Born from a studio project almost three years ago, Joie De Vivre have come into their own in the Chicago music scene, with the release of their EP, Summer Months, and come February their first full-length, The North End. An initial collaboration of members Chris French, Brandon Lutmer, and Steve Kurzac from past band Your City/State, began forming the band, and guitarist Patrick Delehanty was soon after admitted, “after he proved he could play Van Halen’s ‘Eruption.” In late 2008 Zach Staas was added on the organ, and come 2009 Paul Karnatz on the horn/percussion made the lineup complete.
In the coming year the emo-as-we-once-knew-it band will be releasing their full-length The North End, via Count Your Lucky Stars Records here in the US and Stiff Slack Records in Japan. Plans to put out a few splits with such acts as Sleep Bellum Sonno, Empire Empire, The Reptilian, and Annabel are also in the mix. Naturally, with so many plans for releases, tours are to come, and the band also hopes to continue writing and put out even more new music in 2010.
With a name that translates to “The Joy of Living” (though we’re sure all your French linguistic buffs already knew that) it makes perfect sense for the band to wish to carry out their intention of playing music that means something to them, play for and with friends, and share in the musical community that comes along with the process. “ We try to make our band bigger than just us and mean more than just six guys that create music under the name “Joie De Vivre”- and it’s honestly been one of the most self realizing things for everyone involved in the band, and anytime you make music you should be learning something about yourself and your surroundings. We like to think we’re accomplishing that with every song and show.”
You can catch their new album, The North End this Saturday, January 16th at The Beat Kitchen, where the band will be playing it start to finish, along with a couple new songs that will be released as imports separate from the album. You can buy advanced tickets here for $8 or for $10 at the door. Music beings at 8:30 and the show is 17+.
Visit Joie De Vivre at:
Myspace
Count Your Lucky Stars Records
The boys behind Joie De Vivre were kind enough to answer a few of our questions and talk shop with us this week, as they prepare for their upcoming show, release, and all around exciting year in music.
Telegram Sam : What three words would you use to describe your music to someone who has never heard you play?
Joie De Vivre:
Brandon: Mid-90′s emo jamz
Stevie: Jangley ass guitar
Chris: Raw, bummer, emotional
Patrick: Is that Mineral?
T.S: Tell us the story behind your EP Summer Months
Joie De Vivre: It wasn’t too hard picking the songs for Summer Months because they were the only ones we had recorded. We had just gotten signed to our label and they wanted all of our songs we had recorded up to that point to release as soon as possible. Summer Months was recorded in a studio Chris worked at called Fuse in Rockford that was literally our home every night for the better half of a year. It was never intended to be released but we released it anyway; it turned out to be the best decision we ever made because we had some of “The North End” ready to go, but CYLS wanted to wait on it. Good thing too, because it gave us so much more time to grow and figure out what we wanted as a band. In the end though, Summer Months got a great response and CYLS Records has been nothing but gems to us- it’s all been a tremendous process.
T.S: What are your top five musical influences as a band? Individually?
Joie De Vivre: As a band, everything from Mineral, The Promise Ring, Pedro The Lion, Sunny Day Real Estate, Miracle of 86, and Pavement. As individuals, the bands just listed; also Morrissey, The Braves, Limbeck, Smog, Braid, Northstar, Owen, Death Cab for Cutie, Anathallo, Jim Circero, Arcade Fire, early Beirut, American Football, Colossal, Ghosts and Vodka, Cap’n Jazz, etc. Too much really- we are all really diverse in what we listen to.
T.S: Top three favorite venues to play? Any that you haven’t gotten to yet, but would love to book?
Joie De Vivre: I think we all can agree that playing the basement shows and DIY venues are always a great time and have always been the most fruitful for us. They always lead to a sense of community that most venues that don’t thrive on those same aspects could never reach. People feel a lot more loose (perhaps because of b.y.o.b. alcohol but not always), and you can usually tell that everyone is friends with everyone and it leads to a much better/more fun show for everybody. Other than that, the House in Dekalb has been phenomenal to us, and also the venues back home in Rockford.
T.S: Most memorable show you have played to date?
Joie De Vivre: Between doing a cover show as Matchbox 21 (our Matchbox 20 alter ego), the DIY shows, meeting some of our influences from opening for them (The Appleseed Cast, Maritime, and Kevin Devine), the great bands we’ve played with and the friends we’ve made, the kids singing along and showing up, and a very old man dressed in scant women’s clothing, dancing directly in front of us; we’ve had a great ride with this band and it would be very hard to choose one moment or show that summed up “the best show”- we’ve had a lot of them.
T.S: What other projects have you been a part of?
Joie De Vivre: KAR 15, Ander, Losing Ground, Taking July, The Marseilles Shore, Pierre, The Ivy League, Watership Down,Tigers In The Backseat, Your City/State, Stop Motion Call, Artificial Nightlife, Demur, Kelsey Wild, Tommy Slick and the runners of the night, Etchfir, Divine, Dear Me Dear You, For the Birds, The Open Air, Bogota Orkestar, Netherfriends…We literally tried making a list of this once and just couldn’t do it.
Tags: Interview, New Release, Upcoming Show
January 18, 2010 at 10:30 pm |
These boys, you gotta love em. Thank you Zach for The Ivy League shoutout… its been a looong time.
January 17, 2010 at 2:10 pm |
[...] Last but not least, the show was headlined by Joie De Vivre, delivering the down-tempo/emo sound we used to know and love, but more recently has fallen by the wayside to be replaced by a whole new mess that really isn’t what the genre was meant for. With this band coming to us with music along the same lines of Mineral, Cap’n Jazz, and vocals similar to Kind of Like Spitting, we appreciate the throwback. Most notable of this performance was the fact that, though minimalist musically, Joie De Vivre has a sort of pop that just isn’t captured the same way in recordings. Obviously happy to be doing what they do, the band gave a much more rocking performance than we would have expected. A big part of this may have stemmed from the fact that they were a clear crowd favorite, with the show surrounding them with friends and fans who truly were absorbed in their set. From rushing the stage in their small pack to joining the band on the mic to sing along, there was a sense of community and common joy in sharing this band that we haven’t seen at a show in a quite some time. Though perhaps that’s the whole point, given that the term Joie de vivre itself means ‘the joy of living’. We look forward to seeing more from Joie De Vivre, and hearing the promised upcoming album, The North End upon it’s eventual release. (Read more about Joie De Vivre in their Reviewsic interview here) [...]
January 15, 2010 at 2:06 am |
nice interview! just a note that my label (sncl) is helping with this release as well in the UK.