The Hotseat – Jake McMinn of Fourteen Nights At Sea
on June 23rd, 2013A short while ago Fourteen Nights At Sea released their new album ‘Great North‘ via Hobbledehoy Records. The vinyl version is now just around the corner for those who have been waiting, expected to be available in August. The band has kept busy live, over the weekend playing at Dark Mofo in Tasmania, and Perth up next in July. Jake from the band took the time to answer our Hotseat questions recently. Expand this post to check out his answers and check out the new album if you are yet to do so. Keep an eye on their page [Here] for more updates.
THE BASICS
Name : Jake McMinn
Band : Fourteen Nights At Sea
Job In Band : Guitar
Website Address : fourteennightsatsea.com hobbledehoyrecords.com
HOME
Hometown : Melbourne
Hometown is best known for : Music and footy
Best venue in your hometown : The Old Bar. It feels like home to us.
Favourite show you’ve seen in your hometown : Difficult question. Seeing Mono at the Forum with an orchestra was pretty special.
Favourite show you’ve played in your hometown : Supporting This Will Destroy You at the Northcote Social Club.
THE BAND
How did the band first come to exist? Started as a solo project, slowly adding members. The five of us have been in the band for around three years now. We started off as noisy band with vocals, which has changed quite a lot.
How long has the band been going? Since 2006. There’s been additions to the line-up and changes in direction, but Fourteen Nights At Sea as an entity began around 2006.
Any particular story behind the name? It was a working title for the first song I wrote, and I ended up adopting this as a name for the band when it was a solo project. It isn’t really referring to anything in particular. To me, the name conveys a sense of space, isolation and time. That’s just me though.
What’s your most recent release? Tell us a little about it… We have recently released our new record “Great North” through Hobbledehoy Records. It was recorded by Neil Thomason at Head Gap and we’re really proud of the result. It’s currently out in CD and digital formats, with vinyl to be released soon.
Got a personal stand out achievement of your band to date? Signing to Hobbledehoy Records was a big achievement for us. Hobbledehoy has a great group of bands/artists on the roster and they’re in it for the love of music. Since signing to Hobbledehoy at the end of 2012, a number of opportunities have opened up to us as a band. It marks a real positive turning point in the life of the band.
OFF THE STAGE
What was your first introduction to music that made you think seriously about playing it? I was into music in big way as a kid, but primarily metal. When I was 15, my brother snuck me into a Something For Kate gig at the Cellar (Criterion Hotel) in Warrnambool. This changed my perception of how bands can connect to an audience. It was just before Elsewhere For Eight Minutes came out and this gig left a huge impression on me. From this point I started getting into a lot of Australian music, and also started to look at music differently.
Any particular band / album or song that you personally credit as a major influence? When I was around 15 or 16, my brother started listening to a lot of Australian music such as Something For Kate, Bluebottle Kiss, 2 Litre Dolby, Sandpit etc. I picked up on these new bands and the this changed the way I listened to music. El Caballo Rojo by 2 Litre Dolby opened my mind to the sense of space and tempo in music.
Your first band name, and what style did you play? Paranoid. Metal. Yep.
Most prized music related item you own? When I released my solo album (Lakes of Russia), my wife gave me a framed/mounted copy of it as a gift. That’s pretty special to me. I don’t really own any other interesting music related items, unless you’re into delay or reverb pedals.
When you’re not doing band related stuff, what are you usually found doing? Listening to music, playing xbox, watching footy and basketball. Pretty boring really.
The thing you most look forward to just before a tour is… Getting away with the other 4 guys and spending some time on the road. We’re all good friends outside the band, so getting away is usually really fun for all of us.
The thing you least look forward to before a tour is… The actual travel time itself. I get quite bored and restless, so I’m usually driving, reading or selecting tunes on the ipod if we’re in the van.
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ON THE STAGE
When on offer, what’s your one must have item on the rider? We’re always happy to just get beers on a rider. The more the better. I’m not too picky.
Favourite place you’ve toured… and why? This might sound weird, but we recently played in Castlemaine at the Bridge Hotel and it was great. We got up there early and did a quick interview on the local community radio station and then went straight to the venue. The people that run the Bridge are great and the sound in the venue was surprisingly good. We’re planning on heading up there again soon. We’ve played in Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart as well, which were all good experiences, but venues like the Bridge Hotel in Castlemaine just seem to suit our band.
Most memorable show you’ve played? and why? The recent dates supporting This Will Destroy You were a highlight. I’m a big fan of theirs, so sharing the stage with them and playing to new people was very enjoyable.
Got a favourite song to play live? At the moment, it’s probably Glass Monster.
Any embarrassing on stage moments come to mind? Not particularly. I’ve had a few close calls with pedals dying at the wrong time, including 5 minutes before going on-stage supporting Biffy Clyro at the Hifi with my old band, These Hands. I seem to have got away with it so far (touch wood!!!!!)
Any pre-show rituals? I’m not superstitious, so I don’t really have any pre-show rituals.
What do you find is the hardest aspect of touring in a band today? For us, we all work full time and have other commitments, so arranging shows around five separate schedules can be difficult. We generally don’t go on extended runs of dates and will spread a tour out over a couple of months, doing weekends in different cities when we can.
RIGHT NOW
Last song you listened to? Trapped Water by Adam Said Galore.
Last album you acquired? Our Own Wars by Small Brown Bike (an old favourite, but I picked up a copy on vinyl)
Which band or album is currently on high rotation? Tim Hecker
Tell us an up and coming band or artist you think we should go and listen to right now? The Coves. Really great songwriting and catchy as hell.
What’s on the cards for the next few months for the band? We’re playing a bunch of great shows, some of which are announced, some not yet. We’re playing at Dark Mofo in June, which is an amazing festival in Hobart organised by the people that run MONA. We’re playing with the likes of Mono and Boris, so that will be amazing. More shows will be announced soon.
IF ONLY…
You can pick any one album for your band to cover in full, what would it be and why? I would love to adapt Wires by Art of Fighting in an instrumental format. Such a beautiful record.
You can pick any one band / artist to cover one of your albums in full, what would it be, and why? I’d love to see what Tim Hecker would do with our new album. If you’re not familiar with Tim Hecker, he’s an ambient electronic artist that creates the most amazing music from drone and static. I would hope that he’d mangle it into oblivion.
One band you wish you were able to see live but never had the chance? American Football. Such a short-lived band, but the small amount of material they released is immaculate. If you have not heard American Football, go and buy their self-titled full length and mourn the fact that you’ll never see them live either.
One venue you have yet to play that you would love to? I’ve seen so many great bands at the Forum, so it would be great to play there one day. I would also love to play in a huge outdoor space like Hanging Rock.
The chance comes up to fill in for a member of a band for one tour, which band would it be, and why? Envy. Their music is so huge and would be incredible to play live. If you’re an Envy fan, you’ll get it.
PLUG TIME
Got any final words? Our new record Great North is out now on Hobbledehoy Records. It can be ordered from hobbledehoyrecords.com.
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FOURTEEN NIGHTS AT SEA – Great North
Available on CD and digitally now through Hobbledehoy Records.
Order your copy now [Here].
Vinyl coming August!
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