Meet: Jeremiah and the Lucky Strikes

Some of us are born to perform. Dubai musician Jeremiah John has always been convinced he was, even at eight, when he improvised his very first drum kit by using his mum’s pots and pans in the kitchen.

From being a Sunday-school heartthrob in his teens in Abu Dhabi where he grew up to singing for south Indian films and forming a band, leaving it and then re-uniting with them, John has been through that rock star life cycle many of us dream of but are too scared to pursue.

In September, the 29 year-old took it to the next level by forming a new band: Jeremiah and the Lucky Strikes. And they’re already going places, opening for Scandinavian soft-rock band Michael Learns to Rock and recently, Macy Gray, both in Dubai.

The band will perform on Wednesday at the Blue Bar in Novotel at the Dubai World Trade Centre, with guest appearances by Dia Hassan from Juliana Down and Layla K from Floetics.

Soundbites caught up with John to talk music, the challenges of sustaining a band and recording a debut album. 

Q: Tell us a bit about the history of the band.

A: Jeremiah and the Lucky Strikes was formed on September 3, 2012. I was in the studio with producer Joshua F Williams when Dubai-based rock titans EYE (Empty Yard Experiment) approached him and asked him if I would be interested in opening for them at a show. Joshua called me and wallah!, we formed the band. 

Q: So who’s in the band?

A: The band consists of people I’ve played with in the past at various events. On guitars is Julien Lafforgue, who is a language instructor by day; bass duties are handled by Afaq Ahmed, who is a production manager for a local radio station; and on drums we have Kiran Clayton Tauro, the head of technical for Epic Events Dubai. I handle the vocals and I am a drummer too so my day job is nothing but playing music. 

Q: How would you define your music?

A: We are a band that loves to have fun with what we are given and have no complaints. Our music has various influences from many, many artists we grew up listening to and are still growing up listening to. It’s primarily “funk Rock” mixed with pop, indie and a little bit of funky fusion. It would be impossible to fit it in one genre. So no categorisation. We play music and we bring the energy to you. 

Q: You recently opened for Michael Learns to Rock. How was that experience?

A: We’ve all heard of MLTR while growing up. We got a chance to open for the them and had a great experience because Kiran our drummer was handling stage production and he made sure we were comfortable with sound, gear and the works. As soon as our set began, we brought it in by just playing our hearts out and just having a lot of fun and energy on stage. 

Q: And Macy Gray?

A: Opening for Macy Gray was initially supposed to be the whole band but sound restrictions led it to be just an acoustic duo which was great too as Julien and myself do a lot of gigs in Dubai where they ask for only the two of us. Opening for Macy Gray was also fun because we were styled by Kado Design which is Anita Taylor’s brainchild and they made us some really fancy t-shirts and accessories. So all in all, it was great to share the stage with the legendary Macy Gray and we played some good music that night. 

Q: How is the debut album coming along?

A: The album at the moment is at a standstill as we are focusing on going to another country to continue recording the album with another feel. I am currently working with my brother and producer Joshua F Williams from JFW Sound Dubai on some singles from the band which will be released shortly. Our fans and followers can look forward to an album that has various influences ranging from powerhouse rock all the way down to Indian/ Hindustani influences, pop, funk, electronica etc. Release dates have not been set yet but for sure in 2014. 

Q: What are the challenges of sustaining a band in the UAE?

A: It’s pretty much like sustaining a band anywhere in the world. There’s a lot of pressure in terms of what our audience will be like, payments, and the usual stuff. But Dubai being a business hub, people here are always looking to relate to music that they already know from household artists. The original music scene seems to have stooped but currently there is an uprising of amazing local talent and its great to see Dubai finally opening up to listening to these artists. I feel that that and the lack of many venues to perform original music are the only challenges we have being a band in Dubai. 

Q: Where else would you like to take the band and your music?

A: I personally was telling the guys the other day that I’d like to play a show in Estonia, catch a flight out to Austria, fly out to Canada to do a series of shows and keep doing that till we have not missed a single portion of the globe. If we can play at the North Pole with state-of-the-art medical services, we would do it! We want the world to listen to us and I think that’s every musician’s dream.