Korn‘s Jonathan Davis was so excited by ORGY that he created his own record label …
The Jezabels are making a comeback and heading out to do a seven date Australian tour this October with special guests Ali Barker. The 4-piece are hitting stages across the country for the first time since cancelling their latest tour due to health issues. The Jezabels are now back better than ever and touring their latest album Synthia released in February 2016.
You’re about to embark on one hell of a run around Australia before you head to the U.S. How did this tour come about and who are you bringing along for the ride?
We were meant to do this tour back in March when we first released our album but we unfortunately had to cancel it due to health reasons. Now we’re really excited, more so probably than before because of the anticipation to tour it. We’re taking Ali Barker on the road which we’re really excited about as well!
What sort of set list can fans expect to see on the run?
We have a lot more songs which is a thing you struggle with every time you make a new album. You kind of have to have a balance of old and new songs without playing for four hours, so we’re going to have quite a few new ones and a bunch of old favourites. Although, we probably will be playing a bit of the new album because we feel that people have had time to hear it.
What has your fan base’s reaction been to the new album so far?
Well that’s the thing, it was really good. It felt like people really got behind it. Old fans seemed to really enjoy it too, so I’m assuming they’d love to hear it.
You guys sold out one of your Melbourne shows. That must feel amazing!
Yeah, great! This whole tour was a bit of a gamble because we cancelled it and it was already selling quite well when it was cancelled so we were hoping people would come back and still want to see us. It was a bit scary so it was a relief to sell that one out, but the other shows seem to be selling really well too so hopefully there will be a good crowd at each of them. It’s kind of exciting to be playing at all to be honest!
In doing so many shows, how do you like to keep things fresh?
I don’t know why but there’s something about just getting on stage that just makes things fresh. In a way, you can practice all you want but when you get on stage it just always feels like a different show with a different crowd. You can always change the set list up a bit, but we don’t really have massive tricks to keep things fresh because it always feels pretty good. If you want to be there, I think that comes across.
Never forget the power of live music even though radio might neglect that.
Do you have any advice for touring newcomers?
Just tour! Never forget the power of live music even though radio might neglect that. There’s pop acts these days that don’t even play. I think that there’s a ritual to playing actual music on a stage that gives a human contact that we need with society. So, just do it over and over again. You never feel comfortable, and don’t ever expect to feel comfortable. You shouldn’t, and if you do feel comfortable, that’s a problem.
What’s the most bizarre thing to happen to you while on stage?
We have this couple in Germany who come to all of our shows and they both have shaved heads, and they stand right in front of me while I’m on stage, and the guy fondles the women’s breasts. [laughs] Like, I can see this, and I can see the breasts being fondled and they just stand there. They aren’t making out or getting caught up in the moment or anything, they’re just kind of standing there normally. It’s the weirdest thing that has ever happened to us many of times!
What’s a day on the road like for The Jezabels?
It depends on what country you’re in, but in Australia you fly. Although, we used to drive and we drive in America, so you might wake up in the city you’re going to or you’ll have to drive there. Then you’ll talk yourself into going to see the city because you realise you probably should go see it even though all you want to do is sit and watch Breaking Bad on your laptop. [laughs] You just tell yourself “No! You’re in Rome and you should go and see Rome!” so you force yourself out and realise that your life is amazing. Or, you’re in Melbourne and you try and catch up with all your friends. Then, you’ll end up at the venue and end up doing a sound check, and then sometimes you’ll do a little press. Then you’ll play and then you pack up and get on the road again.
Who would we find you guys jamming out to while touring?
I think we all quite like Future Island, Alabama Shakes, or sometimes we turn on the radio,. We also listen to our support bands a lot! If we’ve got a support band with us, we’ll listen to their album and get into it.
I’m sure that it would really mean a lot to your support bands, particularly some of the smaller ones, to have you guys supporting them and taking the time to listen to their music.
Yeah! You support each other, you try and help each other, and you tend to make good friendships on a tour… unless people are total bastards. [laughs] You’ve got a pretty long time to get to know people on tour.
What can we expect to see from you all next?
I don’t think you can expect anything right now. I don’t think we know what the future holds because we’re kind of just taking it one step at a time and learning not to take anything for granted. So, all we really have on the agenda is this tour and the American tour after this one in November. But after that, who knows when you’ll hear from us again, besides our set at Falls Fest.
Falls Fest must have been a great opportunity for you guys to grab after such a long break in touring!
Three of us are from Byron and we get to finish off in Byron so we’ll have heaps of time with our family. It’s beautiful and sunny there so it’ll be good vibes all around and I’m super excited about that! But honestly, I’m probably more excited about our other shows because we’ll get to see fans that we haven’t actually seen in a couple of years and that will be amazing.
If you could say one thing to you fans, what would it be?
Thank you so much for sticking by us through the hard times! We were overwhelmed by the support we had when we cancelled the tour and thank you to those who bought tickets to the second round of it… we never knew if anyone would! [laughs]
Tickets to The Jezabel’s upcoming October tour can be purchased here.
