ANNIE AND THE JAYS: BIRDS, NEW MUSIC AND FRESH ENERGY

INTERVIEW | ANNIE AND THE JAYS by Anne Kelly

What do you get when you mix a sibling duo, a chance encounter at a murder mystery party, and a collective of birds? You get Annie and The Jays, one of Scotland’s most thrilling emerging acts. As they approach their second anniversary, the band is trading quiet rehearsals for the bright lights of Glasgow’s Classic Grand. We sat down with Annie, George, and the rest of the flock to talk about their evolving sound, pre-show rituals and the upcoming release of their brand-new single, ‘Another Bad Habit.’

First of all, who are Annie and the Jays?

Annie: George (drums and backing vocals) and I (lead vocals) are siblings and we always wanted to do music together. George met Roddy (guitar) at a murder mystery party and they roped me into a couple of jam sessions which became weekly rehearsals, and eventually I got my Glasgow uni friend Ben (bass) and school friend Ryan (keys) on board to make the full lineup!

George: We’re all from Scotland, apart from our resident bassist who is from Carlisle! This gig will mark almost 2 years of the band being together! 

What’s the story behind the band name?

George: Where we rehearse there are little Jay birds that fly about. Out of boredom one day I looked up what the collective term for jays were (it’s a band of Jays) so we became ‘Annie and the band of Jays’ which was then shortened to ‘Annie and the Jays’.

Annie: basically the band are the Jays and they let me be Annie .

How do you feel your sound has evolved since that first meeting? 

Annie: I think we’ve all gotten better at our own part, and I think we’ve gel together more now when we’re putting a song together.

George: Quite a lot actually! We all have fairly different musical influences, so at the start we were more Indy/rocky pop and now we have evolved into something that strays more into pop!

Roddy: We’ve filled out our sound with various keys, pads, harmonies and little flourishes.

Ben: Finding our sound more, leading to much more collaboration and input from all of us as a whole when piecing songs together.

What does the songwriting process look like for you?

Annie: generally I bring songs that I’ve written and workshopped with George to the rest of the band and then we flesh out the sound for recording and performing. For me I’m best at songwriting on long car journeys or just before I fall asleep. Super convenient. 

George: Annie is the brains behind the songwriting! I did start off one of our songs, but the process involved just ‘brain dumping’ poetry, combining it with a guitar track Roddy had, then sending it all to Annie for her to make sound pretty.

Ben: Usually accidentally stumbling across some kind of fun riff and seeing if it fits somewhere.

Have you anything new coming soon?

We do! We are so excited that this gig will also be the release day for our next single, ‘Another Bad Habit‘. We have a lot more surprises coming later this year too so stay tuned… 

In terms of live shows, what makes your live show shine compared to recording?

Annie: I do love getting to be in the studio but there’s just an energy you get from an audience that you can’t beat! I think we get something from that energy and put it back into our performances.

George: The dynamics between the sibling duo, plus the instruments being done live compared to recordings and a little bit of audience participation always helps! 

Ben: How impressive Annie’s voice is live.

Annie: I didn’t pay Ben to say that I swear.

What can people expect from your upcoming show at Classic Grand? 

George: Lots of energy, fun and dancy songs to sink your teeth into! There will be bad jokes, good chat and general good vibes.

Annie: it’s our first gig of the year after a good rest… so people can expect us to bring our best energy. We’re honestly so excited for this one, we can’t wait. 

If you could perform in any venue, of any size, in the entire world, where would it be and why?

Annie: my dream used to be King Tuts and then we actually got to play there a couple of times, so being totally delusional I would love to do a hometown performance at Murrayfield some day.

George: That is a very hard question… for ages I thought the answer was Hampden, but I actually think the ‘Marvel Stadium’ in Melbourne (Australia) would be unbelievable! 

Roddy: The Usher Hall in Edinburgh.

Ben: Not really a venue but always loved the idea of a 360 degree stage .

Now, pretend you can invite one artist to join you on stage. Who would be your special guest?

Annie: I think I’m only being honest if I say Taylor Swift… or Chappell Roan! 

George: I bet Annie said ‘Taylor Swift’ or something? But for me it would probably be Stevie Nicks. I think she would be a formidable force to perform with and she has been a big inspiration for our music! 

Roddy: Alisha’s Attic.

Ben: Kinga Glyk – she plays with an illegal amount of funk.

Finally, what’s one thing that you need to have or do before taking to the stage? Any preshow rituals?

Annie: I have to put an ungodly amount of makeup on my face, do a vocal warm up, and I actually don’t like to have any drinks until after we’ve performed! 

George: In terms of rituals, I have to feel the weight of every pair of drumsticks I have with me and then decide which pair feels right for that day (it’s weird, I know)!

Roddy: Gotta find a good burger from somewhere nearby. A pint doesn’t hurt either.

Ben: I actually have quite bad stage fright so several pints usually help.

Annie and The Jays will play Northern Exposure‘s very own live showcase on Friday 13th February at Glasgow’s Classic Grand! Tickets are on sale now.

‘Another Bad Habit‘ is out the same day and you can pre-save here.