Every now and again, a truly wonderful band comes along. Joie De Vivre are one of these very bands. The five piece from Rockford IL, play sad, sad songs that are pretty awesome and deserve your attention. They also happen to be one of The Alternative Tone's favourite bands so getting an interview with them is something we'd be pretty stoked about. Oh wait, we did! Read below to check out the band's plans for the year, SXSW plans and all of the information you've always wanted to know about them, through band member; Brandon Lutmer. After you're done, head over to their Bandcamp and take a listen to We're All Better Than This, one of the most awesome albums of 2012.
For the record, who is Joie De Vivre and how did you get together?
Joie De Vivre is currently Patrick Delehanty, Brandon Lutmer, Stewart Oakes, Geoff Schott, and Mark Jaeschke. Former members include Chris French, Zach Staas, Paul Karnatz, and Steven Kurzac.
Joie started when Chris, Stevie, and I (Brandon) decided to quit our old band, Your City/State, to try and write sadder songs. Pat had been a friend of ours from way back so we asked him to play guitar. That was our lineup for the first year or so before we added Paul on horn and Zach on the Organ.
Chris French moved to the dirty south and is now in the N.C. band Muscle & Bone, Zach moved to Portland (although he’s back now), Stevie left to focus on real life shit, and Paul moved to Prague. So we replaced them with close friends of ours that we knew from playing around. Mark came from a wonderful band called The Island Of Misfit Toys, Geoff is the front-man of The Please & Thank Yous, and Stewart plays drums in Warren Franklin & the Founding Fathers and sometimes with Empire! Empire!
What are you up to at the moment?
What are you up to at the moment?
Right now we are gearing up to play the Count Your Lucky Stars and Topshelf Records showcase in Austin, TX for SXSW and then do a little tour back. Stewart, our friend Paul Shaffer (from Rockford band Victory Verdun) and the lovely Warren Franklin (who will be playing guitar for us on this little jaunt) will be touring down to TX with Empire! Empire! while Pat and I fly down on Thursday and tour back.
We are also playing Stay Sweet festival in Richmond, VA again this year with a million awesome bands. That will be on April 13th.
How was 2012 for you guys?
How was 2012 for you guys?
2012 was a bit crazy. We reunited after a short-lived breakup, finished recording and releasing “We’re all better Than This”, said goodbye to two original members, and toured Europe for 30 days. It was an active year.
Have you plans to release anything this year?
Have you plans to release anything this year?
YES! We are hopping on the Into It Over It and Empire! Empire! train and putting out four split 7” this year.
Any details you can reveal about that?
Any details you can reveal about that?
We are releasing a split with Prawn, Wire Sparrows, Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate), and The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die. (Theoretically) in that order.
We're All Better Than This was one of my favorite releases last year, and has been pretty much universally loved. How do you react to that? Does it add extra pressure on the band to be consistently awesome?
The relative success of WABTT, was absolutely flattering to all of us. We were extremely proud of it and it was pretty refreshing to see people’s reception to the record. And yes, we’re in the process of writing and recording some new songs and the pressure is on. I think we’ve done a good job growing and changing with each record and it is definitely on my mind to try and keep up.
How did the album come together? What was the recording process like? Was it a natural process or did you make a conscious decision to sit down and write a record?
How did the album come together? What was the recording process like? Was it a natural process or did you make a conscious decision to sit down and write a record?
When we broke up in 2011, the majority of the record was done. Even during the process of breaking up the band we still had all intentions of completing this record, I think that a big part of us getting back together had to do with the excitement of finishing this album and wanting to get out and play these songs live.
What are the lyrical themes? They seem pretty personal, are they from your own lives or do you write as a sort of separate character?
What are the lyrical themes? They seem pretty personal, are they from your own lives or do you write as a sort of separate character?
Unfortunately I’ve never been a good enough songwriter to separate what I feel and what I write, so what you hear pretty much says exactly what it sounds like. To be frank a lot of these songs are about girls and people in my hometown that I can’t stand, but I’d say a majority of the songs are about the odd duality of being in my late 20’s and being in a band. It’s hard to explain… it’s like my biggest dreams in the world have come true, but I still don’t feel like I’ve accomplished much, especially at the time of writing this record. Friends from high school and family members would hear about us going on tour or putting out a record and say things about how they’re really proud or jealous that we get to do all these things, but when it comes down to it I was still just a twenty-six year old college dropout, working full-time at a coffee shop and broke all the time. It didn’t really seem too dreamy to me.
You did quite a big tour across Europe after the release of the album. How was that for you? Did you expect the reaction that you got from places so far away from where you started?
You did quite a big tour across Europe after the release of the album. How was that for you? Did you expect the reaction that you got from places so far away from where you started?
It wasn’t too different from touring in the states. Some shows were great and some weren’t so great. But we met some of the nicest people and got to see our old friend Paul. It was an experience to say the least and it was one hundred percent surreal to have kids in England, Denmark, etc., sing along to your songs. I’ll never forget that.
I think the most surreal experience was being able to look at these dudes you wrote songs with and played all these shows with over the years and look back to where it started and think “wow…we accomplished quite a bit.” It’s a bit crazy to step back and look at the whole spectrum of Europe and that tour and think that writing music with your best friends can bring you someplace that you otherwise wouldn’t have been at in that moment in time. Super proud- I think that’s the best way to describe it.
Are you stoked for SXSW? It's such a legendary festival, what is it like to know you're playing it?
Are you stoked for SXSW? It's such a legendary festival, what is it like to know you're playing it?
This will be my third time playing SXSW and Joie’s second time, I have never had a bad time in Austin and I doubt I will this time either. I’m excited to play and even more excited to see all our friends.
Who else will you be checking out at festival?
All of our friends on Topshelf and CYLS, Kind Of Like Spitting, and I think at least three of us want to go see Camera Obscura on that Friday.
I know Pat really wants to check out Dead Prez, Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, DJ Premier, Thomas Dybdahl, Talib Kweli, Charles Bradley, and Menahan Street Band. We'll be pretty busy.
What else do you hope to do by the end of the year?
What else do you hope to do by the end of the year?
Well I think Pat just bought a guitar so we can check that off the list. By the end of this year all the releases we have in the works will be out and we’ll be writing another full length by then as well. I’ll be married and attending college again, Pat will be making that hard earned cash in Chicago, Geoff will be coaching Water Polo, Stewart will be putting up that cabinetry, and Mark will be doing whatever he does.
What was it like getting back together? What were your reasons for reconvening? Was it like you had unfinished business or did you just fall back into it?
What was it like getting back together? What were your reasons for reconvening? Was it like you had unfinished business or did you just fall back into it?
I don’t think we really had any reason in the beginning to call it a “break up”. We were all at these weird points with school, moving, relationships, work, and life in general, that we kind of rushed the decision. I think we all knew at some point we would get back together and play together but we didn’t know when. When we broke up, we were pretty much together all the time anyway, we had a record being finished, then the tour in Europe fell in our lap, etc. Things just kind of snowballed and it was what it was.
The whole ordeal of breaking up was just kind of a mess. We didn’t really think through what we were letting go and how much we would miss it.
What bands are you guys listening to the moment?
I’m still trying to catch up on all the great releases from last year. 12” from Pile, Hop Along, The Sidekicks, and the William Bonney/Droughts split are my favorite so far. “Hounds of Love” by Kate Bush, The Catherine Wheel, The Sundays, and Morrissey are in heavy rotation like always.
What/who influences Joie De Vivre's music?
What/who influences Joie De Vivre's music?
Our friends, our lives, our past relationships, the people we’ve met, growing up in the Midwest; Davey Von Bohlen, Mark Kozelek, Chris Simpson, Jeremy Enigk, David Bazan, Ben Barnett…
If Joie De Vivre was a type of weather, what type would it be?
If Joie De Vivre was a type of weather, what type would it be?
Light rain I guess… but not light enough to be pleasant.
Final words?
Final words?
Thanks for letting me ramble on, I’m sorry if that was a bit wordy.
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