Double Page Spread Article - Interview with the Baby Jaynes

I was lucky enough to sit down with Pete Watermans new band, who fit
perfectly into the Alternative Pop genre. The vocal harmony group tell
me what its like to be starting out in the music industry of the modern
world, with plenty of opinions inserted in there too. Ladies and
Gentlemen, I present to you, The Baby Jaynes.
Sitting in a bustling coffee shop in the centre of Warrington, the very town where
internationally known record producer Pete Waterman resides, I discuss the ever
changing Great British weather with Harry, Joe and Adam, the three members of
the band that never rests, The Baby Jaynes. From performing in Wrexham to
recording their debut album in Daresbury, switching on Christmas lights in
Liverpool1 to travelling to the Capital the very next day, their diaries are always
full; but its worth it. Going to London is always fun, Adam tells me, and the
boys are buzzing after a successful gig. The Baby Jaynes recently performed at
Pete Waterman - A Life in Song, where fans of the boys manager gathered to
celebrate his influence on the music industry. The event included an interview
with the man himself and other live guest performances, including James
Graham, who has inspired the guys with his success and his great voice. When I
asked them if they have been inspired by any previous acts signed by Waterman,
they replied that they respected how Rick Astley kept his integrity throughout his
career. He is credible as an artist, but we dont really see many similarities
between ourselves and other artists, however, we do hold a lot of respect for
them, Joe informs me.
Speaking of Rick Astley, we know that his career started off with his smash hit,
Never Gonna Give You Up, but what was it like for Harry, Joe and Adam when
their career began in June 2013?
Flat, Adam states whilst laughing. But from meeting at the University of York
and connected by a mutual love of singing and jamming through cover songs(in
the words of Joe), the guys started busking to pass the time. When they started
to receive gig offers, the penny finally dropped that this could be something
quite good. Of course, the guys knew from a young age that they wanted to be
involved in music, especially Harry, who started singing when he was 8 years old
(aww). By the guys early teenage years, they knew that they wanted to pursue
music as a career, but they werent sure about which direction they wanted to go
in. I went through the high school/garage band phase, Joe reveals; but if you
were to ask him what the band was called, he wouldnt be able to tell you, From
the ages of 13 to 19 I have been in multiple bands, there was a time when there
was a new band every week really. The boys met Pete in September 2013 after
he attended one of their gigs at a residency in York. When Pete sort of came
across us we had played about 20 gigs and had a bit of a following there, Adam
says, The atmosphere was always good so he started to come to watch us.
Harry nods, We had talks and negotiations and meetings, basically like building
up a rapport with him. Then in February 2014 was when we officially moved
down to London, and then in the early March, we signed, we had only been

together, what, 9 months, something like that. No one ever underestimate the
power of a successful gig! The guys should know, considering that they have
performed 520 of them.
Sometimes we play 2 or 3 gigs in one day, and then we wont play any for ages,
Adam informs me, It depends on the season; Christmas and Summer are the
busiest times.
So has there been any less successful gigs? Harry looks around the room shiftily,
There have been one or two.
Adam explains this to me. Youll find a venue wont have a monitor speaker (a
speaker that faces the artist or band so they can hear). When they dont have
one it becomes difficult.
Every gig has got promise, the potential to be a good gig, Joe adds on a more
positive note, We enjoy all of them. Youve gotta take [the bag gigs] for what
they are.
The guys play all their own instruments; a live set includes two guitars, a drum
kit, a bass guitar and a keyboard. It depends on the type of gig that we are
doing really, Adam tells me.
We have a few session players that come in and do it better than we do it, Joe
laughs, but when it comes to a live performance, we play everything ourselves.
The Baby Jaynes also write all of their own material, their main musical
influences being Kings of Leon, James Bay, the 1975, Ed Sheeran, Fleetwood Mac
and The Beatles?
[They] are probably our biggest influence, not in their sweetness, but we really
appreciate their early work, Joe tells me.
Its important to enjoy the history of music as well as [whats] current, Adam
adds.
Harry goes into further detail about the Baby Jaynes song writing process, We
try and fit into the [pop market] as much as we can, so we take influence from
the charts, whats popular, stuff that we like. We like to listen to album tracks, as
we find that these tracks arent quite as sweet as the big singles; what most of
the public hear.
At the moment, the guys are making a steady progress with their album, and as
Joe mentioned, they want to have one clear sound for [the] album, something
that [they] are all comfortable with.
But do not worry, the guys have a youtube channel where you can watch the
music videos for their singles Waiting and Ill Still Carry You, amongst live
covers of songs such as Kids by MGMT.
The main reason behind their youtube channel, Joe tells me, Having youtube as
a platform is so vital in the music industry at the moment.
However, it is also to say thank you to their fans. Its something to give the
people who are following us, Harry explains.
*puff inserted nearby - Fun Fact: The boys favourite song to cover is The
Bucket by Kings of Leon*

The Baby Jaynes have so much control over not only what they produce, but how
they portray it to the public. For me, this was the perfect time to ask last editions
question of the month - What do you think of shows like the X Factor?
Taking time to think about his answer, Adam briefly glimpses at the dismal
weather outside.
Personally, I think its a great opportunity for singers and solo artists to come
forward, because obviously they form bands on there too, he says. However, I
think for a band like ourselves its important to influence our own music and
have our own control over that. On those types of shows it's apparent that you
dont get as much control over the writing side of it, which is important to us as a
band.
Harry nods earnestly, I think it is fundamental and often overlooked. It does
seem like nowadays people are more after fame as a job rather than the result
of being a musician.
It's a get famous quick scheme, I think, Joe inputs, But then again, you cant
argue with the success of artist like One Direction, Little Mix, Olly Murs; there will
always be exceptions to the rule.
Moving on to the future, that looks very bright for this up-and-coming band, I was
curious to find out if there were any artists that the guys wanted to collaborate
with. Harry answers immediately, Bruno Mars...if its feasible
The others laugh. Its not, Joe replies.
As a band, Ed Sheeran, Adam answers, which Harry agrees with.
But Joe mentions someone different, Haim. This phrase triggers sounds of
approval from Adam and Harry (and me - Haim superfan #1 over here).
As our conversation comes to an end, so does the downpour. Remember the
name, The Baby Jaynes, you will probably be hearing it a lot in the near future.