Project Description

Interview with
JESS MACC

(October 2020)

Interviewer – Dave Bruce

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Photo – Citizen Wild Production

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It’s been 3 months since Jess Macc released her debut single, ‘Win Some, Lose Some’, and she’s followed it up with a banger of a new track called ‘Hater’. We recently sat down with her to find out what the song is about and other important stuff like, what she’s watching on Netflix…

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What are the top 3 Netflix shows you’d recommend to anyone who listens to your music?
Oh, Schitt’s Creek! That’s gotta be number one. It’s almost number one of all time. I know that’s a big call but I find that show super hard to beat. And Shameless. They’re so different to each other but they’d be on par. I’ve actually seen both of those multiple times. Teenage Bounty Hunters was another more recent one that was fun. I’m actually really bummed having to wait for the next season. I hate how after you’ve watched the final episode of something there’s such a long wait for the next one. Ugh! The best is when you find a new show that’s been going for like 8 seasons and you’re so far behind. I love when that happens because there’s so much to binge.

What bands/artists are you listening to right now?
Well I just discovered Coterie. This super rad band that’s come out of Perth. I’ve had a few of their tracks on repeat. Such killer tunes. I definitely recommend checking them out.
I’ve also just created a Halloween playlist because every year when October comes around I can never find a playlist that’s got everything I want on it. So I thought this is the year, I’m just going to do my own.

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Photo – Citizen Wild Production

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So what’s on it?
***OPENS UP SPOTIFY ON HER PHONE***
I’ve got Michael Jackson (obviously), we’ve got a bit of Monster Mash, some soundtracks from Stranger Things – Ahhhh! There’s another good show, perfect! So good! Can’t go wrong with “Heads Will Roll” from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I think that’s a good mix. Got some really old school stuff: “Love Potion No. 9”, “Bad Moon Rising” – great songs like that but also new songs from artists like Billie Eilish. It’s a solid mix for the car or having a BBQ or a Halloween party. That kind of thing. So follow my playlist below:

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When did you get your first guitar?
My first guitar was a Martin that I bought from the Guitar Centre in California. It was about ten years ago, back in 2010. I didn’t know how to play anything. Not even one chord. I went out and bought it because I was so frustrated with having to rely on other musicians to get me through a set or even just one song. I wanted to be able to play something at home by myself. I thought, if the Rolling Stones could write albums using only four chords, I can learn a few and see where it could take me.

Why did you decide to start making music?
I remember I had to audition for my first band. I couldn’t get enough of music and wanted as much of it in my life as I could possibly get. I’d been getting singing lessons for years and was at the point where I was ready for the next step, which was a band. I found an ad in a newspaper. Somebody told me if you want to become part of a band, you should check out a local music mag. So I looked in this magazine (I think it might have been The BRAG) and found this ad for a band called, “The Codes”. So I called and they asked me to audition. I sang “I Love Rock and Roll” by Joan Jett in their warehouse and then they were like, “Yeah, cool.” So that was my first band. We gigged around Sydney and wrote music and recorded my first ever EP. We had a run of CDs – those were the days.

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Photo – Citizen Wild Production

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You only came back to Sydney at the beginning of this year after spending the last 8 years in California. What’s it looked like to start a music career in 2020?
It’s been me in the studio and on Zoom with Daniel Natoli. We worked together a number of years ago and then not too long ago we had a chat about writing some music together. I’d been working on a song that I took to him, and he produced it and made what it is today. The song was “Win Some, Lose Some”, and it was my first single – released back in June.
After that we decided to keep going and see where it would go. Covid happened so that put a spanner in the works where we couldn’t meet in the studio so we started writing remotely and sending each other ideas and demos and tracks and going back and forth. That’s what it’s looked like recently, which is actually not as bad as I thought it would be. I don’t mind it. I like both. I like writing in the studio with Daniel but I also don’t mind working remotely. It’s kinda nice to have your own space. There’s no pressure to do anything on the spot. You have your own time and space and then when you’ve reached the capacity of what a demo can be you’re able to jump back into the studio.

Tell me about writing Hater? What was the process of putting it together like and what’s it about?
Hater came out really quickly. It’s sort of an idea or a feeling that I’ve had for a long time that victims of bullying need to be empowered to fight back. I don’t hold things in very well I guess. So this is something I’ve held on for a long time and it’s about standing up for yourself and not accepting shit from people. I think it’s hard enough being a woman in this world as it is without having to deal with being abused by other women. There’s so much competition and fighting for the limelight and insecurity. Girls that lie to big note themselves because it makes them feel good.
I think back to school and thinking about girls who think they’re so awesome and better than you. I can read it like a book now. It’s so obvious that it comes out of a deep sense of insecurity. I do think it’s really sad but also a subtle form of bullying when people try to hold things over you and make you feel like you’re less than and they’re better than you. It’s just such a waste of energy. We have such limited time here. Limited energy. Limited resources. It makes me crazy that we’d waste it on doing that to each other.

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Photo – Citizen Wild Production

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What do you want those who listen to Hater to get out of it? 
Well, I mean I’ve had a few people tell me it sounds really angry and that’s okay with me. I don’t have an issue with being angry. I mean I am angry. It’s infuriating that people act in that way. Why wouldn’t bad behaviour anger me? But it is my hope too for people who are putting up with this kind of shit, that this song will be an anthem for them. Something they can cling to and gives them the strength to fight back. That they’ll know they’re not less than other people because they’ve got less or look different.

What’s next for you, Jess Macc?
Daniel and I are working on some other tracks so I think we’ll have another single by the end of the year and then next year we’ll maybe work on an EP or a mini album and then just take it from there.

Where can we hear your new track?
Hater is out today on all streaming platforms!! HERE

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Photo – Citizen Wild Production

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Check out JESS MACC below
Website – Facebook – Instagram – Spotify

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Photo – Citizen Wild Production

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AMNPLIFY – DB