Melbourne rock band, Jet, is comprised of brothers Nic Cester (vocals) and Chris Cester (drums), Cameron Muncey (guitars) and Mark Wilson (bass). The classic-rock infused sound of their 2003 debut Get Born was an instant hit—yielding such infectious tunes as "Are You Gonna Be My Girl," "Take It or Leave It," and "Get Me Out Of Here." They went on to support The Rolling Stones and Oasis and to perform a rendition of "Rockin' In The Free World" with Neil Young in Canada for Live 8. They've just released their second album Shine On and are currently touring the U.S. Ticketmaster spoke to drummer Chris Cester about the new album, their new sound and how they feel about being back on the road.
Do you remember the moment when you first knew you wanted to be a musician?
I don't know if I can nail it down to a moment, but I certainly remember Led Zeppelin being on in the background (laughs).
Who are your other early influences?
Very early influences are pretty much the standard, you know, what kids listen to. You listen to your parents' record collection--and I'm talking about when I was a child. These records would be The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Cat Stevens...The Rolling Stones. Just the normal things that kind of filter through from their generation and I kind of took it from there and spread it.
So tell me what it was like getting that call from the Rolling Stones to support their shows?
It was a long time ago (laughs). I didn't take the call, but I remember we were drinking in our local pub. It was just another day for us I think we had a show at the Duke of Windsor which is this tiny pub in Melbourne and we got a call asking if we'd like to. Obviously, the first things out of our mouths were "who asked?" and "who wants us to play and why?" We just couldn't believe it obviously. It was pretty shocking because we really hadn't achieved much at that point. To have that faith shown in us by not just idols to us, but an inspiration for millions was one of the more flattering moments in my life.
What's the Melbourne music scene like?
To be honest with you, when we left that scene to come and make our debut record in L.A. it was completely dead. Disgustingly dead for a scene in a country that has so much vibrancy and rock and roll culture like The Easybeats and AC/DC and the Angels and the Loved Ones. It was really dead and I think that was the main inspiration in the forming of Jet. Just the fact that there was nothing going on. But I think that now it's alive and kicking again and there's a new hyped band coming out of there every two weeks.
Yeah, I seem to be hearing a lot more about Aussie rock bands these days. There's you, Wolfmother, the Vines, just to name a few. What do you think is responsible for the recent international attention on Oz rock?
I don't know really, the reason. I can tell you the reason that we are inspired to make music. That's the best way I can answer the question and just hope that this is what maybe people are attracted by. I think it's the fact that we're allowed to kind of develop and grow without the auspices of trends and fashions. We're allowed to make music over there that doesn't really belong to any particular scene. I think that really helps the groups mature and helps them have the confidence that they need to take their music to another level. It gives you a bravado, I suppose, not being watched over like a hawk by the in-crowd. It's the same up north in England. Because they're not London, bands up in Manchester and Liverpool, they get to come from a more honest place. From the Beatles to Oasis to Joy Division and these groups. They're all from the North.
Interesting point. So why wait three years between album releases? Are you perfectionists in the studio?
No it wasn't so much about a wait. That amount of time was sort of dictated to us by what we were going through which was dealing the death of my and my brother's father at 45. Which is something I'd like to talk about because it's something that I have to talk about every day ‘cause people need to know why we had the break. Suffice to say we had to really reevaluate ourselves and sort of work out what was important to us because life seemed a little benign after he passed away. He was so charismatic and so young. We really needed to dig deep and realize why we were still doing it and what we were trying to achieve. So it took us a long time to focus, and what came along with that confusion was some pretty heavy drug addictions. Some general mayhem, panic and confusion. So we had to settle down before we could make music.
So having that new perspective on life--how did that affect the new record?
The new record is a soul record. It's so much heavier and far outweighs any of the work we did on Get Born. It just comes from a more honest place. It sort of felt like we weren't allowed to take a back seat with this one lyrically. We had to make sure that we were encapsulating everything that we were feeling accurately because anything else would feel like a betrayal. So it's a deep record and everything that we went through is reflected in a positive manner because we're not a band that sits down and laments. We kind of prefer to prophesize where we want to be rather than lament on where we are.
Any personal favorite tracks off the new record?
I absolutely adore tracks like "Holiday." I love "That's All Lies." My brother's going to kill me because these are some of my songs (laughs). I think they come from a really insane place that wasn't really thought through at all. They're kind of like drippings—it just sort of poured out of us. I also listen to "Shine On" which is Nic's dedication to my father and that always does something to me that's pretty indescribable.
Thinking about the future—are there any artists that you'd like to collaborate with?
I'd be really interested in getting together with someone from the hip-hop world. I haven't thought this through, of course, but I think that it's a really interesting prospect to definitely cross the boundaries. And people have done it in groups like Linkin' Park and stuff, but I mean, to me these are like one in the same anyway—these groups. It's all about frustration, bitternss and anger. But what I think Jet can bring to that would be something that's a little more flashy and happening and more of a party. Which would definitely offer a new dimension to hip-hop and I'd be interested in exploring that.
What's been the highlight of the tour so far?
We really haven't had a chance to stop and think about that yet because we're obviously still on it. We've only had a couple days off. But just to be working again is a thrill—an absolute thrill. After three years of sitting around and looking at each other and being so emotionally intertwined. Just to bust out and play rock and roll again and see the whites of people's eyes when we start the show up. It's just great to remember what rock and roll can be when you're a part of it.
Because of your sound, do you find that you have a multi-generational fan base?
Yeah I have found that. I think that in the past we've ignited those people's memories about what was honest and pure about rock and roll. And for the newcomers it was a break from that kind of staid and traditional, boring times of post-grunge bands...who were the biggest selling things. I think we definitely excited those people who were sick of hearing that. So I agree in a lot of ways, I think we did cross boundaries with age and stereotypes about teenagers being the only ones who are into your music. It's not really up to me, anyway. We just make the music and whoever comes, comes.
Who are some of the current artists/bands that you admire and like to see perform?
My Morning Jacket. I'd love to see them again. I saw them three years ago when we were just starting out. Well, not starting out, but playing shows throughout the world. I'd love to see their shows now. And Kasabian, who are on tour with Oasis, they're still really good friends of ours and I really admire what they do. It would be really great to see them again. Hopefully we can get a tour with them in the works in Australia down the line if they're not too busy being the darlings of the British music industry which they are at the moment, the lucky bastards! (laughs)
Well, you're not doing too bad yourselves!
Yeah, it's going ok (laughs). It's going ok.