Jale

for Net #15
by Mike Appelstein

 Jale's story is, in many ways, the prototypical punk rock tale: four college students with almost no prior musical experience, fantasize about being in a band, so they go ahead and do it. Encouraged by their fellow musicians in Halifax--a remote city of 100,000 in Nova Scotia that's also spawned the likes of Sloan and Eric's Trip -- they recorded singles for local labels Cinnamon Toast and Derivative. "Halifax is so far away it's twelve hours to the nearest city, so we just thrive on each other's music, says Jale guitarist Jennifer Pierce. An appearance on Sub Pop's Never Mind The Molluscs, a compilation of bands from the Maritime Provinces, led to a contract with the label.   Their album, Dreamcake, is a remarkably self-assured and satisfying work, especially considering the band's two-year life span.  Its roaring guitars and sweet vocal dynamic, as well as the pervasive lyrical themes of commitment and friendship, recall prime Scrawl or a rawer Breeders.

How did recording Dreamcake differ from recording the singles?
Jennifer: We really didn't want to spend a lot of money. Sub Pop wanted to put us in a studio and fly us down to the States, and we didn't want to do that; we wanted to say at home. So we rented a house out in the country and brought in this guy Brendan McGuire. He engineered it, brought his portable studio from Toronto. Brad Wood came from Chicago. It was awesome; we just spent seven days at this house. It worked really well for us. In comparison to stuff we did before at Fort Apache, it was really relaxed; we weren't under the gun and just worked at our own pace. Well, we were a little under the gun; we only had six days.
Alyson: But it went smoothly. It was really relaxing to work with Brad.
Jennifer: We just got along with him immediately. He didn't push us. What I love about him is he just works with you, he doesn't try to add anything to your vocals or mess with the way you play. He just kept it raw, the way we sound. And he had some good ideas as well.
How did you get together?  I know you all met at school...
Jennifer:  I moved into an apartment with Eve. I didn't even know her then.  We joked about having a band. She went to school with Laura, and I knew Alyson through other friends.
Alyson:  I went to school with Laura and Eve, but they were a year behind me so I never really met them, I met them through Jennifer. And Jennifer and I were joking around one night, talking about "We should start our own band!" So we all tried to play together.
Jennifer:  Laura played keyboards at first, because we ran out of instruments.
Alyson:  We invited too many people to be in the band
Jennifer:  Everyone wanted to play guitar. Alyson was actually just drumming on a table, so we said, "You're the drummer!"
Alyson: I was really mad, because I did not want to play drums. Jenny, you wanted to play drums at first. I had sat behind a kit a couple of times and learned a basic beat and I played it.  And everyone was like, "You have to be the drummer!!" But it's actually been fun. I still get stressed out about playing drums, though, because I like to play guitar.
At what point did you consider the band more than a joke?
Alyson:  When record labels started offering us deals. I think it was after Cinnamon Toast asked us to do a recording for them, because we really had to get it together. Even then, it was still kind of a joke. though, still kind of for fun.
Jennifer:  Island Records approached us early on, monthly into it.   It was just a really bad deal, wouldn't have been any good for us. But we had to talk to a lawyer, so that's another time when we realized "Oh yeah, this is a real band." Because we were still a little bit jokey about it, it was easy to say "no thanks." And then Sub Pop came along.
Alyson:  We felt more comfortable with them because they saw the progression. Joyce Linehan saw us when we were first getting together, and there was no interest at all. And we didn't expect there to be. But then, when we did Never Mind the Molluscs, she saw some improvement.
How do you work on songs? It seems pretty democratic.
Alyson:  We each write songs, and then we bring them in, and we all work on them and make up our own parts. People come in with a guitar part and then try to find harmonies. Whoever thinks of one goes with it.
How are the residents of Halifax reacting to all the hype about their music scene? Arc people surprised by it? Is there jealousy?
Jennifer:  I would say people are very supportive. They take everything in stride. It's really exciting.
Alyson:  Yeah, you know, there's the odd thing. like we had a bad review from some guy in Halifax while we were away. And I guess it was just a vicious attack. He's a musician that never went anywhere and taught at the art school. But most people, even if they don't listen to music...I work in a restaurant and people come in and say "Oh, I've seen you on TV!" And they're totally a lot older and don't listen to music that much, but are so interested.
Say a Net reader was visiting Halifax. Where should they go? It doesn't have to be music-oriented.
Jennifer:  Go to the hills. It's just nice to walk around there. There's a real central area in town to walk around. Take the ferry to Dartmouth. Point Pleasant Park, a huge park that the city bought from the Queen for a dollar or something.
Alyson:  Go down to the waterfront.
Jennifer: Get on the Blue Nose. The Blue Nose is historical; it's pictured on the Canadian dime.

For more of this interview, click here.