NOVEMBER 2006
ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM INTERVIEW

JUICe

The band JUICe. Maybe you've heard of them. Maybe you've heard that they are opening for INXS in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada on November the 14th. Maybe you've heard that current INXS lead singer, JD Fortune, was once their lead singer. Maybe you've heard of them because they won the Canadian Musicians Choice Award in 1999, beating out over 28,000 entries and were then featured on a Motley Crue compilation album. Maybe you've been fortunate enough to attend a live show. In 2000 they were voted best live band in Canadian Music Week performances by Chart Attack. They were the only band in the history of CMW to get unanimous 100% ratings in every category. Or maybe you haven't heard of JUICe at all. At least not yet.

Get ready to hear from JUICe. This is a band full of talented, driven guys who have been pounding the musical pavement for ten years. Original members Antony on drums and Ronstar on guitar, were eventually joined by Schram on bass guitar, then Diggy Dave on vocals, and recently the newest member added to JUICe's line up is Patt on guitar. Their CD, "In Retrospect," released last year, showcases their development as a band through the preceding ten years. As well as songs that Dave sings on, it features songs from lead singers before him, including five songs with JD Fortune.

I had a chance to talk with Antony and ask him some questions about JUICe. I think you will find he has some interesting things to say.

ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM: Your sound has obviously evolved as the years have gone by. What do you consider your sound to be today?

ANTONY: We went through a lot of different sounds over the years. All bands evolve and are affected by what's going on in the industry. Obviously our personal change has affected our sound because we encourage everyone in the band to write. So a new member means a different approach. Our sound today is starting to get stripped down. We lost the DJ completely. Dave is such a strong singer we have focused more on his vocal strength and keeping our songs a little more straight forward.

ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM: How do you write your music, and where does some of the inspiration come from?

ANTONY: There is no formula to writing a song. Sometimes Ron will be noodle-ing in his studio and get Dave over to throw ideas down, but lately we have been writing as a collective unit on the floor in the rehearsal studio. Inspiration comes from everything we live around. Could be great things and it could be entirely the opposite. For some reason artists seem to write about things that upset them, and those things are common to all of us so it's easy for the listener to relate. Some songs have greater inspiration, for example watching Greg Moore kill himself personally made me feel our band had to write a song for him, so we did. Every song is different.

ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM NOTE: Greg Moore was a C.A.R.T. driver who died during a race. Antony was a fan and friend and was in the pits during that race. The song, written as a dedication to Moore, is "Me and My Machine" and is on the CD "In Retrospect." It is the official song of the Greg Moore Foundation and is used in racing tributes on TSN. There was also a video made of Moore using the song.

ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM: What is your vision of success for the band? What do you want to see happen?

ANTONY: We have always said that no matter what we will focus on song writing and making great records. We are writing now for a new release and our new guitar player, Patt seems to bringing great ideas to the table. The band has the experience and talent to enter into any business deal and keep our end of the bargain. We would like to see our relationship with our publisher heal and see a financial commitment from them again, and of course we would like to see our next release be through a major label. It's our turn. We've had three major US deals fall through from everything happening around us.

ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM: If you weren't making music what do you think you would be doing?

ANTONY: Well, none of us make enough from music now to only do music. Schram runs the Rehearsal Factory which is a school converted into jam rooms for bands, Ron does IT work, Patt is a school teacher, Dave does contracting and I own an art gallery and am building a health spa. In the case that a major deal lands then everything means nothing but music. We all have cool hobbies, skiing, sailing, motor bikes, etc. There's lots of fun stuff to do that's for sure. I can't really imagine the hole in my life if I didn't have music though. It would be an empty life I think.

ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM: What do you enjoy the most about performing and what do you think JUICe brings to live shows?

ANTONY: There is nothing in the world like the energy of a stadium applauding your performance. You know when you are in the audience and the lights go out and there is that unbelievable energy, and you can't wait to see the band hit the stage? Well times that by a thousand and that is the feeling you get in a stadium. As for JUICe, we are a heavier band then INXS so you will get a little more energy from the stage. The music lends itself to that. The band is extremely tight, we play live to a click track so there is no error. A JUICe performance will be as tight as a commercial recording.

ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM: Speaking of live shows, you're getting ready to open for INXS, anything special you have planned for that performance?

ANTONY: Nothing out of the ordinary! We just played a small warm up date at a club and there were 30 people in the audience. At the end of the show everyone said they couldn't believe we delivered such a show to such a small crowd. It's always on "10" as far as we are concerned. We are however playing some new material that no one has heard before. A couple more songs in the vein of "Missing You" from "In Retrospect."

ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM: JD Fortune was once your lead singer. Watching him now can you tell us how his style has developed musically from his younger days?

ANTONY: To be honest, I have only seen him sing on TV since the contest. When he joined us he was very much a strong, deep sounding singer. When he worked with us he had the opportunity to try some rap and obviously some much more aggressive approaches. JD has always been someone to develop his skills and keep them in his memory so that he can bring it out whenever needed. I believe he also sang in a sort of punk band, but that didn't last too long. JD is too musical a person for that genre.

ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM: What's in the works for JUICe? New music or other new things?

ANTONY: The band is writing great new songs. We will be showcasing a number of them at the INXS show in November. We just did a TV trailer for CITY TV here in Toronto which gives a ten-second play every hour on their network. We're having a TV show treatment written about us talking about the whole deal / no deal business. The reality of Reality TV shows and what happens with the guys that aren't on TV. We have a new clothing line made with BRUZER skateboard wear. Other then that just breaking the new guitar player in, so we're busy.

ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM: What do you want people to know about JUICe? Any last words?

ANTONY: We want people to like us for our band today and yesterday. We have a very long history and have worked our butts off to get even this far. We are dedicated to music no matter what and our resume shows we are one hell of a bunch of entertainers. We kick ass live and are extremely proficient studio musicians. We co-write with other bands and artists and are always willing to give advice to younger guys coming up in the ranks. We've had deals and lost them and it has never altered our love for composition. We hope you give us a chance and pick up one of our CD's and hopefully the one we are working on now. And for those that have our music we thank you all for helping us pursue our dream.


Interview conducted by
HillMama
ROCKBANDLOUNGE.COM


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November 8, 2006

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