Philadelphia Grand Jury

Wed 7th Apr, 2010 in Features

After riding a wave of success over the past twelve months, Philadelphia Grand Jury are set to soar further into a whirlwind of musical madness, as they prepare to take their uninhibited dance moves abroad to the UK and USA, after their upcoming headline tour of Australia, which kicks off in April.

MC Bad Genius, a man of humble qualities, states that the key to ‘The Philly Jays’ success is hard work, “We spend lots of time writing songs until they are perfect, and we try to make as many friends as possible at as many gigs as possible. It’s all about being prepared and embracing the ride along the way.”

After being signed to the ultra cool Too Pure label in London, MC Bad Genius tells of plans to further explore their passion for funk music in swanky bars, “We are so ready to showcase our sound to people who are unfamiliar with our music. It was so much fun releasing our album Hope Is For Hopers last year and having people enjoy it, so even if a handful of people are rocking out overseas we will be ecstatic because we always have so much fun!”

Known for captivating audiences with their energetic live shows and on stage antics, MC Bad Genius states that it all comes naturally, “We just let the crowd and the atmosphere control what happens. This sometimes results in minor injuries such as bruising, other times Berkfinger chips his teeth on microphones.” Despite already winning audiences over with unexpected outlandish moves, MC Bad Genius plans to raise the bar for their upcoming tour, “We are planning on taking it to the next level and upping the ante. We are also planning to play every song we know, and every song we don’t.”

Excited to be playing shows with their new drummer Calvin, the MC himself states that gigs for The Philly Jays are really a big competition, “When we play it’s like three determined people on stage in a battle. Berkfinger is usually pretty solid but we are always beaten by Calvin. He’s a very talented musician and he has so much experience, it’s a privilege to be playing with him. It is bizarre to think he was playing music before we were born. He always steals the attention but he never means too, he’s just too cool for school really.”

A new album is on the horizon, but it will be sometime before it is released. “At the moment we have about three or four songs that are ready to roll, but really we are still at the ideas stage.” Inspired by the general spectrum of pop culture, he admits that he often becomes engrossed in one particular niche that catches his interest when writing a song, “At the moment I am really into films by Wes Anderson. I often watch his movies with a keyboard on my lap or guitar in my hand, and I let the visuals guide the music which is interesting.”

The band are looking forward to recording whilst overseas, and becoming inspired by jazz clubs and little townships of raving people, “We spent some time recording in a sweet studio in Abercrombie NSW, but it unfortunately got closed down. We are hoping to find a ghetto studio in the UK, but we will play wherever we can really.”

Philadelphia Grand Jury proved this when they celebrated ‘National Philly Jays Day’ playing a vast number of shows around Sydney for an entire day, but MC Bad Genius believes the band can go one better, “ Well this year I think we will be overseas for our special day, so I’m not too sure what mischief we will get up too. Maybe we could play shows all around Australia in one day – that sounds amazing!” He later followed this comment by mentioning the craziest thing he would love to attempt, “Playing a gig for 24 hours straight is the dream. That is something I would love to do, but somehow I don’t think my body will allow it.”

Catch the Philly Jays on their We Don’t Want To Party (Party) Australian tour

Friday, April 9 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Saturday, April 10 – East Brunswick Club, Melbourne
Sunday, April 11 – East Brunswick Club, Melbourne
Thursday, April 15 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Friday, April 16 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Saturday, April 17 – The Zoo, Brisbane
Thursday, April 22 – Jive Bar, Adelaide
Friday, April 23 – Jive Bar, Adelaide
Saturday, April 24 – Rosemount Hotel, Perth