In The Know...11 Questions w/ The Jezabels

It’s been a crazy-busy year for Sydney, Australian indie-rock band The Jezabels.

Over the past 52 weeks, the Aussie foursome (vocalist Hayley Mary; keyboardist Heather Shannon, guitarist Sam Lockwood, and drummer Nik Kaloper) have toured constantly, even sharing the stage with Polaris-short-list-makers Tegan & Sara; they’ve dropped the final two entries of a planned EP trilogy; and, most importantly, the Jezabels really evolved their sound, letting their ideas bounce around and grow during the recording sessions behind the Dark Storm EP (released last month).

At times sinister and moody, the Jezabels keep the brooding, dramatic sound on Dark Storm in check with surprisingly catchy pop hooks that are impossible to ignore. See and hear for yourself - the Aussie quartet perform live this Saturday at the Albert w/ Two Hours Traffic.

I recently caught up with guitarist Sam Lockwood for 11 questions, who revealed two albums that completely changed his life, shared the most inappropriate thing a fan has yelled during a show (said attendee happened to be dressed as Harry Potter too), and, like many musicians featured on 11 Qs before, professed his love for, you guessed it, The Wire.


1. Where are you right now?

2210 7th Avenue Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It's the Thriftlodge!

Let’s talk music…


2. What are some albums that completely changed your life?

I'll say two... The first was Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I heard that at a friends house; his Dad had it on and I immediately felt shock and awe. I think it was the kind of music that I had been looking for a long time. The second would be Gillian Welch's Soul Journey. I feel that Gillian Welch is by far the greatest song writer going round at the moment.

3. Of the records you own, which has the best cover art?

Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake it's Morning - it's all embroidered and beautiful. It's such a cool way to represent the general sound of the album. Folky and well sewn?









4. Who is one producer, alive or dead, you’d just love to work with?

I think it would be Jim O'Rourke - though maybe not for our band? For the Jezabels, I'm really not too sure. Lachlan Mitchell is still our ideal man/producer!

5. What’s the oddest thing a fan has yelled during one of your shows?

Just last night, a man dressed as Harry Potter (it was Halloween) yelled out to Hayley our singer 'Your voice makes me Horny!!!'

6. What is your favourite music video?



Every time I see Johnny Cash's Hurt film clip I cry so much. But it is a nice sense of crying - that is such a beautiful cover of a once not-so-beautiful (but still awesome) song. The film clip and its images only compound the emotion of that song.

7. Where do you shop for music?

I don't know if I can name shops, but So Music on King Street is great. Also Title has some good stuff as well, though it is a bit snooty! (Both in Sydney.)

And some hodgepodge…


8. What’s one film you can watch over and over again?

THIS sounds snooty but Michael Haneke's Hidden is definitely the best movie ever made. It is hard to watch, but I find it so helpful to understand the disaster that is the current world we live in.

9. What book(s) are you currently reading?

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (above). It had heaps of hype, and I'd read his previous one. It's living up to the hype I think, but it's actually quite hard going. In a good way...

10. What tv show(s) do you follow?

I love the Wire, and that's about it really. That show is incredible, and it's hard to watch anything else after watching that.

11. And finally, would you rather have the ability to fly or turn invisible?

I think fly - I think invisibility would lead to some bad behaviour; I wouldn't trust myself with that. Flying would just be really fun.