21/12/2009
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15:13
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From the bottom of their heart or maybe just from a piece of paper:
Posted by
Andrea
20/12/2009
at
17:12
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Man, I have so many things to post! My internet is finally back and I've finished my university exams (yes, again, I'm trying to move to Architecture now) so I'm ready to enlight you with pics, reviews and videos.
Before we start, I was taking some pics from Fasterlouder.com.au gallery of their gig at Sydney's Metro when I came across pics of Craig Nicholls from The Vines! Like, on the same gallery as Jet. I'm a huge Vines fan so CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN WHAT IS HE DOING THERE? Craig and Jet together would be too overwhelming for me! (EDIT: Oh my! He joined Jet to sing "She's a Genius", videos anyone?)
Right, so shall we check how this last week was like for Jet:
JET LIVE AT ROD LAVER ARENA, MELBOURNE, DEC. 14th (Supporting Green Day)
Review from Fasterlouder.com.au and check a few pics on this Flickr.
As the gates opened, the early bird crowd flowed in thick and fast to catch the support act, and buy overly priced merchandise. Melbourne’s very own international success story Jet opened the night to a slowly growing crowd. Judging from my eavesdropping while waiting in line, some attendees were a bit surprised that Jet were added as Green Day’s support slot, but the overall audience reaction was a very positive one. Jet opened their set with Nic Cester walking onto the arena stage, taking to the mic and declaring ‘We are Jet, let’s rip it up!’ instantly jumping into Rip It Up.
Thankfully, rather than play obscure songs from their catalogue, Jet had arranged a setlist full of their most popular hits. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is continued the night, which was followed by She’s a Genius the first single from recent album, Shaka Rock. By this point, those who were Jet fans were absolutely loving the atmosphere, and those who weren’t could not help but get into the mood. The highlight of Jet’s set came in Are You Gonna Be My Girl? At this point, they had well and truly settled in on stage for the night. Slowing things down, the mood calmed during Look What You’ve Done. The arena was deadly quiet, so Nic proclaimed ‘It’s so quiet here, you’d think we were at the tennis, sing along if you know the words.’
Get Me Outta Here and new single Black Hearts (On Fire) lead the conclusion of Jet’s surprisingly enjoyable set. They closed the support proceedings with Nic Cester taking to the front of the catwalk, thanking Melbourne for coming down early, as guitar riffs played melodically in the background before screeching the opening cry of the final song, Cold Hard Bitch. You’ve got to give it to Jet, they provided a very enjoyable set and proved they clearly have what it takes to warm the crowd up for one of the biggest bands in the world.
JET LIVE AT ROD LAVER ARENA, MELBOURNE, DEC 16th (Supporting Green Day)
Thanks to Georgia Gutjahr who kindly e-mailed these priceless videos:
JET LIVE AT THE CHAPEL, SYDNEY, DEC 17TH
Next three pics taken from Poisonivyjones.blogspot.com
JET LIVE AT METRO THEATRE, SYDNEY, DEC. 18TH
Source: Fasterlouder.com.au
JET LIVE AT THE PALACE THEATRE, MELBOURNE, DEC 20TH
Source: Fasterlouder.com.au
That's it for now, I could've mixed some pictures but I think I got it all right.
And when I say that's it I mean that's really it! Jet's next stop is Japan in 2010.
If any of you want to share your pics and stuff from the Australian tour, feel free to e-mail me (andrealmeneses@hotmail.com).
Cheers everyone, see you next year! Happy Christmas and have a stunning New Year's Eve!
Before we start, I was taking some pics from Fasterlouder.com.au gallery of their gig at Sydney's Metro when I came across pics of Craig Nicholls from The Vines! Like, on the same gallery as Jet. I'm a huge Vines fan so CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN WHAT IS HE DOING THERE? Craig and Jet together would be too overwhelming for me! (EDIT: Oh my! He joined Jet to sing "She's a Genius", videos anyone?)
Right, so shall we check how this last week was like for Jet:
JET LIVE AT ROD LAVER ARENA, MELBOURNE, DEC. 14th (Supporting Green Day)
Review from Fasterlouder.com.au and check a few pics on this Flickr.
As the gates opened, the early bird crowd flowed in thick and fast to catch the support act, and buy overly priced merchandise. Melbourne’s very own international success story Jet opened the night to a slowly growing crowd. Judging from my eavesdropping while waiting in line, some attendees were a bit surprised that Jet were added as Green Day’s support slot, but the overall audience reaction was a very positive one. Jet opened their set with Nic Cester walking onto the arena stage, taking to the mic and declaring ‘We are Jet, let’s rip it up!’ instantly jumping into Rip It Up.
Thankfully, rather than play obscure songs from their catalogue, Jet had arranged a setlist full of their most popular hits. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is continued the night, which was followed by She’s a Genius the first single from recent album, Shaka Rock. By this point, those who were Jet fans were absolutely loving the atmosphere, and those who weren’t could not help but get into the mood. The highlight of Jet’s set came in Are You Gonna Be My Girl? At this point, they had well and truly settled in on stage for the night. Slowing things down, the mood calmed during Look What You’ve Done. The arena was deadly quiet, so Nic proclaimed ‘It’s so quiet here, you’d think we were at the tennis, sing along if you know the words.’
Get Me Outta Here and new single Black Hearts (On Fire) lead the conclusion of Jet’s surprisingly enjoyable set. They closed the support proceedings with Nic Cester taking to the front of the catwalk, thanking Melbourne for coming down early, as guitar riffs played melodically in the background before screeching the opening cry of the final song, Cold Hard Bitch. You’ve got to give it to Jet, they provided a very enjoyable set and proved they clearly have what it takes to warm the crowd up for one of the biggest bands in the world.
JET LIVE AT ROD LAVER ARENA, MELBOURNE, DEC 16th (Supporting Green Day)
Thanks to Georgia Gutjahr who kindly e-mailed these priceless videos:
JET LIVE AT THE CHAPEL, SYDNEY, DEC 17TH
Next three pics taken from Poisonivyjones.blogspot.com
JET LIVE AT METRO THEATRE, SYDNEY, DEC. 18TH
Source: Fasterlouder.com.au
JET LIVE AT THE PALACE THEATRE, MELBOURNE, DEC 20TH
Source: Fasterlouder.com.au
That's it for now, I could've mixed some pictures but I think I got it all right.
And when I say that's it I mean that's really it! Jet's next stop is Japan in 2010.
If any of you want to share your pics and stuff from the Australian tour, feel free to e-mail me (andrealmeneses@hotmail.com).
Cheers everyone, see you next year! Happy Christmas and have a stunning New Year's Eve!
Posted by
Andrea
16/12/2009
at
12:10
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1 comments
Tell you what, my week has been a big stinky piece of garbage. There was a big rain here a couple of days ago and my bedroom sort of flooded and my internet died. Therefore, I'm leaving the posts about the last two Melbourne gigs for the weekend, when hopefully things will go back to normal.
So let's talk good things. On December 12th, 2006, the band was releasing one of the most important singles of their history. Shine On was released and today we're getting to know a bit more about it.
"Shine On" is a song by Australian rock band Jet, and is the seventh track on their second album Shine On. In March 2007, the single was released as the third single from that album in the United Kingdom and Australia. An EP was released to the American iTunes Store in December 2006.
The song was written by Nic to comfort his family after his father's death. He is quoted of saying "It was inevitable I would write a song that dealt with all of that, but it was almost too big a subject for me to handle," Nic says. "Then I got a phone call from my mom saying everyone was depressed so I wrote the song through Dad's eyes, what he would say to help everyone through. We recorded it in one take, but it was emotional, very heavy. We couldn't be happier with this album."
The song was featured on the final episode of the television series The O.C. and also in a season final episode of Cold Case. It is also rumoured to be the song played at the funeral of one Robert James Sloan. In a recent interview with Heat magazine, the comedy chathost declared, "I love this song. I would be more than delighted to hear it through my coffin!"
The song charted poorly in the UK missing the top 75 altogether and also charted poorly in Australia missing the top 50 altogether. The song failed to chart in the United States but it did chart on the Modern Rock charts at #30.
Source: Wikipedia
SHINE ON FOR FRED HOLLOWS
SHINE ON - LIVE PERFORMANCE
A couple of years ago, when we were still Jetbrasil.com, we did this voting thing for people to choose their favorite Jet track. Shine On won it and we had several download links for you. Here they are (if you notice any problem with the links, please let us know):
Package with some versions of Shine On
Shine On - Live for an Italian Radio show
Shine On - Live on Conan O'Brien
Shine On - Live at Metropolis Studios
Shine On - Live at Radio Rock (San Diego)
Shine On - Live on Sunrise
SHINE ON - LYRICS
Please don't cry
You know I'm leaving here tonight
Before I go I want you to know that there will always be a light
And if the moon had to runaway
And all the stars didn't wanna play
Don't waste the sun on a rainy day
The wind will soon blow it all away
So many times I've planed
To be much more than who I am
And if I let you down I will follow you ‘round until you understand
That if the moon had to runaway
And all the stars didn't wanna play
Don't waste the sun on a rainy day
The wind will soon blow it all away
When the days all seem the same
Don't feel the cold or wind or rain
Everything will be okay
We will meet again one day
I will shine on, for everyone
So please don't cry
Although I leave you here this night
Where ever I may go how far I don't know
But I will always be your light
That if the moon had to runaway
And all the stars didn't wanna play
Don't waste the sun on a rainy day
The wind will soon blow it all away
When the days all seem the same
Don't feet the cold or wind or rain
Everything will be okay
We will meet again one day
I will shine on, for everyone
When the days all seem the same
Don't feet the cold or wind or rain
Everything will be okay
We will meet again one day
I will shine on, for everyone
You can purchase your copy of Shine On single here.
Tchau!
So let's talk good things. On December 12th, 2006, the band was releasing one of the most important singles of their history. Shine On was released and today we're getting to know a bit more about it.
"Shine On" is a song by Australian rock band Jet, and is the seventh track on their second album Shine On. In March 2007, the single was released as the third single from that album in the United Kingdom and Australia. An EP was released to the American iTunes Store in December 2006.
The song was written by Nic to comfort his family after his father's death. He is quoted of saying "It was inevitable I would write a song that dealt with all of that, but it was almost too big a subject for me to handle," Nic says. "Then I got a phone call from my mom saying everyone was depressed so I wrote the song through Dad's eyes, what he would say to help everyone through. We recorded it in one take, but it was emotional, very heavy. We couldn't be happier with this album."
The song was featured on the final episode of the television series The O.C. and also in a season final episode of Cold Case. It is also rumoured to be the song played at the funeral of one Robert James Sloan. In a recent interview with Heat magazine, the comedy chathost declared, "I love this song. I would be more than delighted to hear it through my coffin!"
The song charted poorly in the UK missing the top 75 altogether and also charted poorly in Australia missing the top 50 altogether. The song failed to chart in the United States but it did chart on the Modern Rock charts at #30.
Source: Wikipedia
SHINE ON FOR FRED HOLLOWS
SHINE ON - LIVE PERFORMANCE
A couple of years ago, when we were still Jetbrasil.com, we did this voting thing for people to choose their favorite Jet track. Shine On won it and we had several download links for you. Here they are (if you notice any problem with the links, please let us know):
Package with some versions of Shine On
Shine On - Live for an Italian Radio show
Shine On - Live on Conan O'Brien
Shine On - Live at Metropolis Studios
Shine On - Live at Radio Rock (San Diego)
Shine On - Live on Sunrise
SHINE ON - LYRICS
Please don't cry
You know I'm leaving here tonight
Before I go I want you to know that there will always be a light
And if the moon had to runaway
And all the stars didn't wanna play
Don't waste the sun on a rainy day
The wind will soon blow it all away
So many times I've planed
To be much more than who I am
And if I let you down I will follow you ‘round until you understand
That if the moon had to runaway
And all the stars didn't wanna play
Don't waste the sun on a rainy day
The wind will soon blow it all away
When the days all seem the same
Don't feel the cold or wind or rain
Everything will be okay
We will meet again one day
I will shine on, for everyone
So please don't cry
Although I leave you here this night
Where ever I may go how far I don't know
But I will always be your light
That if the moon had to runaway
And all the stars didn't wanna play
Don't waste the sun on a rainy day
The wind will soon blow it all away
When the days all seem the same
Don't feet the cold or wind or rain
Everything will be okay
We will meet again one day
I will shine on, for everyone
When the days all seem the same
Don't feet the cold or wind or rain
Everything will be okay
We will meet again one day
I will shine on, for everyone
You can purchase your copy of Shine On single here.
Tchau!
Posted by
Andrea
12/12/2009
at
14:52
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0
comments
I'm going to show you a video now of Jet playing last night (that would be tonight for me, crazy timezones) and let's see if you all agree with me. I think this time Jet is really being the support band, I mean, the Papa Roach's fans didn't seem to give a damn about their set. That's what appeared to me by reading reviews and stuff like that.
And check these lovely pics by Daniel Bedford:
See you, tchau.
And check these lovely pics by Daniel Bedford:
See you, tchau.
Posted by
Andrea
11/12/2009
at
22:16
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1 comments
Man, I was playing The Sims 3 and I just realised it's 4 am! Just in time for Gettyimages to upload pics from last night's gig!
Just to make something clear here, it's not that I've developed an obession with Nic but lately he's got all the attention from the photographers.
Tchau.
Just to make something clear here, it's not that I've developed an obession with Nic but lately he's got all the attention from the photographers.
Tchau.
Posted by
Andrea
10/12/2009
at
12:38
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0
comments
Before we start I just wanted to remind you guys (as I was reminded myself on the band's offical forum) that the NME Awards 2010 voting is open. Go here and vote for Jet!
Last night the band played their second night in Brisbane as part of the support tour for Green Day:
December 10th, 2009: Under the rooftop of Brisbane’s Entertainment Centre last night, excited fans were treated to not one, but two excellent bands in one evening of power rock ballads and searing lyrics to rival the heat in South East Queensland.
On the menu this evening, guaranteed to get the crowd revved up - Melbourne band Jet(an Aussie rock institution since their 2003 breakout hit single ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’) and perennial International superheroes, Green Day.
The stage was set for three-plus hours of scorching rock melodies that only Jet and Green Day can bring to Brisbane! Jet, the evening’s warm up act had the show rolling at around 7:30pm getting the three quarters filled centre fired up with their hit songs.
Acoustics were not much of an issue, as the Entertainment Centre was more-or-less designed for concerts so we did not have to suffer through some of the sound quality issues we were subjected to at the U2 concert in Sydney back in 2006.
Jet’s front man Nic Cester did his best to get the crowd involved in the songs, but one couldn’t help but sense that the amassed fans were perhaps saving their vocal cords for the headline act.
By the time we heard Jet’s signature song, the crowd were fully engaged, joining the band for the chorus.
Several of Jet’s more recent singles also played through the night until they bowed out just before 8:30pm.
Picture and review taken from here.
Tchau.
Last night the band played their second night in Brisbane as part of the support tour for Green Day:
December 10th, 2009: Under the rooftop of Brisbane’s Entertainment Centre last night, excited fans were treated to not one, but two excellent bands in one evening of power rock ballads and searing lyrics to rival the heat in South East Queensland.
On the menu this evening, guaranteed to get the crowd revved up - Melbourne band Jet(an Aussie rock institution since their 2003 breakout hit single ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’) and perennial International superheroes, Green Day.
The stage was set for three-plus hours of scorching rock melodies that only Jet and Green Day can bring to Brisbane! Jet, the evening’s warm up act had the show rolling at around 7:30pm getting the three quarters filled centre fired up with their hit songs.
Acoustics were not much of an issue, as the Entertainment Centre was more-or-less designed for concerts so we did not have to suffer through some of the sound quality issues we were subjected to at the U2 concert in Sydney back in 2006.
Jet’s front man Nic Cester did his best to get the crowd involved in the songs, but one couldn’t help but sense that the amassed fans were perhaps saving their vocal cords for the headline act.
By the time we heard Jet’s signature song, the crowd were fully engaged, joining the band for the chorus.
Several of Jet’s more recent singles also played through the night until they bowed out just before 8:30pm.
Picture and review taken from here.
Tchau.
Posted by
Andrea
09/12/2009
at
15:36
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0
comments
And just retweeting them, the tour bus video was released earlier (read: they couldn't reach 4000 followers) and they posted a link for a very nice accoustic performance and interview.
I don't know about you guys, but I think their twitter was much more fun when Chris tweeted once in a while. Ok, they want more followers, but what for?
Tchau.
Posted by
Andrea
07/12/2009
at
15:53
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0
comments
Before we start I'd like to ask the Aussies if they could send us anyhting about Homabake 2009. I've found loads of pics, but some decent review and maybe a video would be better. So, if you're were there, please send us your anything to andrealmeneses@hotmail.com
So, shall we start cause I've got a bunch of things to show you tonight.
Band played on the 6th in Adelaide as part of their supporting tour with Green Day. Pics to go:
Going back a little bit, on the 4th, Jet played their first night with Green Day and here's a video performance of "Look What You've Done":
Now let's go one day forward at the Homebake Festival and watch this video interview with Nic and Cam:
After this journey in time check this remix by Timbaland of "Timothy". The song is part of his new album:
Don't forget to share your videos and reviews, Homebakers (?)!
Tchau.
So, shall we start cause I've got a bunch of things to show you tonight.
Band played on the 6th in Adelaide as part of their supporting tour with Green Day. Pics to go:
Going back a little bit, on the 4th, Jet played their first night with Green Day and here's a video performance of "Look What You've Done":
Now let's go one day forward at the Homebake Festival and watch this video interview with Nic and Cam:
After this journey in time check this remix by Timbaland of "Timothy". The song is part of his new album:
Don't forget to share your videos and reviews, Homebakers (?)!
Tchau.
Posted by
Andrea
05/12/2009
at
11:13
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0
comments
Just to give you a taste:
Hey, if you were there and watched our boys, you can send me (andrealmeneses@hotmail.com) your review and/or pics and share them with all the Jet fans around the world!
Tchau.
Hey, if you were there and watched our boys, you can send me (andrealmeneses@hotmail.com) your review and/or pics and share them with all the Jet fans around the world!
Tchau.
Posted by
Andrea
The tour supporting Green Day started last night in Perth. Reading some comments around the internet, it seems that if these support tours are meant to give them a few more fans I guess they'll be more successful this time around. All the die-hard Green Day's fans are saying positive things about Jet's act (I say that because I'm usually really bored during the support acts on my favorite band's show). Here goes a few pics from Fasterlouder.com.au and a video of "Are You Gonna Be My Girl":
Moving on, tomorrow the band plays at the Homebake Festival with several Aussie bands. The atmosphere around there seems to be a little more light than in the US:
SYDNEY has welcomed in the summer festival season with Homebake, led by rock heavyweights Powderfinger and Jet.
The home-grown festival, held in Sydney's Domain, celebrates the bands that have made it - or are on the way up - in Australia and overseas.
Returning Down Under after extensive touring in the US, Melbourne band Jet said they had managed only seven hours' sleep in the past three days but were thrilled to be back.
"We are so happy to be here - I know that's such a cliche, but we really do spend a lot of time in the States," drummer Chris Cester told AAP.
"Summer in Australia, you can't beat it.
"There's a lack of ego when it's all one nationality - it feels like a bit more of a get together and have fun experience."
Cester said he likes the laid back attitude of Aussie bands and festivals in this country.
"American bands tend to be really dogged with their fascination with appearance ... You get bands who aren't even bigger than us rolling up with four security guards each," he said.
"I hate that about festivals, it takes away from the experience.
"This is one of the only ones in the world where that is happily absent from the scenario."
Sydneysiders turned out in their festival finery on a perfect sunny summer day for the sold-out over-18s event.
Some sported rockstar wigs and Santa hats, while one turned up in a banana outfit and others in nurses' uniforms.
Bands got into the spirit, with Bumblebeez taking to the stage in rabbit masks.
Other punters opted to keep cool by wearing as little as possible - swimsuits and denim shorts for the girls and bare chests for guys.
"There's a lot of flesh back there," said Howling Bell's frontwoman Juanita Stein.
"I suspect it's only going to get fleshier as the night goes on."
Others on the bill include Hilltop Hoods, Sarah Blasko, Tim Finn, Daniel Merriweather and Eskimo Joe.
Eskimo Joe's Joel Quartermain said he always felt excited when festival season rolled around.
"As we drove in, I actually got the first little pang of nerves, which is always a good thing," he said.
"It doesn't happen all the time, but at festivals it always happens.
"It reminds you of being a young band and that exciting time."
Source: The Daily Telegraph
See you tomorrow then!
Tchau.
Moving on, tomorrow the band plays at the Homebake Festival with several Aussie bands. The atmosphere around there seems to be a little more light than in the US:
SYDNEY has welcomed in the summer festival season with Homebake, led by rock heavyweights Powderfinger and Jet.
The home-grown festival, held in Sydney's Domain, celebrates the bands that have made it - or are on the way up - in Australia and overseas.
Returning Down Under after extensive touring in the US, Melbourne band Jet said they had managed only seven hours' sleep in the past three days but were thrilled to be back.
"We are so happy to be here - I know that's such a cliche, but we really do spend a lot of time in the States," drummer Chris Cester told AAP.
"Summer in Australia, you can't beat it.
"There's a lack of ego when it's all one nationality - it feels like a bit more of a get together and have fun experience."
Cester said he likes the laid back attitude of Aussie bands and festivals in this country.
"American bands tend to be really dogged with their fascination with appearance ... You get bands who aren't even bigger than us rolling up with four security guards each," he said.
"I hate that about festivals, it takes away from the experience.
"This is one of the only ones in the world where that is happily absent from the scenario."
Sydneysiders turned out in their festival finery on a perfect sunny summer day for the sold-out over-18s event.
Some sported rockstar wigs and Santa hats, while one turned up in a banana outfit and others in nurses' uniforms.
Bands got into the spirit, with Bumblebeez taking to the stage in rabbit masks.
Other punters opted to keep cool by wearing as little as possible - swimsuits and denim shorts for the girls and bare chests for guys.
"There's a lot of flesh back there," said Howling Bell's frontwoman Juanita Stein.
"I suspect it's only going to get fleshier as the night goes on."
Others on the bill include Hilltop Hoods, Sarah Blasko, Tim Finn, Daniel Merriweather and Eskimo Joe.
Eskimo Joe's Joel Quartermain said he always felt excited when festival season rolled around.
"As we drove in, I actually got the first little pang of nerves, which is always a good thing," he said.
"It doesn't happen all the time, but at festivals it always happens.
"It reminds you of being a young band and that exciting time."
Source: The Daily Telegraph
See you tomorrow then!
Tchau.
Posted by
Andrea
02/12/2009
at
13:11
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2
comments
Just look at the atmosphere of this gig, man! Brilliant!
Posted by
Andrea
And as I promised here goes the interview with Chris:
JET. For serious.
I must have caught Chris Cester in a philosophical mood. The Jet drummer hadn’t left his hotel in Raleigh, North Carolina, for 24 hours - “Some cities are better left unexplored". Since the Australian rockers’ 2003 debut 'Get Born' tore the rock world a new A-hole, the band has been proud exports; travelling the globe in full excess. Six years, a virtual Pacific Ocean of vodka and some painful epiphanies later, the band transformed their battle wounds into their most eclectic record yet; the psychedelic 'Shaka Rock'. Cester’s older, wiser and a bit sober now; promising a world-class show for Big Day Out 2010, and a good dose of insight into a band that managed to escape the industry machine with their bloody souls intact.
COUP DE MAIN: How does it feel to be in America?
JET- CHRIS CESTER: You know, it’s a very interesting experience for me this time round because I haven’t had a drink in about 6 weeks – it’s been interesting looking at this country through sober eyes... It’s a much bigger country than what I remember from when I was drunk every day.
CDM: Jet has had a lot of success in the States from a few years back – is it a better trip this time round? Sober eyes and all that?
CHRIS: Well, you know, there’s really no way to compare the first time to the fifth or sixth time you do it. There’s a different kind of energy and excitement around the time of your first record. What I remember form those tours, is that we didn’t really play all that well... we didn’t really string a sentence together, let alone put an hour and twenty minutes down. Now, we want to put on the show we didn’t all those years ago – now we’ve got three records... it’s much more entertaining. I look forward to the show every night, rather than the party, which is what I used to look forward to.
CDM: Were you caught unawares on that first tour? Were you ready for it?
CHRIS: Technically, not ready for it. I suppose we all thought we were. When you’re 21 years old and all your fantasies come true, there’s no other way to look at it other than “here we go – let’s do it, let’s live it up” – we sorta did it like that. We didn’t know what were doing, or what we had achieved until three years later when our father passed away and we just went crashing back down to earth, took stock in what we’d done and thought “well, shit. Maybe we’ve blown right out of the gun, gone for two years and haven’t even realized it". It’s interesting. Now I’m just concentrating on the music. I know it sounds bizarre to say this, but even though that first record came out in 2003, it’s taken us until 2009 to really buckle down. I mean, every tour means something, every tour is great, but we’re finally on top of our game I would say.
CDM: You’ve said that recording the new album 'Shaka Rock', was one of your more pleasurable recording experiences – why is that?
CHRIS: Well, the first two records we made with a producer, Dave Sardy [ The Dandy Warhols, Marilyn Manson ]. The first record – we did it so quickly, I think the whole thing was done in about six weeks. To be honest with you, I don’t really remember much of that experience because, well... I was hugging the vodka bottle most of the time – I don’t really know about the other guys, but I was enjoying myself. On the second record an interesting thing happened which we didn’t expect – we’d sold a lot of records and then all of a sudden there was a thousand extra people who all had opinions about what we do and what we did, which is a bizarre concept when you think about the fact that we were the ones who came to them with the songs in the first place... the songs that did well in the first place – all of a sudden the record label, the management, they all have opinions about how to hang on to that success that you’ve created. I mean, ultimately, no-one knows better than yourself what you should be doing musically. I remember during the second record feeling really stifled and feeling like it was more like a circus than a creative experience. On the third record we decided to clean house. We got rid of our management – not because anyone was doing wrong necessarily, but just because it was time for some spring-cleaning. That’s one way in which this album was more pleasurable.
CDM: So it was a new beginning of sorts – I imagine your family tragedy [ Nic and Chris Cester’s father’s death in 2004 ] would have shaken things up too?
CHRIS: Yeah. It was a difficult year. It was a good twelve months before anyone started feeling normal again. At the same time as our father passing away at 46 years old, we were coming down as well; from all the hype we experienced from the first record. That was basically a 2-year, no hold-barred party. It takes a while to come down from that – it was accelerated by his passing. It was a very sobering experience, the whole thing. It’s funny, it was just a reality check for us I suppose. What have you got left? Who is left? That kind of thing. For quite a while it was like a “who knows if the next album’s actually gonna happen” kinda thing, which I never thought I’d end up thinking.
CDM: So now, we do have the new album. It’s quite eclectic in relation to the other ones – were you guys quite deliberate about that?
CHRIS: See, that’s one of the perks of taking the reins and saying - “We’re gonna have control of this”. The situation then is that you don’t have anyone sitting there telling you who your fans are. That was something we had to deal with – it was a big pain in the arse. For example, with the first album we leaned quite heavily on our influences – as we grew up we wanted to steer away from that, but we found it more difficult because our producer would sit there and tell us: “Well, you know, you’ve got this song but you need that to sound like 'Let It Be'. You need to make it sound like this and that". It just got really tiring. So when it came time to produce 'Shaka Rock', we did it ourselves and decided we were gonna try everything – all our ideas, really try and be more adventurous and find our own swing. I think this record is the first step in that direction. I think our next record will be our best record yet... we’ve lost a whole lot of our baggage – we’ve got a good momentum going on right now.
CDM: The new record sees Jet joining a long and illustrious line of bands who have sung songs about seventeen year-olds. [ ‘Seventeen’ – “I get back home at a quarter to four, what you doing with your keys inside my door? Seventeen and you never been here before...” ] – Was there an actual seventeen-year-old involved?
CHRIS: Yeah, but...
CDM: It’s not what you think?...
CHRIS: ...Not as naughty as it sounds. A friend of mine was renting an apartment in New York. He’s a director for a massive film company out there. They gave him this huge apartment that he couldn’t be in anymore because it was too noisy for him. He said “look, you’re here in New York, why don’t you move out of that hotel and come live in my apartment?” – I don’t think he told the landlady, because I went out for a pack of smokes really early one morning – I was halfway through writing this song. When I came back, there was this young girl and her boyfriend at my door with a pair of keys trying to get in to the place... she must have heard the other guy had moved out and she was trying to get in there and get up to something; I don’t know what. Basically, it just started my imagination going – I started thinking of myself at seventeen; it’s not so much about a seventeen year-old girl, it’s just about being seventeen – you’re somewhere in between being self-righteous and having no idea. It’s just such an interesting time in your life – there I was at 27, ten years later thinking about whether I had turned out the way I thought I was going to – it’s about that question I suppose.
CDM: Well. No scandalous tales there.
CHRIS: No scandalous tales.
CDM: Whose van are you burning on the cover of the 'Shaka Rock'?
CHRIS: That’s ours. We bought it and then blew it up.
CDM: Perfect.
CHRIS: It was just an idea. We’d gone and met this photographer and we were talking about putting ourselves on the cover again, and we just thought that was really boring – we’d done everything else differently. We were standing on a corner in New York and one of those trucks drove past, the ones with all the graffiti on it, and Cam just said - “Why don’t we just get a truck like that, write shit on it, blow it up and be done with it?” He was kinda joking, but we loved it. Funnily enough we thought; “yeah, let’s just make it cheap and nasty and make it a statement in that way" – and then it turned out to be the most expensive album cover we’ve ever shot.
CDM: You’ve got to afford yourself some excesses...
CHRIS: The idea of it, was to do it guerrilla-style. The van only cost us a thousand bucks. We had to pay fire marshals and stuff. You can’t just set a truck on fire in the middle of town and expect to get away with it. We had a graffiti crew paint it up and then set it on fire. Bizarrely, this one website that had always trashed our band loved the record – but they laughed at the cover, saying we’d photo-shopped it, and shit! We’d spent all this money...
Source: CDM Magazine
JET. For serious.
I must have caught Chris Cester in a philosophical mood. The Jet drummer hadn’t left his hotel in Raleigh, North Carolina, for 24 hours - “Some cities are better left unexplored". Since the Australian rockers’ 2003 debut 'Get Born' tore the rock world a new A-hole, the band has been proud exports; travelling the globe in full excess. Six years, a virtual Pacific Ocean of vodka and some painful epiphanies later, the band transformed their battle wounds into their most eclectic record yet; the psychedelic 'Shaka Rock'. Cester’s older, wiser and a bit sober now; promising a world-class show for Big Day Out 2010, and a good dose of insight into a band that managed to escape the industry machine with their bloody souls intact.
COUP DE MAIN: How does it feel to be in America?
JET- CHRIS CESTER: You know, it’s a very interesting experience for me this time round because I haven’t had a drink in about 6 weeks – it’s been interesting looking at this country through sober eyes... It’s a much bigger country than what I remember from when I was drunk every day.
CDM: Jet has had a lot of success in the States from a few years back – is it a better trip this time round? Sober eyes and all that?
CHRIS: Well, you know, there’s really no way to compare the first time to the fifth or sixth time you do it. There’s a different kind of energy and excitement around the time of your first record. What I remember form those tours, is that we didn’t really play all that well... we didn’t really string a sentence together, let alone put an hour and twenty minutes down. Now, we want to put on the show we didn’t all those years ago – now we’ve got three records... it’s much more entertaining. I look forward to the show every night, rather than the party, which is what I used to look forward to.
CDM: Were you caught unawares on that first tour? Were you ready for it?
CHRIS: Technically, not ready for it. I suppose we all thought we were. When you’re 21 years old and all your fantasies come true, there’s no other way to look at it other than “here we go – let’s do it, let’s live it up” – we sorta did it like that. We didn’t know what were doing, or what we had achieved until three years later when our father passed away and we just went crashing back down to earth, took stock in what we’d done and thought “well, shit. Maybe we’ve blown right out of the gun, gone for two years and haven’t even realized it". It’s interesting. Now I’m just concentrating on the music. I know it sounds bizarre to say this, but even though that first record came out in 2003, it’s taken us until 2009 to really buckle down. I mean, every tour means something, every tour is great, but we’re finally on top of our game I would say.
CDM: You’ve said that recording the new album 'Shaka Rock', was one of your more pleasurable recording experiences – why is that?
CHRIS: Well, the first two records we made with a producer, Dave Sardy [ The Dandy Warhols, Marilyn Manson ]. The first record – we did it so quickly, I think the whole thing was done in about six weeks. To be honest with you, I don’t really remember much of that experience because, well... I was hugging the vodka bottle most of the time – I don’t really know about the other guys, but I was enjoying myself. On the second record an interesting thing happened which we didn’t expect – we’d sold a lot of records and then all of a sudden there was a thousand extra people who all had opinions about what we do and what we did, which is a bizarre concept when you think about the fact that we were the ones who came to them with the songs in the first place... the songs that did well in the first place – all of a sudden the record label, the management, they all have opinions about how to hang on to that success that you’ve created. I mean, ultimately, no-one knows better than yourself what you should be doing musically. I remember during the second record feeling really stifled and feeling like it was more like a circus than a creative experience. On the third record we decided to clean house. We got rid of our management – not because anyone was doing wrong necessarily, but just because it was time for some spring-cleaning. That’s one way in which this album was more pleasurable.
CDM: So it was a new beginning of sorts – I imagine your family tragedy [ Nic and Chris Cester’s father’s death in 2004 ] would have shaken things up too?
CHRIS: Yeah. It was a difficult year. It was a good twelve months before anyone started feeling normal again. At the same time as our father passing away at 46 years old, we were coming down as well; from all the hype we experienced from the first record. That was basically a 2-year, no hold-barred party. It takes a while to come down from that – it was accelerated by his passing. It was a very sobering experience, the whole thing. It’s funny, it was just a reality check for us I suppose. What have you got left? Who is left? That kind of thing. For quite a while it was like a “who knows if the next album’s actually gonna happen” kinda thing, which I never thought I’d end up thinking.
CDM: So now, we do have the new album. It’s quite eclectic in relation to the other ones – were you guys quite deliberate about that?
CHRIS: See, that’s one of the perks of taking the reins and saying - “We’re gonna have control of this”. The situation then is that you don’t have anyone sitting there telling you who your fans are. That was something we had to deal with – it was a big pain in the arse. For example, with the first album we leaned quite heavily on our influences – as we grew up we wanted to steer away from that, but we found it more difficult because our producer would sit there and tell us: “Well, you know, you’ve got this song but you need that to sound like 'Let It Be'. You need to make it sound like this and that". It just got really tiring. So when it came time to produce 'Shaka Rock', we did it ourselves and decided we were gonna try everything – all our ideas, really try and be more adventurous and find our own swing. I think this record is the first step in that direction. I think our next record will be our best record yet... we’ve lost a whole lot of our baggage – we’ve got a good momentum going on right now.
CDM: The new record sees Jet joining a long and illustrious line of bands who have sung songs about seventeen year-olds. [ ‘Seventeen’ – “I get back home at a quarter to four, what you doing with your keys inside my door? Seventeen and you never been here before...” ] – Was there an actual seventeen-year-old involved?
CHRIS: Yeah, but...
CDM: It’s not what you think?...
CHRIS: ...Not as naughty as it sounds. A friend of mine was renting an apartment in New York. He’s a director for a massive film company out there. They gave him this huge apartment that he couldn’t be in anymore because it was too noisy for him. He said “look, you’re here in New York, why don’t you move out of that hotel and come live in my apartment?” – I don’t think he told the landlady, because I went out for a pack of smokes really early one morning – I was halfway through writing this song. When I came back, there was this young girl and her boyfriend at my door with a pair of keys trying to get in to the place... she must have heard the other guy had moved out and she was trying to get in there and get up to something; I don’t know what. Basically, it just started my imagination going – I started thinking of myself at seventeen; it’s not so much about a seventeen year-old girl, it’s just about being seventeen – you’re somewhere in between being self-righteous and having no idea. It’s just such an interesting time in your life – there I was at 27, ten years later thinking about whether I had turned out the way I thought I was going to – it’s about that question I suppose.
CDM: Well. No scandalous tales there.
CHRIS: No scandalous tales.
CDM: Whose van are you burning on the cover of the 'Shaka Rock'?
CHRIS: That’s ours. We bought it and then blew it up.
CDM: Perfect.
CHRIS: It was just an idea. We’d gone and met this photographer and we were talking about putting ourselves on the cover again, and we just thought that was really boring – we’d done everything else differently. We were standing on a corner in New York and one of those trucks drove past, the ones with all the graffiti on it, and Cam just said - “Why don’t we just get a truck like that, write shit on it, blow it up and be done with it?” He was kinda joking, but we loved it. Funnily enough we thought; “yeah, let’s just make it cheap and nasty and make it a statement in that way" – and then it turned out to be the most expensive album cover we’ve ever shot.
CDM: You’ve got to afford yourself some excesses...
CHRIS: The idea of it, was to do it guerrilla-style. The van only cost us a thousand bucks. We had to pay fire marshals and stuff. You can’t just set a truck on fire in the middle of town and expect to get away with it. We had a graffiti crew paint it up and then set it on fire. Bizarrely, this one website that had always trashed our band loved the record – but they laughed at the cover, saying we’d photo-shopped it, and shit! We’d spent all this money...
Source: CDM Magazine
Posted by
Andrea
I've got two interviews here, one with Mark and other with Chris, but I guess I'm posting only one at time so you can taste them better!
As they're going to their native country we'll probably find some interviews in Aussie websites, and this one comes from Rave Magazine.
SHAUN NANCARROW discovers that JET bassist MARK WILSON is just an ordinary guy in an extraordinary situation.
Life changes somewhat when you find yourself a member of one of the biggest rock bands Australia has produced in the last decade. A humble trip down to your local cafe or restaurant, for example, can become a mite more uncomfortable than it once was.
“Back in the early days when our first album was blowing up,” says Jet bassist Mark Wilson of his group’s ARIA Award-winning debut, Get Born, which has sold 3.5 million copies worldwide and even received platinum certification in the US, “sometimes I’d go out with my friends to a restaurant – and everybody in Australia’s got that album, one in 15 or one in 20 people own that album. I’d go out for dinner with some friends, and every now and then, the person who ran the cafe would go ‘ah, the guy from Jet’s here. I know what he would like to listen to – let’s put his album on’,” Wilson says with a vaguely flabbergasted chuckle. “I tell you, man, it’s crazy that someone would go, ‘I know what he wants to hear, it’s his own album.’ That was the weird thing – it happened so much, and every now and then it still does.”
Not all of Wilson’s chance encounters with his own band’s music are quite so embarrassing, however.
“Being in Australia, I hear my friends whinging to me that it’s hard to turn on the radio without hearing us every few minutes. But you still get a real buzz from hearing your song on the radio, because it just sounds a little different: it’s in the car or whatever. If you can’t get excited about that – I don’t know. I generally tend to turn it off, though,” he adds with a laugh, “because I wouldn’t want anyone to see me driving down the road listening to myself on the radio.”
While Jet have never matched the overwhelming success they achieved with Get Born, they still retain a more than respectable fanbase in 2009, both in terms of album sales and packed out gigs. I wonder, given the often transient nature of success in the modern music industry, whether Wilson thought back in 2002 that Jet would still be charting in the Australian top five – as they have with their new album, Shaka Rock - in seven years’ time?
“The first album was so big that we thought the second album would be just as big or bigger.” Wilson says. “It wasn’t, but still, we’ve got a lot of fans. I don’t like to take anything for granted because, once you do, there’s no fun anymore. I still worry about whether we’re going to sell out shows in Melbourne – we always do. Or in Japan, I say ‘I hope people come along’, and then you play to 10,000 people – of course they came along. I guess it’s just part of my nature.”
In some quarters, Wilson notes, Shaka Rock has been received much better than its predecessor, 2006’s Shine On, which drew a somewhat mixed critical reaction, with one famous review on Pitchfork Media consisting of nothing more than an image of a chimpanzee urinating in its own mouth.
“That was good, that was funny,” he says of that particular piece. “Obviously they didn’t like it – it’s a pretty good bad review, if you ask me. You can’t get personally offended about that stuff; it’s just one dude’s opinion. If you can’t laugh at that, you’re a pretty boring person. We just have fun making our music. There’s a lot of stuff I’d probably put that review on,” he chuckles.
To Wilson, the sound of Shaka Rock is the sound of Jet finding their own voice, an important development for a band that has been accused in the past of being overly derivative of musicians ranging from Iggy Pop to the Rolling Stones.
“I feel like it sounds like Jet, rather than sounding like Jet influenced by other people,” he says. “Everything comes from something – nothing just appears out of nowhere on its own anymore, but I guess it’s us finding our sound, finally.”
Unfortunately, though, it seems Jet aren’t the only band out there trying to find Jet’s sound, as Wilson discovered one dismal Wednesday night in Ballarat.
“This is a funny thing,” Wilson begins. “I was on this buck’s night, and I knew the guy, but I didn’t really know any of his friends. And the buck’s night took us to Ballarat from Geelong, to this fucking pub, and the cover band in there – one of the classic shit Australian cover bands – must have recognised me, because they started playing every song of ours they knew. Badly, mind you. And there’s not really many people who can sing like Nic,” he says, referring to Jet vocalist Nic Cester. “And then they were trying to get me to come up and play a song with them. We had the worst day: I’m in a pub in Ballarat on a Wednesday night with this bad cover band playing my songs, butchering all the parts they could butcher. And they were doing half songs, as well,” he adds in an amused tone, “not even finishing them off because they couldn’t really remember how to play them.”
Instances like these serve Wilson as a stark reminder of the surreal aspects associated with the whole experience of being in a successful rock band.
“When things like that happen, it really makes you laugh, man – it makes you realise what you do is really weird, and how people think about you. Because you’re just a normal guy, walking around, doing what you’ve always done, into the same things, with the same friends – but people have this other expectation of what you are, who you are or what you’re going to be like. And it’s pretty amusing sometimes.”
Tchau.
As they're going to their native country we'll probably find some interviews in Aussie websites, and this one comes from Rave Magazine.
SHAUN NANCARROW discovers that JET bassist MARK WILSON is just an ordinary guy in an extraordinary situation.
Life changes somewhat when you find yourself a member of one of the biggest rock bands Australia has produced in the last decade. A humble trip down to your local cafe or restaurant, for example, can become a mite more uncomfortable than it once was.
“Back in the early days when our first album was blowing up,” says Jet bassist Mark Wilson of his group’s ARIA Award-winning debut, Get Born, which has sold 3.5 million copies worldwide and even received platinum certification in the US, “sometimes I’d go out with my friends to a restaurant – and everybody in Australia’s got that album, one in 15 or one in 20 people own that album. I’d go out for dinner with some friends, and every now and then, the person who ran the cafe would go ‘ah, the guy from Jet’s here. I know what he would like to listen to – let’s put his album on’,” Wilson says with a vaguely flabbergasted chuckle. “I tell you, man, it’s crazy that someone would go, ‘I know what he wants to hear, it’s his own album.’ That was the weird thing – it happened so much, and every now and then it still does.”
Not all of Wilson’s chance encounters with his own band’s music are quite so embarrassing, however.
“Being in Australia, I hear my friends whinging to me that it’s hard to turn on the radio without hearing us every few minutes. But you still get a real buzz from hearing your song on the radio, because it just sounds a little different: it’s in the car or whatever. If you can’t get excited about that – I don’t know. I generally tend to turn it off, though,” he adds with a laugh, “because I wouldn’t want anyone to see me driving down the road listening to myself on the radio.”
While Jet have never matched the overwhelming success they achieved with Get Born, they still retain a more than respectable fanbase in 2009, both in terms of album sales and packed out gigs. I wonder, given the often transient nature of success in the modern music industry, whether Wilson thought back in 2002 that Jet would still be charting in the Australian top five – as they have with their new album, Shaka Rock - in seven years’ time?
“The first album was so big that we thought the second album would be just as big or bigger.” Wilson says. “It wasn’t, but still, we’ve got a lot of fans. I don’t like to take anything for granted because, once you do, there’s no fun anymore. I still worry about whether we’re going to sell out shows in Melbourne – we always do. Or in Japan, I say ‘I hope people come along’, and then you play to 10,000 people – of course they came along. I guess it’s just part of my nature.”
In some quarters, Wilson notes, Shaka Rock has been received much better than its predecessor, 2006’s Shine On, which drew a somewhat mixed critical reaction, with one famous review on Pitchfork Media consisting of nothing more than an image of a chimpanzee urinating in its own mouth.
“That was good, that was funny,” he says of that particular piece. “Obviously they didn’t like it – it’s a pretty good bad review, if you ask me. You can’t get personally offended about that stuff; it’s just one dude’s opinion. If you can’t laugh at that, you’re a pretty boring person. We just have fun making our music. There’s a lot of stuff I’d probably put that review on,” he chuckles.
To Wilson, the sound of Shaka Rock is the sound of Jet finding their own voice, an important development for a band that has been accused in the past of being overly derivative of musicians ranging from Iggy Pop to the Rolling Stones.
“I feel like it sounds like Jet, rather than sounding like Jet influenced by other people,” he says. “Everything comes from something – nothing just appears out of nowhere on its own anymore, but I guess it’s us finding our sound, finally.”
Unfortunately, though, it seems Jet aren’t the only band out there trying to find Jet’s sound, as Wilson discovered one dismal Wednesday night in Ballarat.
“This is a funny thing,” Wilson begins. “I was on this buck’s night, and I knew the guy, but I didn’t really know any of his friends. And the buck’s night took us to Ballarat from Geelong, to this fucking pub, and the cover band in there – one of the classic shit Australian cover bands – must have recognised me, because they started playing every song of ours they knew. Badly, mind you. And there’s not really many people who can sing like Nic,” he says, referring to Jet vocalist Nic Cester. “And then they were trying to get me to come up and play a song with them. We had the worst day: I’m in a pub in Ballarat on a Wednesday night with this bad cover band playing my songs, butchering all the parts they could butcher. And they were doing half songs, as well,” he adds in an amused tone, “not even finishing them off because they couldn’t really remember how to play them.”
Instances like these serve Wilson as a stark reminder of the surreal aspects associated with the whole experience of being in a successful rock band.
“When things like that happen, it really makes you laugh, man – it makes you realise what you do is really weird, and how people think about you. Because you’re just a normal guy, walking around, doing what you’ve always done, into the same things, with the same friends – but people have this other expectation of what you are, who you are or what you’re going to be like. And it’s pretty amusing sometimes.”
Tchau.
Posted by
Andrea
