Jail(l) Goes to WMSE POSTED:: December 15, 2009
FILED UNDER::
Concerts, Interviews
FILED UNDER:: Concerts, Interviews
So. There’s a new band that’s been ushered into the Sub Pop fold. And they’re from Milwaukee.
If you’re immersed somewhat in the local music scene, you might have heard that local band Jail (from now on, ‘Jaill’ for legal reasons) has signed to the west coast grunge and indie pop label monarch, Sub Pop Records (the announcement was made official by the label on Monday). Those who have been following the Milwaukee band since its quiet inception around 2002 probably remember the upbeat and lyrical garage-pop group playing various house shows and other venues such as Mad Planet throughout the early and mid-00′s. Many are probably wondering who thought it was a good idea to name a band after a place of incarceration; for those persons, Jail/Jaill is most likely as familiar as any other smaller-scale Sub Pop band such as Beachwood Sparks, Fruit Bats or Wooden Shjips.
Nearly seven years later (and countless jokes about going to ‘see Jail’ versus ‘going to jail’ on any given weekend night), the quartet of Vinnie Kircher, Andy Harris, Ryan Adams and Austin Dutmer are still playing out the newness of their recent-ish, last Spring release on their hometown. There’s No Sky (Oh My My), released onDecorated Records and committed to audio by Wisconsin recording wunderkindJustin Perkins, had the band on the road briefly, but is Jaill set to go from a small circle of loyal local followers to something bigger, entirely? And how did this whole business with Sub Pop start in the first place? Kircher traces it back in part to their last tour…
How long has Jaill been kicking it around Milwaukee?
We started kicking in 2002, after reading The Tortoise and the Hare to get a strategy. I had started reading that book in ’94, so everything is a process.
You seem to be playing more local shows since the release of your LP There’s No Sky (Oh My My) last Spring; national, too. How was your tour this past Fall?
Locally, we made more friends, and then you get cool shows. Same principal pretty much applies nationally, too: make friends, get shows. But, now you do the math — that’s a lot of friends. Who can really take a plate that big back to the dinner table? Our last tour was the greatest thing since creamed corn. Some shows were awesome with awesome on top, and some you had to cover your nose to flush them down, but overall, it was really fun and i knew it would be cause we watched How the West was Fun with Mary Kate and Ashley Olson at our sleepover the night before we left.
How/when did signing to Sub Pop come about?
Serendipity. They found us, we toured there, friendships were formed, a giant clown appeared in the sky and shot us with water from his lapel flower and we laughed until we signed a giant contract with our feet. Wait. It was emails and phone calls. Not that clown thing.
What does being on a label like Sub Pop mean for you guys in terms of being a working band?
I guess it means we better work harder. First, we have to make a really good album and then we’ll see what happens from there.
What does it mean to you, personally, as music nerds?
We’re actually not nerds. We’re homely and undesirable but nonetheless, very cool. But it still means a great deal to us, it’s an excitement that has manifested itself in a touring twitch around my head and upper torso, eye, cheek, arm, other eye. OK, fine, nerds. Got it.
What are some of your favorite Sub Pop bands?
The Go, Beachwood Sparks, Happy Birthday, Avi Buffalo
The label seems perfectly fine to have you record/produce your own material — does this all seem too good to be true?
Surfing a rainbow in weed world is too good to be true, but yes of course, it’s nice to record here in Milwaukee, and I think both us and Sub Pop are confident in the quality of the record we’ll turn in, recording with Justin Perkins is second to none, and staying in Milwaukee is simply economical.
Jaill performs at Club Garibaldi’s (2501 S. Superior) this Saturday, December 19th with Greg Ashley and Dutchess and the Duke. 9 p.m. 21+ Tune into 91.7 FM, WMSE on Tuesday, December 15th during the Local Lunchbox segment to catch an interview with Jaill at 1 p.m. or check it out in the archives at WMSE.org.