DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Jay Draper & The Subterraneans
Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we find Jay Draper & The Subterraneans sat on the beach. The island is far from their home, so how did they end up here and how did they cope with life on Devil's Island?
Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
You're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
Well, since The Subterraneans is more or less a solo project at the moment I'd pick Here Come the Warm Jets by Brian Eno. My Mom introduced me to it when I was young and it was like nothing I'd ever heard at the time, and although it's left its fingerprints on a bunch of modern music since its release, I still think there hasn't been anything totally like it since, even in Eno's own canon. If we were to treat the different facets of my fractured personality like different members of a band though, it might go something like this:
-All That Glitters Belongs on My Face-Jay: Aladdin Sane by David Bowie
-Teenage Angst-Jay: Prick by Prick
-Let's Fuck Some Shit Up-Jay: Funhouse by the Stooges
-Lost in Utter Sorrow After a REALLY Bad Breakup-Jay: Let Love In by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
-Completely Unhinged-Jay: Meet the Residents by The Residents
-Lost in Bliss-Jay: Another Green World by Brian Eno
-Deeply Introspective and Conceptual-Jay: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
-Going to Slit My Wrists-Jay: The Sad Bag by Steven Jesse Bernstein
-And Then My Mind Split Open-Jay: White Light White Heat by The Velvet Underground
Is that too many band members?
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
Not 100% sure which one but probably an early Roxy Music cover like Country Life or For Your Pleasure. I mean, they're great albums, but also, I'm alone on an island and I've got to have something nice to look at if you know what I mean.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
I know I'm going to sound pretentious here but fuck it, I am. Definitely absinthe. Maybe something French like Jade
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
Well, I guess this is where I promote my other band, The Scarlet Fever, and say I'd bring a Scarlet Fever shirt. Cause.. You know. Gotta promote the band. I guess to the bartender who seems to be the only other person in this whole place. By the way, how much for another absinthe? I can give you this shirt.
You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?
Then myself? Oh, man. Pretty much anyone. It's a nightmare in this big old head of mine, especially with all these other personalities trying to play their favourite records all at once. Sister Ray is bad enough on its own. We might as well be playing Metal Machine Music at this point! That being said, probably Nightcrawler from the X-men, because he could easily get me out of here. Plus he's got that sexy prehensile tail.
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
Probably Bowie's final Ziggy Stardust show. It's definitely one of my favourite live albums/ concert films. Wait! Does that mean there's ANOTHER album playing now?! THE NOISE! THE NOISE!!!
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
Wait... Didn't Nightcrawler already save me? Fuck! Was that part a dream? This always happens. It's just one dream, within a dream, within a dream. It's like that film. What's it called? With the dreams, that are with dreams, within dreams? Oh yes! The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, of course. What did you think I was talking about? Anyway, where were we? Oh! Message in a Bottle? I'm pretty sure Sting wrote that one. I must be killing this. Next question, please!
You've been stuck here a while and food supplies are running low. There's only one thing for it... which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?
Probably Lost in Utter Sorrow After a REALLY Bad Breakup-Jay because he never stops crying and is a real pill to be around. I mean, we've already eaten Going to Slit My Wrists-Jay since he was obviously the first to go, and we're not really that hungry anymore, but someone's got to put an end to all this crying, plus at least that's another two records that we can stop playing. Damn, I taste good though. Maybe I'll stick around here for a bit after all. *Orders another absinthe and some wet naps for the ribs.
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
In all seriousness, David Bowie. I know it's probably trite to say at this point but it's true. There have been many who have had an influence on me, but no one has exposed me to quite as many different sounds and styles of music as he has with his diverse career. He also taught me a lot about being an artist. Things like the importance of staying true to your vision despite what people might think and how if something you want to do scares you, then it's probably the exact thing you should be doing. Sticking to your comfort zone is the death of creativity. Also, he's really into these ribs as well... Nom, nom, nom...
