We Talk Shit with Stav from BLUEJU!CE

Vulture Magazine wrtier and stripper seducer, Robbie Lang, recently caught up with Stav from BLUEJU!CE to talk about Star Trek, blowjobs and even a little bit of music.

The Vulture: How are the preparations going for the album tour?

Stav: We did Big Day Out, and a heap shows in February, before some time off, and now we are going to start again soon… I’ve been doing a pre-tour video diary for Channel V. I still need to go through that footage, hopefully there is something good in there and it’s not just a heap of shit (laughs)…

The Vulture: Everyone has heard of Jake and Stav from BLUEJU!CE, but what can you tell us about the other three band members?

Stav: Jamie our bass player is very quiet and he is an original member of the band. He is the “juice” in BLUEJU!CE which is the terrible name that we have not been able to get rid of! He originally started with our old drummer, Ned. They formed an instrumental jam band that played terrible instrumental music for like three hours every Sunday, at an awful pub in Sydney.

Our keyboard player Jerry joined the band soon after it started. He is very chilled but he also has a great deal of anger that occasionally comes out! He is also a mean-funk-machine on the keyboard!

And James (Hauptmann) is our current drummer. His brother Ben plays guitar and his sister Zoe is a super bass player, so all three of the Hauptmanns play with us. James is a quiet guy from an apple orchard…

The Vulture: We heard a rumour that fellow vocalist, Jake Stone, is related to Angus and Julia (Stone). Is that true?

Stav: That is absolutely true…He is their father!

The Vulture: (laughs) He is not, come on we’re going to publish this…

Stav: He is their father!

The Vulture: Ok, well it’s going in the article…

Stav: Yeah dude, bring it out for real! I mean, you are a journalist and I am in the industry… Let’s fuck with the system! (Laughs)

The Vulture: In the film clip for your new single, Act Yr Age, how did you decide who got the job of kissing the older woman?

Stav: There was never much discussion. There is an original version of that clip, which is the live projection that you can see if you come to the shows. There are a lot of close ups of Jake and the older lady looking longingly at each other. It’s kind of beautiful and romantic, although the film does finish with a filthy blowjob… (Laughs)

The Vulture: Jake did look like he was quite enjoying himself…

Stav: It was two actors doing their jobs. In fact we won a SMAC award (Sydney Music Art and Culture) for that film-clip, and the band was away on tour so she had to accept it on our behalf. She is really well spoken and very eloquent, so it’s kind of funny to hear a very posh older woman accepting an award for pashing a younger guy! (Laughs)

The Vulture: Your music is very danceable. Who are the best dancers in the band?

Stav: Jake and Jerry. Jerry did jazz ballet as a kid, and Jake has become a bit of a popping and locking tornado on the dance floor!

The Vulture: How would you describe your music?

Stav: It’s pop. We are a pop band who references a bunch of rock, RnB, ska and hip-hop and whatever else we are listening to at the time. But at its core we play pop songs, pop arrangements, and big choruses. We want to get songs stuck in your head. We want to get them on the radio. We want people talking about them on blogs. We want an audience, you know? We want people turning up to shows. So we are a pop act – that’s the most succinct way of putting it…

The Vulture: We noticed you mentioned hip-hop as an influence…

Stav: Yeah, in our original form rap was what we did. The first two EPs we did were hiphop with large instrumentals. I actually recently sent a bunch of hip-hop instrumentals to Robin Waters, who is making a hip hop record. Although it is getting better, I think for a long time the production quality of Aussie hip-hop was stuck in the 90s. I think M-Phazes and Hermitude are incredible producers. In terms of the writing I am most impressed when the lyrics aren’t just about getting pissed. I bought my first Aussie hip-hop album almost twenty years ago… and that was a terrible album! (Laughs)

The Vulture: As a band BLUEJU!CE are well known to have a sense of humour. Do you guys play many practical jokes?

Stav: Well I do know of someone who hacked Jake’s Facebook and put up a heap of Justin Beiber photos, and I know who it is, but to this day Jake still doesn’t know who it is…

The Vulture: It wouldn’t be you, would it mate?

Stav: I can’t say! (Cackles wickedly)

The album, Company, is out now and tour kicks off on April 12 in Wollongong. For more info check out www.bluejuice.info

Tagged Aussie, BLUEJU!CE, Bluejuice, funny, Interview, Jake, Stav