In our 90th instalment of “Stumbled Upon”, we meet California’s Media Jeweler, and chat about their inspiration, barnacles, the allure of business cards and get a sneak peak at their latest track ‘Passport Invalid’.
Band Name:
Media Jeweler
Website / Social Media:
mediajeweler.org
Facebook / Soundcloud /
Genre:
Rock
Members & their roles:
SAM – Gtr/vox
JAMES – Gtr/Vox/Trumpet
JT – Bass
COLIN – Drum
What music or artists inspired you?
Inspiration is a very symbiotic process. Like a barnacle on a whale, we affix ourselves to the sonic ephemera of those who inspire us and feed greedily on their creative life force. Like the barnacle, we grow strong and over time fully envelope the whale. “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins, beautiful instrumental music from the big Windy City, and Container (applied in 20/20 hindsight).
How did the band get started?
I was shopping for drum hardware on Facebook. Colin promised a quality product at a fair price. James, JT and I were already in a band – a 17-piece ska/post-punk band (let’s just leave the name out) – that had just disbanded due to “creative differences.” I gave Colin my business card after he said he had a 27″ bass drum – crucial. After I threw all of my effects pedals out the window on the 10 (Double Nickels on the Dime, as it were), our groove felt good and we immediately called ourselves “Media Jeweler” without any hesitation or rigorous yet arbitrary decision making process.
How would you best describe your live show:
JT: Our shows smell weird.
SAM: The audience responds with rapturous applause and tons of cash.
What shows do you have coming up?
We’ve been gigging regularly and have callouses on our fingers and hearts. We have a handful of shows left this year, somehow nailing two with globe-shredder Yonatan Gat and his band. We will be in NYC for two record release-esque shows in November as well. In the interim, we hope to hole up and begin writing record #2 whole-calloused-heartedly. It already has a title.
Keep an eye on Facebook for more dates.
Tell us about your latest release:
We went far away to record the album because LA is a dump and we didn’t want to record in your brother’s project studio. We take ourselves very seriously as musicians and demand quality recordings. We recorded it live but overdubbed stuff because we aren’t perfect and neither are you. It has 7 songs and I still don’t know them by their titles. FLOOD Magazine gave it a 5/10.
Where can I get your music?
Our incredibly kind label Fire Talk Records and all Virgin Megastore locations.
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Listen to ‘Stumbled Upon’ on AU Radio , Mondays at 8:30PM, Thursdays at 3PM and Sundays at 10AM (AEDT), or the playlist of past ‘Stumbled Upon’ artists on Soundcloud
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