This is the second time I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Paul Janeway, frontman of St. Paul and The Broken Bones, and while I knew it was unlikely he’d remember me, with the phone operator repeatedly introducing me as “Mr. The Brag”, well, the odds rather quickly dropped to zero.
The band is back again just in time for Bluesfest with sophomore album Sea Of Noise, and Janeway proves just as funny and forthright as I remembered. To these Antipodean ears, his Southern accent is almost as colourful as the music itself, and while the band now has the good fortune to travel the world, the world of Birmingham, Alabama is never very far away.
“I think that’s the thing with travel,” Janeway says. “You continue to expand the palette. To me, that’s liberating, but kind of exhausting, too. There are so many avenues you can go down. My own basis is, don’t lose yourself there. Don’t try to do something you’re not, be something you’re not. I think as long as you do that, the music will find its way. So you find what gets you, and go from there.
“I get more inspired going to see physical art then I actually do by hearing other songs. Seeing a good piece of art, something you attach yourself to, is like going to an amazing concert or an amazing film. It’s the same trigger in your brain. I’ve had moments like that. I just start thinking about songs, following some interesting idea. It inspires me more than anything, bizarrely. Me and my wife went to Rome. I love Caravaggio. When I see those paintings… I don’t know. It’s not something I’d thought I’d ever see, coming from Nowhere, Alabama.”
Hailing from Nowhere, New South Wales myself, I appreciate the sentiment. While you can’t really say The Broken Bones were ever large fish in a small pond – after all, Alabama is the same state that gave us Hank Williams, and still has folk who played with Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin walking the streets – they have certainly found success in a very expansive way. Everything about their sound is big, and Janeway’s voice perhaps chief amongst that. Today, their music is being championed across the world, which is incredible – and something Janeway is conscious of keeping in check.
“Of course, some of this stuff is mind-boggling. Like the Oscars thing. ‘How did I get here?’ But I think for me, it’s a situation where I have people in my life who would love me even if I was a janitor. I keep those people close to me. If you surround yourself with people who don’t know who you are at your essence, who don’t have your best interests at heart… I think that’s how you lose your way. I feel like I have those people. I dunno, maybe I’m unaware,” he says, and bursts into laughter.
“To be fair, there’s this competitive chip on my shoulder. Coming from Alabama, not being rich by any stretch, feeling like you’ve got to constantly prove yourself. No matter what. I should be happy, but there’s always a little chip that says I should do better. I feel like I haven’t lost that, or the essence of who I am. And I’m OK with that. I’m OK with who I am.”
The “Oscars thing” Janeway mentions is really the combination of two peculiar and enviable worlds. For the 2017 Academy Awards – you know, those awards – the band was invited by Elton John to perform at his lavish viewing party.
“It was really bizarre for me. I didn’t grow up around money, and I thought I knew rich people. But I’ve never seen something like that before! I felt like a fish out of water a bit, but everyone is so nice of course. Elton has been a fan for a while, and he’s been unbelievably kind and generous with us, and so when he asked if we’d play his Oscar party, which is part of the charity for his AIDS foundation, I said, ‘Absolutely.’ It was a bizarre night, and something I’ll never forget. He got onstage to sing a song with us, our song ‘I’ll Be Your Woman’. It was something I’ll never forget. He’s very disarming. When you’re talking with him, you think afterwards, ‘Holy shit, that’s Elton John!’ But during, it’s just like talking with anyone. He does have a presence, but he wants you to feel calm, and I like that.”
Beyond Bluesfest, the soul six-piece will tour the country, undoubtedly winning over even more musical acolytes. Sea Of Noise is certainly a progression in their sound – what many critics have described as ‘serious’ – but at heart, it’s as Janeway says; it’s all about soul.
“There are some serious tones in it,” he says thoughtfully. “The only idea I’ve ever thought is expansive. It expanded us, lyrically, vocally, musically. I do think this time it was a little more topical, which people understand as being serious. But there’s still playful stuff in there. The one thing I know is that I was really happy with the end result. The lesson you learn is to make something that you’re happy with. If you let other bullshit get in the way, it won’t matter if it’s successful or not. It will eat at you. That’s the biggest lesson.”
[St Paul and The Broken Bones photo by David McClister]
Sea Of Noise is out now through Records, LLC; and apart from playingBluesfest 2017, Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17,St. Paul And The Broken Bones also appear, with All Our Exes Live In Texas, at the Metro Theatre on Wednesday April 19.
