{"id":19840,"date":"2014-01-18T17:40:44","date_gmt":"2014-01-18T06:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=19840"},"modified":"2014-01-18T17:40:44","modified_gmt":"2014-01-18T06:40:44","slug":"stavros-yiannoukas-stav-of-bluejuice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2014\/01\/stavros-yiannoukas-stav-of-bluejuice\/","title":{"rendered":"Stavros Yiannoukas (Stav) of Bluejuice"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n<\/a>\u201c\u2026the first time we played Big Day Out was insane and this was before we did a tour, the show just went completely to pieces, the PA broke down, we couldn\u2019t hear each other on stage, our bass player busted his bass, he had to borrow a bass from this Japanese band playing after us.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Bio: Consisting of Jake Stone, Stavros Yiannoukas, Jamie Cibej and James Hauptmann, Bluejuice are an aggressive mix of pop, rock, hip-hop, electro and disco. Bluejuice are truly in their element when they\u2019re making you dance in a free, unselfconscious way. The combination of drums, bass and keys and two harmonizing singers sounds unique, but it’s the energy and humor with which the band approach their music that makes them stand out.<\/p>\n

We had a chat to Stav about what the band has been up to, their upcoming Big Day Out shows, stand out moments, why there will be no more Bluejuice albums as well as what the future holds\u2026<\/p>\n

Thanks for your time, Stav, I guess for starters, where have you been?<\/strong>
\nWe have been replacing our keyboard player last year; we put out a single called \u2018S.O.S\u2019 and we toured on the back of that. We\u2019ve been seemingly having our song remixed by a million and one people, well, not a million and one people. But by Bliss & Esso and this guy Left Boy in Austria, that was kind of weird. Yeah, I don\u2019t know, living life\u2026<\/p>\n

You’re representing Australia as part of the Big Day Out festival, what can people expect should they come and watch your set on the day?<\/strong>
\nYeah! A lot of energy, camp costumes, and a fun show, they should expect a highlight of their day.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re on early in the day, what\u2019s your preparation for a set when you\u2019ve probably just woken up?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s fine, we\u2019ll be up a little bit earlier, we\u2019ve got to get up at the crack of dawn to get to the Gold Coast, and we have to get there a little bit earlier as we\u2019ll have interviews before, do the show and then we\u2019re actually conducting interviews after for Rdio.<\/p>\n

The Big Day Out bill is pretty damn cool, have you checked it out and is there anyone you’re excited to be sharing the tour with?<\/strong>
\nYeah, I mean lots of bands I want to go and see Major Lazer, CSS and Snoop, I\u2019d love to meet Snoop, that charismatic lad, and who knows? Some of the Aussie acts, the Rufus guys I haven\u2019t seen them play, I\u2019d like to check that out. It\u2019s just a good tour to be part of, you never know who you\u2019re going to meet or run into backstage or at an after party.<\/p>\n

Your new single \u2018S.O.S.\u2019 was released late last year, what was the inspiration behind it?<\/strong>
\nThe song itself is a bit of a cry for help in some ways, Jake could give you more insight as it\u2019s his tune, but with the clip, the call for help and the \u2018Who you gonna call?\u2019 and we do a bit of a twist on the Ghostbusters thing and we go with busting douchebags instead of ghosts and that was kind of the vibe behind that. It was fun to shoot.<\/p>\n

Are you working on more material and if so, when do you think we can expect to hear a new album?<\/strong>
\nSo\u2026 no more albums, singles only club for Bluejuice, we\u2019re going into pre-production next week for two new tunes that we\u2019re going to hopefully put out later this year. I don\u2019t know when this year and I won\u2019t start making up months as it\u2019s just pointless, but there will be a couple more songs out this year.<\/p>\n

Can we expect to maybe hear some newer stuff at the Big Day Out shows or maybe just the newest single?<\/strong>
\nWe were thinking about doing some of the newer new stuff but I think we\u2019re going to work that out over the coming week. I mean, we\u2019re doing pre-production for the new stuff in the next week and we\u2019re also doing rehearsal for the show so it may pan out that we do one or two of the new ones and just give people new stuff to listen to. Either that or just a greatest hits or fan faves set\u2026<\/p>\n

With three albums under your belt so far, what has been the most notable evolution for the band personally?<\/strong>
\nYou can go from per album there\u2019s been one song that\u2019s usually driven each album, obviously \u2018Vitriol\u2019 was a big change for us as we\u2019d been a band six years prior and not much had happened, we\u2019d had some songs on the radio and we got a few people to shows, but then \u2018Vitriol\u2019 completely changed that and especially landing so high in The Hottest 100 at eleven, so it probably felt like we came from nowhere for people, bit for us it was kind of a big deal. Then \u2018Broken Leg\u2019 obviously upped the stakes from that, number five on The Hottest 100, and just kind of solidified things and it just gave us the opportunity to be on festivals which is just kind of great for the band. So I guess it\u2019s the songs that drive that, I mean \u2018Act Your Age\u2019 was in there towards the end. You can definitely feel it pushing along when things are going well and media is wanting to talk to you, you\u2019re getting people at shows, you\u2019re getting festival offers, things like that. So with each of those three songs they have driven the pushing of the band, but the biggest one in some way is the first as you\u2019re completely experiencing something new.<\/p>\n

I have to talk about \u2018Broken Leg\u2019, not only is it one of the best videos of the last five years but a song that just jumps in my head randomly at times, so thanks for that, but in terms of the song itself, are you sick of it yet?<\/strong>
\nAhh not sick of playing it because people love it *laughs* it\u2019s really exciting to play songs people know, and I\u2019ve named three of the biggest but at the same time lots of other singles that have been released from those albums and songs that have been played on Triple J, so these days the set is pretty full of tunes that people know really well, maybe not to the level of a \u2018Broken Leg\u2019 or \u2018Act Your Age\u2019 or a \u2018Vitriol\u2019, but at the same time there\u2019s still a good sing a long and them doing the bits we make them do. It\u2019s like a Wiggles show man, you\u2019ve got to get the kids warmed up\u2026<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not wearing a skivvy though man, it\u2019s going to be hot\u2026<\/strong>
\nAhhh but we\u2019re wearing skivvies *laughs*<\/p>\n

In terms of moments for the band, has there been one that stands out above all the rest throughout your time together?<\/strong>
\nThere\u2019s been amazing shows, the first time we played Splendour In The Grass was incredible, the first time we played Big Day Out was insane and this was before we did a tour, the show just went completely to pieces, the PA broke down, we couldn\u2019t hear each other on stage, our bass player busted his bass, he had to borrow a bass from this Japanese band playing after us. He borrowed this beautiful 1970\u2019s bass and he cut his fingers all over the strings and bled all over this super expensive bass and then had a really awkward conversation after where he was trying to be completely apologetic *laughs* and the guy didn\u2019t speak a lick of English so it was just really obtuse. Random stuff like that happened, you know what I mean? St Kilda festival on my birthday last year was just awesome and people were just going nuts, it was an insane show and it was kind of a goodbye gig to our keyboard player, so that was pretty big. I don\u2019t know\u2026 usually it\u2019s the shows that stand out rather than the things around it, but obviously there are things around it, like meeting Dizzee Rascal or learning to shoot dice with Girl Talk or big bands watching you from side of stage, or meeting the Manchester Orchestra guys at Splendour In The Grass, all sorts of weird shit happens\u2026<\/p>\n

2014 has just begun, so let\u2019s grab a crystal ball and predict the future. By the end of 2014, Bluejuice will\u2026<\/strong>
\nIn 2014 Bluejuice will\u2026 *pause* sorry this shouldn\u2019t actually be this hard *laughs* OK, by the end of 2014 Bluejuice will have put out a couple of new tunes, played The Big Day Out, done a support tour for a band that I won\u2019t name now, but it should be a really big gig, and potentially doing our own headline tour where we\u2019ll retrospectively look at all the bands work thus far. I\u2019ve given you a bit of a boring list *laughs* I just should\u2019ve been funny, I went for serious which is a bit boring\u2026<\/p>\n

Thanks for your time, Stav, see you in Sydney at The Big Day Out.<\/strong>
\nSounds good!<\/p>\n

Essential information<\/strong><\/h2>\n

From: <\/strong>Sydney, Australia<\/p>\n

Band members:<\/strong>\u00a0 Jamie Cibej – 4 strings, Distortion Box, Synth Weirdness, James Hauptmann – Skin Basher, Calming Influence, Jake Stone – Screaming, Backing Harmony Screams, Physical Theatre, Stav – Verse, Hooks, and New Jack Swing<\/p>\n

Latest Release:<\/strong> \u2018S.O.S\u2019 single<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> \u00a0http:\/\/www.bluejuice.info\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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