to tour with us.
Would there be any international act you would consider being a support gig for or would you prefer to do a smaller show on your own?
It would have to be the right tour at the right time, for example if Bowie decided to tour, we would be there. You don’t turn down a legend!
You have so many "Hard Core" fans in Perth, with some even following you to Splendour in the Grass this year in Queensland. Do you find that other states have a similar "Core Group" or is this a mainly W.A thing?
Each state has its own fans, but I guess with the WA people, they have a sense of ownership, as most have been there since the beginning and have grown with us.
With all the guitar changes, the support crew would be massive influence in your show - who can't you live without?
Everyone who is backstage is there because they are needed. It’s harder when we tour Europe, as we have to cut people out and use our own brains to tune guitars and do a lot of work ourselves. Most of the time, these shows are messier and longer with us working out our guitars.
How many guitars are now used in the show?
For this tour we have five electric, two bass and two acoustics.
The album is amazing - it has a proper Eskimo Joe sound to it - how hard was it to embrace and back yourselves with this record?
Not hard at all, it’s an album we really enjoyed making. It was a quick effort by us, especially without a producer, and without having a producer we really vibed off each other. Using Andy Gill last time to create Inshalla was good as we were able to learn a lot from him, however we have discovered the three of us make a really great team.
What song are you most proud of as a band?
I like to look at our most recent catalogue of work and for me at the moment, it would have to ‘Sky’s on Fire’ – the song just flowed and it was organic. It started off with Joel and the piano, and we each added our own layer, with some daggy beats and asked the strings section to play a bit like this, and with each layer it organically grew into what it is.
What song on any album do you wish you could release?
I would have to say once again, ‘Sky’s on Fire’ – its not exactly single material.
With everyone having families now, and everyone having side projects, how do you find time for yourself? Do you ever just "take a day off"?
To be honest, with everyone’s lives in general being busy, I don’t know if anyone really takes a day off, especially with families and work. There are days when we have mornings off.
Ghost of the Past has a theme of relationships and "Growing Up". How did your families react to having so much dirt dug up on prior and current relationships?
Personally the lyrics aren’t to do with me so much, so my family are fine with everything, incredibly proud.
With the new Wastelands studio, and Dirt Diamonds label do you see yourselves heading more towards to production side of music, than the front man side?
Not at all, Eskimo Joe still provides me with a lot of joy and the studio and label are more of a side project, preparing for the future. Our studio is our favourite place to be in.
The Music Matters clip was pretty hilarious - how long from when they were first approached did it take to see the final product?
It actually took a while as animation is a tricky thing to do, we did however receive snippets here and there, but from start to finish it took around three months.
How did you feel being a part of this project? Are you happy with the end result?
Yeah really happy – it’s really funny.
Which do you prefer the feedback from fans, or are ARIA’s and industry awards important to you as a band?
It’s a different sort of feedback to get. From a fan, when they are explaining how our music has affected them, it’s coming from the heart, whereas feedback from a peer, who understands what it has taken you to get to where you are, it also means a great deal. It’s all about head versus heart and it’s always good to hear both.
The iPhone app is out now and I've played around with it a fair bit. What is that you want your fans to achieve from this?
It’s just a different way to interact, most people are now glued to their iPhone, so it’s handy to have all our lyrics and songs and news all in one location.
Let’s talk Freo Dockers - I saw the interview where you spilled the beans on the new song. How hard is it to write a football song?
It was actually really fun to do. We couldn’t take it overly seriously but it was a ball to make. It’s going up with a few other options with the board and it will be interesting to see what happens.
Thankyou from myself, and The 59th Sound for your time Stu.
Anytime!
Eskimo Joe’s Ghosts of the Past is out now. Tickets are currently on sale for the bands album tour.
Tahlia Jeffery
The tour has started now, what are you most excited about?
After doing some smaller gigs, it’s now nice to get some proper mileage under our feet. Hanging out back stage and the camaraderie of touring is always a buzz.
What is the weirdest thing you have requested before a show?
Nothing too weird, smack and hookers are always a favourite.
What about your rituals before a show? Could you tell us what goes on before you hit the stage?
We always try not to eat too much just before we go out on stage, however we always try and eat out for a meal before a gig. We always hang out, and relax and play iPod wars and swap stories. Usual stuff.
I’ve seen "outfit" changes from album to album - does the music style influence your "Stage attire" or do you just wing it?
Kav is more the chameleon of the group – for me its just goes with the music but Kav is definitely one who has his particular outfits.
How do you choose a support band?
We often will get given a shortlist from a promoter, from that we will narrow it down. Occasionally one of us will have heard someone and come up with an idea for them to tour with us.
Would there be any international act you would consider being a support gig for or would you prefer to do a smaller show on your own?
It would have to be the right tour at the right time, for example if Bowie decided to tour, we would be there. You don’t turn down a legend!
You have so many "Hard Core" fans in Perth, with some even following you to Splendour in the Grass this year in Queensland. Do you find that other states have a similar "Core Group" or is this a mainly W.A thing?
Each state has its own fans, but I guess with the WA people, they have a sense of ownership, as most have been there since the beginning and have grown with us.
With all the guitar changes, the support crew would be massive influence in your show - who can't you live without?
Everyone who is backstage is there because they are needed. It’s harder when we tour Europe, as we have to cut people out and use our own brains to tune guitars and do a lot of work ourselves. Most of the time, these shows are messier and longer with us working out our guitars.
How many guitars are now used in the show?
For this tour we have five electric, two bass and two acoustics.
The album is amazing - it has a proper Eskimo Joe sound to it - how hard was it to embrace and back yourselves with this record?
Not hard at all, it’s an album we really enjoyed making. It was a quick effort by us, especially without a producer, and without having a producer we really vibed off each other. Using Andy Gill last time to create Inshalla was good as we were able to learn a lot from him, however we have discovered the three of us make a really great team.
What song are you most proud of as a band?
I like to look at our most recent catalogue of work and for me at the moment, it would have to ‘Sky’s on Fire’ – the song just flowed and it was organic. It started off with Joel and the piano, and we each added our own layer, with some daggy beats and asked the strings section to play a bit like this, and with each layer it organically grew into what it is.
What song on any album do you wish you could release?
I would have to say once again, ‘Sky’s on Fire’ – its not exactly single material.
With everyone having families now, and everyone having side projects, how do you find time for yourself? Do you ever just "take a day off"?
To be honest, with everyone’s lives in general being busy, I don’t know if anyone really takes a day off, especially with families and work. There are days when we have mornings off.
Ghost of the Past has a theme of relationships and "Growing Up". How did your families react to having so much dirt dug up on prior and current relationships?
Personally the lyrics aren’t to do with me so much, so my family are fine with everything, incredibly proud.
With the new Wastelands studio, and Dirt Diamonds label do you see yourselves heading more towards to production side of music, than the front man side?
Not at all, Eskimo Joe still provides me with a lot of joy and the studio and label are more of a side project, preparing for the future. Our studio is our favourite place to be in.
The Music Matters clip was pretty hilarious - how long from when they were first approached did it take to see the final product?
It actually took a while as animation is a tricky thing to do, we did however receive snippets here and there, but from start to finish it took around three months.
How did you feel being a part of this project? Are you happy with the end result?
Yeah really happy – it’s really funny.
Which do you prefer the feedback from fans, or are ARIA’s and industry awards important to you as a band?
It’s a different sort of feedback to get. From a fan, when they are explaining how our music has affected them, it’s coming from the heart, whereas feedback from a peer, who understands what it has taken you to get to where you are, it also means a great deal. It’s all about head versus heart and it’s always good to hear both.
The iPhone app is out now and I've played around with it a fair bit. What is that you want your fans to achieve from this?
It’s just a different way to interact, most people are now glued to their iPhone, so it’s handy to have all our lyrics and songs and news all in one location.
Let’s talk Freo Dockers - I saw the interview where you spilled the beans on the new song. How hard is it to write a football song?
It was actually really fun to do. We couldn’t take it overly seriously but it was a ball to make. It’s going up with a few other options with the board and it will be interesting to see what happens.
Thankyou from myself, and The 59th Sound for your time Stu.
Anytime!
Eskimo Joe’s Ghosts of the Past is out now. Tickets are currently on sale for the bands album tour.
Tahlia Jeffery