Jet

By: Sean Claes

If you’ve had the occasion to turn a radio on in the last few months, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the old-school-rock-meets-a-new-generation sound of ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ from Australian band Jet.

If that is the only song you’ve heard by Jet, it may be enough to get you to a place they will be performing. If you’ve had occasion to hear their wonderfully raw 2003 release, Get Born, in its entirety, you know what a diverse set of music you can witness when the quartet gets their groove on. They are equal parts AC/DC, Rolling Stones, The Faces, and that garage rock and roll band you loved in High School.

Jet was formed when Catholic schoolmates Nic Cester and Cameron Muncey started collaborating in 1995. The band took the name Jet in 2002 after coming across the name on the back of a Paul McCartney and Wings album. The band is comprised of brothers Nic (guitar/vocals) and Chris (drums/vocals) Cester, along with Muncey (guitar/vocals), and Mark Wilson (bass).

Jet has been touring nonstop for the last eighteen months. They recently spent the month of July 2004 touring North America. I had a chance to talk with Chris Cester via telephone this summer, before a live show in England.

Sean Claes: How did Jet decide to renew the old-school-rock style of playing?
Chris Cester: We just grew up listening to rock and roll. We all had a hand in making the sound of Jet. We’re a true four-piece band – equal input. Everybody we loved, there’s a bit of each of them on this record. I always say authenticity is better than originality any day.

Who writes the lyrics?
We split it up. The rock songs, we all work on together. The ballads? Well, a ballad gets written on your own, it’s a bit personal.

Is the music contained on Get Born a true representation of the live band?
Not at all. On a lot of sessions, we just go off and play. If we get on a groove we just stretch it out. After eighteen months it’s the way to keep it fresh. It’s fucking great being up there and playing music with these guys. We usually deviate from the set list or make it up as we go along. We’ve also got Stevie Hesketh, a Hammond (keyboards) player on tour with us. He adds a lot to our show.

There are a lot of new bands capturing the old-school rock sound these days. What sets you apart from the White Stripes?
They’re much more rootsy, we’re focused more on melody.

What about The Vines?
They really don’t wander too far from the same sound. We’ve got so much variety on our record and we’re a band, not just one guy and three little men.

Being two brothers in the music industry, you’ve been compared to the Gallagher brothers in Oasis. What are your thoughts on that?
That’s the most stupid comparison in the world. I’ve met those guys and they’re nothing like us. I’m a bit more boisterous than Nic, but we don’t go around talking about how great we are to anyone who will listen. Besides, you never heard Paul McCartney or John Lennon talk about how great they were. If you have to say it, you’re trying to make up for something. I fucking love (Oasis’) music though.

What’s it like living and working in such close quarters with your brother Nic?
It’s fucking awful. We’re always in each other’s faces. On the other hand it’s the best thing going because you go through some fucking fast times out here and it’s nice to have someone who will tell it like it is.

So, who can kick whose ass?
We’ve never come to blows; we’re not like that. I’d rather have him with me than against me, but I’m bigger than he is…in more ways than one.

What do you have to say to those who think you’re just mimicking what’s been done before, that there’s nothing original to your music?
That is such a boring idea. We’ve just come out with our first record and spent a significant amount of time with the radio people getting the record played. A lot of people can’t get the fact that we’re doing something amazing. I try not to care about what those people say.

Let’s talk about the music. What are your favorite covers to play live?
It really depends on the mood before the show - what we’ve been listening to backstage. Sometimes we decide to play a Rolling Stones song, a Taj Mahal track, or something by The Faces.

Speaking of the Rolling Stones, in 2003 you opened for the Rolling Stones on the Australian leg of their tour, did any of the guys in the Rolling Stones give you any advice?
Yeah, I had Mick Jagger over to my mom’s house and she cooked him dinner (pauses, then laughs). No, they’re such a big band. They were really nice to us, but we didn’t spend any real time together.

Do you have an interesting tour story to share?
Well, we just did a Later…with Jools Holland (British television show) with Toots and the Maytals. After the show we talked with Toots. Now we’re probably going to record a song with him. That’s not a big tour story, but it’s pretty fucking big news.

Is there anything you do to get ready for a performance?
We usually get out the “flavor of the month” record and listen to it. Right now I bought a CD by Shocking Blue. They’re best known for ‘Venus’ (1970 hit remade by Bananarama in 1986) but they’ve got this song – ‘Send Me A Postcard’ - that is amazing. Like a lot of bands their big song is their worst. We also listen to a lot of Motown and old blues.

There always has to be music. That was something we, as a band, made certain of in the beginning. We try to get worked up backstage. On a good night, the performance is just a break from the party. We try to bring the party to the stage then carry it on afterwards.

Which venue do you prefer, the smaller club or the large stage?
The smaller stage has always been my preference because you can hear everything, but then you get on stage in front of 5,000 people and you start to change your mind.

Why should someone go to a Jet show?
If you want to come out and dance and you like the band, come out. We’re not angsty angry kids who run around with our hats backward telling people how rich we are. We like to include the audience as part of the show, if that’s your thing… [END]