Project Description

Interview with

JOEL SHAPERO

from

THE TIPSY SCHOLARS

by Kelsey Hentschel

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The Tipsy Scholars

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The Tipsy Scholars (Formally known as The Gypsy Scholars) are an Australian indie folk band known for their heartfelt song writing and energetic live performances. Since forming in 2014, the band has made a firm impression on their twin home towns of Sydney and Canberra; acquiring a loyal and raucous fanbase. With a rich and diverse array of original works, The Tipsy Scholars tell tales of travel, love and life in a way that only four guys with varying amounts of facial and an assortment of instruments can do.

Kelsey Hentschel caught up with Joel Shapero recently for a chat.

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So, back to where it all began, how did the band form? Were you guys mates first?

The group today took only a few steps to come into existence really. Myself (Joel), James and Conagh all started studying at the ANU at the same time and all lived on the same floor at college as well. So, on the first night of O – Week, Conagh and I had spoken about what we were studying (with Conagh studying Music Performance at the time) as we wandered around getting settled into our new home. That night there was a toga party and I met James at pres and discovered that he was also studying Music, so I thought I’d put two and two together. So I grabbed Con by the arm and pulled him through the crowd and put their mitts together. The three of us started jamming and played some initial shows with another super talented Canberra musician, Bec Taylor. However, she had quite a lot on and had to focus on other projects. So we kept our eyes and ears out for a drummer. James heard rumours of this rhythmic whiz kid, Alex, who lived at a college just down the road and was also at the School of Music. ‘Alex’ turned out to be Alec, who agreed to play with us, he soon discovered that he actually enjoyed our company and agreed to join us.

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Was there a specific time or event that you could pin point when you decidedthat music was something that you wanted to make a career out of?

James, Conagh and Alec all came to Uni to study music, whereas I was on the Commerce path with music only being something I enjoyed doing with mates. As we all packed into James’ mums little Peugeot and drove from Canberra to Sydney to record a video with Balcony TV was the first time I really thought of the possibility of pursuing a career in music. It was just outrageously fun; getting to drive around with your best mates and make music is something I could definitely get used to.

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You’ve very recently announced the name change. Was this a difficult transition considering you guys have been an established band for a number of years now?

Once the decision to change the name was finalised, it did take us a while to decide on the new name; in the end we only changed two letters! The amount of love and positive feed back we’ve received from friends, fans, family members and other people in the music industry has really blown us away beyond all expectations, and has really reaffirmed that we’re moving in the right direction. Change can be tricky and it’s still early days, but there has been nothing but positivity heading our way and we’re stoked with how everything has been travelling.

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You’re set to release your EP’ ‘Nowhere To Be’ on May 25th. Are you excited to finally release this body of work? Do you get nervous before a release?

For all of us, this EP represents a huge amount of effort and work and it’s terribly exciting to finally share it with everyone. It’s an awesome feeling to be able to transform years of work and playing into a tangible record that you can hold. The excitement definitely trumps any nerves; I feel only good things can come from the EP and I’m very keen to see where it can take us.

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What are the themes explored on ‘this EP? What can your fans expect from the new music?

I’m not sure whether ‘Nowhere To Be’ explores themes, per say. I think more so it’s a window into the minds of young guys beginning to understand the complexities of their own lives. The EP really grounds itself in the story of Cold Hands. With its reassurance of the safety of home, the rest of the EP is then free to explore new challenged like commitment, heart break, and friendship. For fans, expect the same old qwirky lines and catchy tunes that we love to make with stories that are a bit more dimensional and delicious.

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You guys have a bunch of shows coming up across June, July & August. Are there any you’re particularly gassed for?

On our last tour we played a huge show at the Landsowne in Sydney, which as a venue we’ve always cherished the opportunity to play at. Since we formed in Canberra, it’s been really exciting to see crowds and shows only getting bigger and bigger. We’ll also be playing our first show up in Byron Bay at the Brewery, which we are all really keen for; having the opportunity to play in front of a new crowd in a place that’s famous for its chilled out scene that attracts very talented artists.

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The Tipsy Scholars

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The international success of ‘Cold Hands’ has lead to touring the UK, including festivals in Ireland, Scotland as well as headline shows acrossEngland. How does it feel to be touring these locations?

When the idea of heading overseas was being floated amongst the band, it felt like a distant dream that would be amazing to actually achieve. It was only when we booked the first couple shows and then the flights did it really sink in. As a musician it definitely feels like a right of passage to play shows overseas. The fact that we were able to lock in some bigger festivals and shows makes it all the sweeter.

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What’s your favourite song that you have ever created? Do you think there is a clear fan favourite, and do you see any of the new songs taking over from this in the near future?

It’s always a tough question when asked to single out one song out of so many. I think in terms of really crafting a piece as a band unit the song that stands out is Andy Warhol. We took a lot of time to hammer out instrumentation and really thought about ways to build the song. In terms of fan favourites, we have a song called Drink Till We’re Not Standing which was one the first songs we played as a band and it still goes off. I reckon it’ll take something pretty astounding to kick that back into second place!

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What is something you would like to achieve career-wise? Your “ultimate goal” for the band?

Personally, I’ve always want to sell out Wembley Stadium… twice. Ultimate goal for the band is probably to make a living out of making our music or to release a line of fragrances. Both would be even better.

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Considering the massive role live music has on an artist’s career, especially of late. Do you take into consideration how you’re going to play your live show when recording?

There is definitely an element of thought that goes into focusing on how we’re going to replicate the sound on a recording and translate that on stage; but more so, as a band we often find it more difficult trying to bring the energy of our live show and put that into a physical recording.

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What one song would you recommend someone listen to if it was their first time listening to The Tipsy Scholars?

As the wisest movie nun of all time told us all: let’s start from the very beginning, it’s a very good place to start. Our first single ‘Looking Glass’ highlights a couple of things that are very Scholars: storytelling, fun, catchy tunes and chunky rhythms. From that point on, our more upbeat songs like Run From the Rampage feel just at home as our more thoughtful numbers like Calculated Note.

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‘Nowhere To Be’

Australian Tour 2018

Saturday 16th June – Festival Allsorts, Canberra
Friday 29th June – Moonshine, Sydney
Saturday 7th July – Bar 33, Melbourne
Friday 20th July – BMEC, Bathurst
Thursday 26th July – UniBar, Wollongong
Saturday 28th July – Polish Club, Canberra
Thursday 2nd August – Hamilton Station, Newcastle
Friday 3rd August – The Brewery, Byron Bay
Sunday 5th August – The Milk Factory, Brisbane
Thursday 9th August – The Lansdowne, Sydney
Friday 10th August – The Lass O’Gowrie, Newcastle

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‘Nowhere To Be’

UK  Tour 2018

Friday 17th August – Whelans, Dublin, Ireland
Friday 24th August – The Bowery, Dublin, Ireland
Friday 31st August – 1st Sept – Deeside Music Festival, Aberdeen, Scotland
Sunday 2nd September – Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, Scotland
Wednesday 5th September – The George Orwell, Dundee, Scotland
Saturday 8th September – The Luna, London, England
Friday 14th September – The Eagle Inn, Manchester, England
Saturday 15th September – The Spice of Life, London, England

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AMNPLIFY – DB