A Dirty Dozen with JORDAN MILLER from THE BEACHES – September 2019

According to a recent press release: “Juno Award-winning rock band The Beaches have added headline dates and festival appearances to their upcoming US tour supporting U.K. rock groupFrank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. The girl-next-door garage rock group (who count Sir Elton John, The Rolling Stones and The Foo Fighters among their fans) will make their first stop Sept. 15 at Riot Fest in Chicago. The band has spent the last few years blowing away audiences across North America and the U.K. including dates with Passion Pit and The Rolling Stones. With the release of their latest The Professional EP, The Beaches are pumped to bring their edgy, infectious sound to the U.S. once again.” We get Jordan to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

We’re so proud of The Professional EP. Other than, “Lame,” which is a gem we’ve had in our pockets for a few years now, all of the songs were written in the last 10 months. I think these songs show how we’ve evolved as people and as songwriters since we put out Late Show. The songs are exciting and fun and more experimental. We love them all so much; my personal favourite is probably “Want What You Got.”

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

We all found music when we were pretty young. Eliza’s father is a musician and taught her how to play a few instruments. Kylie and I have been singing and writing together since we were six and seven years old (I wanted to be just like Sheryl Crow). Leandra is the only one of us who is classically trained, she learned piano when she was a kid so she could play Avril Lavigne songs.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer or live show that guided your musical taste?

We all listened to what our parents played in the house. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin – a lot of 70’s rock music. I think you can hear those influences in our music.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

The Rolling Stones, The Strokes, The Pretenders, Blondie and David Bowie.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, whom would it be, and why?

I think it would be really cool to write a song or record a song with Josh Homme. He’s such a talent, and has worked on some of the best rock music of the last decade.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I’ve heard a lot of people compare us to The Strokes before, which is a really nice compliment. Sometimes people will be lazy though and compare us to other girl bands that I don’t think we sound anything like – we get HAIM, Elastica and The Runaways a lot. While I love and respect all of those projects, I don’t really hear any musical connections to our group. I just think it’s lazy to say that all female groups sound the same.

7. When the band is all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a sing-a-long?

Easy. Kylie cooks. Eliza and I are the first into the drinks. Leandra’s the one who starts the sing-a-long; sometimes the rest of us will join her.

8. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

We met Neil Young a few years ago at the airport after we had both played a festival together. That was pretty amazing to meet such an important musician/Canadian hero.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

There are so many awesome things about doing what we do. Traveling to new places, the thrill of performing, and the catharsis of writing about your experiences. The best part is being able to share it all with your best friends. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t do this, maybe I’d go to school.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what questions are you tired of answering?

Question I’d like to be asked is, who is the most fun in the band? The answer is me, obviously. The question I’d wish they’d stop asking: What’s it like to be in a girl band? The answer is always the same, I don’t know; I’m not a boy and I don’t play music with boys so I couldn’t tell you the difference.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

No. Regrets are silly. Every experience you go through good or bad lead you to where you are today. And I’m happy with where we are, and I’m happy about where we are going.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass was one of the first records that I fell in love with. It sounds so gorgeous and free and fun. George is experimenting with all these new sounds, and combining all of his favourite genres of music – blues, rock, and music from the east. It’s such a pure thing to make music just for you. I guess in this theoretical situation you’ve proposed I would have liked to see what the vibe was like in the studio when they were putting it all together.

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Category: Interviews