The Janice Graham Band on Hype, Nerves and Why Their Music is Like a Beef Burger

Manchester four piece The Janice Graham Band are currently making big waves in the music world with their unique genre-defying sounds and infectious live performance style. 

Over the past few years the young band have amassed a huge, loyal following and a celebrity fanbase - despite not releasing a single record. However, that's all about to change as next month sees the guys release their first single 'Murder' on Acid Jazz, with a full album to follow in the New Year. 

Despite the praise that's currently being fired at the band from all directions, the guys remain endearingly humble, preferring to avoid the limelight when not on stage and worrying about disappointing fans. We caught up for a chat with the band as they prepare to launch their first single with a headline show at The Ruby Lounge this Saturday to talk about the debut album, social awkwardness, and live performance as a cathartic release of energy.  

So the last time you spoke to Skiddle was back in February, just before you got signed to Acid Jazz. Things have moved pretty quickly for you since then. How did the signing come about?

Joe: We played in London a few times which is where the label's based, and they saw us once by accident and then came to see us again. So we had a few meetings with them and they really liked the live performances, and they heard a few things that we'd been recording and asked us to sign!

So how have things changed for you since getting signed?

Tom: They haven't  much really because nothing's come out yet, so we're still just doing gigs and practice and that sort of thing. We'll have to see in September when the single comes out if anything changes drastically.

Joe: We've still got to practice, play the live gigs and write the good songs that we've always had to do, so nothing changes for us really until, like he said, the singles start coming out. 

You're turning a lot of heads and getting lots of praise from high places…  the likes of Mani and  Clint Boon are big fans. That must be nice?

Joe: Yeah! Yeah, it's really good and we're thankful for it (laughs).People ask that all the time and we don't know what to say but yeah it's great!

You're pretty humble guys really aren't you - so no chance of you turning a little diva-ish with all this attention?!

Joe: I don't think we've got any intentions of turning into divas!

Tom: There's no room for divas. What can we diva about really? We get free beer at a gig and we get paid to go up and play for half an hour (laughs).You can't be a diva about it. There's no point, it doesn't get you anywhere.

Andy: Probably the best perk is getting free food!

Tom: Yeah, getting fed!

So no rock star tendencies yet then? 

Joe: Nah I thought they were dead and gone!

Tom: Do people still do that? Throw TVs out of windows and that? 

Joe: We've heard of some other bands being a bit like that… behind the scenes.

Tom: But the moment you do it, nobody thinks you're cool anymore. Everyone just thinks 'what are you playing at?'

You appeared on Clint Boon's Xfm show last week - how did that go? 

Joe: It was good. We were saying the other day that it's quite hard because you've got  one fifteen minute or half an hour or whatever slot to go out to the country, and in that time you want to make the right impression and show what you're about as a band. It's quite hard. But it went well. 

Tom: Clint was good with us. A lot of the times when we've been on local radio it's been awkward because there's no connection. But obviously Clint knows about us and we know about Clint so it was quite comfortable I think. 

Joe: Yeah Clint was good. You can tell he's done it all, you know.

Tom: Yeah he's not just a DJ, he's actually gone out and played. And he's been asked all the dull questions on radio that are hard to answer so we just had a chat, it was nice.

Your sound is really unique and bold - especially for such a young band. Where did that come from?

Joe: We get asked this all the time!

Josh: It's hard to explain

Joe: Yeah we just play the music we want to play. It's a shit answer really but that's how it is. We didn't go after anything. We didn't think 'we're gonna sound different, or we're gonna sound like this', we just all played. And we all learnt together. Although we'd dabbled with music before, we were all really playing our instruments for the first time, so I think we brought each other up really and made our sound gel together

Were you all mates that had the same taste in music or did you come together through the music?

Joe: We came together properly through the music

Tom: We all knocked about together, but as far as having the same taste in music I'd say no. Everyone likes sort of the same things, but everyone's willing to give whatever everyone else is listening to a go, so that's how a lot of our sound comes about.

So do you find that you're always bringing new sounds and influences to the band?

Joe: Yeah, always.

Tom: But it's never through new music unfortunately.

Joe: Yeah, that's a shame…

Tom: It's always going further and further back, so we'll probably end up doing skiffle numbers and folk music by the time we get to the second album.

Joe: Well some of the songs do start out like that - when I first wrote 'Murder' that was skiffly folk.

There's quite a ska/reggae scene developing in Manchester now - you guys, Kid British, Jessie Rose Trip - is that just coincidental? 

Joe: Yeah, with us it was.

Tom: We weren't trying to latch onto only sort of a scene.

Joe: I don't think we do ska/reggae anyway.

Tom: No we're not a ska and reggae band. There are ska and reggae songs in there...

Andy: Not even whole songs, there are ska and reggae breaks. 

Tom: Well 'Murder' is an entire reggae song. But that's the one that's coming out so that's the one that people are going to think 'oh, that's what they do'. And if that's what people are expecting from the album they're going to be shocked really.

Joe: I think the problem with being a totally ska/reggae band is that I think it can become a bit gimmicky. And I don't think all our music is that at all. There's so much more in it. Hip hop, rock, garage. We feel like sometimes that doesn't get looked upon enough. People find it easy to label us as ska/reggae 

Your music's quite hard to define I suppose. People are always going to try to put a label on things.

Joe: Yeah we do appreciate that.

Tom: It's easier for people in magazines for people to label us like that, because everyone likes a bit of ska and reggae.

Andy: Whether you enjoy it or not should be the important thing. The focus shouldn't be on what it is, otherwise you're not enjoying it for the real reasons.

Joe: I think being hard to label's a good thing anyway.

Definitely. So how did you decide on 'Murder' as a first single if that's quite different from the rest of your album?

Joe: It was popular. For a first single we were going off what was popular. People in Manchester like it anyway.

You've got the single launch party at the Ruby Lounge on Saturday. Looking forward to that?

Joe: Yeah, definitely. I find them more nerve wracking, gigs that you put on yourself, and it's your single and you're headlining…

Tom: It's easy being the undercard isn't it. To be honest I prefer going and nicking other people's crowds (laughs); playing to a bunch of people and when we first get on they're all like 'what are these four up to at all' but then by the end of it they're into it. But the bands we've got playing with us; Frazer King, Jun Tzu's opening for us… they're good acts and we've got to follow them. So it's our night and if we go on and… oh I don't know. 

Joe: That isn't even what worries me the most. What worries me is making the people that come to see us happy.

Andy: You've got more to lose when it's your gig. You've got nothing to lose when you're third on the bill or something.

Joe: But we always play better when we're nervous. 

Do you find yourself getting more nervous now that there's so much hype building up around you? Do you feel like you've got more to live up to? 

Andy: I think there's definitely a lot more pressure.

Josh: We've just got to be good every time.

Joe: Well we try to be good every time anyway. Right from the start, we'd go 'well that was shit tonight' and we'd make sure we were better and better. 

Tom: We still do it now. And that's whether it's our own single launch or a little pub in Warrington. If we play badly anywhere we're not happy.

Joe: Not happy at all.

Tom: I mean we'd be less happy if it's in front of 200 people or something, we'd just be like 'we don't even want to look at each other',  but then you've just got to hope that everyone's on it. 

Joe: And normally if one person's shit then at least everyone else is good so hopefully we're never that bad. Are we?

Josh: No, we're never bad. 

Tom: Never bad, no.

Joe: One person can be really shit, but the others pull it through.

Your live performance style is really full on - we've seen you twice and were blown away by your energy on stage. How did that develop, and do you think this is an important factor of JGB?

Tom: Well when we first started we were going to see bands to check out what was happening around us, and a lot of it was just stare-at-your-shoes music. Wetting-your-bed music. Proper dreary. There was no guitar based music that we went out and saw on the independent scene that just made you want to get up and shake your arse. When you've played seven quid to get in… I can stay at home and look at my shoes, know what I mean? 

Joe: And even if it's not music to dance to, just music that makes you go 'wow'. Music that shocks you, or scares you, or intrigues you. There are so many bands that don't do anything, don't have any effect at all. I think at the start it wasn't intentional to be so energetic but…

Tom: We're young men! We've got energy! Why would you want to not use that? Where else is my energy going to go? If I didn't have that I'd go mental - my girlfriend would have a torrid time!

Joe: That's true! Yeah so that's a vital part of it. As well as sounding good you've got to make something beyond the music.

Tom: Without sounding daft, it's got to be a little bit of theatre as well.

Joe: Yeah, we were always conscious of that. 

Tom: Offstage we're insular. You'll normally see the four of us stood together and we don't like the social aspect. Not that we don't like it, but it's difficult. But when we go on stage we're everybody's. We're naked. You're at your most vulnerable on stage, but it's the most powerful you can be as well. But as soon as we come off stage the shoulders go up.

Joe: Even in every day life, I just like to stay home, write songs

Tom: Drink tea..

Joe: Yeah, just be normal. Then when you go on stage you've got a reason to just be ridiculous. You can go mad and shout and sweat and scream.

Tom: I suppose that's going back to the diva thing as well. If we were using all our energy going around demanding a bath full of Evian water we'd have no energy on stage.

So being quieter kind of guys, how are you coping with all the increased attention? I guess  you must be getting a lot more people wanting to talk to you now?

Joe:  A lot of that's virtual though. It's just 'add friend? Yeah that's fine'. It's not like I walk down Market Street and everyone goes mad!

Tom: It's not Beatlemania!

Tom: We do get people wanting to talk to us after gigs but we're not - well I'm not - particularly socially graceful anyway.

Joe: We're not rude, but… I don't know about you guys but I find it difficult.

Tom: Imagine being the new kid at school every day. That's what it's like. We don't know what to say to anyone. You don't want to come across as cocky or ignorant, there's a weird line you've got to tread. We've just got to be thankful and polite. Which sometimes you really don't want to be, because you just want to go home. But you've got to do it. It's part of being in a band.

Joe: And they're the people that all our energy's for. That's why we go on stage and sweat for half an hour.

Andy: I find that if people do come and talk to me after a gig the last thing I want to talk about is the music. That's the worst thing to talk about! They always want to ask you about the band but I'd rather find out about them, or talk about what happened in Corrie…

Tom: We're well boring! Aren't we? What do we do apart from playing? We play pool, a bit of sports, but we're not going out every night. We'd rather save our energy for the stage.

The album's due to be released in January - is it recorded yet? 

Joe: It's nearly there. I'd say another few weeks. 

Tom: The main skeleton's there. It just needs to muscle up a bit.

Joe: It's sounding good though.

Where are you recording? 

Tom: Six Decibels Studios in Salford with Simon 'Ding' Archer. He'll like that - make sure you put the 'ding' in! (laughs). But it's going alright. 

Joe: We prefer playing live. Well I do anyway. A lot.

Are you finding that things are changing while you're in the studio or are you going in and laying songs down as they're written?

Tom: Oh yeah everything changes when you get into the studio. 

Joe: It depends on the song. Some of the songs have changed massively. We've given ourselves quiet a bit of lee way to be a bit weird in places and bring it back to what we are live. I'm happy with it. 

Andy: It just needs a bit more decoration now. 

Tom: We just don't want to let the fans down. We've been around for three years now and not actually had anything out, but people are still coming to see us. So if it comes out and they don't like it then I'm just going to go and work in Sainsburys me, I'm stopping. 

You've played a few festivals so far this year, what have been the highlights? 

Andy: Isle of Wight was good.

Joe: Yeah that was grand! For a number of different reasons.

Tom: Friends of Mine was probably my favourite. We got a really good reception there. When we came on our stage was a bit empty, I think the band before us had suffered quite a bit. 

Joe: And it effects us that. We play so much better when people are there, and moving. We really feed off the crowd

Tom: but then the sun came out, it was like some higher being had smiled on us, and we saw the crowd grow from nothing to like two or three hundred people, it was brilliant. 

You've got Ramsbottom Festival next month too. Are you looking forward to that one?

Tom: Yeah we are, although we played a gig up there recently and it didn't go down that well!

Andy: It was quite 'rocky'. There was a heavy rock band on before us, and then we came on, and it was just a bit like… jam and sawdust.

Tom: Jam and sawdust! (laughs) Put that in.

Joe: Yeah it will be good though. I hope just hope it doesn't rain.

Tom: It will rain though. Name a festival we've been to where it didn't rain?

Andy: Friends of Mine

Tom: But not when we were playing. Because of God, remember?!

Lastly - Who is Janice Graham? 

Joe: Go on Andy.

Tom: Your turn

Andy: *Pauses* Janice Graham was the owner of a burger van at the end of our road and she used to give us free cups of tea all the time until unfortunately she had her hand bitten by a dog and couldn't work in the burger van anymore

*Suspiciously*… Is that true?

Joe: Yeah yeah, the dog got put down as well, it was a sad day. All the street came out and they had a coffin for the fucking dog, it was unbelievable. It was quite a harmless dog but the RSPCA were not having any of it… Janice Graham was an elderly woman so what do you do? 

Tom: She was like a national treasure, Janice, wasn't she? 

Andy: So Jigsaw the dog was put down and Janice was out of work! 

I don't know whether to believe you! 

Joe: It's true!

Tom: And now it's for us to deliver musical beef isn't it! We bring the beef, everyone else has got wet salad, but if you want beef, on a bap, come and see Janice.

Joe: Maybe with brown sauce. We don't do red sauce. 

Tom: And we don't do French mustard.

Do you do fried onions?

Joe: Of course we do onions!

Tom: What's a burger without onions? 

Joe: And mushrooms. You can have mushrooms too if you like. 

Tom: We are still talking about music, aren't we?!

Interview: Jayne Robinson

Catch The Janice Graham Band at The Ruby Lounge this Saturday for the launch party of first single 'Murder', and at Ramsbottom Festival on 15-17th September. Tickets for Ramsbottom Festival are available below.