Project Description

Interview with

LORETTA MILLER

of JAZZ PARTY

Interviewer – Chelsea King

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Made for the bar room not the ballroom, Jazz Party is a loose collective of jazzbos known for their sporadic take-over residences in unassuming rooms across Melbourne. Playing a slippery mix of jump blues, boogie, and rhythm n blues á la New Orleans. Shouting, drinking and slow dancing with strangers all encouraged. Darcy McNulty, Jules Pascoe and Loretta Miller are all former members of Clairy Browne & the Bangin Rackettes. Chelsea King caught up recently and got to ask a few questions.

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You just released your debut album. Where did the concept for Monday Night’ originally come from?

The history of the band is that we drag our piano to the floor of an unsuspecting venue and tear the joint apart… hahaha maybe not that bad but close, it’s a party like no other and it’s always a month of Monday nights, then we pack up and go somewhere else. That’s how our audience knows us so it was an homage to our story. It felt right.

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What was it like to have such a receptive hometown launch at the Croxton?

BEAUTIFUL and triumphant hahaha. Doing bigger shows on high stages with this band is still relatively new and launching an album is mega no matter how cool, blase, hipster or confident you are. We gave it a hell of a lot of love and that’s all you can do.

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You’re also doing a launch show in Brisbane next week. Normally bands would head to Melbourne and Sydney if they were only performing two gigs. Why Brisbane?

Two reasons

1. Because it works with our Mullumbimby music festival schedule quite well and

2. because half our band have ties to Brisbane. Darcy spent a good chunk of his teenage years playing jazz, learning the ropes and partying in Bris and also our drummer Dom Hede and guitar boy Lachlan Mitchell are from there originally so it’s like going home and giving your old mates a taste of what you’ve been up to. Those boys are also members of Bris group Kafka who are local legends and will support on the night.

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You share vocals on this album. Is it ever hard delegating when song writing?

No not at all. Darcy does the majority, I’m very shy so it’s taken me a long while to get confidence up for it  (I plan on doing a  lot more next year). He comes to me with songs skeletons and if I feel it will suit me we work it out together. Generally it’s pretty clear what will work for his voice and style and what will work for mine.

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I can hear a lot of different influences throughout these songs. Were there any artists in particular that inspired you when writing the album?

I think there was a lot of influence from Lord Kitchener and various other Calypso artists on this record. Kermit Ruffins and Doctor John also and Fats Waller is a big one and Tom Waits, then for me with Talking in your sleep Irma Thomas was probably a large influence. I also love Big Mumma Thornton, Dinah Washington, Koko Taylor ,Lana Del Rey and Beyonce, Solange, Lonnie Johnson, Nina Simone Patsy Cline and Hank Williams… I could go on and on.

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A couple of the members from Sex On Toast helped out at the album launch. Are you looking forward to partying with them again at Mullum Music Festival?

YES I Love Angus, He DJ’d at the launch, he’s a totally nuts genius. It’s going to be so much fun, it’s a little dangerous actually. They’ll be with us at Mullum music fest also, so there’s lots of fun to be had.

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You’re also playing at some other cool festivals such as Grampians Music Festival and Riverboats. Do you have a favourite venue or festival that Jazz Party have performed at?

Ummmm yes, we have a few places we’ve done residencies that feel like spiritual homes to us.
The top three would be The Curtin, The Evelyn and this hidden little cafe/barber/cobbler on Summerset place in the city called Captains of Industry, we can’t play there any more because we had noise complaints or something dumb but that was a special one. Fav festivals thus far have been Mullumbimby music festival, Golden Plains and Wave Rock Weekender, now that is a great festival with amazing lineup and bloody good food and drinks if you can get yourself that far.

We also have some exciting festivals that we’ll be playing around the country that are thus far un-announced so keep a look out for those bad boys.
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AMNPLIFY – DB