Edinburgh Reporter Chats – Junebug

January 22, 2012 5:42 pm

Although 25% of Junebug study in Edinburgh, 25% in Inverness and 50% in Glasgow, they seem to 100% click as a band, which you will be able to tell through their responses to our questions.

They are an enthusiastic four-piece whose chemistry you will be able to see before your very eyes as they will soon be performing in Edinburgh for the first time.

Consisting of English Literature student Katie Irvine on vocals, Business & Geography student Owen Rataj on guitar, Arboriculture and Urban Forestry student Matthew MacDonald on bass and Architecture student Harry Smith on drums, the band are supporting The Glitch at Sneaky Pete’s on Wednesday 25 January 2012.

We caught up with them to ask who they are, what do they do and what the future holds for them.

What are your music / band / performing backgrounds?

Katie: I have quite a varied performance background. I used to be in a band at school and also performed with the school soul band as a singer. I was also part of the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCoS).

Owen: I learned acoustic guitar around 12 years old, sometimes doing small acoustic Spanish performances before going on to form a band outwith school with some friends.

Harry: I first started playing percussion aged 10, and switched to solely drums at 12, via tuition from a teacher in school. This led to me performing in many of the school brass bands. I then joined Owen’s band in school but this passed as everyone went their separate ways afterwards.

Matthew: A healthy clash of drumming in bands and brass instruments at school somehow led me to playing acoustic sets with a friend from halls, and now this.

How did Junebug form?

K: Owen approached me asking if I would like to be back in a band as he had been working on some songs during his first year at University, and I had missed singing so gladly said yes.

H: I was invited to drum for a band Owen said he was forming, and had only met Matt and Katie once or twice with their old band.

M: Owen and I started playing with some melodies in first year and got some rough versions of songs together. Then the next summer formations of a band pull up outside my house asking for a jam and Junebug is formed.

O: Basically what they said.

How did the name ‘Junebug’ come about?

M: A dictionary and a blindfold!

K: Originally we were “Junebug Roses” after I misheard this as the lyrics of a song I like and it seemed to stick with me.

O: I wanted us to be called “Outline” – no idea why, it had just been an idea for ages – but another American band already had this name. Then after the reformation of the Stone Roses we decided to drop the “Rose” part and stay as Junebug.

How would you describe the band and your music in one sentence?

K: Eclectic

O: I have no idea what that word actually means, but I’ll go with Katie on this one.

H: We are always up for a laugh (mainly due to Matt), and I would say our music is feel good Indie Rock with the occasional unexpected departure.

What gigs have you done to date?

Café Drummonds, Aberdeen, September 2011: Our first ever gig which went incredibly well. None of us had performed together before so this was our first step out into the music scene and a really good experience of our live sound. The evening turned out to be a competition, a battle of bands of sorts, and we won. The organiser invited us back but unfortunately we couldn’t make the second date. We’re yet to return – watch this space!

Maggie May’s, Glasgow, November 2011: The crowds were pretty wild, it was a great night especially considering the band hadn’t fully been together since our first gig and it went flawlessly! To top it off Harry had turned 18 not long before, so this called for celebrations.

The Bay, Glasgow, November 2011: A relaxed gig in a bar just as a close to a weekend of recording we had done. The crowd were loving the drumming.

King Tut’s, Glasgow, December 2011: By far our biggest gig to date supporting the Hazey Janes – a great experience into such a legendary venue. We were nervous with anticipation but we think it went well and got a good response from the crowd. A landmark for the band and each one of us.

We’ve also done numerous acoustic sets at various bars and open-mics around Glasgow, just to keep ourselves sharp and to test out new songs.

How did you manage to secure a support spot at The Glitch’s EP launch?

K: A member of The Glitch knows me through various musical events and has seen us perform at the Queen Margaret Union as an acoustic line up and so checked out our full band and asked us to support them!

O: It’s great as this gives us the chance to play in Edinburgh which is sometimes difficult to organise for us seeing as we are all spread so far apart over the country.

M: Katie’s got good connections.

The Greek by The Junebug

What was the inspiration behind ‘Still’, ‘The Mill’ and ‘The Greek’, the tracks currently on your SoundCloud page?

K: ‘Still’ has quite a mellow beginning with a rocky chorus and I think the repetitiveness of the lyrics in the verses emphasises the nice alteration created by the chorus. The repetitiveness is further contrasted by the post chorus which introduces another tone to the song.

H: If I remember correctly ‘Still’ developed from a jam Owen and I had, and we really liked the drums – it developed around that. ‘The Mill’ was Owen’s creation, and I just added some kick-ass drums for fun.

O: This is the problem I always have. I write with an idea in mind, and it can take me anything from minutes to months to finish, but when it’s done and some time has passed I generally always forget my original meaning. Or perhaps I interpret it differently? Who knows? Take from them what you will as everyone will have a unique opinion.

What is your favourite track to perform and why?

H: ‘The Mill’, simply because it’s a drummers dream; I get the opportunity to go wild, and managed to fit some drum solos in! It is, in general, an all-round belter.

O: A song we’ve just recorded and should be online soon, called ‘Pictures in Motion’. It’s a solid 6-7 minutes long and has varying guitar parts which keeps things interesting for me.

M: An unrecorded one called ‘The Death of You and Me’ is fast and really enjoyable to play from start to finish.

K: My favourite track to perform is ‘Binder’ as I feel that lyrically it is quite a powerful song to sing and I am also quite biased in saying that I particularly like the vocals in the song as I think the melody that they follow is beautiful.

What has 2012 got in store for Junebug?

H: Our calendar is already filling up with gigs and competitions, so fingers crossed we’ll be on the up. Hopefully some more recording and if I have my way, a release of some sort.

O: Definitely going to organise an EP before the end of the year, hopefully September time. Until then, more gigs etc!

M: We can be a lot more productive in the summer and will have more spare time, so I imagine some more music and more recording which would give us more excuses to keep playing gigs.

K: The future for Junebug so far is looking bright! I am very grateful for the amount of opportunity we have been through performance since we formed last September. We are currently looking into the possibility of touring and playing some festivals in the summer and hopefully soon we will have our first album recorded. After that I would love to pursue a record deal. It’s absolutely a big dream but I don’t see why not.

Junebug use Facebook and have just joined Twitter to keep their fans up-to-date with performance and release information and have published some of their material on SoundCloud.

Remember to return to The Edinburgh Reporter for a review of their debut Edinburgh gig alongside The Glitch, Kung Fu Academy and Dawn Coulshed. Tickets are £5 and are on sale now.