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Interview: Eskimo Joe and the Gorgeous Festival

Aussie band Eskimo Joe will be performing at the Gorgeous Festival in McLaren Vale 22-23 November, an annual boutique music, food and wine festival, celebrating the flavours and creativity of South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula.

 

Eskimo-JoeAussie band Eskimo Joe will be performing at the Gorgeous Festival in McLaren Vale 22-23 November, an annual boutique music, food and wine festival, celebrating the flavours and creativity of South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula.

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Stuart (Stu) MacLeod from the band and, wow, what an awesome guy! From my initial fumbling over words to the closing, Stu was amazing to chat with about the band, where they started and how far they’d come.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story of how Eskimo Joe came to be, allow me to enlighten you. These guys were initially three mates who all had their own lives before the band was put together. They were all studying degrees at University, from Engineering to Commerce.

The three-piece outfit comprises Stu on lead guitar and back up vocals, Kavyen Temperley on lead vocals and bass and Joel Quartermain on drums. Stu and Kav have known each other since they were seven; they lived next door to each other, and Kav and Joel had another band together prior to Eskimo Joe.

During their Uni days, the guys had written a few songs and played some acoustic stuff in cafes, for “sh*ts and giggles”. They entered a Uni music competition and won! In a nutshell, after winning, they played a gig and experienced the buzz of being in a band and this was what kick-started them, so they decided to give it a shot.

The group dynamic is a mix between a marriage and a brotherhood. They all get along really well and are great mates.

Their last visit to Adelaide was a ‘Facebook Fan Only’ event, where they played in a converted warehouse. Stu said he and the guys are really looking forward to coming back to Adelaide for the Gorgeous Festival. He said it has a really great vibe to it and they can’t wait.

As far as playing festivals versus playing side shows, Stu said that both have their pluses and minuses. The thing that they love about playing festivals is the buzz of having everyone there and hanging out with other bands. On the other hand, it’s not actually just their show, but there’s the opportunity of opening yourselves up to new markets.

“Kav has been raving about the festival and the McLaren Vale region for the past few months,” Stu said, and he’s keen to sample all of the great SA wines that the Gorgeous Festival has to offer.

As far as their new album goes, Stu said that their current record was one of the hardest things they’ve done. On the previous two records, they really pushed the “guitar rock thing” as far they could and they felt that there wasn’t much more they could do with that, so they decided that their next album they would have a bit of fun with and approach it differently.

Burke Reid produced it for them as he approaches music from a different place and he pushed them to explore and have fun. As a result, they’ve come up with a record that is far more spontaneous.

His advice to aspiring musos is, “enjoy yourselves; take it seriously, but not too serious that you don’t enjoy it anymore.”

Since the days of Black Fingernails Red Wine, which was and still is an awesome track, this band has evolved incredibly, and their current album Wasteland is available now.

Immerse yourselves in the sweet sound of Eskimo Joe and many other great artists and activities at the Gorgeous Festival later this month! Eskimo Joe will be joined by the John Butler Trio, Lanie Lane, Blue King Brown, Steve Smyth, The Audreys, Microwave Jenny, Thelma Plum and more. To view a full line up of artists and events, or to purchase tickets, visit the Gorgeous Festival website.

Lisa Mathews

Gorgeous Festival
When: 22-23 November 2013
Where: Serafino Winery, Kangarilla Road, McLaren Vale
Tickets:  Various ticketing packages available
Bookings:  Book via the Gorgeous Festival website

Photo source: http://www.eskimojoe.net/

 

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