We chatted to Carolina and Alexander from EUGENE THE CAT in Exeter....
We were invited along to the Exeter Cavern on 21st April 2016 to check out a band called Molotov Jukebox, it's not the first time we've seen them so we knew what to expect. Before they took to the stage, we were treated to a wonderful set by 5 piece Austrian band Eugene the Cat, Carolina and Alexander were kind enough to chat to us after their performance, here's how we got on....
So, you’re called Eugene the Cat, you’re from Austria, how long have you been together as a band?
The band was founded in 2012, we started writing songs, in February 2014 we became a live band sowe got the drummer and then we started to play live shows. Since then, we have toured in Switzerland, the UK, it’s our first proper tour of the UK but we have played a single show here before (Co-Headliners at The Riverside Festival in Nottingham in 2015). We also played in Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and now here we are on the tour with Molotov Jukebox!
What is the music scene like in Austria at the moment?
In Austria, you get recognised as a band when you have success abroad, if you’re a local band, then it’s as if nobody wants to know you, it's a shame but all local radio stations want to play are renowned acts from America and the UK so it's really hard to get noticed
Do you have many bands in Austria producing the same music that you do?
We have in the past, though these days it's more classical music, we have lots of universities where you can study the classics, we also have a lot of jazz music and we have many good acts in Austria, genres such as funk, soul and hip hop, we tend to get everything but in very small groups.
Are there any dates on the tour that you’re really excited about playing?
We play in Bristol and it;s a sold out show and London because none of us has ever been there there, we will visit the city and then go and play a show, we’re playing at the Village Underground.
Any festivals lined up this year?
We’re coming to Boomtown later this year, we’re also playing at the Big Love festival (Wye Valley in Wales) on April 29th, we have a night off from touring with Molotov Jukebox so we thought it would be good to squeeze in another show!
I saw you have a CD for sale tonight, are there others?
No, this is our first EP that we have produced, Seoul Caravan, we have some great material, the next EP will hopefully be following soon.
Any plans for an album?
We are releasing a new single in the next few months and are currently working on an album that we hope will be ready for October but we will see. Everyone is very busy!
So, you’re in the UK on tour, are you finding time to learn about each place that you play in?
It’s a little stressful as we are on a bus overtime, we just arrive at the venue, load in, soundcheck, then we eat and get ready for the show, do the gig, drink beer and go to bed! We have a bus driver from England and he tells us a little about where we are and stops for us to take photos but other than that, it’s pretty much drive, play then sleep! On our free days, we do make an effort to have a look around and try to explore.
Tell me a band that you are really into at the moment?
It’s a difficult question as we are all musicians and we all bring different styles to the band, we like so many different bands, it’s amazing, we all bring new music to the table every day and we all listen to soul, jazz, latin, hip hop, even classical music, it all comes out in our music. We are also very shocked about Prince dying today, it was such a shock to us all, someone mentioned it earlier and we just didn’t want to believe it! It’s as if a little bit of the funk has died, this year is so bad, it;s taken David Bowie, Lemmy from Moorhead and now Prince, he was the Godfather of good music….
Can you sum up Molotov Jukebox in a few words?
I think they’re cool, the music is impossible to stand still to, they have some latin and calypso and samba sounds in it, even a bit of salsa, I am Argentinian so it is something I am used to, the best of all, they have fun doing what they do and that’s really important, they play from their hearts.
You know that Natalia is a famous actress too?
Yes, when we found out that we were on tour with them, we were really surprised that she was in Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, we now know a famous person!
How did the tour actually come about?
We got a phone call from our agent asking if we’d be up for going to the UK to do a tour with the band and we accepted right away! It’s a huge thing, you don’t get opportunities like that every day so we jumped at it! Some of us are still studying so it was a great chance for us to get some experience touring in the UK.
We'd like to thank Carolina and Alexander for sparing their time after the show to chat to us, please take a few moments exploring their social media, all details are below, just click!
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