Entertainment In Focus

05 December 2008 04:40 BST

Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong live up to the hype

inthenews.co.uk's Lewis Bazley meets a band tipped for the top and up to the challenge.

"Joe's been puking up" are the first words that Dom O'Dare, guitarist of indie five-piece Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong says to me as we meet backstage at Glastonbury and from the look on Joe's face, the toll of a gig in Norway preceding three Somerset shows looks to have hit him hard.

But speaking to the alliterative act - whose debut album is released on July 28th - reveals a confident, capable band, more than ready for the hype thrust upon them through inclusion in the BBC's Sound of 2008 list and articulate enough to tackle the barrage of press that's sure to flood upon such a young, exciting and - while it's hardly relevant to the music - good-looking band.

Read on to see what Dom and Joe had to say before the first of their three Glastonbury shows.

So is this your first Glastonbury as a band?

J: As a band, it's our first, so it's really exciting, sort of triple exciting because of doing three shows.

Have you been as punters before?

J: Yeah, the first time I came was in 2000 and it was sunny!

D: The first time I came was when I was eight with my family, and I remember seeing Rage Against the Machine - so that's a long time ago!

How important do you think the weather is?

J: I always resented people talking about 'the good old days' - as far as I'm concerned that's when Glastonbury was sunny and it just seems to rain every year at the moment. But it doesn't really matter because the whole spirit of a festival is camping anyway, you're supposed to get grotty! There's a certain kind of liberation when you think 'Look, my pockets are full of s**t and I stink of p*** and I can't do anything except stand next to this person I don't know, who smells the same as me, and just have a really good time'. There's a camaraderie that comes from looking after each other.

The importance of the weather's exaggerated then?

J: Yeah, the only thing that changes is how smug everyone is at home, you know, newsreaders going: (posh voice) 'And it's another washout at Glastonbury… ' (laughs). In terms of the party - it's never a washout.

Is the weather why comparatively less people bought tickets for this year's?

D: Maybe, sometimes people can't be arsed.

J: This has always been a family-oriented festival and that's key to its success and its growth - you not only have the hardcore ravers but you also have a huge family contingent. And when it does get apocalyptic with the mud, I think a lot of the tickets that might have been snapped up by families don't, because you don't want your three-year-old falling face down in the mud... unless they've been really naughty maybe! (laughs)

Joe, you were in the Pipettes - were you always going to have your own stuff?

J: Well, no, I thought I'd never leave. But the concept worked that way, it was a collective of people making music and it was just a case of getting friends to step in.

As a band yourselves, you were included in that BBC Sound of 2008 list with Adele, Duffy, etc...

J: What a load of crap.

Do you just think that kind of thing is bollocks then?

J: I just think you can't tell people what to like. Obviously it's flattering to get attention. But if people want to look at it in a negative way, they call it 'hype'. And we've really had to grow up in public, we were signed after our 12th gig.

D: It's obviously hard to live up to the hype bands seem to get now, you just get pounced on and then people drop them ridiculously quickly, because of the nature of the industry, I suppose.

Do you think bands have more pressure on them more quickly at the moment, because you're expected to be a solid band straight away?

J: It's not a general thing, it's just certain bands. If someone came up to you and said: 'You've got to see this film, it's AMAZING', and then you go and watch it, and it is amazing, but because you've had all this to live up to, you'll just think it's really good. But if someone says: 'Oh, there's this film, watch out for it, apparently it's really good', you'll see it and walk out thinking it really is amazing. The hype negates the possibility of people feeling like they can really own the experience and feel a part of it.

You've got the first album just about to come out - was that a year's work, or something you had to rush?

J: We did it while we were on tour with Dizzee Rascal actually...

You're a weird support act to be with Dizzee Rascal, aren't you?

J: Well, maybe in your opinion! But I'm sure you've got Dizzee on your iPod among other bands so, you know... you're weird! (laughs) There's this stereotype created by the media that there's this tribal thing and it's not true, people are so much more open to other types of music - it's not 'mods and rockers', it's not 'punks and new romantics', it's everything. Even the nine-year-old kid walking down the street has classical, and techno and D 'n' B.

So you'd agree with what Jay-Z said, that it's not about genre, there's just good music and bad music?

J: Of course.

D: I think Dizzee Rascal wanted to take a rock 'n' roll band on tour to show his fans that he's into different sorts of music.

Would you say as a band your own influences are pretty diverse?

J: Definitely, everything that happens to us influences us.

Finally - this is your first Glastonbury as a band - if you're booked for next year's, where on the bill do you think you'll be?

J: Well, I've heard that the Other Stage is louder, so maybe a slot later.

D: I just like playing the ones where everyone's in a good state to party!

J: When you hear that record that changes the way you walk, it doesn't matter if you hear it in the middle of the night or on a Sunday afternoon.

Lewis Bazley

Where Do You Go?


To buy the band's reissued single Lucio Starts Fires, released on July 28th, click here

To buy Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong's debut album, released on August 4th, click here