I don’t normally book “novelty” acts.
Nine times out of ten, the band has to have merit.
Actually, I really could say that this would be the first time that I booked a band solely on their name alone.
Sure, their online music had some panache to it, but it didn’t jump out of the speakers at me. In fact, it barely made me want to hear more of it.
Barely.
When I arrived at The Brewery tonight, I had the notion in mind that I was about to see some shitty band from Switzerland that dumbed their way into a bunch of US dates.
And their name was Jesus.
They didn’t spell it “JESUS”. It’s “Djizoes“. In Swiss/French, it’s pronounced “Jesus”…like, “our lord and savior”…but that’s not what it means.
Their manager advised me that “Djizoes” (pr. Gee-zuss”) had no literary or connotative meaning.
No religious association. No weird, abstract definition of the word…it just had a catchy ring to it that lots of people would understand.
And at the end of the night, I had a born again vigor for live music and what we’ve got right fucking here.
The guys in Djizoes (pr. Jesus) are just like any band from right here…but the main difference is that they felt lucky to be here.
They’re fucking thankful to be able to play in the US–much less on a Sunday night in late spring at The Abbey Bar at ABC…which–if any US band knows–is not the ideal night of the week to play in Harrisburg.
These cats are from Switzerland…
Fucking Switzerland…And they booked a 26 date US tour over two months…without ever stepping foot in our country.
These fucking guys…Jesus…booked a solid two month run AND bought all brand new gear AND A gently used van for their trip when they got here.
HOW MANY US BANDS ARE DOING THIS??
Not as many as there should be, I’ll tell you that much.
How many bands have I worked with (or do I know) that SHOULD be playing twenty six nights over a sixty day period?
Their music is clearly influenced by early American rock. One can hear influences of everything from Slayer to Zeppelin to Alice in Chains–and they do it well.
Praising their musical abilities aside, the guys in Djizoes were some of the most appreciative, generous and happy dudes I’ve encountered in quite some time. Too long, in fact.
And it’s funny to say that Jesus slept on my couch last night. Well, not ALL of Jesus slept on the couch…my couch isn’t that big…but scattered throughout my living room and in their van out front.
I questioned them about their culture–what’s the government like? Is there as much focus on religion there as there is here? What about McDonalds and Starbucks? Is it true that EVERYONE hates America?
And what I learned, despite the small differences, is that everyone, regardless of where they are from, can have the same passion about music as we do. The world over, people are tied together by their love of a rhythm section, guitars and vocals. That’s why they do it. Not to be rock stars or to fuel their egos…they do it for the love of music.
Switzerland or Swatara–nobody in the biz wants a day job.
And that, my friends, is what it’s all about.
Make the music, go on tour…and rock on.
