Portland – Melbourne’s soulful newcomers, Jakubi, are on the rise to fame. The vivacious band is currently on their second U.S. tour promoting their EP Holiday and newly released single, “Couch Potato.” The band’s show at the Goodfoot Pub & Lounge brought even their underage fans. Bassist Jacob Farah didn’t let them leave empty-handed however, he was outside handing out merchandise, to the dismay of their tour manager, and taking selfies with fans that couldn’t attend. Part of the band’s success is that very dedication to their fans.
Best New Bands sat down with guitarists Adam Kane and Robert Amoruso and vocalist Jerome Farah to discuss their American fans, the accidental evolution of their sound and how their tour regimen has been a little boring.
DS: Was it a pretty easy to set up the U.S. tour?
RA: It did fall into place pretty easily. So what we did was, we recorded a couple demos just in my room, basically just for friends and family, just to sort of show them what we’ve been doing. Because we had all come from other projects and we were all best mates and we were just like, shit, let’s do something together. We would hang out everyday anyway, why aren’t we making music together? It didn’t make sense. So we just did a few demos and put them out on Soundcloud and it just happened. I can’t even really explain it. Within two weeks we had two hundred thousand-plus on each song. It was real organic and very unplanned to be honest with you.
DS: How did you construct what you wanted as far as your sound? Does it keep moving forward or is there a certain sound you are trying to accomplish?
JF: It was very by accident, our sound. We all came from different musical backgrounds. My brother and I (Jacob Farah) actually started playing instruments when we joined the band. [Amoruso and Rehaut] played in an indie rock band. We didn’t know what to expect, we just kept playing and jamming and it just naturally happened.
DS: How is the U.S. tour so far?
RA: The first time we were here we had no idea what we were doing. We were here I guess as a bit of a taste-tester, just to lock down more of the business side of things. This time around, it just makes such a big difference working with a team that knows how to bring a tour together.
DS: Has anything crazy happened yet?
RA: We’ve just been too busy to have anything crazy happen.
JEF: This tour has been more business related where we have the label behind you and we have all these people pushing us. It’s always play for us because we love playing. This time around it’s like, get the job done, do it properly, we’re making an impression to stay. We play, we say hi to people and as soon as we’re done, straight back on the bus.
AK: It’s been really boring.
RA: In the last three days, we’ve had 5 different radio [interviews] that we’ve had to do. For example, this morning at 4 AM, we left Bend, we played there last night, and we drove from there to Seattle to do a radio [interview] and then from Seattle to here. It’s been like that every day. We haven’t had time to do crazy shit. It’s been like, sleep when you can, eat when you can and play when you can.
DS: Where do you see yourselves, as a band, from here?
AK: Same thing, but better.
RA: Hopefully just still what we’re doing on a bigger scale. Still enjoying it as much as we do.
DS: How do your American fans compare to your Australian fans?
RA: So much better. [We] love them.
JEF: Here in the U.S., I feel like you guys are more open. In Australia, you sort of just follow the crowd. Where here, individuals, if they like it, they show it. Where back home [the audience] will look around and see if everyone else likes it.
AK: That being said, we still have a strong love for home.
DS: Is there anything you want to say to your fans?
RA: We’re just stoked to be here. It’s pretty much that simple. There are so many amazing bands and artists in Australia but they just don’t have the opportunity to come out and do their thing. For us, we’re just happy to be here. We love playing. If we weren’t here, we’d be jamming every night. We love that we have the opportunity to come here and actually try to make something of it.
Jakubi just kicked off their U.S. tour. Track their dates here and like them on Facebook for more updates.
Dakota Smith
Follow her on twitter in case she says something funny: @LikeTheStates
Latest posts by Dakota Smith (see all)
- Willis Earl Beal At LA’s Bootleg Theater - September 24, 2015
- Petite Noir – “La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful” - September 16, 2015
- Widowspeak: – “All Yours” - September 7, 2015
