An Evening in a Joint State

There is a lot to be said for the local rock scene in Cape Town. In an industry where 1% of participants make it, it is always refreshing to meet a group of guys still dedicated to making music out of love and passion with a humbleness sorely missed at times by some.

I’m waiting outside Fireman’s Arms for Martin, the drummer for Joint State. He was supposed to pick me up at 16:00 and its now 16:15. “Typical”, I think to myself understanding (considering I’m musician myself) that punctuality in the music industry is like democracy in North Korea…rare. Soon enough though a battered looking white Toyota Corolla, full of character mind you, pulls up next to me and the window rolls down. ‘You Mat’, a voice from inside says, ‘ya’ I reply and hop in, ‘sorry about the wheels’ he says, ‘we not famous yet’.  After a good chuckle I fire him my first question!

“So Martin, where are we going?” “We are going to Bellville, which is a suburb of Cape Town, no just kidding. We heading to our little studio that we have where we rehearse and also record at.” “What’s it called?” I ask. “It’s called Factory Studios”.

It’s quite a drive to the studio and when Martin tells me he does it up to 3 times a week during traffic I feel a sense admiration for the Gordon’s Bay local because to call it an inconvenience is an understatement. Perfect time to fire another one I reckon, “Tell me about life before Joint State?”  “I don’t know man, life before Joint State, sho, that was a different time back then. My brother Chris and I were in different bands and we decided to come together in 2008 for a jam session and things just clicked. We started taking drums and guitar together ages ago but not until Joint State had we played together. We would probably be bigger than U2 by now if that was the case, hahahah.”

When we go inside I’m introduced to the rest of the band, Chris the lead singer is the splitting image of his brother Martin. Although making music is with out a doubt a team effort, it is not difficult to see that it is Chris who is the heart and soul of the band being not only the vocalist, but lead guitarist, lyricist, primary song writer and producer of the band’s music, can anyone say creative control? This however does not change the bands wonderful dynamic, they are always constantly smiling and laughing with me and one another. Stephan the bassist walks in and offers me a beer, with Shaggy hair and what looks like a size 16 shoe he cracks the beer open for me with a pair of pliers and now I officially realize that I am at a band practice.

I decide that Chris is probably the perfect person to ask the next question. “How did you come up with the name Joint State?” I ask. “It came to pass in like 2003, where I thought of the word state as in a state of mind, a state of being. I then thought of the word joint, not necessarily smoking a joint but how we as a band have come together in a state of music. I loved the word ‘state’ but needed another word to compliment it, to make sense of it in a way. ‘Joint State’ just felt right, so we used it.”

After a discussion on influences, favourite songs and why they hate people asking them “What band they sound like” they knuckle down for rehearsal. They may come across as jokers but it is astounding to see the shift in characters when its time to get down to making music. Friends and brothers become businessmen in a joint venture, a lot of respect, a lot of attitude but at the same time one common goal.  Their music is not what you’d expect from three guys from extreme Afrikaans backgrounds but Chris’s lyrics are as profound and any English poet and they jam with a unity that can be described as structurally sound yet gracefully free flowing, a sound you can hear on their latest 6 track EP, ‘The Relief’. They recorded the EP at Franschoek studios over 4 days in late 2010, a prize they won after being victorious in the Mystic Boer battle of the bands in 2009 and I can hear why. Opening track ‘Give Some Fire’ makes you stop what you are doing and listen while the haunting guitar in ‘Broken Dawn’ is the perfect way sign off a very well crafted record.

What was it like actually winning the Mystic Boer BandBattle in Stellenbosch? To say that we were happy would be an understatement! As battle of the bands go, we didn’t really have a lot of expectations…considering that the judges are usually biased and like a certain type of music, usually means it isn’t a 100% fair. With this one however it felt different though and the vibe was good…There were 2 elimination rounds and the bands all had different styles throughout. When we were announced as winners we freaked out and were really, really happy…After making music and playing in bands for many years, even a little recognition helps motivate and re-energise a band…And winning the battle of the bands made us realise that we were a good band and we could finally believe in ourselves and take it further! And that was the motivation we needed to focus on becoming big, and part of that is what still drives us today…

As my evening draws to a close with the boys from Joint State I deliver one final question to Chris, “You guys come form an Afrikaans family, you speak Afrikaans as a first language and generally in Cape Town and in South Africa Afrikaans music does very well. Why then do you guys choose to make English music?” I ask. “You know firstly, we grew up with English rock music from the 60’s and 70’s and then moved on to listening to grunge from the 90’s, we never listened to Afrikaans music growing up. Therefore if we were to play Afrikaans music we’d kind of be selling our soul in a way. Its not that we don’t appreciate Afrikaans music, it is just that we have never been really able to express ourselves in Afrikaans and isn’t that what music is about?”

As we walk out their jam room on a freezing Cape Town night I’m left with bro hugs and fist pumps from the Joint Sate team. They are truly are a killer group of lads with a bucket load of talent and music to show for it! They have made a fan out of me and if you aren’t one yet please check them out at www.facebook.com/joinstate . There you will find everything you need to know including their upcoming gigs, bio, photos and their EP. They are in the process of recording a full length album to be released later this year so they aren’t gigging anytime soon but watch this space and I will be sure to let you know when they do.

More State?

• Facebook
• Website