NEW YORK -- Since seeing Hello Stranger (fka Vagenius) open for Kings of Leon at Webster Hall in February of 2005, I have been fascinated. This band dramatically appeared into my music world unexpectedly and, since then, I have had a million questions. In search of answers during their residency at Pianos, I whittled my list down to a select few, and let the band do the talking.Hello Stranger is Juliette Commagere (vocals, keytar), Jared Smith (guitar), Joachim Cooder (drums), and Ben Messelbeck (bass).
A great deal has happened since you performed in New York with Kings of Leon, especially in relation to your full-length debut which was released in August. Talk about what the past year has been like for Hello Stranger.
Juliette: The past year, we kind of got dicked around by major labels, and then we decided, 'let's make our own record.' So then we went into the studio, and we started making our own full-length. We had known John Mastro, who heads Aeronaut, and we were talking to him about [our situation], and he said "you know what, I'll put your record out." Since then, it's been great to have a team of people who will help you and not bullshit you. So now, we're on tour in support of our record, and we're hoping to reach as many people as possible through touring, because that's the only power a band really has.
In relation to your interaction with the major labels, what occurs to me is they may have a hard time categorizing your sound into a specific genre. Your music seems to draw from 80's pop as much as it does from country music, and you have created a unique style. Was that an issue in your conversations with those labels?
Joachim: I think it's always an issue if a major label can't put you into a neat box...if you fall outside the realm of something that's big at the time. We dealt with people who became known for signing for certain kinds of music, like the guy who created Linkin Park. He was a great guy - really down for the music - but couldn't sell us to the higher-ups by saying "[Hello Stranger] is like so-and-so." You can't really say that [about us]. Maybe, in the interim, it hinders us from quickly doing something, but we have to think that, in the long run, we'll somehow prevail.
Jared (to the band): I remember when we met with one label, didn't they ask us who we wanted to go on-tour with?
Joachim: They asked us who we want to open for.
Jared: I remember wondering why he was asking us that. Does he want to know because he doesn't understand what the hell we're doing?
Juliette: He was asking, "So, what are you guys? Is this rock direction? Is that where you guys are going?" This was an A&R guy at a major label and I said, "I don't know, it's just another song we're doing. We're not really thinking about it like that." And, I felt like that confused him, and was another reason he couldn't put the papers in front of us and give us a deal. All we are is a mix of all these different influences. I don't sit around and listen to Madonna or Bananarama. People are tagging us as 80's music, but we just are what we are. We didn't sit around and decide to become an 80's revival band. It is what it is. I can play a keyboard... so, I do.
Speaking of your influences, that was one of my first questions when I heard your music. Since you do have such a unique sound, what kinds of music or other art have influenced you?
Juliette: I'm really influenced by Joni Mitchell, which is just nowhere in our music. And jazz like Chet Baker and Billie Holiday. Steve Earl is a big influence for all of us. Also, I'm really influenced by a lot of 60's cinema like Belle De Jour and Barbarella...The aesthetic of David Bowie and the aesthetic of Joan Jett, and the Plasmatics are all big things for me.
Jared: There are just so many. I don't think it's specific to anybody. If it's good, it's good, and if it's inspiring, it's inspiring. Whether it's country music, rap, rock 'n roll..all of it, there is something so genuine and awesome about all of it. I agree with a lot of [Juliette's] influences, but then I have my own, [Joachim] has his own, and [Ben] has his own. But we all share a love for genuity...something from the heart, that isn't created just for the point of selling records.
Continuing with that genuine nature, I'd like to ask about Hello Stranger's identity. In addition to the stage, another way your identity is conveyed is through your photos and cover art, which are highly original and unconventional. Talk about the inspiration for that art as it relates to the band's identity.Juliette: I hate taking band photos. It's just a nightmare. You're sitting there trying to look cool, trying to look real. When we took those crazy photos, I just liked more of the idea of trying to create some art, or something weird, something different. And I mentioned Barbarella - that was the original inspiration for those pictures, and it sort of turned into Barbarella meets Lord of the Rings meets Xena: Warrior Princess. But, it was just to have fun with it, because you can. For the cover art, our friend painted that picture, and we sort of let her do what she wanted.... Lately I've been looking at old Yes covers, and really loving that. [Our cover] is full of fantasy with the raven and the wolves, and that's what I love about it.
From an outsider's perspective, here in New York we hear a lot about what's going on in Silver Lake at venues like Spaceland. How would you describe the scene there, and what do you think makes it so special, particularly how it has contributed to bands breaking?
Juliette: I see it sort of as what happened in Brooklyn a while ago. I love what's going on there. It's very competitive and it's really hard to get noticed because there are so many bands. But creativity is a great thing, and I try to think of it that way.
So is it the competition that has made it such a great environment, or are there other factors as well?
Jared: Spaceland started doing this free Monday thing, a residency. Bands play, it's free, and it's always packed. It's in the heart of Silver Lake, and I think that's been very influential on that area and that scene. Even if you're not playing there, you go there, and you see everybody from every band is there. Everybody is there. It's crazy. The booker there is genius...she did it. If you can get that residency, which we got about a year and a half ago -- which might've been too soon for us because we weren't ready to make the most out of it -- I think everyone there is trying to get that. I think it's one of the most influential gigs you can get there if you're not Phantom Planet or another band selling a lot of records. To be an indie band trying to make it, if you can get that gig, it can mean the world. So, I think that's where it started. It was also an affordable area to live. If you look back at San Francisco and the Haight-Ashbury thing, that's why [bands] moved there...because it was affordable. But [Silver Lake] isn't affordable anymore.
You mentioned you didn't feel ready for the Spaceland residency. How do you feel now?
Jared: I feel better. I feel like I know to trust my instinct now versus having that guessing game. We spent all this time questioning "What does this guy want" or "What does that guy want?", and nothing ended up happening. A year goes by and you finally say "We'll do it on our own."
Juliette: Now, I feel ready for anything. I feel like you could thow all the major label A&R guys, the publicists, everybody at us, and I could take them on at a huge stadium show. I just feel so ready. Bring 'em on!
You have two gigs booked during the upcoming CMJ festival, which can often prove to be a great opportunity for emerging bands. What are your expectations?
Jared: Just to go out and have a good show.
Juliette: CMJ can be such a great party. This year, I just want to play a good show, and go to some great parties. In the beginning, our first time playing CMJ, we had a lot of expectations...we thought "we're gonna get an agent." We didn't know what we were doing.
One of your CMJ gigs, at The Cutting Room, is presented by The Viper Room. Can you talk about that connection?
Jared: They were the first people...they gave us a Tuesday night residency like four months into it.
Juliette: We just have a great relationship with them, which is nice to have. I feel like they get it, and they support us.
Switching topics, many bands now are benefitting from being featured on television shows like Grey's Anatomy and the OC. If you could choose, what would be the perfect television show for Hello Stranger's music?
Jared & Juliette: LOST! Definitely, LOST.
Joachim: Part of me wants to say something funny. There are so many shows that I like, that wouldn't work... like Murder She Wrote, which I grew up watching. But obviously we wouldn't play on Murder She Wrote. ... (To the band)What did you guys already say?
Juliette (to Joachim): What's our favorite show?
Joachim: You mean LOST?
Juliette: Of course!
Joachim: Yeah but no band's music is on LOST. When has there ever been a band on LOST?
Juliette: If we played during the credits on The Sopranos, I would cry.
Joachim: The Sopranos uses music amazingly. Ok, I love LOST, but I couldn't say that because our music wouldn't be right on LOST. Sopranos would be rad.
Jared: Project Runway would be good.
Since this interview is for a blog, what do you think blogging culture has meant to the music industry?
Juliette: I have a blog - it's on MySpace. I've been enjoying writing it, and I think right now it's an amazing time. It's funny that you bring up TV shows because, since no one is selling any records, that's how bands are making money. With blogs and the internet, it's like power to the people. You can do whatever you want, and you can reach anybody now. Record companies are scrambling around trying to figure out how to compete with it, and teenagers are creating websites like MySpace. It's a whole new medium of writing, too. You don't have to write a novel to get it published, you can write a blog and get a million followers. I love it.
Joachim: At first, I was sort of torn. Because, when we were young, if a band's picture wasn't on the record or CD cover, you wouldn't really know what they looked like. So there was a lot of mystery before the internet. And I think that was really cool but, on the flip side, maybe our world today has less room for that. Maybe now you have to go for it more.
Juliette: Yeah, at first I was thinking how I wanted to retain some sort of mystery. But then, I realized, fuck mystery, it's all about voyeurism. Everybody wants to look into your life, and it's all about how you create it and set it up. It's like reality television.
Joachim: One of the examples is Mazzy Starr. Mazzy Starr is a band we liked, but I remember thinking, "is Mazzy Starr a person?" and then finding out it was a girl named something-something. But there was never a picture of her, and you couldn't Google her because that didn't exist. So, unless you were able to see one of her shows in your hometown, you had no idea what the singer of Mazzy Starr looked like. And part of me is sad, to a certain extent, that we're not coming up in a world like that because that's the kind of stuff that we used to love. But it's just a different era, and you just have to embrace your era.
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Hello Stranger CMJ Shows:
Nov. 1 - Pianos @ 8pm (w/ Girl Talk, Figurines, and more)
Nov. 2 - The Cutting Room @ 11pm (w/ Nous Non Plus)
Hello Stranger Official Website
Hello Stranger on MySpace
