Acting Their Age

Bluejuice are all grown up. Not that you’d necessarily be able to tell on first glance.

There are still the whacky press shots and outrageous video promos – ‘Act Yr Age’ anybody? – but chatting to the group’s frontman, Jake Stone, you come to realise that there’s been a fundamental change in attitude from the Sydney five-piece. Stone is hardly stressing over popular reception to the band’s latest album, ‘Company’. “We learned last time that at best it’s mildly disappointing to study every avenue of an album release,” he says. “You spend all that time on it; you’ve got to be happy with the thing itself.

“We know what the markers of this type of band’s success are. If we didn’t get on any summer festival bills, that would have been shithouse. If we didn’t get our first single to get any Triple J radio play at all, that would have been shithouse. But we don’t do too badly, so we don’t need to worry about it too much.”

Stone is more concerned with the critical reception. He describes how the band put a massive effort into songwriting and arrangements this time around. “It got four stars in Sydney Morning Herald’s Spectrum. I can pack up all my expectations there. And that’s what I wanted as well, for this album it had to just get one or two bits of critical success that we hadn’t received before. It’s got great songs on it, this record. I worked my arse off for about nine months to make sure it did have some good songs on it.”

And Stone is set to continue working his arse off, as Bluejuice hit the road for a regional tour throughout January. “I like touring and I like working. It’s best to be at work. Idle hands are the devil’s playground, as the adage goes,” Stone laughs. “Everyone’s so keen to get out of this country or make a career in the cities that they forget there are these regional audiences who are really into music and starved for it. If you just go there, they will come. The crowds have always been really receptive and there’s been a good vibe. It should be great.”

BLUEJUICE PLAY COOLANGATTA HOTEL JAN. 8, KINGS BEACH TAVERN JAN. 9 AND GREAT NORTHERN JAN. 10. THE BAND ALSO PLAY THE BIG DAY OUT, GOLD COAST PARKLANDS, JANUARY 22.