Tomorrow, Toronto artist Jaron Freeman-Fox will commence his debut Australian tour with his band The Opposite of Everything. We caught up with the man himself to talk about the tour, his band, his fiddle and his favourite music of 2014… plus much more!
You’ve been to Australia before under a different guise… tell us about your experiences in the country before?
My first time over here was primarily playing with the lovely bearded Ben Caplan, and included a few musical excursions with Jordie Lane, Wild Marmalade and a wee gig in Melbourne opening for Bombay Royale. It’s become a rare treat for me to get to gallivant about carefree, on tour as a supporting musician, and it was a load of fun last year. Highlights were Woodford and the Sydney festival, as well as a spot of recording on old tape machines and ribbon mics at my dear friend’s new studio in Brunswick Heads “Valiant Music”
It’s a massive tour you have in front of you… firstly, are you glad to be out of the cold Canadian Winter?
“Glad” doesn’t begin to describe! I love the snow, but where I grew up it could snow 4 feet in a day. In my books, that equals a life-time supply of winter in the span of a childhood! Either way, it has certainly become my mission to do at least one tour per winter, near or south of the Equator. Keeps us Canadians from getting cabin fever and murdering each-other with ice skates, or something. Between a few tours in India, Indonesia and Australia, I’ve managed to stay out of prison so far! (though I’ve been told I do look great in stripes.)
What did you do to celebrate New Years?
I couldn’t help but find a way to play Woodford Folk Fest again! So I took a few gigs with my old Canadian pals Delhi2Dublin who were a perfect fit as a dance band for the festival. After I played their new years eve set, I went to partake in the classic Woodford welcoming of the sunrise, to the sound of Tibetan monks chanting (this year’s sunrise also featured a spontaneous “naked bearded man march”). Another highlight of new years was sitting in with other fellow Canadians “Paper Lions” who are also on their maiden voyage of Australia this month.
Are there any shows in particular you’re looking forward to playing (Mona is the correct answer ;))
Absolutely, MONA definitely going to be a highlight. I’ve heard of the museum’s lore for years, and we were hoping to find time to visit it even before we found out we were playing there! Also excited to see old friends at tour Melbourne and Sydney shows (at Open Studio and the Camelot Lounge), and to catch up with a bunch of fellow musos at Cygnet and Illawara folk fests!
What can we expect from a Jaron Freeman-Fox show?
Off-road fiddling, squealing clarinets, euphoric hollering, and subversive lullabies.
What do YOU expect from a Jaron Freeman-Fox show?
At least one singular moment of transcendent bliss and reckless abandon where linear time ceases to exist, and the music swallows me whole, leaving me to wallow in it’s belly, unencumbered with notions of time, physics, and agency. That and very sweaty shoulder-blades.
Tell us about the ensemble you have accompanying you – who are they, how did you find them, what do they do and how good to they look?
We’ve got clarinettist John Williams who has a 100-year old man from New Orleans trapped inside his horn. John and I met playing in a dirty klezmer band 7 years ago, and he’s been in the Opposites from day 1. Tom Juhas on guitar cut his teeth touring in Morocco fresh out of music school, and talks like a mysterious viking from the north of Sweden. Steven Foster on the drums landed in our peculiar sphere of music via the who’s-who of the Toronto indie rock scene (also tours with Doldrums, Moon King, and Snowblink). Steve also happens to have my favourite male singing voice in Canada. Alan Mackie on the bass is the newest member of the band and by far the most fashionable. Alan and I met at festivals when he was touring with a group called the Bombadils who will be doing their first Australia tour in March!
Tell us about your latest album. Where did you record it, who did you work with and where can we find it?
I’m proud to say we made the album we set out to make, but it did nearly kill me. Shortly after the band first formed, we recorded what we thought would be the album in the finest studio in Toronto, then went on tour for a year, and grew so much as a band that we decided we needed to record the album again. So we booked a studio out on a little island in lake Ontario, recorded the album again, then went on tour for another year. I reluctantly admitted that after another year of touring, our tunes and rapport had grown so significantly, that we couldn’t help but bite the bullet and record the whole album again. So we went back into that big old expensive studio in Toronto one last time for two intense, magical, terrifying days, and recorded live off the floor all the tunes that you hear on the finished album. We added a couple special guests- folks we’d had sit in with us over our last few years of touring. And then after a short couple hundred hours mixing, we released the beast into the wild!
We’re still in the process of organizing distribution in Australia, but the album is available on vinyl/CD/download and free streaming at http://jaronfreemanfox.bandcamp.com and https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/jaron-freeman-fox-opposite/id789127086
Do you have a favourite track off the record to play live?
Probably the opening track “Auctioneering Everything”, who’s music video you guys premiered last month! The tune was initially inspired by the time I spent living in India studying Carnatic music, but soon became this multi-faceted global hoedown, utilizing what our clarinettist calls “The Everywhere Technique”
A lot has been said about your unique fiddle – given you travel around and tour a lot, have you had any near losses of the instrument?
Yes I inherited this ornery 5-string violin from my late mentor when he passed away, and although I’ve made an unfortunate habit of breaking violins on stage, this one has luckily survived! I keep a pretty close eye on her, so no near losses so far.
What are your “travel tips” for keeping a fiddle like that safe as your tour…
The most dangerous part of touring with an expensive instrument is dealing with airlines. Although most airline workers are very friendly, and there is now a law in the US and Canada that violins have to be allowed as carry-on luggage, not airline workers know the law, and not all of them are so helpful. I’m writing this from on board a Jetstar flight that insisted I had to check my violin as “there is no room and it’s a completely full flight”. They only let me on at the very last second because I insisted I’d miss the flight rather then check my violin, and they “realized” there was an empty seat next to mine (of course, once I got on the plane, there was room for at least 8 violin cases in the overhead, even just near my seat). I understand Virgin airlines has a great arrangement with musicians, but I would strongly encourage my Australian musician friends to ask their union to work towards an arrangement with the government which requires airlines to allow for safe travel for musical instruments!
What was your favourite record of 2014?
I don’t know if I could pick a favourite, but I “Hours Were The Birds” by Brooklyn songwriter Adrianne Lenker has been ringing in my ears, and deserves to ring in many more.
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Jaron Freeman-Fox and The Opposite of Everything kick off their Australian tour tomorrow:
9 January – Music By The Sea, Brisbane QLD
10-11 January – Cygnet Folk Festival, Cygnet TAS
12 January – MONA, Hobart, TAS (FREE)
12 January – Alexandra’s Feast, Cygnet TAS
14 January – Sunset Studio, Newcastle NSW
15 January – Camelot Lounge, Marrickville NSW
16-18 January – Illawarra Folk Festival, Wollongong NSW
18 January – Hump Hall, Allambie Heights NSW
21 January – Smith’s Alternative Bookshop, Canberra ACT
23 January – Candelo Town Hall, Candelo NSW
25 January – Pizza and Wine Club, Kyneton NSW (FREE)
26 January – Globe to Globe World Music Festival, Moorabbin VIC
28 January – Ararat Hotel Red Room, Ararat VIC
29 January – Open Studio, Northcote VIC
30 January – Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick VIC
31 January – Hotel Gearin, Katoomba NSW
1 February – Terara Studio, Nowra NSW
For more details and tickets head to http://theoppositeofeverything.com or https://www.facebook.com/jaronfreemanfox
