Love Parade Shake On The Mission Interview

Love Parade Shake On The Mission Interview

Love Parade started life surrounded by various Johns brothers in the seaside city of Newcastle but soon relocated to Sydney to chase fame and fortune – but mainly for their day jobs. They are fairly retro-minded, as evidenced by their albums being released on CDs, and their bios being printed on actual paper.

-Pretend' is the lead single from Love Parade's difficult second album, Shake On The Mission – out on May 30 - which was produced, engineered and encouraged by Jay Whalley (Frenzal Rhomb) at the Pet Food Factory in Sydney. It follows their 2013 debut album King Me, which received lashings of airplay across Triple J and community radio, and the EP A Strawberry Situation which was released through seminal label Half A Cow to rave reviews (and one bad one) in late 2010.

Love Parade have been compared to The Replacements, The Knack, The Sunnyboys, The Modern Lovers and a number of other bands who play sloppy pop music about feelings, cities, heartbreak, and all that kinda noise.

Interview with Nathan Jolly

Question: How would you describe your music?

Nathan Jolly: It's sloppy pop music about subject matter that would see us classified as an 'emo' band if we wore more eye-makeup, and palm-muted our guitars a bit more. You could say the same thing about Dusty Springfield, though - although she mastered the eye makeup.


Question: What can you tell us about Shake On The Mission?

Nathan Jolly: It was recorded with Jay Whalley from Frenzal in Alexandria over a handful of days, and mostly tracked live. We wanted an album that sounded like a band rather than a robot. Although some robots can sound nice. C3PO has a pleasing lilt.


Question: What was the main inspiration behind the track, Pretend?

Nathan Jolly: The level of duplicity necessary during certain stages of most relationships, which can be a drag. The more honestly you live, the easier you'll sleep at night - which sounds nice on a poster, but can be impossible to implement


Question: Did you have any pre-conceived ideas about the music industry?

Nathan Jolly: I assumed some people would be pretending to know what's going on, but it turns out most people are. Happily - or sadly depending on how you view things - I think this is a general theme in life, and not restricted to the music industry.


Question: Do you write your own songs? What's your inspiration?

Nathan Jolly: We do write our own songs, inspired by cities, seasons, beaches, friends, lovers, and television shows I happen to be watching at any given time.


Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Nathan Jolly: The Knack, The Replacements, Hanson, and Sheryl Crow's best of.


Question: What's next? Tour/Album/Single?

Nathan Jolly: The album just came out, as did the single - so next is a few shows up the East Coast, then death by consumption or rickets.


Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Nathan Jolly: We plan to quit music forever after these few shows. Seriously.

Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Nathan Jolly: Recordings are forever.


Question: What/who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Nathan Jolly: The television show 'Rage' and the relentless, inevitable march of the Saturday morning Top 50.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Nathan Jolly: Well, achieving said 'success'. Success for us was always about recording a body of work we could look back on one day and be proud of - with wide enough distribution that we would randomly find old copies in op shops for years to come.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Nathan Jolly: I wake before the sun because I am a zen master, then cross the harbour to the office, where I drink coffee, write about music, and eat hot chips. Evenings are spent hanging out with friends, or watching whatever soap opera I'm addicted to at that time. You can make anything sound rather pleasant, depending on how you word it.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?
Nathan Jolly: The community.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Nathan Jolly: Liz Phair


Question: What is the story behind the band's name?

Nathan Jolly: We went to university during the '60s and the vibes stuck. Those were different times.


Interview by Brooke Hunter