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Interview with Love Junkyard jazz band singer Leesa Farrugia
by Sylvester Kroyherr, musician, music critic and architect
by Sylvester Kroyherr, musician, music critic and architect
SK: Who makes up the band?
LF: Love Junkyard is Rob Davies, Matthew Arnold and me, Leesa Farrugia – one guitar, one violin, one voice.
Matt plays violin and viola and sings background vocals. He’s got a lot of experience across a wide range of genres and helps bring that world music flavour to the band. And Rob plays electric and acoustic guitars, sings background vocals and writes songs for the band. His playing gives us the feel and drive that underpins our sound and groove. And I’m a singer-songwriter. I write for the band and also play a bit of piano and percussion. I’m also the one who provides the coffee and biscuits that give us the sugar-hit at rehearsals!
LF: Love Junkyard is Rob Davies, Matthew Arnold and me, Leesa Farrugia – one guitar, one violin, one voice.
Matt plays violin and viola and sings background vocals. He’s got a lot of experience across a wide range of genres and helps bring that world music flavour to the band. And Rob plays electric and acoustic guitars, sings background vocals and writes songs for the band. His playing gives us the feel and drive that underpins our sound and groove. And I’m a singer-songwriter. I write for the band and also play a bit of piano and percussion. I’m also the one who provides the coffee and biscuits that give us the sugar-hit at rehearsals!
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SK: Had you all known each other previously to forming a band?
LF: Yes, we first met in a gypsy jazz band in Melbourne, our home city. When that band broke up, Matt, Rob and I started working as a trio and we began expanding our repertoire with our own songs. Out of that came Love Junkyard.
SK: When did Love Junkyard first start performing?
LF: Although we’ve been playing together as a trio for many years, we’ve only been performing as Love Junkyard and playing our own original material for a few years. With Love Junkyard we’re playing the music we’ve always wanted to play - our own songs and songs by other artists we admire that we rework and reinterpret in our own way.
LF: Yes, we first met in a gypsy jazz band in Melbourne, our home city. When that band broke up, Matt, Rob and I started working as a trio and we began expanding our repertoire with our own songs. Out of that came Love Junkyard.
SK: When did Love Junkyard first start performing?
LF: Although we’ve been playing together as a trio for many years, we’ve only been performing as Love Junkyard and playing our own original material for a few years. With Love Junkyard we’re playing the music we’ve always wanted to play - our own songs and songs by other artists we admire that we rework and reinterpret in our own way.
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SK: Had any CD releases? Or is that down the line?
LF: We’re actually going into the studio to record an EP of our own original material in April/May this year and we hope to follow that up with a full album. We’ll be working with Greg Arnold. He’s a great producer and musician and also had a lot of success with the band, ‘Things of Stone and Wood’. We can’t wait to work with Greg. When the EP’s finished, we’ll get out on the road and take the music to the people.
SK: Where do you want to end up?
LF: Playing music is what we all love and playing together is always a joy. Our dream is to continue to grow as Love Junkyard and play at major music festivals and in concert settings around the world.
SK: Do you all do this full-time?
LF: In addition to performing music, we do other things to earn a living, but we hope to make this project as creatively fulfilling and financially independent as possible. This doesn't mean we have starry eyed notions of becoming an overnight success, but it would be great if Love Junkyard could be the principal livelihood that we devote our time and energy to.
LF: We’re actually going into the studio to record an EP of our own original material in April/May this year and we hope to follow that up with a full album. We’ll be working with Greg Arnold. He’s a great producer and musician and also had a lot of success with the band, ‘Things of Stone and Wood’. We can’t wait to work with Greg. When the EP’s finished, we’ll get out on the road and take the music to the people.
SK: Where do you want to end up?
LF: Playing music is what we all love and playing together is always a joy. Our dream is to continue to grow as Love Junkyard and play at major music festivals and in concert settings around the world.
SK: Do you all do this full-time?
LF: In addition to performing music, we do other things to earn a living, but we hope to make this project as creatively fulfilling and financially independent as possible. This doesn't mean we have starry eyed notions of becoming an overnight success, but it would be great if Love Junkyard could be the principal livelihood that we devote our time and energy to.
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Do you enjoy writing original material?
Writing our own material and playing with an original improvised style is essential to our music and has reinvigorated our collaboration. After years of playing mostly other people’s compositions we had to make it more personal by writing more of our own songs. We still perform many of our favourite standards, but always with our own interpretation.
Who would you say are the band’s biggest influences?
We all share a background in jazz and rock. But we each bring a range of other influences to the band. Matt’s played a lot of folk and Celtic-rock and he also loves the music of the Indian sub-continent and Eastern Europe. Rob’s got a great feel for blues and roots music and I’m able to add classical music influences. And we all love the music of people like Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Wonder and the great twentieth century singers like Ella Fitzgerald. It’s that melting pot of influences and ideas that helps us create our own sound.
What’s the best movie about a band or musicians, you think?
‘Standing In The Shadows of Motown’, about The Funk Brothers - the musicians behind all the Motown hits - and ‘Love & Mercy’ about Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, are great films. And ok, ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ is great fun.
Where can we see you next?
We’ve got a great gig coming up at Bridie O'Reilly's in Sydney Road, Brunswick, on Sunday 6 March. It's part of the Brunswick Music Festival and we’ll be trying out some of the original material we'll be recording in April/May. We might also play a couple of classic hits from the past that we've reworked and re-imagined into our own style. Our website has some more information on our gigs and music: leesaandrob.com.
Writing our own material and playing with an original improvised style is essential to our music and has reinvigorated our collaboration. After years of playing mostly other people’s compositions we had to make it more personal by writing more of our own songs. We still perform many of our favourite standards, but always with our own interpretation.
Who would you say are the band’s biggest influences?
We all share a background in jazz and rock. But we each bring a range of other influences to the band. Matt’s played a lot of folk and Celtic-rock and he also loves the music of the Indian sub-continent and Eastern Europe. Rob’s got a great feel for blues and roots music and I’m able to add classical music influences. And we all love the music of people like Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Wonder and the great twentieth century singers like Ella Fitzgerald. It’s that melting pot of influences and ideas that helps us create our own sound.
What’s the best movie about a band or musicians, you think?
‘Standing In The Shadows of Motown’, about The Funk Brothers - the musicians behind all the Motown hits - and ‘Love & Mercy’ about Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, are great films. And ok, ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ is great fun.
Where can we see you next?
We’ve got a great gig coming up at Bridie O'Reilly's in Sydney Road, Brunswick, on Sunday 6 March. It's part of the Brunswick Music Festival and we’ll be trying out some of the original material we'll be recording in April/May. We might also play a couple of classic hits from the past that we've reworked and re-imagined into our own style. Our website has some more information on our gigs and music: leesaandrob.com.
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Interview by Sylvester Kroherr, musician, singer, architect
LOVE JUNKYARD JAZZ BAND CONCERT
website
review by Sylvester Kroyherr
REVIEW OF GIG GIVEN BY ‘LOVE JUNKYARD’ AT BRIDIE O’REILEY’S, BRUNSWICK
ON SUNDAY 6 MARCH 2016, AS PART OF THE BRUNWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL.
The Band: Leesa Farrugia – Vocals, Rob Davies – Electric Guitar, Matthew Arnold – Violin.
Despite the buzzing pub atmosphere, the band swung into their first ten numbers with confidence, displaying their range of mainly original material. The song about ‘Keys’ (and losing them) had excellent drive and generated a ‘bluesy’ aroma. This was followed by ‘You’ll find Love’ that showcased the lyrical side of Leesa, complemented by some terrific work from Rob and Matt. The third offering was Leesa’s composition about long term relationships – a penetrating performance from Leesa that embraced a pensive, sad and melodious flavour complimented expertly by well improvised solo fiddling from Matt.
With a change of pace, the band took us back to the 60’s with Donovan’s ‘Sunshine Superman’ – a very original interpretation full of bounce and drive ( it would have brought back some memories to a few). In the next number (‘Walking in Slow Motion’), the band’s strong cohesion was very expressive that gave us an interesting and touching insight into feelings retrospective to WW1. Jumping to the late sixties, the notable Jimi Hendrix song ‘Up from the Skies’ was given new life. Depicting the concerns of an Extraterrestrial visiting Earth, the band’s delivery was superb – notably the brilliant rhythmic drive from Rob. Following the Jimi Hendrix experience, we were treated to a most beautiful song composed my Leesa about her daughter (Taylor) called ‘Planet Girl’. The pretty and flowing song in a minor key expressed melancholic feelings of love and caring.
After cruising through the captivating ‘Just Start Believing’, another original composition followed called ‘Gypsy Love’. The atmosphere of the desert came to life supported by some magnificent work from Matt with a great solo, featuring distortions and special effects. To finish off, ‘Voodoo Child’ came to life. With a fusion of rock and blues, this was a fitting ending, again with some a superlative violin solo work from Matt.
So, how do we sum up the Band? Fresh, inventive, soulful, pulsating, lyrical, exploratory, interesting, engaging, coherent and lastly a musical force worth listening to! Thank you for the opportunity to see you and talk to you before and after the event. However, Love Junkyard deserves a more focused audience that steers away from a ‘Pub setting’. I wish the Band a successful future, producing many more engaging and meaningful original songs to follow.
Look forward to tracking and attending future events.
Sylvester Kroyherr (Musician/Singer/Architect). 8/3/2016
website
review by Sylvester Kroyherr
REVIEW OF GIG GIVEN BY ‘LOVE JUNKYARD’ AT BRIDIE O’REILEY’S, BRUNSWICK
ON SUNDAY 6 MARCH 2016, AS PART OF THE BRUNWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL.
The Band: Leesa Farrugia – Vocals, Rob Davies – Electric Guitar, Matthew Arnold – Violin.
Despite the buzzing pub atmosphere, the band swung into their first ten numbers with confidence, displaying their range of mainly original material. The song about ‘Keys’ (and losing them) had excellent drive and generated a ‘bluesy’ aroma. This was followed by ‘You’ll find Love’ that showcased the lyrical side of Leesa, complemented by some terrific work from Rob and Matt. The third offering was Leesa’s composition about long term relationships – a penetrating performance from Leesa that embraced a pensive, sad and melodious flavour complimented expertly by well improvised solo fiddling from Matt.
With a change of pace, the band took us back to the 60’s with Donovan’s ‘Sunshine Superman’ – a very original interpretation full of bounce and drive ( it would have brought back some memories to a few). In the next number (‘Walking in Slow Motion’), the band’s strong cohesion was very expressive that gave us an interesting and touching insight into feelings retrospective to WW1. Jumping to the late sixties, the notable Jimi Hendrix song ‘Up from the Skies’ was given new life. Depicting the concerns of an Extraterrestrial visiting Earth, the band’s delivery was superb – notably the brilliant rhythmic drive from Rob. Following the Jimi Hendrix experience, we were treated to a most beautiful song composed my Leesa about her daughter (Taylor) called ‘Planet Girl’. The pretty and flowing song in a minor key expressed melancholic feelings of love and caring.
After cruising through the captivating ‘Just Start Believing’, another original composition followed called ‘Gypsy Love’. The atmosphere of the desert came to life supported by some magnificent work from Matt with a great solo, featuring distortions and special effects. To finish off, ‘Voodoo Child’ came to life. With a fusion of rock and blues, this was a fitting ending, again with some a superlative violin solo work from Matt.
So, how do we sum up the Band? Fresh, inventive, soulful, pulsating, lyrical, exploratory, interesting, engaging, coherent and lastly a musical force worth listening to! Thank you for the opportunity to see you and talk to you before and after the event. However, Love Junkyard deserves a more focused audience that steers away from a ‘Pub setting’. I wish the Band a successful future, producing many more engaging and meaningful original songs to follow.
Look forward to tracking and attending future events.
Sylvester Kroyherr (Musician/Singer/Architect). 8/3/2016
Bohemian Rhapsody Club is very grateful to Clint Morris, October Coast PR and Sylvester Kroyherr for the opportunity and for their time
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