Interview with Winterbourne
Credit: Mclean Stephenson
Winterbourne have been quietly building a following since their first release in 2014, turning heads with their EPs, following by the debut full-length Echo of Youth (2019).
Known for their charismatic stage presence and melodic harmonies, Winterbourne have sold out multiple headline shows across Australia and abroad. We caught up with James and Jordan after their gig in Gent, Belgium where a band took some time to let us into their world.
Credit: Lauren Parkin
Tell me what you feel about the show you’ve played tonight
Jordan: We didn’t know what this place was, but it was the most intimate show we’ve played in Europe.
Who are the 3 greatest living musicians?
Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Angus Young
What’s your favourite 90s jam?
James: Stereophonics - A Thousand Trees
Jordan: Green Day – Basket Case
What’s your favourite song nowadays?
James: Flyte – Sometimes. Their latest EP (White Roses) is pretty awesome. Also, Tim Baker’s solo record (Forever Overhead), which we love.
Jordan: Lumineers – III
Credit: Molly Toby
Tell me about your album Echo of Youth
James: We spent about 2 years making it, and we’ve been knowing each other for 12 years. It’s been a long time. We started the recording in Byron Bay, and meant to record 10 songs for the album. It took us 11 songs, with the idea of getting rid of one of them. And now we have 12 songs on the album, which is because we had some songs, we didn’t show anyone, or we did, but no one really got it. It’s a really quiet song called “Sunday Night”. I just ended up playing it while we were setting up for a different song, and everyone in the band kind of was “Oh, what’s that?”. Then Jordan just joined in and we played it together. The 4th time we played it, it’s what’s now on the album. That’s a nice thing and a pretty cool story we like to tell.
Credit: Molly Toby
What's your favourite song to perform?
Jordan: My favourite is “Too Many”. “Take the Golden” is really fun as well.
What's a song you've written that came out of nowhere?
James: Yeah, most of them! There are 4 songs that we’ve written a week or two before we recorded that.
Jordan: Revolutionary, Man
If you could steal credit for any great piece of art, song, film, book etc which one would you claim?
Some sort of the universe – like Star Wars or Game of Thrones.
Tell me about your favourite performance venues.
Jordan: We love to play indoor venues, as it never sounds that amazing outside. We’ve done a few theatres, it was great. It’s really nice to have a good sound.
Credit: Nicole Ling
What’s the most embarrassing song in your music library?
Jordan: Maybe early Eels?
What’s your favourite album art?
James: The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
James’ favorite album cover art - The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
What is something that everyone looks stupid doing?
Jordan: I got the whole list! Avoiding bees. When you are playing a table tennis, and the ball goes away, and you are trying to get it. Chasing a piece of paper in the wind.
James: Singing and playing guitar.
What secret conspiracy would you like to start?
James: Like, I’m actually Jordan, and he’s me.
Jordan: Oh God, this is a good one!
If you were arrested with no explanation, what would your friends and family assume you had done?
Jordan: It would be for being a smart ass. Maybe to a judge or a policeman.
James: Definitely!
What are the unwritten rules of being a musician?
Jordan: Regarding touring and all the stuff, is to remember the importance of the relationships between people. It’s such a small community, where you meet the same people over and over again. If you’re a dick to a sound guy when you’re 16 and you’re playing in the pub, you’ll probably see this sound guy again, 5 years later. And he’s gonna go: “This guy is a dick”. You should be respectful to everyone you meet.
Credit: Nicole Ling
What set of items could you buy that would make the cashier the most uncomfortable?
Jordan: Condoms, murder oil, batteries and like… a mop.
James: I’d go with condoms, chocolate and a frozen drink.
What people should know about you?
James: That we are genuinely good.
What is the thing you are looking forward?
James: We are playing the biggest ever Sydney show when we get home. We are really excited about that and the whole Australian tour. We will have 2 weeks to recover from the Europe run.
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