Defined by subversive lyricism and meaty riffs, chaotic quintet San Jose share their thoughts on writing influences and upcoming shows.
The immediate difference in character presented on the band’s third single ‘Self Help’, released in April, showcases their intentions of making a name for themselves within the evergrowing blend of punk and garage rock that Glaswegians have come to appreciate. Here, the boys mention the diverse range of musical tastes that formed Self Help:
“Influence wise, it was a real cocktail. We had been messing around with sort of dancey-punk blend stuff, and Robbie started playing around with a pop like bassline that was similar to Happy by Pharrell Williams and we ended up just going along with it and made it the main riff of the track. Roan was listening to a lot of Black Midi and Japanese jazz fusion drumming and Charlie and Cean a lot of Talking heads, Madness and The Cure, which influenced the almost wonky chorus with off-beat lead guitar and big moody guitar strums. Calum was deep in a Frank Zappa pit, so lyrically was very inspired by him, Zappa’s absurdism and use of satire inspired Calum and made it easier to rip the piss out of self help figures. The combination of all the influences made getting a trumpeter in a no brainer, Madness, Zappa and Black Midi all loving a bit of brass. So we were lucky enough to get Adam Milne from Push Bar in to do it.“
Produced by Blair Crichton of Dead Pony, San Jose comment on the impact of teaming up with the acclaimed rock producer:
“When we were thinking about releasing the third tune at the start of the year, we had decided that we wanted to make it stand out from the previous singles, ‘Binoculars’ and ‘W.IN.J’. As we hadn’t recorded in Glasgow itself yet, we decided that we would make the journey to record with Blair from ‘Dead Pony’. So we packed into the back of the x76 from Kilmarnock with our gear and ventured to his studio. The full process of recording was still new to us and Blair helped to make us comfortable and helped us release an amazing single that definitely helps to reflect our journey so far.“
In their short time together, word of mayhem erupting at their shows led Glaswegian heroes Gallus to give San Jose the call up for a support slot at their SWG3 headline show back in March. Recently, the five-piece took to the stage at King Tut’s alongside Wine Moms as part of the Summer Nights campaign hosted by DF Concerts. The disorderly group comment on their experience at this show, finding pleasure in the simple things like discovering the distinctively ‘sticky’ floor inside the renowned venue on St Vincent Street.
“We were lucky enough to be offered one of the the best line ups of the whole ‘festival’, so going into it we knew the pressure was on to preform and not seem out of place from the other 3 amazing bands. Thankfully it was one of the first shows we’ve ever walked away chuffed at our performance, despite getting a wee slap on the wrist by the Tuts representative for having a microphone, a guitar, a man in a bear costume in the most pit all at once. It’s always nice to be rolling about the floor half naked in various hats though, and they tend to be the only bits we actually remember however the tuts floor has an exceptional sticky quality, something that the hairs that were once on Calum’s back will treasure forever.“
This coming Friday (25th August) marks an inevitable night to remember for San Jose, with a headline show at Audio. The gig will also be their first since joining forces with their recently acquired management team, The Scottish Music Collective. With support from Push Bar and The Runaway Models, a £100 bar tab has been set aside for the attending crowd on the night. When asked what audiences can expect to see from San Jose at Audio on Friday, the group perfectly responded with:
“Accordions, Auctions, Brass, Bear Costumes, Coleslaw, Shawn Michaels, 4 bands, sweaty bodies, songs about cult leaders, songs about visual magnification equipment and more than 100 quids worth of free booze behind the bar for over 18’s to use. We hope the afterparty at Sleazys’ is much the same with even less clothes.”
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