What a small world the music industry is sometimes! This week I have found myself interviewing someone I used to deal with years ago, when writing about a local girl band! With all that in mind, I was very intrigued to find out more about J Junior, his musical partner Lee Travis, and Opposite Worlds, the group they perform in together. It turned out to be an interesting interview, so why not scroll down to find out what they had to say on subjects as diverse as recycling, their dream gig, and who they’d love to play against in a Sing Star/ Rock Band challenge!
1. Hi guys, welcome to music.co.uk. First off should we be taking your
name literally, do you come from Opposite Worlds, what’s your
background?
Lee Travis: The name is more about breaking down barriers, we recently
performed at the Love Music, Hate Racism concert at Britannia Stadium,
Stoke, that’s really what we are all about.
J.Junior: You can take the name literally if you like, we won’t be
offended. Opposite Worlds is just about two people from different
walks of life, musical styles, and influences, coming together to make
great music, or at least music that causes an emotion. We are like the
ebony and ivory of the music world!
2. What do you enjoy the most about the genre of music you work in?
Lee Travis: Well, we work in pop predominantly, but we cover many
styles and genres. Our FIRST album is fairly eclectic, we like that.
We tend not to write to a formula, instead we try to do what makes us
happy, and that could be any style, we have broad tastes to say the
least.
J.Junior: Music should not have boundaries and I think we have proven
that very effectively creating Opposite Worlds. Having the label
‘Pop,’ just means that it’s popular and the general public is taking
to it, and they seem to be in our case. Just the other day we charted with our
latest release FEEL, in at Number 20 in the U.K Commercial Pop charts, and it
was there for a staggering 6 weeks on the chart. It’s the longest
run of any record on the chart, apart from the Black Eye Peas.
3. We interviewed someone recently who once performed live in a hot
air balloon for a radio broadcast. Have you had any more unusual gigs,
and where would your ideal/fantasy performance take place?
Lee Travis: That’s a good one. I don’t think we could match that.
Dream gig would probably involve Las Vegas in some way. I once did
a 10 hour jazz gig playing drums under a marquee in over 90 degrees.
J.Junior: Unusual experiences. Yes definitely. I suppose having Eric
Clapton and his band asking, and then backing you as you sing solo at
the Pavarotti War Child concert is quite bizarre, but yes it did
happen. For Opposite Worlds, I would love for us to play Madison Square
Gardens and Buckingham Palace.
4. You guys list such a broad range of skills on your website C.V, but
are there any you’d like to improve upon, or learn?
Lee Travis: All of them need improvement. We are constantly learning
and subsequently, evolving. Learning seems the best way to evolve.
My hero is Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road. He has golden ears and is one
of the most honest and constructive guys in the business.
J.Junior: I hold people such as Jay-Z and Clive Davis in very high
regard, and aspire to be as consistent and successful as them.
5. Since you used many eco-friendly methods/material in the production
of your single ‘Feel’, are you good recyclers etc normally?
Lee Travis: Definitely. I wish I had more faith in the system, but you
got to do what you can.
J.Junior: Oh definitely, and everyone has to start somewhere. People
assume because you’re in a band it’s all about jumbo jets and
increasing your carbon footprint, so we’re trying to demonstrate that
some musicians can be eco-conscious. It’s a positive step, as artists
offer so much influence to young people.
6. Is there anything else that would get you on the proverbial soapbox?
Lee Travis: People who don’t indicate, ha ha!!!! I’m kidding. Driving
in London is like going into battle though.Dishonesty is a bit of a
bugger.
J.Junior: Autotune, or people/musicians who can’t perform live.
7. What do Opposite Worlds have planned for the rest of 2009?
Lee Travis: Singles, and a trip to America to kick things off over there.
J.Junior: Well we are currently on the road promoting our new single
FEEL now available digitally on iTunes & Play.com. You can also get
the FIRST album which is only available on www.oppositeworlds.com, and
we are working on our follow up single which will be out soon.Go to:
I-Tunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=317130610&id=317130606&s=143444
Play.com: http://www.play.com/Music/MP3-Download-Track/4-/10106794/Feel-7th-Heaven-Radio-Edit/Product.html
8. What do you enjoying doing outside of music?
Lee Travis: Exercise, movies, Amazon and Ebay. The last two are
pretty sad I guess. I’m addicted to Family Guy though, Blue Harvest
is amazing.
J.Junior: Playing Badminton, Watching Sci-Fi and Action Movies and
Cooking just don’t get to do it often enough.
9. I believe you guys have been involved in teaching, how would you
make learning music fun, and encourage people to stick at it?
Lee Travis: Teaching is like therapy for me. When things are getting
me down, a kid playing through Boulevard Of Broken Dreams with an ear
to ear grin makes me happy. They see that, it’s a mutual thing.
10. And finally, just for fun, who would you like to challenge to a
game of Singstar/Rock Band/Guitar Hero etc?
Lee Travis: Freddie Mercury would have been the one. Man that voice
still gives me tingles. George Michael would be fun. I’d impersonate him
and make him laugh, ha ha.
J.Junior: OK seriously, it would be Marvin Gaye with Singstar, Jay- Z
with a rap off, and Meatloaf with whatever. It would just be nuts. I
would do anything for love but I won’t do that!!!?? Haha
What more can I add to that? Other than thanks for a great interview boys! Don’t forget to check out their web links as detailed above, and click here for more information on their eco-friendly single release.