Want something new but with a classy old school twist to it? Welcome one and all to the worldof Women Of The Night. Think 20's decadence, think New York City, think The Velvets, think dark arty vibes with a touch of that pop stardust of 60's , the stuff that Lou Reed was so great at. Got you hooked? You will be, read on to find out why. Oh also want to win some super rare first vinyl pressings from the band? Yes then look no further and here we go!!!!!!
Hi Jordan, firstly many thanks for joining us here today. We are totally loving Women Of The Night but before we get to them let us get to you. So where did you grew up and at what age did rock 'n' roll get you and which artists in particular turned your head?
Jordan D'Arise ; Thanks a lot for having us and cheers for loving Women Of The Night. I grew up in Adelaide, Australia and mostly remember getting into rock n roll in the back of the car as a kid and having my parents playing the radio and my two sisters and I singing along like madmen. A strange mixture of oil, petrol, vinyl and rock n roll is very nostalgic form me. Later on in my teens I remember my Dad wanting to get rid of his record collection and me saving them from the dump. I started collecting albums and going to Big Star Records after school and hassling the guys there asking them about bands and stuff. I kinda got into records right at that period where people were chucking them out and the revival hadn't truly started yet. At least not in Australia. Out of my Dad's collection I especially thrashed Bowie, The Velvet Underground, The Troggs, The Stones, The Loved Ones, Master's Apprentices and The Easy Beats, I was hooked! My sister and her boyfriend bought me a ticket to see You Am I at the Tivoli Hotel and it totally blew my fucking mind! I didn't know how to play guitar but I knew right then that I had to know.
Hooked indeed, such a great mix of killer artists there. So you knew after the You Am I gig you had to play guitar so please tell us how all that kicked off and did the artists style get you at the same time the music did?
J . D ; Yeah the style totally did, the boys are like a super energetic dandy version of The Who jumping around and what not. Yeah, so, well I saved up and went and bought a guitar almost straight away. I didn't really know what to do with it though. I used to do poetry readings and I started strumming along pretending I knew what the fuck I was doing, haha. I would play a solo here and there and in fact still do. Then I moved to NYC and joined Quitty and the Don'ts as frontman. Mostly jumping around and breaking tambourines. The Women Of The Night really started as a home for all the weird songs I was writing that wouldn't fit in the band and the way I was learning guitar.
WOMEN OF THE NIGHT (left to right) Grey Watson (Bass and Vocals), Kyubae Lee (Drums and Vocals) and Jordan D'arsie (Guitar and Vocals)
Kind of like a Patti Smith vibe there, yes? We like strange here so Women Of The Night fit right on in here, but before we get to them tell us a little about moving to New York and joining Quitty and the Don't's, was it all plain sailing or did it get a little hazardous?
J D ; Haha, yeah totally. Actually I found out that Patti's old house is two blocks away from where I live. Things happened fast moving to NYC, we packed up and moved here within a month. I sang in a couple of short lived punk bands then found the Don'ts. Then Women got together.
Nice that Patti was so close, that city is just drenched in rock n roll history. O.k. so I guess punk is your roots and Women is now but what other artists are in your melting pot?
J . D ; Rowland S Howard, The Birthday Party, Velvets, Bowie, Iggy, The Go-Betweens, You Am I, The Real Kids, Sleepy Jackson etc.. these are the ones that spring to mind now but I could go on and on and on hahah.
An eclectic mix for sure, I guess that's why Women have a lot more going on than just a plain old Velvets rip off. I love the vibe of the band, a very seedy underbelly vibe. Is that on purpose or has it just turned out like that?
J . D ; Thanks a lot, yeah the band definitely has a seedy vibe going on. It wasn't an intentional thing it just something that comes through naturally in the writing. There's kinda elements of voyeurism and loneliness
Oh yes and much more besides. So how did the band move from the writing stage to the live arena. Did you record or play out first?
J . D ; We started out by recording on a four track machine making about six songs. Then we started playing out live but, it was hard for us to capture our sound. We went back to the start and then started again trying to record in different scenarios. These singles were recorded with a lot of variation and collaboration of different people coming in and swapping parts etc...it took a long time for us to find one another but nowadays the line up is solid and dynamite.
Absolutely. Talking of the singles let's go track but track ok? First up is "Leather Glove". This is as down and dirty and trippy as any mind could conjure up. A soundtrack to the most underground, trashy, decadent late night club there is, it kills! Tell us about this track
J . D ; Yeah, "Leather Glove" is a pretty dire song. A realisation that love, in this case is bought and not earned.
A simple transaction and that is all? Just business?
J . D ; I guess so, more like an untenable addiction of sorts. Hanging out with people in places where ya know you probably shouldn't be but, well that's life. Somehow that is where you want to be and you don't know why but you are surrendering yourself over to it. You know be careful where you hang out kids ya might end up liking it!
Yes a warning there but it seems to me you quite dig it all though, yeah? Ok next up is "Quiet Nights", this musically has an almost "Albatross" musical vibe, quite light however the edginess comes through so well in the lyrics. Someone thinking of regrets and a life of mistakes and when that plays on the mind there is no quite place to be found, hence "Quiet Nights"?
J . D ; Yeah I guess it's a comedown from all the energy and late night partying and trying to sit still and have a quiet night in for a change. All that stuff was just an escape from any sort of reflection. NYC apartments are interesting places to live and things are always going on. There's a weird blurring that can happen between fiction and non fiction, what's real and what's in you head.
Yes I hear ya, a lot to keep the mind and body alert. Blurring the lines, great phrase and very Lou reed, you know, is this all fake or is it all real, you decide. That ambiguous tip of the hat.. Ok next up is "Moscow Mansions", very haunting and atmospheric. Catching the stars in your hand and them plunging back down to earth. Again subject matter that is on the edge of something darker yeah?
J . D ; Yeah for sure, I mean Moscow's got a lot of desperation and loneliness in it. There's some shades of light and a little bit of comfort too I think.
Yes, totally. So last song and my favourite at the moment "Be Careful What You Wish For". An upbeat song, if there is such a thing in the Women's repertoire. It has killer lyrics, again and also a kind of Motown beat to it. Also two of my favourite lyrics in this one, "Got my number on speed dial" such a great, great hook and also "five thirty as the city empties out" love that line, so what's the vibe here?
J . D ; Haha yeah it sounds upbeat
Well for Women Of The Night that is
J . D ; Thanks mate. Yeah, well "Be Careful" has got a very outsider vibe to it. It was written while walking across Manhattan bridge and watching the city and all the people coming and going from work and the whole thing and if just thinking wouldn't it feel good to be normal and fit into it in some way. Be a part of the puzzle ya know and have a regular job and have people treat you normal and all that sort of thing. There's a level of inclusion and exclusion and its mostly exclusion unless it suits them differently for whatever reason. I think Moscow and Be Careful are a great paring in this respect as Be Careful is so sceptical and conversely Moscow's quite dark but strangely optimistic, like nothing matters anyhow in a kind of I'll cut my own arm off to prove you wrong kinda way. Be Careful is kinda like I know what you want but we don't see eye to eye. It feels nice to be loved but at the same time be careful what you wish for.
Totally get that "you want to belong, but you can't belong because deep down you know it's not for you" I think everyone feels like that sometimes, well artist types more so maybe. Yes and like you say a great paring of the songs on the single. O.k that's the tracks talked about, but another part of your appeal is not only the vibe but the artwork also. Like a Roxy Music twenties vibe but dragged through the sleaze and trash of new York city, it has that vibe splatted all over it. How did that come about was it an intentional thing or did it turn out that way?
J . D ; It's an intentional thing but also not a forced thing. It's give and take, we kinda feed off these things. It's important to create a space to occupy, there's characters and ideas, stories and ultimately we are building a landscape to occupy, which is both what we're influence by and what Women Of The Night is.
Yes setting out the world according to women of the night...dare you join in? I love all the vibe art wise and it ties in so well with the music side also, so, so well. So what is next for the band?
J . D ; Well we're about to release some more new tracks that we recorded at the same time as the singles and we are starting to work on a more extensive release, we have a lot of songs kicking around, that we need to get in the studio to record, we also want to play out and do some touring this summer and get out of NYC to play around the rest of the country.
All sounds great and you must keep us posted on what's new with you and the band. We are waiting for new material and can't wait to see what is around the corner. Thanks again Jordan and let's catch up soon.
J . D ; Of course thanks so much for having us we really appreciate it.
Cheers Jordan.
COMPETITION!!!
Fancy winning one of the first two Women Of the Night singles and a badge too?
Thought so, then just answer this question below;
WHAT FOUR THINGS MAKE JORDAN FEEL NOSTALIC?
EMAIL YOUR ANSWER (AND CHOICE OF SINGLE) HERE AND WE SHALL DO THE REST!
THE COMPETITION IS OPEN ENDED AND WHEN THE END DATE IS CLOSE I SHALL POST ON SOCIALMEDIA THE CLOSE DATE, GOOD LUCK!
Band photographs taken by Linda Betty.
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