Getting to Know… Jay Draper & The Subterraneans | Interview

In the 470^th Q&A in our Getting to Know… series, we get the inside scoop from Jay Draper and his Toronto studio project, Jay Draper & The Subterraneans. 

“I‘m not trying in any way to stay pinned down to one sound or genre.” Right on, Jay Draper. The Toronto musician adds, “One of the appeals to doing this sort of studio project [Jay Draper & The Subterraneans, FYI] is the chance to collaborate with different people and to experiment with different sounds and ideas.” Draper gives us the inside scoop on The Subterraneans’ genesis, goals, musical influences, and current and future musical endeavors. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into Getting to Know… Jay Draper & The Subterraneans: Interview No. 470!

For those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Jay Draper & The Subterraneans distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

I’d say what makes what I do at least more unique than the average artist is that I’m not trying in any way to stay pinned down to one sound or genre. There are influences for sure, and I can’t help but sound like myself, but one of the appeals to doing this sort of studio project is the chance to collaborate with different people and to experiment with different sounds and ideas. There is a sonic thread that hopefully ties it all together, but I like to think the mix of different influences and collaborators helps to keep things fresh and interesting from song to song.

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Jay Draper & The Subterraneans form, and what were some of your goals or visions early?  

Well, my main band, The Scarlet Fever went on a two-year break, and of course, I started to get bored, so I used the time as a way of working on stuff I wouldn’t normally get to do with the band and to get to work with other people I wouldn’t normally get to work with. Originally, it was multi-instrumentalist Justin Minister (Amy’s Arms, Sex Gang Children, The Scarlet Fever) and I at the helm of the project, but after the first full-length album, it became more of a me and whoever I could find in the Toronto underground scene to work with kinda thing. To paraphrase one of the truly great bands of the 20th century, it’s ‘underground music for underground people.’ As for goals, I think all we ever really wanted to do was to make music that excited us. If we ended up making the next Here Come the Warm Jets or the next Scary Monsters, then that would be more than enough to die happy one day.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or perspectives changed since you first started? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

At this point, I feel like in one form or another, I’ve been making music and performing since the stars learned to shine. When I was young, though, probably like most people, I certainly had dreams of fame and wealth. At this point, though, I find I’ve got most of what I need from life without all that noise. Friends, family, and an awesome partner, but music and art give me a sense of purpose outside of these things, and that is largely why I do it. I guess as long as I’m still creating, it feels like justification for being here. Art can be a very self-centred thing in that way, but also a necessary one for a lot of people. I do it for myself, but after I put it out into the world, I also hope it finds a home with other people as well.

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences, and how are they influential?

Bowie has, of course, been my “hero” since I was a teenager. What’s great about him is that he has such a varied career that getting into it means you must open yourself up to a variety of sounds and influences—some of which you might not take to right away. A lot of my favourite artists and albums I didn’t always appreciate right away. When I was about 15 or 16, my mom bought me Here Come the Warm Jets by Brian Eno because she had it when she was young and thought I’d get something out of it. I remember thinking the first time I listened to it “What the hell is this goofy crap? This doesn’t sound like Nirvana or Nine Inch Nails.” But I gave it a second try and found that I kind of liked this “Baby’s on Fire” song, which kept me coming back to it. Then I started to like this song and that song, and by the fifth time I listened, I was shouting, ‘This is my favourite album EVER!’ Later, I would discover what a big influence music like that actually was on bands like NIN and a lot of the others I liked back then. Other than those, I tend to listen to and be inspired by a lot of post-punk (Magazine, Wire, Joy Division), early goth (Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees), and early glam and protopunk (Roxy Music, T-Rex, The Stooges). I think what I find inspiring about a lot of these bands is not only did they push boundaries, but most of them weren’t worried about being the most polished or proficient sounding, they just got out there and did it and tried to be authentic to themselves and their vision.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

Well, I mostly perform with my band, The Scarlet Fever, since Subs, at the moment, is primarily a studio project, but there have been a lot of interesting nights playing with Scarlet. There was a show I remember where I had terrible insomnia the night before. I felt like ass all day but then had to get up in front of about 500 people and give an energetic set, and somehow managed to pull it off from pure adrenaline and was even stage diving by the end of it. There was a night when we played at the Bovine Sex Club that not only led to me accidentally cutting myself on stage and bleeding everywhere, but afterwards, I proceeded to get so drunk that once I got home with most of the gear, I managed to load one amp into my apartment and then passed out on the floor next to it, leaving another amp, all our merch, and a bunch of other gear out on the street. Most of our gear and t-shirts were gone the next day, but not a single CD was touched. I was a little offended by that. I managed to get most of the gear back, but hopefully, there are homeless people all over Toronto sporting scarlet shirts now. There was also another gig where the leather pants I was wearing that night wouldn’t stay on. They had a flap in the front like sailor pants, and every time I bent over, the flap would bust open, so eventually I gave up and did half the set with my pants around my ankles. I also managed to knock out several of the ceiling tiles that night as well. I could go on and on, but needless to say, it’s never a dull night at a Scarlet Fever show.

To this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

That’s a tough one. They really do feel like your children sometimes, so it’s hard to play favourites. If we’re talking Scarlet Fever, my favorite song off our last album might be one called “Are You for Real,” but there is one on the new album we’re working on where my backup singer and I do a kind of duet, and that might be my new one going forward. It feels great to get to do something like that that we’ve never done before. As for Subterraneans, it’s maybe a toss-up between the song “Get a Grip” off our last album, and “Only Hope” off our new one called Dollhouse. Or maybe “Judy” … I don’t know… do all the other songs hate me now?

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left-of-center we should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

For starters, I can snap all my fingers at once. Also, one of my first jobs in Toronto was working for a porn shop that had privet booths upstairs I had to clean. Let’s just say I have lots of interesting stories from my time there and leave it at that. It was also appropriately where I wrote the Scarlet Fever song, “Porno.”

What are you currently working on or promoting that you can share? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

The Subterraneans just released our second full-length album, Dollhouse, last month. You can check it out on our Bandcamp or just stream it on most streaming platforms.

https://jaydraperandthesubterraneans.bandcamp.com

Also, the Scarlet Fever has been working on our third full-length album, and I’m pretty excited about how it’s turning out. It’ll hopefully be out sometime this year or early next year. When it drops, you can find it here first.

https://thescarletfever.bandcamp.com/

Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward.