Miami.com's Band of the Hour Miami.com's Band of the Hour
Jun 10 2009

Miami.com's Rayme Samuels caught up with Tristan Clopet to talk about Ninja Turtles, overexposed song themes, the Duende EP and the forthcoming album. http://tristanclopet.com/press/miamicom-band-of-the-hour/ Also, check out the full transcribed interview here: How long has the band been together? Where and how did everyone meet? Well, the band started when I was seven. No, but seriously – that’s when I started writing songs about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman and X-Men. None of those songs have actually been published…yet. But the current rendition of the Juice has only been together for about three days. The original rendition started in September but with the rapid growth of the band, the ex-drummer and guitarist found the time demands a little too great as they were heavily invested in finishing their college studies at UM. So we got an excellent new drummer and a very talented guitarist/pianist without skipping a beat. Those two guys are amazingly quick learners and they bring their own paintbrushes to the canvas. What does the name of the group mean? In the beginning, I was to go by “Tristan” but I think it was taken and I felt really self-conscious about the act being called just “Tristan Clopet” so I thought of giving the support band a moniker. I remember we were sitting around after one of our first rehearsals and some friends had brought over some brews over and we were sitting around the table throwing out names and one of our good friends suggested “the Juice.” I think it stemmed from Juice Williams, the football player. Who are your musical influences? What bands do you admire? When I’m approached by people new to my music, they often cite The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Then, I subsequently tell them that they’re very smart because the Peppers have been my favorite band since I was a sprout. I strive to write songs as good as the Peppers, write lyrics as good as Dylan, write rhythms as good as The Killers and sing as good as Jeff Buckley. Needless to say, I’ve got a long road ahead but I’ve got good shoes on. What makes your sound unique? Writing lyrics that truly mean something is very important to me. I just don’t see the point of writing about something that’s been overdone. The new EP (untitled as of yet and expected in August) features songs about the Greenwich Meridian and the study of time, a nonpartisan exploration of religion and an autobiographical intense mid-life crisis. What do you hope listeners take away from your music? What reaction do you hope to inspire? There are a handful of songs that I can listen to and be completely oblivious to absolutely everything around me regardless of my location. “Sir Psycho Sexy” is one of them. “Clair de Lune” is another. They lift me up and take me to another world. Every time I write a song, I try to make it so engaging and inviting and intense and relaxing and sincere that it makes you forget where you are at that moment. How do you feel about playing for Miami audiences? What makes it special for you to play here? This is a very special time for Miami music. It’s often tough to recognize a revolution when you’re in the thick of it but there are just too many good bands here for something not to happen on a national level. People here are just getting used to the idea that the band that they’re watching could be the next big thing and I think that notion is contagious. What’s next on the horizon? We’re performing three songs live on the CBS morning news in West Palm Beach this weekend, embarking on our month-long tour of the east coast on June 9, the music video of the single “Concrete Dreams” is in post-production and I’m finishing up the new EP coming out in August. And of course a whole lot of shows in between. Makes me excited just thinking about it.


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Tristan