Eskimo Joe Interview, 
Time Off
August 2004

Since the release of their album A Song Is A City in May, Perth band Eskimo Joe have gone from strength to strength.

An album tour in May/June boasted sell-out shows around the country, including the local Arena gig, while A Song Is A City 
still sits at No.30 in the ARIA albums chart, having sold more than 70,000 copies.

Bassist Joel Quartermain couldn’t be happier. He figured most people would’ve forgotten about them in the three years since 
they released their last album, Girl. Instead, they’ve been buying the album and attending gigs in droves.

“It could’ve gone either way, you know,” he says of the band’s career. “People could’ve totally forgotten [us] and 
completely lost interest, but luckily, quite a few people were interested to come and see us again, so, yeah, it’s been 
really good.

“This tour is the first time we’ve done theatres – rooms of that size. It’s all been encouraging so far, so it’ll be 
interesting to see how it goes.”

Quartermain believes the success of A Song Is A City owes much to the band’s improved songwriting, particularly the work of 
chief songwriter, bassist and vocalist Kav Temperley.

One such track, ‘From The Sea’, gained the band plenty of radio support as the album’s first single, and documents 
Temperley’s state-of-mind at the time.

“In Fremantle, where Kav lives, storms come in off the ocean – you can see them coming in. I think he’s using that as a 
metaphor to describe the anxiety he had at the time. Like when you’re going through an anxious time, you’ve got this 
build-up of emotion and you’re sweating about something. It’s building up and building up and at some time it’s going to 
break. I think he’s using the storm rolling in as a metaphor for that.”

Quartermain argues that Eskimo Joe’s success on the airwaves owes just as much to the changing face of Australian radio.

“Commercial radio seems to have changed its tack since our last record. I mean, they’re playing [singles] like ours 
straight off the bat, whereas last time it was a bit more of a struggle.

“I think that’s got a lot to do with how the commercial radio climate’s changed since then. The whole Nova thing has been a 
big part of it – they’ve bridged the gap between the independent stations and commercials, and put pressure on the big 
guys.”

With radio onside and a promising tour underway, Eskimo Joe aren’t wasting any time. In early October, they head to the US 
to tackle the American market.

“We’re heading to New York and LA to play showcases for people who are showing interest over there. It all sort of hinges 
on how that goes. We’re definitely gunning for [the album] to be released overseas.

“When we make an album we’re not just thinking about Australia, but hopefully being able to float anywhere in the world.”