Luke and Joel Interview

Luke and Joel Interview

'We were an overnight success that was years in the making!' is the humorous term used by songwriters and musician brothers Luke & Joel to describe their well-documented journey from Newcastle born rockers to nationally recognised television stars.

Luke & Joel first became Australian household favourites when they appeared in the 2010 series of Australian X-Factor; reaching the top 5 under the guidance of Judge Guy Sebastian.

"X-Factor was an amazing journey for Joel and myself" comments songwriter Luke O'Dea "It has allowed us to gain exposure to a national audience that have stayed loyal to us since we left the show"

However these brothers, who were raised within the music industry [growing up backstage regularly attending gigs with their 'roadie' dad for iconic Australian acts like Marcia Hines, Mondo Rock and Jon English] decided to drop off the 'fame' radar for a while to work on creating music that both themselves and their fans wanted.

'We chose to go away, go underground, and come back with a product worth selling and that people will like' Luke O'Dea says of their decision to step out of the spotlight over the last 12 months 'We wanted to ensure that what we came back with was what our fans want, and expect from us'

'Our fans have stuck with us over the last 12 months since the show' comments Joel O'Dea 'and we wanted to make sure they were involved in the next stages of our career somehow!'

With a growing and active fan base of 10,000+, Luke & Joel commissioned the support of an award winning digital agency to develop a promotion that would allow them to include their fans in their first music video; the concept invited their fans to submit a webcam video lip sinking to the first 30 seconds of the song.

"The response was overwhelming" comments Wade Kuhn, Creative Director at The Farm "we put the call out via social media only and received many very amusing and creative videos from the fans. These fan clips were then incorporated into actual music video to deliver on the concept which is a "live web cam jam performance" inspired by the many brave souls who "know what they want" and put themselves out there on YouTube.

Check out the YouTube and the single is available at iTunes, now.

Interview with Luke and Joel

Question: How would you describe What You Want?

Luke and Joel: What you want is our attempt to add dance elements into our guitar driven music. We realise, and like, that dance music is massive at the moment so we wanted to write a song that incorporated what was popular with what we do. What you want is a song that everyone can relate to. Everyone has someone in their lives that are important to them but they are just sooo up and down. One minute they are doing this and the next they are doing the total opposite. One minute your sweet and the next your fighting. This song is about that.


Question: Can you talk about the experience of being mentored by Guy Sebastian?

Luke and Joel: Being mentored by Guy Sebastian was a bit surreal. Mostly because we watched him on the first Australian idol, and loved him, and then years down the track you're not only singing with him, playing music with him but he is our friend. We got along sooo well, we are very similar in certain aspects of our lives and he helped us with our music and helped us learn the importance of being yourself.


Question: What did you learn from your experience on X Factor?

Luke and Joel: We learnt that above all you have to be yourself. You are at your best when you're being yourself, not matter that is. People aren't going to like you and your music is not going to affect people if you're faking it. Some people still might not like it or you, but that's their problem then, you can't change that. We learnt that the hard way on X-Factor, a couple of songs we did weren't 'us' and they were definitely our weaker songs.

We also learnt that some TV people start at ridiculous hours in the morning - one time we got a call at 2.30am to tell us plans had changed and we needed to get up in 2 hours! They called again to make sure we were up...


Question: What tips do you have for those auditioning for X Factor 2012?

Luke and Joel: Nerves aren't always a bad thing - but they are if you haven't practiced. Know your song so well then when your mind blanks, you automatically remember the song! Cause believe me, at some stage your mind will blank...


Question: Did you have any pre-conceived ideas about the music industry?

Luke and Joel: Yeah. We had pre-conceived ideas that the music industry was easier than it is. It is a hard industry; even the people at the top will tell you that. That's why we are so thankful to everyone we supports us and allows us to keep going.


Question: Do you write your own songs? What's your inspiration?

Joel: We write all our own songs, Luke is more the writer. We generally draw inspiration from what happening in life at that present time and from the rhythms in life.Luke: The other day I can up with a song by singing to the blinker noise in the car.


Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Luke: I love The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beatles and all my Dad's music! But modern artists, I like include The Killers, Coldplay, Passion Pit, The Wombats and most dance music

Joel: I'm a bit more modern than Luke, my favourite band are The Foo Fighters, but I like all the pop music as well.... I might of bought a Justin Bieber christmas song or two...


Question: What's next? Tour/Album/Single?

Luke and Joel: We want as many people to hear this song and see the video as possible... Sort of a way of saying we are back and doing it like everyone else. But we have a lot of other songs that are done and ready to go so we will look at releasing an EP/Album next year hopefully in the first half. In terms of touring... Hopefully we will be in a place near you verrrry soon! We live to play live! (hahaha two words spelt the same with different meanings).


Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Luke and Joel: There have been a lot of these moments... When you have a dream or a goal the hardest thing sometimes is believing it can happen. When you wake up and struggle to believe, those are the days we find hardest. But then something will happen or you'll play a song and you'll remember what it's about... Then you're all good again.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Joel: Live 100 percent, Luke's a bit of a nerd and loves sitting in the studio... but he loves playing live as well.


Question: What/who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Joel: We both would have to say Dave Grohl.

Luke: I took Joel to his first live concert, Foo Fighters, ages ago and Dave Grohl went off! We both looked at each other that night and said one day we will do this...


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Luke and Joel: Believing in your own abilities. Sometimes the hardest person to convince that you are good is yourself!


Question: What's a typical day like?

Luke and Joel: Wake up and get coffee. Then head to the studio to start writing... Then usually stay there till night time, hang out with friends and family at night and go to bed. Get up do it again. Throw in 2-3 trips to Sydney a week.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Luke and Joel: The fact that our music affects people. The things we say and the vibe at live concerts. Also the feeling you get when you're playing/singing a good build up in a song. Like 'Little Lion Man' by Mumford and Sons last year on the show.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Luke: I'm going to say Mick Jagger.

Joel: Can't go past Dave Grohl, but it would be cool to do a collaboration with a rapper like Nicki Minaj or Kanye West.


Question: Do you have a website fans can visit?

Luke and Joel: Follow @luke_joel on Twitter - we write back!
Also come and say hi, like or comment on our Facebook page www.Facebook.com/lukeandjoelxfactor