Spinalonga Monster: Tell us a few introductory
things about the band...
Jane Doe
: Jane Doe has dwelled in our heads
(consciously or unconsciously) for many years now. It
is a refuge we have always looked for to preserve our
desire for creation, our obsessions and our illusion of
grandeur. It’s only during the last two years that the
pieces of the puzzle have come together and even though
there were vast setbacks on our path, we’re here now,
five people who have chosen music to communicate with
the rest of the world.
Spinalonga Monster:
How would you characterize your
music and to what extent does it
represent you?
Jane Doe : Being
listeners first and foremost we’ve stopped setting
labels on whatever reaches our ears. Thus we couldn’t
categorize our music. Inside out minds there’s a huge
distillery that draws upon everything we live through,
mixes it all up and produces a result that does indeed
remind us of something but never something quite
specific. Maybe it’s Jane Doe that it reminds us of.
I’m not sure each one of us finds himself represented in
every lyric or note we write but I know that when we
step back and let Jane Doe sing, she wouldn’t like to
sing anything else.
Spinalonga Monster: Tell us a few words about your
influences (individually).
Jane Doe : When
you listen to music your whole life anything can turn
into an influence. Let’s say that the people that
created the album were listening to Dylan, Cash, Sigur
Ros, Ramones, Mike Patton, Radiohead, Beatles and a few
hundred others during that time.
Spinalonga Monster:
You‘re about to release your first length
album "Heaven for Dogs", by Run Devil Run
Records. What are your thoughts on that, taken that is
difficult to complete such a task, point out the
problems (recording, production, design etc)…
Jane Doe : The studio work was essentially
completed by three people (Moss, Nicky and Theo Doe).
The lot that people see in our gigs lately wasn’t there
yet and so the recordings were a sort of deviation from
the classic formula that we shared in our heads till
then. It was difficult, it was time-consuming,
sometimes making us hang for days before moving onward,
it was disappointing at times, causing us to race to the
studio during the weirdest hours to lay down a track or
two and then leave… But there was beauty to it.
Seeing songs coming together,
ideas forming out of the blue then, lo and behold, parts
that were missing to end a track ideally, things like
that. I hesitate to admit there are many things out
there that can compare to the creation of something out
of nothing, from absolute zero to something you can be
proud of.
Spinalonga Monster:
How come you thought
you‘ll release the album online, before its official
release in cd?
Jane Doe :
There is always music that
will be trapped inside a CD and will never reach the
ears of the majority of listeners out there. We didn’t
want something like this to happen. It makes no big
difference whether our music is good or not. What’s
important is that anyone that wants to listen to it will
be able to acquire it without cost and listen to it. We
could do it and we did it. It’s not something
revolutionary or original. I wish we could hand out the
CD for free but that did cost a lot and eventually it’s
the alternative choice for someone that wants to view
our figurative take on the tracks. We’re trying to
maintain a minimal cost there also.
Spinalonga Monster:
Well, what are your thoughts on the
record?
Jane Doe : It’s
our belief that considering our capabilities we’re
releasing an album that we ourselves would pleasantly
listen to. It contains all of our potential, our
frustration, our hope, our rage and every emotion that
accompanies us in everything we daily do.
On a personal note, when I think that
we managed to imprint all the above onto the album’s
music, it makes it very valuable to us. For the rest of
the world we’ll just have to wait and see.
Spinalonga Monster:
How do you think the band will benefit
from this release and what are your future plans
concerning the band?
Jane Doe : First
of all, this album is the main reason the band was
formed. This in itself is important. I believe the
whole situation has made us wiser. We can simply live a
lot of the things we dreamt of when we were young and
some that we would never consider possible. You can’t
beat that. As far as our future plans are concerned, I
suppose we fall in with the rest of the groups out there
as in gigs, new material and the ability to continue to
enjoy this situation and have fun along the way.
Spinalonga Monster:
Even though you‘re relatively young band,
your live shows gaining momentum. What was your best
show in your opinion?
Jane Doe : We haven’t really done a lot of shows
but each one was special in its own way. We view every
show as if it’s our first one. There’s always the same
anticipation, the same enthusiasm and I guess that’s
evident when we’re on stage. As much as it’s overused,
I believe the expression “we’re just being true” fits
well here. Carrying a lot of weaknesses, but we’re
being true.
Anyway, the show that probably taught
us the most was the one in Athens. It brought us back
to reality and made us face our defects. Indifferent
crowd, bad sound, we kind of blamed everything and
failed to enjoy even a little of the show. Still, there
are bound to be many such moments, right?
Spinalonga Monster : Do you find
any difference between the underground in Thessaloniki
and Athens?
Jane Doe
:
Yes, to my
ears at least. In Athens the weight falls on loudness,
there’s an ominous expression of rage within the music
and a powerful vibe that goes with that. In
Thessaloniki more attention is given to melody, more
often than not there’s a search for frequency, a
tendency for cleanness in the sounds. There’s
definitely nothing wrong with either approach, they’re
both two different roads to the same sea. Still I can
only post my own opinion.
Spinalonga Monster: What’s
your opinion on the Greek “underground” rock scene, do
you feel part of it?
Jane Doe : I’m not
sure if it’s a “rock” scene but I can tell something is
stirring and very intensely at that. Many of the groups
I listen to are greek and the only reason for that is
that they make absolutely beautiful songs. It doesn’t
matter if it’s in greek or any foreign language, only if
it’s interesting. I don’t really like using the term
underground. It feels like being unjust to what is
taking place. Music shouldn’t be placed behind such
terms. Besides, the line that separates mainstream and
underground shifts very easily and is not always
distinguishable, while the one that separates good and
bad music is definitely clearer. Do we feel part of
it? Maybe we’re but a pore on a living body.
Spinalonga Monster:
Do you have any favorites amongst the
Greek underground groups?
Jane Doe : Yes I
do, quite a few. I will specifically mention Boomstate,
Prefabricated Quartet, Infidelity, Scab Level, Night on
Earth, Coin, Modrec, Bad Mathematics and many bands
consisting of very young individuals that impress with
the maturity they display in their music (Fall in Parts,
22 Puppies and others).
Spinalonga Monster: In your opinion, what does it
take for the greek rock scene to be strong?
Jane Doe :
The
scene is strong. There is creation going on and that’s
the most important thing. Once upon a time there was
neither the desire nor the means to get involved with
whatever orbits the subject of music. Things are easier
now. You can distribute your music easier now, you can
perform in stages and places that just weren’t there a
few years back (even though that department is open for
many improvements yet), you can even record at home.
All that remains for the bands to do is come up with
good music. One could constantly nag about what doesn’t
happen. I prefer to smile at whatever new is born each
day.
Spinalonga Monster: Do you have strong political
views of the world today, and why.
Jane Doe :
Someone that has
read our lyrics can understand whether or not we harbour
political views. For someone that lives in his or her
times, young or old, and avoids delving into that
parallel world that is created by television and media,
feeling unrest is unavoidable. To be ready to get their
hands dirty, to shout and demand things. You see,
ourselves have always been the problem.
Do we resist? Can we handle it?
Do we get bored,
afraid?
Do we sell out?
Many times I feel like my real self
is dead and I spend my days carrying a corpse inside me,
waiting for my biological death to come. We wake up,
eat, work, we have fun and sleep. I feel happy whenever
I break this routine, adding more verbs to this chain
like: we talk, we sing, we read, communicate, assist,
and evolve.
Spinalonga Monster: Why are
all members called Doe? Are you family?
Jane Doe : We are
all Jane Doe’s children. We couldn’t have different
last names. Sometimes I don’t even want to remember my
real last name. Sometimes it happens.
