Friday, June 17, 2011

Junior Boys get smart



Junior Boys are a duo from Ontario, Canada, who have impressed both dance and indie music fans over the past decade. Their fourth and latest album, It's All True, was released this week by Domino Records. LEO spoke with Jeremy Greenspan, who was on a bus "somewhere between New York and D.C."

LEO: Do you enjoy traveling around the States?
JG: I do, yeah. I wouldn't say I enjoy this particular stretch of highway... (laughs). I wouldn't say that the Roy Rogers we went to was my favorite place in America (laughs), but yeah.

LEO: Do you prefer Tim Hortons?
JG: (laughs) No, I think that particular guy has worn out his welcome with me, actually.

LEO: I'd say your music has more of a European sound than a North American sound. Do you agree?
JG: Maybe... I don't know. To be perfectly honest, we probably have more success in North America than in Europe. In terms of the amount of people who come out to shows and all that kind of stuff. The Midwest, it's always kind of a crapshoot. We have lots of fans in Atlanta and on the East Coast.

LEO: Do you read your reviews?
JG: Oh, yeah, sure.

LEO: Do you find that helpful?
JG: If they're good (laughs). Yeah, if they're good, we feel real good about 'em. I have a friend who always says it takes 10 good reviews to get over one bad one. Our reviews on this record so far have been quite good, so we're feeling pretty good about it.

LEO: How has Domino Records been helpful to getting your music out? Have you ever thought about putting out your own records?
JG: They do a lot. Only recently have we taken much of a role in getting our music out by ourselves – running our Facebook, starting a Twitter page, all that stuff. That's pretty new for us. Most of the time, we've relied on our label to get our stuff out there.

LEO: Do you think social media has helped you?
JG: I think it does. It's hard to tell. I think so.

LEO: Do you consider your group more of a pop dance band or experimental electronic project?
JG: I think of us more as a pop group, but our roots are in dance music, electronic music, stuff like that. We don't necessarily make pop songs, but we don't want to alienate anyone. We make pop music that makes you think.

Junior Boys with Miracle Fortress and OK Deejays
Wednesday, June 22
9 p.m., $12 adv., $15 DOS
Headliners Music Hall
1386 Lexington Rd.
http://juniorboys.net/

c. 2011 LEO Weekly