If on Friday the 19th of August you headed down to Razzet l-Ahmar, you probably rocked yourself hard with two awesome bands and witnessed the launching of Juno and the Wolf’s EP. Opening the night up for Juno and the Wolf was the exclusive band Naked Venue. Kyra, (a friend of mine,) and myself, got to meet up with both bands in order to discuss and interview them. Firstly we headed down to Gugar in order to have a chat with Naked Venue, where we learned quite a number of things about this remarkable band. Whilst talking with them, we couldn’t help but notice the mixture and diversity of characters that have been united through their love of music. The most intriguing aspect about the band is doubtlessly its name, which interestingly enough was inspired by William S. Burroughs’ novel, "Naked Lunch’.
Discussing how the band formed, the guitarist Julian informed us how he was initially in a band with the drummer Jeremy, but it didn’t work out. Despite that failed attempt, another band was set up during their summer holidays after finishing post-secondary, and they spent a year jamming with another drummer, who unfortunately also didn’t last for long. However, after this bumpy ride, Julian decided to once again team up with his pal Jeremy and bassist Francesco and started out by simply jamming, which in the end worked out quite wel,l as it led up to what we now know as Naked Venue. The only vocals during this time were those of Francesco. The last to join the band, was their vocalist and guitarist Raphael who according to their guitarist Julian, met Raphael through “friends of friends” and got in the band thanks to posting on their Facebook. Furthermore, Raphael joined in due to the band’s need of a melodic voice, since the other vocalist (and also bassist) Francesco, were more into punk tunes. Something which perhaps distinguishes this band from the others is the fact that they have two vocalists, one which is rather raw, and the other one more dulcet which thus creates a very beautiful contrast.
Discussing the relationship they have with their instruments, as we saw that Julian had been playing for quite a while during his attempts to form a band, and so had Francesco. Additionally, Raphael got his first guitar at the age of thirteen as a birthday present, however, he reveals to us how he hated it and it was only when he bought his new guitar that he started taking things more seriously. He also claimed that despite going to guitar lessons, which actually bored him, he stopped playing for a while. It was when he joined Naked Venue that he truly started concentrating on playing. On the other hand, buzzing with energy, the drummer Jeremy happily explained why he got into drumming, telling us how he was influenced by his friends, and also by the lack of drummers found in Malta. Last but not least, he also informed us how he was always “into beats”. However, at first, his main target was that of playing any instrument and not a specific one. He later on also thought about learning the bass.
When we asked the band about the very first song they wrote together they bombarded us with answers ranging from "Jenny needs a crutch’, a song which they no longer play and finally deciding that the first one which all four of them wrote was "Mascara’. However, as a songwriting process, they write the lyrics and music individually, and discuss the produced material afterwards as a band. Naked Venue’s next step is to record their material, and perhaps later on even shoot a music video.
The influences on "Naked Venue’ are numerous ranging from; Fugazi, Queens of Stone Age, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Deftones, Joy Division, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and David Bowie, amid many others. What is more, Naked Venue are also big fans of the local scene, of which they state is also a huge inspiration to their music. The look up to several local bands such as Cable 35, Xtruppaw and, No Snow/No Alps amongst others.
As previously stated, whilst chatting with them, we couldn’t help but notice the versatility of this group, who, however, share an amazing bond. The diverse characters complement each other, as Julian is labelled as the “diva” of the band, whilst Raphael is considered the “pretty one” and the title of the womanizer, without a doubt goes to Jeremy (who apparently has got some cool dance moves!), leaving Francesco as the one they would kill if they had to kill someone from there band since his death as a bassist would not be noticed (no offence to any bassists out there).
When asked about what they would like to do before they die, Jeremy however felt quite deep and philosophical and with just two simple words he managed to leave us in awe, as he claimed that he wants “to live”, meaning actually live life to the very fullest and hence not simply exist. Raphael, on the other hand, more musically inclined implied that he would like to tour around with his bandmates. Julian quickly agreed with Raphael, adding that he would also like to “release a proper album”. Francesco declared that he “would like to go into space”…from my experience of being there 24/7 I have to say it is quite fun up there!
So, basically, who on earth are Naked Venue??
Just four guys who play music!
For more information about Naked Venue, like their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/nakven?fref=ts