The Superjesus were a prominent figure in the 90's with their album 'Sumo' dominating the ARIA charts and a slew of live shows demonstrating they were a heavy hitter in the Australian Music Scene.
!0 years after taking a (very) extended break and coming together to blow the dust off their amps for an incredibly successful reunion show, The Superjesus are hitting the road nationally again on their 'Resurrection Tour'.
LMA spoke with Bass player Stuart Rudd on everything past, present and future...
Its pretty exciting that you have decided to do more shows but I’d like to touch on the reunion show first. Did you practice much for it?
We had about a weeks rehearsal locked out before the show, but there was plenty of emails and homework assignments to get done before we got together for the rehearsals.
You’re all scattered around Australia so it would’ve made it harder to practice wouldn’t it?
That’s right, I am the only one that’s actually in Adelaide, the other guys are in Sydney, Melbourne and half way inbetween. The beauty is though, that we’ve played those songs atleast a thousand times each over the period of the band so it wasn’t a case of having to remember them, but sort of brush them back up.
How did it come about that you decided to do a show for your ten year reunion?
It wasn’t discussed to be a ten year thing, but two years prior, Sarah and I had breakfast down on Melbourne Street and we sort of touched on maybe doing something with the band again - we were both in agreeance that it would be great at some point. It just happened to line up as a ten year gig for us, but it had been two years getting to that point though.
From a punters point of view the show was a huge success, were you happy with how it went?
Yeah we were really stoked to be doing it again! That 5 or 10 minutes before we go on stage we clear out the band room and have ‘our time’ as a band, and we all couldn’t believe that – here we were again, back doing it – and that energy came out on stage and we really had a great night all round.
!0 years after taking a (very) extended break and coming together to blow the dust off their amps for an incredibly successful reunion show, The Superjesus are hitting the road nationally again on their 'Resurrection Tour'.
LMA spoke with Bass player Stuart Rudd on everything past, present and future...
Its pretty exciting that you have decided to do more shows but I’d like to touch on the reunion show first. Did you practice much for it?
We had about a weeks rehearsal locked out before the show, but there was plenty of emails and homework assignments to get done before we got together for the rehearsals.
You’re all scattered around Australia so it would’ve made it harder to practice wouldn’t it?
That’s right, I am the only one that’s actually in Adelaide, the other guys are in Sydney, Melbourne and half way inbetween. The beauty is though, that we’ve played those songs atleast a thousand times each over the period of the band so it wasn’t a case of having to remember them, but sort of brush them back up.
How did it come about that you decided to do a show for your ten year reunion?
It wasn’t discussed to be a ten year thing, but two years prior, Sarah and I had breakfast down on Melbourne Street and we sort of touched on maybe doing something with the band again - we were both in agreeance that it would be great at some point. It just happened to line up as a ten year gig for us, but it had been two years getting to that point though.
From a punters point of view the show was a huge success, were you happy with how it went?
Yeah we were really stoked to be doing it again! That 5 or 10 minutes before we go on stage we clear out the band room and have ‘our time’ as a band, and we all couldn’t believe that – here we were again, back doing it – and that energy came out on stage and we really had a great night all round.
Was that the main reason you're deciding to tour again or was it something you were already planning?
It was in our minds, but we hadn’t really decided to do it. I think getting past the first week of rehearsals was a good indication that maybe this can be cool, maybe we can do it again. But we certainly didn’t want to jump into anything too quick, we just wanted to take our time and see how it went.
What was the leading factor in you deciding to separate in the first place all those years ago?
We had finished the Rock Music tour in about 2004 at which point the band was pretty tired. We had been constantly touring, {'I’ve done other jobs too and I know it must sound pretty weak like oh gee touring life must be hard'} – but it was more than that. We were having issues with our management, we were having issues with our record company. Internally within the band, we weren’t having a break and kept constantly working and working, we hadn't had a break for a long time and it just got to the point where we all thought we’ll just take an extended break and see where we go with it, and it ended there.
It wasn’t ever a conscious decision like ‘ok this is it we’re gonna finish’. It was literally we all finished playing, walked off stage, packed up and went home or where ever we were staying and that was it. There was nothing. We had nothing booked so we thought we’ll just take the time to have a break.
You also have people in your ear saying "the band is no good", "word on the street is you guys are finished", and it was just once you start getting to that stage its unhealthy!
It was in our minds, but we hadn’t really decided to do it. I think getting past the first week of rehearsals was a good indication that maybe this can be cool, maybe we can do it again. But we certainly didn’t want to jump into anything too quick, we just wanted to take our time and see how it went.
What was the leading factor in you deciding to separate in the first place all those years ago?
We had finished the Rock Music tour in about 2004 at which point the band was pretty tired. We had been constantly touring, {'I’ve done other jobs too and I know it must sound pretty weak like oh gee touring life must be hard'} – but it was more than that. We were having issues with our management, we were having issues with our record company. Internally within the band, we weren’t having a break and kept constantly working and working, we hadn't had a break for a long time and it just got to the point where we all thought we’ll just take an extended break and see where we go with it, and it ended there.
It wasn’t ever a conscious decision like ‘ok this is it we’re gonna finish’. It was literally we all finished playing, walked off stage, packed up and went home or where ever we were staying and that was it. There was nothing. We had nothing booked so we thought we’ll just take the time to have a break.
You also have people in your ear saying "the band is no good", "word on the street is you guys are finished", and it was just once you start getting to that stage its unhealthy!
Given that you are touring now, do you think it could lead to The Superjesus recording any new music at all?
It certainly could, and I hope so! I’m a fan of playing and getting out there and doing it with the guys, and writing new material would be awesome fun. But we need to see how logistically it will work with the band and things like that.
We all write whether its for the band or not, so there is always gonna be new songs, we’ll just have to go through them if that’s what we decide to do.
As musicians you always write new music so its always gonna be around.
OK, and what about you, have you been working on anything on the side or with other bands?
I was doing the Nick Barker tour which was great fun! I went over and played some shows with him in Melbourne and also in Adelaide. I also have a band called Southport that is playing, and inbetween that I helped the Gels in the studio and producing their album as well.
Can you tell us anything about the shows coming up on the tour?
We’re starting in May and doing all 5 states. Its gonna be great! We’re looking forward to playing and getting out, and also to catching up with some of the old people we toured with back in the day!
It was great to watch the crowd at your show at The gov, they were so into it, loving it and just letting loose!
Ahh cool, that’s excellent!! I’ve seen some of the photos that the LMA site had, they were great!! And the site is fantastic, I was on there the other night, well done!!
Well thankyou very much, that’s very nice of you, and a nice note to finish on!
Thankyou so much for taking the time to talk to LMA, and we look forward to seeing you play again here in Adelaide! Best of luck with the tour, I hope it goes well!
The Superjesus are playing at The Gov on Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th of June.
For tix and info go here
Interview by Melissa Donato
Pics by Supernova Photographics.
It certainly could, and I hope so! I’m a fan of playing and getting out there and doing it with the guys, and writing new material would be awesome fun. But we need to see how logistically it will work with the band and things like that.
We all write whether its for the band or not, so there is always gonna be new songs, we’ll just have to go through them if that’s what we decide to do.
As musicians you always write new music so its always gonna be around.
OK, and what about you, have you been working on anything on the side or with other bands?
I was doing the Nick Barker tour which was great fun! I went over and played some shows with him in Melbourne and also in Adelaide. I also have a band called Southport that is playing, and inbetween that I helped the Gels in the studio and producing their album as well.
Can you tell us anything about the shows coming up on the tour?
We’re starting in May and doing all 5 states. Its gonna be great! We’re looking forward to playing and getting out, and also to catching up with some of the old people we toured with back in the day!
It was great to watch the crowd at your show at The gov, they were so into it, loving it and just letting loose!
Ahh cool, that’s excellent!! I’ve seen some of the photos that the LMA site had, they were great!! And the site is fantastic, I was on there the other night, well done!!
Well thankyou very much, that’s very nice of you, and a nice note to finish on!
Thankyou so much for taking the time to talk to LMA, and we look forward to seeing you play again here in Adelaide! Best of luck with the tour, I hope it goes well!
The Superjesus are playing at The Gov on Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th of June.
For tix and info go here
Interview by Melissa Donato
Pics by Supernova Photographics.
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