- œDowntime’ is not a concept familiar to Philadelphia Grand Jury. The band – consisting of ringleaders Berkfinger and MC Bad Genius and a rotating cast of drummers – just doesn’t stop playing shows.
Having recently released a raucous debut album Hope Is For The Hopers, the Philly Jays are currently whipping up crowds around the country. Then the festival season beckons. In the midst of all the madness, Berkfinger got on the phone to FasterLouder.
You just came back from the OneMovement showcase over in Perth. How was it playing in an event that was one-part music festival, one part industry showcase?
It was good. Early in the day we arrived to see that the stage we were going to be playing on was massive.We were like, “Holy crap! I hope people come!” And then we turn up a few hours later and there’s a big crowd waiting for us who knew all the words to the songs and stuff.
On that note, your rise this year has really been off the charts, including a top-40 placing on the ARIA charts…
Yeah, that was just plain weird!
And now people are all over your music and going to your shows en masse. How have to comprehended the sudden rise?
We’re not used to doing the whole festival thing where hundreds of people are shouting out our lyrics. We’re used to playing little indie clubs and having people stand there with their arms crossed the whole way through. It’s gonna take some time I think. The whole thing is bizarre. Rock and roll is bizarre. I’ve learnt not to expect anything, really.
That said, you’ve become known for bringing out a truckload of energy on whatever stage you’re playing towards the end of your show, where you often break stuff without any sense of inhibitions and dignity. Where did this ritual originate?
I’m not sure how it started but I think it really cemented itself as a part of the show at this show in Newcastle. It was at this terrible pub there – Hamilton Station I think it’s called. So we turned up and only one side of the PA was working, so sound was only on one side of the room. So Hungry Kids of Hungary played and Washington played and they had terrible sound, it was all one-sided.
I eventually went around and figured out what the problem was and fixed the PA for them. We were so angry at the idiots at this pub for not knowing how to work their stuff that we just played this fiery set and at the end we completely destroyed the PA that we fixed. We had a stage invasion too, to make sure the crowd trampled over everything. After that, we just said, “Okay, let’s not discuss what we are ever going to do, but let’s always do something like this!”
Another dubious facet of the live show is that, including yourself, you’ve now had five different men on the drum throne. Is it hard playing live when you know that next week you may have a new person holding the sticks?
The first time was hard. All the rest: EASY! We’re pretty good now. I could teach you how to play drums for us by next week. I’m pretty good on the drums myself and I know how all of the beats to all of our songs go now.
It’s actually really fun, cause you learn something new off each drummer. It always keeps it fresh, always keeps it exciting. Unexpected things happen, in terms of how they play the songs.
One of those five, Calvin, has quite the illustrious career, having played for Earth, Wind and Fire among others. How has drumming with him been for yourself and MC Bad Genius?
The first few times we didn’t know what to say because there were obviously particular ways that he wanted things to be played. And although we know our music very well, he knows the drums better than us. So it was hard for us to communicate how we wanted him to play things. We were also very nervous because he’s 30 years older than us and much better than us.
But in the end, he’d come out and say, “Hey guys if you’re not cool with what I’m playing just tell me. I’m cool with whatever.” So now we just boss him around! [laughs]
You recently tried to set a world record for the most bands playing at once during your most recent video shoot. How did that go?
It’s a funny story. We did break the record, but you also can’t expect a bunch of bands to come out on a Sunday morning. It’s just not going to happen. That was the one negative aspect of the day.
We had about 30 confirmations from bands, but only 12 showed up. Apparently, we still got the world record, and we had a lawyer there to authenticate it, because there is no world record. We got it by default!
Doesn’t that just set the stage for some other band like Weezer or something to just take it away from you again?
Yeah, they’re gonna go for 13, aren’t they?
Continuing the theme of big happenings, the 25th of September will now go down as – œInternational Philly Jays Day’. It’s only been a month, but how was the experience of playing seven shows off the back of a truck?
We spent the day before soundchecking on the top of a truck: getting it all to work, getting it all to sound right. And it all runs on petrol generator, which was a pretty crazy concept for me to get my head around cause you had to start it like a lawnmower. We got that done, then had about three hours sleep.
After that, the whole day was pretty much a blur of doing interviews, betting sunburnt and playing all over the place. Basically you didn’t have a chance to think about anything, it was just happening. It was the hardest work of my life, all in one day.
On the seventh gig, you got in your first drummer, Art vs. Science’s Dan W. Sweat, to come along as well, didn’t you?
I’ve become obsessed with drum battles. Like, if you YouTube “drum battles” you can see all these famous drummers having drum-offs and I can watch those things for days on end. So we had a drum battle between Calvin and Dan Sweat at Perth, and on the roof of the Abecrombie we had Dan versus Ivan. One day we want to have a three-way drum battle!
You noted how you’re used to playing gigs with disinterested hipsters as your audience. Coming off a tour where clubs were full of people who knew all the words and wanted to jump around like crazy, how has that affected the beat that is the Philly Jays live show?
It’s weird. You just draw energy from a different place. I mean, with the arms-folded cool crowd, we’re often jumping around cause we’re trying to say, “Hey! Check this out!” and try to get their attention somehow. With those kids, however, we already have their attention – it’s just a case of whipping them into a frenzy.
Hope Is For The Hopers is out now on Boomtown Records through Shock. Philadelphia Grand Jury have a string of dates still to come on their album launch tour, before they get stuck into the festival season.
Thurs 5 Nov – FasterLouder 5th Birthday Party, Club 77 (woo!)
Fri 6 Nov – Baroque, Katoomba
Sat 7 Nov – Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale
Thu 12 Nov – Sands Tavern, Maroochydore
Fri 13 Nov – Troubadour, Bris
Sat 14 Nov – Troubadour, Bris
Sun 15 Nov – Neverland, Coolangatta
Thu 19 Nov – Prince Of Wales Hotel, Bunbury
Fri 20 Nov – Norfolk Basement Bar, Fremantle
Sat 21 Nov – Amplifier, Perth
Thu 26 Nov – Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill
Fri 27 Nov – The Monster League – Kiama Leagues Club
Sat 5 Dec – Homebake, Sydney
Sat 12 Dec – Festival Of The Sun, Newcastle
Wed 30 Dec – Falls Festival, Marion Bay
Thurs 31 Dec – Falls Festival, Lorne
Thurs 31 Dec [night] – Purple Sneakers NYE House Party, Manning Bar
Sat 9 Jan 2010 – Southbound Festival, Perth
to listen to their music now on 