All rise for the honorable Judex. Their verdict – Rock N’ Rock. Hard Rock N’ Roll.
Bio: The Judex is a Rock N’ Roll band with elements of soul, garage, psychobilly, and proto-punk from Philadelphia, PA. Fronted by William, with J Carr on guitar & bass and Dalton on drums, they have what it takes to steal the show and recruit members into their fan club, Cult of Judex. The Judex released their full-length album Return of the Split Lip in August 2017, and their Wicked Pony Stomp – Single in March 2018. They are gearing up to release a new single early 2020 and another album during the summer of 2020.
First off, what’s the story behind the name?
An excellent first question Sir. ‘Judex’ is Latin for ‘Judge.’ It was immediately fitting, memorable, and marketable. And it fits us quite well.
How would you describe the band’s sound?
Your description is pretty apt; we’re a Rock N’ Roll band, although I feel our foundation is much more seeped in old blues records and garage and rockabilly than a lot of our contemporaries who seem influenced purely by shit Emo bands or obnoxious screamo.
What’s the last song you listened to?
I, personally, to a track called “Feelings are for Girls” by a synth-wave band called Screens 4 Eyes. I don’t know what the other guys listened to last but, as a group, we all did go to the recent Bowie Birthday Celebration in New York a few days ago.
What’s your source for hearing new music?
Like a lot of musicians, we’re exposed to new bands through the different artists we meet and work with. Just for example, we had an amazing artist guest on one of our b-sides recently- she’s a violinist named Sana Nagano, and she played that violin like an ax, man. She came into the studio to lay down a few takes on a song of ours named “Philistine Love,” and, through that, we discovered she’s a bandleader and has these experimental combos in NY called Smashing Humans and Atomic Pigeons.
I think all music is “new” to someone, so I’m constantly seeking out old and obscure garage and blues records and then I’ll show it to J (J Carr, guitarist) who shares my enthusiasm for that stuff.
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
I believe the Artist is compelled to make music, art,
whatever regardless- it is something they can’t turn off. I was a visual artist
throughout childhood but I had an abusive adult in my life and unfortunately, I
was powerless to properly defend myself and they curtailed my art progress. So
I fell into music around the age of 14 and, as this was an intangible thing,
they couldn’t really mess with it.
And as pretentious as it sounds, I feel musicians were always drawn to music
and couldn’t resist it; some people just feel music differently and use it to
convey and expunge the feelings inside of them, good and bad. The Judex is no
different in this regard.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
With our band, it’s a true collaborative process, although some songs have what I refer to as a primary composer; that is, one guy generally wrote all the music but the rest of us might have had a hand in arranging it or suggesting a change here or there. Generally, Jason and I write the most and compare/contrast and J is an expert arranger.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
I’m uncertain if you mean with social media or live performance, so I’ll try to answer both! We’re pretty active with our YouTube channel and have a show we’re hoping reaches as many people as possible. It’s a mixture of old lo-fi public access tv, regional horror hosts, The Monkees; you name it. We’re really not good at Facebook and things of that nature.
As for live- well, only those performers with soul can really ever connect with an audience and deliver something to them they weren’t expecting. The Judex surely tries to reach the crowd as much as possible every single time we play.
Connect with The Judex via their YouTube channel, Instagram, Facebook, and their BandCamp.
What’s the name of your upcoming single, and how many tracks are you releasing?
It’s a Double A-Side because we think both songs are super keen, so it has the unwieldy official title of “Leather Forever backed with Midnight Bruiser,” but those cultured fans of The Judex will likely call it ‘Leather Forever’ or something.
Only two songs, but both are instant classics and we’re pretty fond of them. “Leather” is about an article I read once about the study of subcultures and how people struggling to hide their sexuality or kinks would live a supposedly normal life but would not feel empowered or like “themselves” until they put on their outfit and went out to those places where similar people meet. I found this very interesting, and it sparked the idea for this story, although Jason wrote the music to it. When he showed me his demo, I knew it was punchy and instantaneous.
“Bruiser” is a relatable piece about people who live in their heads, doubt themselves, have misplaced guilt and stay up at night in pain. The music was primarily written by our founding bassist Sean Patrick, who is no longer with us. But his contribution to this song can’t be denied and it’s to the benefit of his daily life that it’s getting released. We had the skeleton of the song down last year and we’ll be finishing it up in New York this month. The entire package will be released on Feb 1st, 2020.
Tell us about your favorite track. What’s it called? What’s it about?
If you mean favorite Judex track, it changes, and it changes for each member, I’m sure. Right now, it’s “Leather Forever” simply because we just finished mixing it last month and it’s still so fresh in my head and infectious. I’m sure when we get deep into studio work on the new material, one of those songs will become the favorite.
How do you plan on promoting the single? Any shows coming up?
We have a handful of shows and a couple of benefits/festivals in 2020. Otherwise, we’ll use our channel to promote it and we have a lot of great support from different shows, podcasts and so forth. Really, the seminal Rock N Roll Manifesto show has been the biggest support since we premiered and we can’t give them enough credit- it’s a show every single fan of rock, indie, punk should be listening to. DJ Greg Lonesome gave us credibility when we barely had our debut single out two weeks. So we really do rely on- and appreciate- the indie radio movement, the indie music sites like yours that provide coverage and exposure to underground artists like ourselves.
Do you have art for this release yet? If so, who did it? Did you give them direction, or did you let the artist do what they see fit?
I’m glad you asked this. Every single piece of Judex art, with minor exceptions, is executed by an artist in Columbus, Ohio named Michael Neno. Now I have to point out that everything is drafted first by me- I make a rough design and/or sketch and provide it to Michael who then, being a real artist instead of an amateur one like myself, corrects my idea and my wonky anatomy or fixes stylistic things. He understands what I was going for but couldn’t properly get across. Michael then inks it- I’m not sure if he uses a brush but I believe he does- and then I’ll do a rough color guide and scan it and send it to him which he then digitally colors for the final product. So, though it’s a collaborative effort, the real credit belongs to Michael Neno. Because without him, it would have none of its professionalism and such; it would just be a very disastrous if promising layout. I think more bands need to reach out to Neno for their gig flyers and album covers because we get a lot of feedback from people when they see our covers and whatnot.
You mentioned you’re recording a longer album for a summer release. Do you know what it will be called?
It’s called “Your City Needs A Crime Wave,” and it’s probably just going to be 6-8 tracks. I think that smaller EPs and singles are the future for self-funded and underground artists like us. We spend a lot to make the best quality recordings we can; we mix every single song in New York City in Mark Plati’s private studio Alice’s Restaurant. It’s worth it to us because I believe The Judex’s body of work is going to be more viable and accessible to new fans years from now. You’ve got to have the capacity for scope and long term planning, so we concentrate more on recording than touring.
What’s next for the band?
A mixing session, a rehearsal, and probably filming footage for the next episode. We’re auditioning a couple of prospective bassists so we’ll see. We have enough new songs for several new releases; we’d live in the studio if we could afford it.
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
That we appreciate the attention and being featured on Ctrlplusspace, everyone should like our pages before it gets trendy to do so!
Pictures of The Cult of Judex. It’s real and all you need is a T-shirt to join!
