Interview with Chad Alan from The Juliana Theory

Germany . Cologne . Underground . 28/01/06. Interviewer: Arndt Jansen

The Juliana Theory - This Is a Love Song for the Loveless

Punk76: This is your last show today here in Germany. Make a summary: What did you expected from this European Tour?

Chad: Okay, I guess I expected … to have a good time over here. You know, of course I didn’t expected so many kids to come out because this was our first European Tour. I think overall there were 200-500 Kids sometimes, so this was really good. We had a good time.

Punk76: "The Juliana Theory". Where does the name come from? What is the Juliana Theory in fact?

Chad: We made it up a long time ago, and … it’s the name of our band. So that’s it.

Punk76: Is there no sense behind it?

Chad: No, there’s not much sense behind it, it’s just the name of our band.

Punk76: In which way has the band changed, when you compare the first album to the new release?

Chad: Well, you know, I guess every record that we made we tried to do a little bit different. From the first record or the second. The first record was made in eleven days, by the second record we had two month to make an album, this record is even longer. We recorded the new album in a few weeks actually. By the last two records we made some music in the studio, maybe they’re a little more experimenting. By the new one, we had the songs and we just recorded them.

Punk76: So, do you think the new album [Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat] is the best one so far?

Chad: I don’t know! It’s definitely one of my favourites, but i don’t have an opinion which one is the best. Every band says that their new album is the best, but I don’t know if I could really say that it is the best. I like it a lot, you know, I like all our records or parts of them a lot. There are always a few songs on every record that I think are shit. Not that they are shitty songs, but that they don’t turn up the right way. There’s a lot of that kind of tunes on “Emotion is dead”, there are many songs on, that I don’t like so much.

Punk76: What’s your favourite song on the new album?

Chad: I like “Shotgun Senerade” a lot and … “Lovesong for the Loveless”.

Punk76: Which bands influenced The Juliana Theory over the years?

Chad: That are quite a few. We have been always influenced by several bands, a lot from, bands like Radiohead, with those three guitars, we really liked that. I mean the earlier sound of them, the Rock’n’Roll Radiohead. Let me count some others: Smashing Pumpkins and even Queens of the Stone Age are very cool too. They’re one of my favourite bands still. And we had another big influence … but i can’t remember what it is. (laughs)

Punk76: Did your new label [Abacus Recordings] changed the music in some ways?

Chad: No, we never had any label-influences on our music or sound. A lot of people think that, but we always just did what we wanted to.

Punk76: Is The Juliana Theory a band, where the singer is responsible for everthing? Like writing songs or deciding things, or is it democratic?

Chad: It’s very democratic as far as creativity in songwriting. Brett is really in the production of records. He really likes it, but for me I really hate it. I hate spending 15 hours in a studio, I like to give my shit done and leave it up to him and he enjoys it. But as far as creatiting music and writing lyrics we all sit together.

Punk76: On promo-photos, and I can see it now as well, you’re always wearing black. Why? I mean, is there a special meaning?

Chad: Black is the colour of Rock’n’Roll, you know. All the Greats’ from The Beatles to Johnny Cash. It’s a good look, it feels good. It’s like, whenever you wake up in the morning … I mean, when you are a business man you wake up in your pyjamas, take a shower, shave, put on your suit and when I wake up in my bus, or wherever, I have a jeans on and a t-shirt and I take my shower, put my jacket on and my slacks and then .. oh my God, I’m in a band. You know, on stage you become a different person, it sounds silly. I think Pete Townsend said it best. He said, that if anybody would come on stage, while he was performing, he might have killed him.

Punk76: What are you going to do in the future? Do you have any plans? Or where do you think you are in ten years?

Chad: In ten years? Well, I’m so tired to get home and worry about tonight, so I can’t think that down. I have no idea.

Punk76: Do you like the Tour-Life?

Chad: There’s a lot of it I like and there’s a lot of it I don’t like. Well, you want to go home, because you miss your familiy, that makes it hard. But in ten years, I don’t know what we are going to do then.

Punk76: What about the early future?

Chad: We have some more dates in the UK and Japan. After that we maybe going to support larger bands. We have no break right now.

Punk76: This is your first Tour as a Headliner, here in Europe. Do you think that it would change your popularity here?

Chad: I don’t know… well, I can’t say. We’ve never really been a big band. We’ve been always underground…

Punk76: And.. you play at the Underground tonight [name of the venue]…(everyone laughs)

Chad: Yeah, that fits just fine.

Punk76: Please complete in three different ways: People should not buy the new album if …

Chad: Oh cool question .. hmm, when they really like bands like Hawthorne Heights and that kind of shit, they should not buy our record. If they’re into like a lot of shitty screaming and no structures to their songs and ... shit music, they should not buy our record. Or if they like Hip-Hop.. (laughs again) I don’t think we’ve ever really been a scene-band. For example the “Emo-Scene” or whatever the fuck it is, it’s like in the 80s, the American Hair-Bands. They all sound the same in general, it’s like beeing back in the 80's when I was a little kid. Some of the shit that is out right now, it makes me wanna vomit.

Punk76: Which bands?

Chad: .. No, I don’t wanna say....

Punk76: Ok, a last word?

Chad: Enjoy the show!

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