TELL US ABOUT THE PLAYERS THAT MAKE UP JJ&TBM.
Joe (vocals), Stefan (bass), Giles (lead guitar), Lee (guitar/synth/lapsteel). We are currently looking for a drummer. At the moment our amazingly talented friend Jason Winder is filling the slot but he has commitments to his own band, Daybreakers. So any drummers out there get in touch.
Giles has previously been on tour playing guitar with Kreeps, another great band. Lee has joined very recently, he got to know the band when he recorded our latest EP and filmed a documentary about us for his final university project.
WHO AND OR WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES AND INSPIRATIONS?
We take inspiration from pretty much any band that blows your face off when you here/see them. We’re all into all sorts of music, but that’s the kind of stuff we enjoy playing, it’s hard to name specific bands because there’s just so many.
Film also has a massive influence on this band. The powerful effect a film can have and the atmosphere it can create is something we would love to recreate in our own way.
The force of nature and its breathtaking brilliance is also a massive influence.
HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC TO PEOPLE? IF YOU HAD TO PICK A GENRE THAT YOU FEEL MOST ALIGNED WITH, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Heavy. Dark. Noise.
HOW DOES ONE OF YOUR SONGS TAKE SHAPE? CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE PROCESS.
It usually starts with a riff, which any of us can come up with. We’ll bring it down to practice, jam it out and see how things go. The best ones tend to flow from the start and end up being pretty much done by the end of the first few run throughs. The lyrics come later, of which I (Joe) write the vast majority. The lyrics have been getting a lot more personal with the later songs. They usually sum up deep and intense feelings that occur in single moment, the ones that you allow to slip in everyday life. It’s a good release, helps me to relax in the real world. I can get edgy if we haven’t been playing many gigs…like now.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG TO PLAY LIVE?
For me personally, it’s gotta be Tooth ‘n’ Nails. I can really get into that song and feel the words and the music. Like in therapy sessions when they ask you to scream as loud as you can to relieve stress, it’s like that, only better.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CONCEPT THAT ART CAN UNIFY PEOPLE, WHO MAY HAVE DIFFERENT FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS?
It’s beautiful how music and other art forms bring people together in so many different ways. Nothing beats being at a festival in a field full of 25,000 people all on the same level and completely in tune with the music.
