 Juno: No Time For Emo
by Megan Seling
There should be
a support group that writers can attend when
trying to write about something that is beyond
words. Or, if not that, then at least a handbook
that we can refer to when put to this difficult
task, because it’s hard. It’s hard to
describe the indescribable. To me, when something
is explained in any large extent of detail, the
magic is lost. At the same time though, nothing
can be left out or you deny that subject an
acknowledgement of all present and worthy
characteristics. I guess what it comes down to
is, here I have written for you a story about one
Seattle band, Juno. And, even though I have
filled the article with hundreds and hundreds of
words (1,953 to be exact), Juno still seems to be beyond
all of them. Meaning? What you read here
ain’t even the half of it.
Prior to my
deciding to do a piece on Juno, I had listened, as a
fan, to their 1999 release, This is the
way it goes and goes and goes, more times than I did a
New Kids on the Block album when I was ten. Trust
me, that’s a lot. So going into this I
thought I had everything figured out. I’ve
read the lyrics, I’ve connected with them.
I’ve seen the live show, I was blown away,
every time. Juno wasn’t new
territory to me. Of course, sitting next to
singer/guitarist Arlie Carstens at some small
coffee house listening to him tell me about his
lyrics and his life made me a bit more nervous
than when I’m say, standing in a crowd of
500 people watching him from a distance. But even
when he’s off stage, the same conditions
transpire, only this time it’s personal.
While watching
Arlie sing, you feel for him as if you know him.
And if you’ve ever seen a live Juno show, you’ll know
what I’m talking about here. You feel for
him not just because of the way he sings the
words, with every ounce of emotion being spit
out, but also because of what words are being
sung. Words that are so powerful, at times he
can’t even believe it.
"There have
been times when we have played songs where
I’m so shocked that I’m busting out and
saying this shit, I will just slap my hand over
my mouth. That is ridiculous that I’m gonna
address that topic right now in front of these
people. But you know, you have to. I have
to."
The topics he is
referring to include those of wrongdoing, tragedy
and loss. He’s written about it all. Keep in
mind, that also means he’s experienced it
all. There’s no subject he won’t touch.
Once it’s become part of his life, it’s
fair game. He takes what he’s given despite
what it is and creates from that something he can
control and something he can understand. He
creates words and music.
"The music
that I write or the lyrics that I write are
always, without fail, about real people and the
real things that have happened in their lives.
Writing music or writing lyrics, for me is a way
of trying to make sense of why certain things
happen, and to at times honor the lives of people
that have been in my life."
The life he has
lead would make a weak, even a moderately strong
person crumble. Having to deal with the hurting
and loss of inspirational and influential people
more times than one should in a lifetime, the
effects these situations have ensued on him hold
a strong presence in his lyrics. One tear-jerking
example is a line from "Young
Influentials," a song that, when talking
about it or performing it, can still cause him to
choke up. He writes, "You saved for me a
memory of my former-self but I won’t ask if
you promise not to tell. Lord knows we really
never had much else. Well it slides in real slow.
You slide out real slow. When she died she was
just 12 years old." See what I mean?
Amazing.
But these
amazing lyrics aren’t the only thing Juno
has going for them. With the talents of
additional band members, Gabe Carter (guitarist),
Jason Guyer (guitarist) and Greg Ferguson
(drums), Arlie’s lyrics are turned from
solemn poetry to (as Jason recently described it
via e-mail) "ripping, sad, organic,
no-time-for-emo, rock."
But as you may
have noticed from the list above, Juno is
temporarily without a bass player, which may seem
like it would leave them with less rock than
usual. But the lack of the lower end of their
sound hasn’t stopped them. Since Travis
Saunders, the previous bassist, left the band,
Juno has been writing new material while having
friends fill in the gap. Nate Mendel of The Foo Fighters and Nick Harmer of Death Cab for
Cutie have both lent their talents to
Juno in practice sessions as well as in live
shows.
And don’t
think that the lack of a permanent bass player is
negatively affecting the band. For the time
being, it’s actually shaping up to be quite
a positive turn.
"If
anything, the new blood has brought with it an
infusion of healthy unpredictability. Each bass
player we clown around with adds something
different, something original and in many ways
something funny--as in ‘ha ha’--to the
mix." Says Arlie of the situation.
Gabe agrees.
"It’s like getting dumped by your
girlfriend and having a supermodel ask you out.
Nate’s a wonderful bass player, he’s
our dream. He’s such a perfect fit in so
many ways."
And then it
happened, just as quickly my conversation with
Arlie turned deep, my conversation with the two
of them together turned into something from The
Parent Trap, where they played off
of each other’s jokes and finished each
other’s thoughts.
As I asked about
having to differentiate themselves as musicians
or artists, Arlie began with an honest answer,
but I should’ve known it would turn goofy.
"You just
do what you know. If this is what you know you
just do it and don’t apologize for it or act
embarrassed about doing it. You’re just like
‘Okay this is what I am’ and go on
about your day. Don’t be ashamed of it. Say
it, do it, own it, celebrate it, try to get
others to do it. If you’re ashamed to say
what you are, as you’re doing it, than
you’re discrediting yourself. Just own up to
it."
Gabe points out,
"There might be days where I’m not a
musician at all, some days that’s all I
am."
"Dude, like
when I’m mopping my floors, or cleaning my
bathroom…"
"You’re
a janitor!"
"I’m a
fucking janitor. That’s right! That is
right."
From there,
there was no going back. Once Gabe joined us, I
saw a new side of Arlie, one where laughter
presided and inside jokes were non-stop. Just as
Gabe started to speak about the songwriting
process, the basic who writes what and how,
"Juno talk" reared its ugly head.
"People
send back guitar parts all the time. It’s
like ‘No, that guitar part’s bad,
You’ve got to come up with something
else.’ We let them come up with [the parts]
all on their own but we veto each other all the
time. Like, ‘that’s terrible,
that’s candy.’ Or ‘that’s
kooky fun times.’ Kooky fun times just makes
them ashamed."
"Oh, it
does. It’s so bad. And if you sing it to
them…"
Gabe began
singing to demonstrate, "Kooky fun times,
kooky fun times."
Arlie continues,
"If you sing their guitar part to them
saying the words kooky fun times, it’s
fucking harsh. We ruin each other, we fucking
ruin each other. But one of the things I
appreciate most about my band is I could come up
with a guitar part and if playing that guitar
part and trying to sing at the same time is going
to be a pain in my ass, I can hand that guitar
part over to Gabe or to Jason. My band mates and
I are not afraid of giving each other each
other’s parts. People don’t covet what
they’re playing so much like ‘I’m
the only that can do this.’"
Though Gabe
jokingly pointed out, there are times when he is
the only one who can do it.
For some reason
it was hard for me to put Juno into the category
of "funny." Based on their explosive
and dramatic music, I just unfairly assumed they
would be anything but. And, I guess I’m not
the first, because Arlie is completely aware of
the fact that people might write them off as
being just like the next sad, quiet set.
"Did you
ever think that people in a band that makes music
that loud and that convoluted and that sort of
dismal and miserable-as is much of the music that
we make-did you ever think the people in that
band would be hilarious?"
Arlie was right.
I shortchanged them. I believed for more than a
minute everything I’ve ever read about Juno.
I fell for the "emo-core" write off
they’ve been given in the past and assumed
they were just like any other deep emotional,
melancholy group of guys who like to sit around
being miserable. But how many miserable guys will
joke about the possibilities of Fugazi being
another boyband cliché with matching fashions,
choreographed dancing and headsets to boot?
When I asked who
they thought would win in a fight, between
themselves and N’Sync, (Hey, it’s a
fair question. After all, there are only four in
Juno right now as opposed to N’Sync’s
five!) Arlie answered, "We would, because I
can’t die. I’m like Lazarus, you
fucking kill me and I’ll come back,
it’s just doesn’t happen. My band mates
could go yachting."
As for Gabe, he
really doesn’t care. "I don’t feel
one way or the other about N’Sync,
they’re like The Partridge
Family, like Brady Bunch to me. You just
can’t work up the energy to hate them."
Arlie agrees,
"They’re like moist towelettes, they
serve a purpose."
"It’s
like McDonalds, I don’t go there. It’s
not pissing me off, I just don’t go there. I
mean I guess if someone was rubbing a
quarter-pounder in my face I’d start to get
mad but…"
"Right,
like if Fugazi was up there wearing like matching
outfits and doing choreographed dancing I might
take offense, I might be like ‘Man, Fugazi,
you’re letting me down.’"
But just as
quickly as the funny stuff came up, things can go
back to being serious or at least completely from
the heart. I was reminded of that when I received
an e-mail from Arlie a few days following the
second interview.
As Arlie wrote
about his being in a band and continuing to
create music, he stated, "I realized a long
time ago that no one was going to walk up and
give me the version of the world that I most
wanted."
For some reason,
to read that was distressing. Only because it
made me realize that such a wonderful person has
had to suffer such terrible times. But without a
doubt, his strength has remained, Juno has
remained and the results have been amazing. But
keep in mind, to know Juno, you really must
experience them. You have to attend a live show
and allow yourself to get lost in it. If given
the chance you have to find for yourself how
great every band member is. Now that you know
that, I’ll leave it at this. Juno is not
limited to these words. They are beyond them. All
1,953 of them.
Email Megan Seling
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