Fabian Jack
Interview conducted on November 30, 2019
by Dan Locke
Fabian Jack are a Rock band from London. Their sound echoes from a rich past, mixing new wave, disco, dance, dub and a heavy dose of eighties pop. Think The 1975 married to Queens of the Stone Age, having a fling with Vampire weekend and you can start to build a picture of a band bursting with energy, catchy tunes and a commanding stage presence. This band love performing. It’s a completely live set, so they can engage with their audience and gigs can often veer off course at any given moment. Expect the unexpected, and get ready to join the party.
Band Members
Beni Pri
JP Robinson
Chris Longhurst
Piera Pri
John Davies
Dan Locke: Why did you pick Fabian Jack as the bands’ name?
Fabian Jack: We had a few drinking sessions and came up with a couple of names, but nothing really stuck.
During a writing session, Beni bought a few of his old lyric books to the studio for inspiration. (Not that we got any from a 13-year-olds first attempt at poetry!) Fabian Jack was written all over the covers of his books. When asked why Beni told the story of a character he had created when he was 13. He was being bullied at the time and Fabian Jack and writing music offered an escape, a chance to be somewhere/someone else. Fabian Jack is a kind of Band-Superhero-Freak that we all aspire to.
You said in your bio your sound is “Think The 1975 married to Queens of the Stone Age, having a fling with Vampire Weekend. What type period are you talking about Queens of the Stone Age?
Before the 2008 died of Natasha Shneider the keyboard player. The current period with Billy Gibbons contributing to the new Queens of the Stone Age album.
After the breakup of Kyuss.
Or the third album “Songs for the Deaf” which had Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters and members of A Perfect Circle.
Natasha was an incredibly talented musician on keys as well as vocals, we do miss her performing live with Queens. As stated there are many different periods of QOTSA and we appreciate the comment. They have a constantly shifting style and don’t necessarily lock on to one particular sound and use a lot of freedom to guide their journey from an idea. As a band, our songs tend to follow a similar trend. We like our songs to sound distinguishable from one another and take on their own personality. As we release more songs, maybe you’ll get the chance to appreciate that. The music industry seems so concerned to find an identity/brand/sound. It kind of takes all the fun out of it. We don’t want every song to sound the same. We just want to write good ones!
If we were to pick a moment in QOTSA’s history we will go for ‘lullabies to paralyze’, but the melodies and structures of “like Clockwork” and “Villians” provide groove and aggression, and have a heavy influence on our guitarists, JP and Chris. Did you know Elton John played on Like Clockwork? Nuts.
The band is based out of London. What is the live music scene like there?
To be honest, the live music scene isn’t what it used to be. There’s a lot of venues closing down, but there are still pockets of live music lovers out there! This means we can play to a sell-out crowd one week and then the next to be playing to one man and his dog. We’d make sure we gave them a show and get them involved somehow… ….maybe singing with us up on stage whilst playing fetch perhaps. We’d work it out. We love a gig.
What were your musical up bring?
Beni and Piera both started with recorder lessons at 4, piano/violin/cello lessons at 7, then flute & guitar followed. It’s like their parents didn’t give them a choice.
Since Beni and Piera are family, I am going to ask you about some other musical families. I would like you to make a statement about each if you can. Sorry no, Ozzy. (Ozzy and Kelly).
Jackson 5 – rather fabulous attire. We could do with a few more sequins…
The Cowstills – who?
The Corrs – Who’s that guy lurking in the background with a guitar?
The Carpenters –
Killing singing and all from the drummer!The Bee Gees – ha ha ha ha (staying alive). Who doesn’t love a falsetto Bee Gee singalong?
The Bangles – life is hard you know, so strike a pose on a . True.
The Beach Boys – vibrations, excitations, Yes! Yes! Yes! Great band
Kings of Leon – They were on fire not too long ago. Not sure how they are in bed.
Oasis
At least we still like each other, Sunshiiiine!Hanson
Those haircuts made you wanna mmmbop!
How did the band form?
Beni and Jp lived together, worked together and gigged together. I can’t remember which happened first! But the bond is deep and probably the nucleus of the band. Jp was on bass and Beni was on guitar in a band where they met John (on the drums).
They started another project, but this time Beni was playing cello and Jp was on guitar. They worked at a bar together with Chris who they invited to the new band on bass. A keyboardist was needed so along came Beni’s sister Piera. Eventually, both projects failed and from the ashes of both bands rose Fabian Jack.
Tell me about your first gig together?
We played the Crowndale in Camden (formerly the Purple turtle). We had a really good turnout and people traveled from out of town to come and see what we were up to since we all joined forces. We played a tight set, but it had been a while since we’d played live so we were a little stiff.
What is the biggest show you have played so far?
We’ve played to some large crowds and some festivals that have been alright, but we had a giant crowd come to watch us on a harbor in Folkestone. The response and crowd interaction was great. It was nice to mingle with everyone having a good time on the sun. We didn’t have to buy one drink! Such lovely people!
Tell me about your new record (video) Purpose? It gets released today right?
It got released on the 25th of November.
How did you block off the streets during the recording of the video?
Up at 4, we filmed at 5 am! We planned and mapped out how we wanted to make the video. We knew we wanted certain locations in Central London, but the only way to achieve this without the obstruction of tourists is an early start. We got lucky!
For the dance with Piera, you should have gone to Buckingham Palace and danced with the guards.
Any comment about Prince Andrew alleged groping at Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion.
Beni was actually being knighted outside Buckingham Palace if you hadn’t noticed. The guards were off on their staff do at Pizza Express so there was no chance of a dance.
Any plans for touring this upcoming year?
Releasing more and more songs. We’re back writing and recording again so there’ll be more tunes along the way to headbang your skull happy.
How do you see your band in five years?
Sitting on a beach earning 20%
Anything you like to say in closing?
Be excellent to each other and party on dudes
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