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Girls With Boys With Guitars - Johnny Blades for Rip It Up

With their debut EP starlifter out this month, Fur Patrol, the first signing to Wishbone records are set for world domination, but still happy just to kick back around Wellington for the summer. Singer Julia Deans spilt some beans about the four piece guitar band's current plans.

Why has it taken you so long to release a recording?

Well, we just had all sorts of delays. And yeah, for the last couple of years people have been asking when we're going to release something. Then we actually recorded these songs as demos a year ago in Marmalade and eventually just agreed to make them a release. But it's turned out different to how we planned it"

It's been a lengthy process?

"Has it ever! A lot of time was taken up in negotiating the deal itself with Wishbone. But this was stuff we just had to do."

Have you been able to translate your reputation as an exciting live act onto the EP?

"I don't think we have yet. Recording's such a totally different medium, it's hard to capture that sound. Also because it's a year old it's not totally where we're at now. Well, it is and it isn't if you know what I mean."

How well have you been received outside Wellington?

"We've had fantastic receptions in Christchurch for instance. Also the various university orientation gigs we've done have always pleased. It's been a bit harder to pull a crowd in Auckland but we'll keep plugging away. Regardless of the sizes of crowds, people have always really enjoyed the gigs."

This EP should expose your band more.

"Yep, More attention. The other thing is we've has three songs on different kiwi hit discs (the industry token compilation cd) and now have our single 'Dominoes' on the latest one. And we'll be doing a video for this as well."

Have you had any recent gigs?

"Not a whole lot, we did a gig with Weta at Indigo (Wellington) which went off. Completely packed. Playing with Weta worked well, in fact I'd really like to take that line up out of town with us."

Any imminent tours planned?

"Nothing set in concrete yet but all going well we should be playing fairly soon in all the main centres. We have our release party on the 12th at Shopping."

You're the only girl in the band?

"Yeah. Three boys and one girl, but sometimes I think I'm a boy."

Who writes the material?

"Me, I write the lyrics, melodies and chords. Then I bring them along to the boys and they all put in their bits, see how it works. I also play solo, often with material that doesn't work with the band."

What does 'Starlifter' mean?

"its a big carrier airplane. The kind they use to take stuff down to the Antarctic in. They're big and very majestic looking."

What are the plans for next year?

"Gigs to promote the EP and the single. We're going to stay here in Wellington for now anyway. It's got a very encouraging music scene. We all like it here. And then sometime next year we'll go back into the studio and cut a full length album."


The Fur Patrol Salute - Pieta Keating for Rip It Up

Wellington misfits Fur Patrol have finally pledged allegiance to the Warners flag! A signed legit record deal is set in motion. As new recruits the Fur Patrol mission is to eventually join The Feelers and Shihad platoon. Front woman Julia Deans leads band members Andrew Bain, Simon Braxton and Steve Wells to the launch of their new album Pet due out in August. Pieta Keating chatted with Julia and sussed out their plan of attack.

Fur patrol were once described as "ice box pop" which Julia says is their probably their genre. "Somebody described us as such and we thought it was a brilliant term," she says. "It makes us sound quite cool and refreshing."

Its Fur Patrol's unique blend of edgy rock bridged with a pop veneer that could be a new music articulation. The group in only four-years-old and has already had extensive air-play on student and commercial radio nation-wide. They've also have managed to get on to Australia's triple J and other Aussie stations.

The well-received sounds of their singles "Dominoes" to the sauntering accolades of "not your girl", fur patrol independently spread the word. But in November of 1998 their debut EP Starlifter made Wellington indie label wishbone proud. Featuring only six tracks, Starlifter was voted "Best Independent release" at the 1999 B-Net awards.

Now Fur Patrol are playing ball with the big wigs-their destiny lies in the hands of Warner music - which is a coup as it's been a while since Warner's have licensed a new Kiwi artist.

And if Fur Patrol rock an audience anywhere near as good as Warner comrades Shihad, it's fair to predict producer David Long (ex-Muttonbirds) will bat for them all the way. "I think we've probably influenced each other," says Julia. "It’s been good, he's been very inspirational-He's encouraged our love of making fucked up noises!"

Fur Patrol's current single [sic] "New" was released in April from the full length album Pet, expected to the shelves in August.

After listening to [sic] News’ lyrics "...we have come to gather round and smother you in our devotion..." I couldn't help thinking Fur Patrol felt recording was hard yakka.

Julia agrees. "yeah, the actual physical recording and playing and making the music has all been good-we've all put in long and stupid hours but that's been half the fun of it."

Those lucky enough to have witnessed Fur Patrol perform live may agree they expand the average musical appetite and their electric stage presence easily hots up [sic] a audience. They've warmed up crowds for English sound smiths Swervedriver, Aussie lads regurgitator and local starlet Bic Runga. Plus they've participated in a line up of music festivals such as Wanaka's Rippon fest, Sweetwaters and loads of university gigs.

In the meantime, the concept of any fur patrol-ee giving up their day job to become a self-absorbed musician is unlikely. Julia currently slogs long days in the retail trade and the others are involved in banking, electrical engineering and furniture removals.

Fur Patrol have patiently waited in line for this moment and now it's their turn, "It's kind of an abstract notion...I'm not surprised it's taken this long."

"Everything in life takes much longer than you think it will." Fur Patrol's unique and cool melodic tempo, possessed with rocky overtones, sets them apart from the rest.

Salute!


Salient interview - SamBoy

Wellington's own Fur Patrol are currently tied up in Auckland doing a whole heap of promotion for their highly anticipated debut album "Pet". Two singles from the album, "Now" and "holy" have already hit the airwaves, and the full-length album made it's way onto the record shelves last week. I managed to catch up with their bubbly front-person Julia Deans (who was speaking hurriedly from a cell phone), in an attempt to set the record straight.

SO YOUR FULL LENGTH ALBUM 'PET' IS IN STORE NOW. ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE FINAL RESULT?
Yeah, we are all really happy with it.

WHATS BEHIND THE TITLE OF THE ALBUM?
Well it's our little pet really [laughs]. It's something that you treasyre. But then pet also means to have a sulk so there's a bif of a double meaning.

WHATS IT LIKE BEING SIGNED TO WARNER MUSIC?
We are still signed to Wishbone [Records] in Wellington. And we've just licensed the album to Warners. But yeah it's good, they've been really great. They pretty much take care of all the marketing and promotion and distribution and stuff. They're very helpful lovely people....Hey! Wellington has just come up to visit Auckland. Can you hear the wind?

...NOT REALLY.
It's really fucking windy now. It was perfectly still hear before. It must have blown up the phone line. (I get up and shut the windows just in case)

SO WHATS ON THE AGENDA FOR FUR PATROL AT THE MOMENT?
We are off to Australia for a couple of weeks on the 16th [oct]. So that'll be good. We are going to do a couple of days up the gold coast with salmonella dub and then sydney for a couple of days, and then melbourne. Then we are coming back here to do the Shihad tour in November [10th]. Then Big Day Out hopefully, which we are trying to get on the Australian end of as well.

LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING IN WELLINGTON AGAIN?
Yeah. Its gonna be really great...

(THE PHONE CRACKLES FOR A MINUTE, BEFORE THE LINE GOES DEAD. A FEW MINUTES LATER THE PHONE RNIGS AGAIN AND I AM GREETED BY JULIA)

Are you there? Sorry, I was just in an elevator.

SO YOU MUST HAVE HAD QUITE A LIFESTYLE CHANGE LATELY. WHAT WOULD YOU CALL AN AVERAGE DAY FOR FUR PATROL?
At the moment we get up at about 8 o'clock in the morning and we go up to warners and find out how many interviews we are doing. We've just been doing heaps of promo basically. We've had a couple of showcase gigs; done lots of live to airs on radio stations.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR SPARE TIME?
We haven't had any yet. We've sort of only been doing this full time for a week now. So it's still quite new to us. But we're loving it. And now we are getting to see what all these bands mean when they say 'it's great , but it's really hard work'. And you're just 'what? dont be silly ya bastards, look at you. You're playing music blah blah blah.' But now that we're doing all this promo stuff, we're sort of realising what they're saying. And I imagine our schedule is relatively calm compared to theirs. We're only doing this in small New Zealand.

SO FUR PATROL IS A FULL TIME CAREER NOW?
Yeah, we all finished out jobs last week.

ARE YOU GETTING STOPPED IN THE STREET YET?
Nah, the public thing hasn't really hit yet. But when all the press comes out maybe...i'll let you know [Laughs].

ANY UP AND COMING BANDS THAT STAND OUT AT THE MO?
Yeah, these friends of ours Cassette. Who's Tom Watson who used to be in Head Like a Hole and Craig Terris from Hustler, and young Dave. They're fantastic. Really cool. Also Betchadupa, they're a great little band, lots of fun. Great little boys. (ouch...)

WHAT ABOUT THE VIDEO CLIP FOR HOLY? (IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, JULIA GETS THROWN VIOLENTLY THROUGH THE WALL OF THE VALVE BAR ONTO VIVIAN STREET)
Oh yeah that was really fun to shoot. It was a little bit intimidating cause i couldn't see what was on the other side, so it was a bit of a leap of faith that the matress was going to be there and i wasn't going to over shoot the end of it.

DID YOU GET IT FIRST TAKE?
First take. Yeah. I'm awesome [laughs].

WHATS IT LIKE BEING ON THE ROAD?
Well we've got this dingy old van that sort of just gets its warrant every time, and every time we think this is going to be the last one. Then six months later we go back and she gets another one. She's amazing. We love our van. yay Van.

LATELY IT SEEMS LIKE ALL OUR BEST KIWI BANDS (WETA, SHIHAD ETC) ARE SHIFTING OVER TO AUSTRALIA. ARE YOU GOING TO DO THE CUSTOMARY MIGRATION?
Nah. We'll go where we want to. We're not making any plans to go and live in australia, but we'll definately spend some time there. Ultimately Wellington is home, thats where our friends and family are.

WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
Oh they vary. Well mine vary. From Madonna to Led Zep, and few other things thrown on the end there. We've all got quite wide and varied tastes which is really good. We're not bored of each other yet after four and a half years. So it's all looking well [laughs].


Fur Patrol are Bitchin' - Scott Kara (Rip It Up)

Scrap, scrap, scrap. Fur Patrol are worse than a brother and sister fighting in the backseat of a family car. But Scott Kara finds behind it all they're one big happy family with a debut album they're clutching onto like a packet of lollies.

Draped in a $10000 mink fur coat you wouldn't think the gorgeous gaunt figure of Julia Deans from Fur patrol was up to riffing with the big boys. Her skinny, reinforced arms are the female equivalent of Shihad's Jon Toogood. And her arm power matched her armour-coated tongue.
You can tell the three boy Fur Patrollers, drummer Simon Braxton, bass player Andrew Bain and guitarist Steve Wells, are used to it. They either don't notice, don't care of more often than not give it straight back.
There's loads of band banter. Simon and Julia do most -- nearly all --of the talking. Andrew "never says anything" say the rest of the band in unison. "But when he does say something, it's usually cutting in a low-key kind of way," says Simon. Steve adds little bits and pieces but mostly gets told to shut up. If it's really important that Steve shuts up it's more of a "fuck up Steve".
The ability to give each other shit is a regular occurrence and something - by the sounds - that has been going on for more than four years since Julia asked the boys to demo some original songs in 1996. "But it's not deliberately mean" says Julia, who frequently calls Simon a dumb arse.
You get the feeling the Fur Patrol attitude thing is one of smart arsed fun and frolicking. It's in keeping with their mix of dirgey pop, staunch rock and at times pure loveliness, like on the luscious "Lydia" or "Hauling You Around" from their debut album Pet, which will be released this month.
Rip It Up met up with the Wellington band during a recent trip to Auckland to take photos -hence the borrowed fur coat - and catch up on band banter. This rushed visit included a rockin' and sometimes blissful rip through their new album in from of a packed Las Vegas Strip Club audience on Auckland's K'Road.

Fur Patrol have always been a band's band and despite Julia being the songwriter and foxy front person (she won the "fox of the year" award at the 1999bNet New Zealand music awards, and at the same awards, Fur Patrol won best independent release for 1998's Starlifter EP) they've tried not to push her into the limelight.
But this prompts a bit of an outburst. "Fuckin' hell, it didn't make any difference this morning when I had to go off and do the interviews by myself, " she says. Nothing like a bit of attitude to stun the boys. However, the lads' response is just as bolshy and very boyish. "Someone had to fix the bloody car," says Simon.
But the band insist the equality of the band hasn't changed with signing to Warners, a major record label. It is accepted within the band ranks that Julia is the singer and the songwriter. But again, that prompts a bit more - how shall we say it, nearly friends - banter.
Simon: "I still feel uncomfortable when Julia gets to go and do an interview. I understand that because she is the vocalist she is going to be the first…"
Julia: " I'm also the songwriter to it's my thoughts coming through…"
Simon: "Oh yeah, no, I didn't put any thought into any of it…"
Julia: "I meant the lyrics you dumb arse."
"But regardless it will always be the singer the media goes for," continues Simon, "Cause they are sort of like the spokesperson for the band," says Julia. "So it's natural."
I'm thinking now they were kind of joking because the pair say together: "But it's not always true."
"Look at Shihad or Metallica," says Julia, "Lars [Ulrich the drummer] was always the spokesperson for Metallica. And Simon definitely idolises Lars."
"I always wanted a haircut like that but it will never happen," Simon says sobbingly. "But we all like to try and be involved as much as possible and I always find it more interesting when [the media are] chatting to the whole band. And you can say' 'Oh yeah, that guy behaves like that and he behaves like that'."
The group setting certainly does bring out personalities in a band. Sitting around a table at K'Road's Lost Angel Café, with Fur Patrol huddled over a tape recorder, these personalities shine though. Andrew sits listening, Simon and Julia have the knowledge, and Steve sits back and passes a few comments. Julia also tells Steve to put his cigarette out because she's still eating, which is bloody fair enough.
But here's the band's version of what their personalities are: Julia the stroppy princess, Simon the grump, Andrew the South American Bald Eagle (or the strong silent confused type) and Steve the boyscout.

The low key strip club gig saw the band move from tranquility to all-out guitar assault. At one point on this lazy Sunday night, during "Not Your Girl", all four were facing each other, guitars crossed in the middle, clashing with each other. Even Simon the drummer was nestled nicely into the riffing frenzy with his beefy beats.
Fur Patrol ain't no super-slick Stellar*, they sure ain't no Zed and despite having a female front person, they sure ain't no Tadpole, although they did a gig in the Hutt Valley recently with the latter. And Fur Patrol don't really give a shit where they fit alongside the glut of New Zealand bands poised to make it big on the charts with the support of a major label.
"We're carving our own track and it's off the beaten track," says Julia. It's said in a tone with makes you fully aware that Fur Patrol ain't gonna be compared to other Kiwi bands just because there are so many vying for the market presently. It is a beaten track Fur Patrol are creating and one could say a bit more of a dirty track than some other New Zealand bands.
Simon: "We don't have any great desire to take all the rough edges off."
"We almost put them on sometime," adds Steve.
Simon continues: "It's not about being ultra processed, that take the realness away from it. We really enjoy playing live."
And live is where Fur Patrol are at their best. Julia's sexy dead-pan voice, which can take off effortlessly any time, takes on a strength in a live setting that surpasses even the well rehearsed stints in the recording studio. Maybe it's because she improvises more and her vocal chords stretch to the gorgeous heights of "Spinning A Line" or the epic raunchiness of "Man In A Box" or the weirdness of the hidden 10-minute last track.
"If you can't play live then you may as well give up," says Simon.

It's the morning after Fur Patrol's strip club gig and the boardroom at Warner Music - the band's record label - has become a café counter. Over a breakfast of coffee and bagels with lashings of cream cheese, jam and butter, Rip It Up met up with the band before heading out to cavort around Auckland to shoot photos.
After last night's gig, a long pool-playing session ensued and Julia and Fur Patrol's manager Dave Benge, from fellow Wellington band D-Super, ended up staying up until 6am "talking and drinking tea". It was the end of a long weekend, what with the car breaking down before they reached Hamilton, where they played a gig on Thursday night, arriving on Friday in Auckland, the bNet Music Awards on Saturday night, then a gig at a strip joint. Fur Patrol's video for "Now" was nominated for best video and Julia was nominated for best vocalist at the bNet awards. Adding to all this was the fact that it was Julia's birthday - a cause for double excess and celebrations.
One thing about signing to a major label is you can eat and drink on the record company and make a mess in the boardroom. You can even crack up the stereo, which is what Fur Patrol do to digest breakfast with the sounds of label mates Weta. They take up their AC/DC stance and play air guitar to the "cock-rock" of "Let It Go" from Weta's new album, Geographica.
"We're New Zealanders, everyone listened to AC/DC, and rock is a very large focus of the New Zealand music culture. We've been exposed to it and really enjoy it. And I mean, also, you can't really strap on a guitar and not be slightly ironic and take the piss a bit." And that's coming from a drummer, Simon.
"No good Kiwi worth their weight in Lion Brown or Lion Red can deny being bogans," says Julia.
There's no denying Fur Patrol play hard on-and-off-stage, and work hard making music. During their brief four and a half day stay in Auckland, they also fit in stacks of promo, endless out to dinners and lunches and not much sleep.
Being on a major label is "completely necessary" says Simon. But he admits it's a learning curve for both parties. "We haven't done it before and we don't know what to expect. And it's like starting a project for [Warners] as well. It's scary 'cause there's the element of learning how to work with these people - and it goes both ways really."
Julia: "It's understanding what both parties want out of the relationship, y'know. It's like a marriage."
One method of getting to understand Fur Patrol as a band has meant "spending a lot of time with Warners people drinking and what not".
But striking a major label deal hasn't meant giving up work - yet. On Tuesday night they packed up -vehicle repaired - and drove back to Wellington in time to start their day jobs on Wednesday morning. That's rock'n'roll. The day job is something the band don't like going back to but that's not to say they don't like their jobs - they just love playing music more.
Simon is a "labourer mate, and I lift heavy things", Steve a "paper-pusher", Julia's "in retail" and Andrew, as everyone except Andrew snarkily points out, is at a loose end because he was made redundant. Oh well, it leaves time to perfect those long sprawling, full-length-of-the-bass-neck-riffs eh Andrew.
Going back to work after finishing the two weeks of recording for Pet was sad, says Julia. "The first morning after that I cried. I was so devastated and I mean, I've got a great work environment. But I just love playing."

There aren't many rock'n'roll albums over an hour long nowadays, and at more than 65 minutes Pet is a great long listen. So how do you hold people's attention with rock'n'roll for that long when attention spans have been squashed by visuals and beats? Or putting sounds in that shouldn't be there and making people say: "What the hell is that?" says Simon.
Letting a song "breathe" is also important and Fur Patrol make songs heave, breathe and pant. Pet moves from gritty guitar rock, with relentless riffs, through to twisting serenading songs reminiscent of something like Portishead. "We treat every song individually," says Steve. Simon says" "When we were working out what tracks we were going to use, we weren't leaning too far towards rock stuff. It could have been on way or the other, we weren't too bothered about it, really. We were trying to do tracks that we could do live 'cause it's a very big element of what we are, who we are.
"When you're performing live you are actually performing," says Julia. "But if you go into a comfortable studio, they are such different mediums. There's always the same story in the recording studio of making things too polished and nice, instead of firing up the energy and realness."
"It's an age-old battle, " says Simon. "It's doing something 'cause you can, not because really need to."
"People like Nick Cave who are not renowned or having a beautifully tuned voice, but get away with it," says Julia. One senses that's the type of untouched sound Fur Patrol go for.
But the unkempt sound is ready to hit more mainstream airwaves. The glorious new single "Lydia" is likely to be good ZMFM fodder. "Lydia" is gritty but its subtle, chugging bass and beautiful vocals make it irresistible. "The more people that get to hear our music the better, really. Wherever they get to hear it is irrelevant really," says Simon.
But even though Fur Patrol want to be heard by everyone, you can't help but get the feeling they wont be sacrificing their dirtier, unaffected sound for anyone's ears.


Hey You - Curse of the Front Woman - Rip It Up cover story, Oct/Nov 2001

Call it Courtney Love syndrome. Or if you want to be traditional about it, call it Debbie Harry syndrome. You see, there's Blondie, the band, and there there's the unmistakable Debbie Harry out front.
In New Zealand, call it Julia Deans syndrome. Everyone wants to either talk to, or get a piece of the front person, especially if they happen to be a woman. Think about it. Shirley Manson from Garbage. Boh Runga from Stellar*. Courtney Love from Hole. Cerys Matthews from Catatonia. And Julia Deans from Fur Patrol.
The boss of Blondie once said to a journalist: "I'll just get one of the boys for you." But the journalist said: "No, I want to talk to Debbie."
With the impact of one Fur Patrol song - the beautiful "Lydia" - Deans was the one everyone wanted. That was back in Christmas of last year when it went to number one in the charts.
The three boys - drummer Simon Braxton, guitarist Steve Wells and bass player Andrew Bain - have a light hearted approach to letting Deans do her front person thing. "I don't really want to be a celebrity, or a recognised person, so it works quite well with my own private agenda," says Bain. He really doesn't give a shit.
But then again Braxton has never made a secret of the fact that he's always like to voice his opinion alongside Deans. That is, until recently.
"It was part of the old learning process for me I think. Learning when to let Julia just do the front person stuff."
There's a subtle break in the conversation and the drummer's true feelings pop out in a kind-hearted sarcasm. "I've always wanted to be a front person," he says with a hint of menace. Fur Patrol are good at giving each other shit. "I'm a show off basically. Not as much now as I used to be, but I definitely used to be a fuckin' huge show off. Gone are the days where I'll take my shirt off on stage to get a bit of attention. It's a learning process - every-now-and-then I'll forget, Sometimes if I think the entertainment is lacking down the front I'll throw in my two cents worth, ' he laughs.
So why is it that everyone wants to talk to Deans - the front person? Is it because she's the songwriter, a woman or quite simply, a fox?
The band say Bain is the spunk among them. Julia reckons he beats her.Braxton laughs: "I think Andrew's pretty fuckin' good looking though. You know, I'm not gay or anything mate but y'know, he's all right. He's a spunk mate, totally."
When Rip It Up asks Dean what her typical day in Melbourne entails, you get an inkling of her attraction. "I'm not a typical type of person," she laughs. Julia Deans laughs from her belly, but instead of it sounding jolly, it sounds made, but cute. Incidentally, her days can range from doing everything from buying some shoes because her "sneakers are dead" to demoing new songs.
After leaving New Zealand for Australia in October last year, Fur Patrol have been going about that very-kiwi task of conquering Oz. It was tough to leave because they had conquered these shores. In New Zealand Julia Deans was as recognisable as the Runga sisters Bic and Boh, and the Finn brother, Neil and Tim.
She has an attitude on stage that's best summed up by her staunch, swaying hip with her guitar swinging over the shoulder.
So has Fur Patrol - and Julia Deans - changed personally since being in Australia? "If anything we've become more staunch by saying: 'No, this is how we look.' Being more ourselves and not letting other people mould us," says Deans.
Their record company had some image manipulation in mind at certain stages during their rise to number one. "When we did the video for "Holy", yeah, I hated it," snaps Deans.
"I'm probably going to get in trouble for saying something like that, so you might want…Oh, actually, nah, fuck it. I don't give a shit."
"They [the record company] didn't like our image, or in particular mine with y'know the black lips and that sort of thing, which is bizarre because y'know everyone goes through phases," she says.
It didn't stop with their image either. "They wanted to clean us up. They didn't like the way certain songs would sound because they thought they weren't polished enough. In one respect maybe they weren't, but they how we found them.
They didn't want us to be "too" alternative," she concludes.

Can there be another song like Lydia?
Song like "Lydia" come along every-now-and-then. Che-Fu and DLT had "Chains" and Bic Runga wrote "Sway".
Julia Deans wrote "Lydia". It's a true sign of songwriting skills when the masses in front of the main stage at the Big Day Out 2001 are all singing your song with you.
When Deans simply describes her Melbourne villa, you see and feel the natural talent she possesses as a songwriter. Simple observant ideas. "We've got a big backyard which is cool. And a big tree in the backyard. When we first got here it was shedding leaves like nobody's business at the start of Autumn. We'd rake them all up into a pile in the evening, then we'd come out the next morning and the law would be covered in leaves again. You couldn't see the grass."
So will there be another song like "Lydia"? She's apprehensive.
"We're really excited about the new material that is under way, so whooo knoooowwws," she coos.
But at the moment Deans confesses the new songs are a lot more rocky. Or perhaps dirty is more apt after seeing their performance of the new song "Get Along" in New Zealand during a brief stopover in August. It's a dirty, but catchy little number.
Deans says they have tended to be a bit lazy on the songwriting front because of the constant gigging. "I think it's because we spend so much time working on the road. As soon as we get back into town it's like: "vroom", we all go off in our own direction to get some space from each other."
But she's saving for a computer - the deposit has been put down - which will enable the band to demo new songs from her home. "Yeah, yeah, it's so exciting."

Stinky boys and staying together.
Fur Patrol hasn't just shared hotel and motel rooms, they've had to share beds in hotels and motels the length of New Zealand and Australia while on tour. And yes, Julia Deans might be the spunky front person, but there aint no special treatment for her.
Rip It Up asks Deans what it was like sharing rooms with three stinky boys since Fur Patrol got together in 1996. Her reaction: "What do you mean was?"
She still doesn't get her own hotel or motel room. "Especially at the moment over here. We're like sharing beds every-now-and-again. Always crammed into a little space and as few beds as possible to save money. They're pretty good about letting me have a room when there is one."
So why have Fur Patrol managed to stay together so long whilst doing the hard grind towards success?
Wells: "We've come to know each others limits and when to walk away from a situation. It's kind of like managing a whole lot of different marriages. We give each other shit, we can take it. If we can't we're actually able to say so. I imagine other bands would get pent up, somebody explodes and leaves and that's it. And we love each other dearly."
"I think we all love playing music and we care about each other, " says Deans. "For some reason out weird little combination of personalities seem to work, as much as we drive each other up the wall."

Moving to Oz
When the decision was made to move to Melbourne, Deans and her partner Karl left first. "We came ahead of the band so it was for us and not the whole band thing. It's not the easiest way to have a relationship by any stretch of the imagination, but we manage hold it together," she hoots.
For Wells, living in Australia is probably the hardest because he has a daughter and partner still living in New Zealand.
He says moving to Melbourne was a huge change for the band. "We left our comfort zone. We were a popular band in a small country where we could put on a gig pretty much anywhere and people would come and see us. Then suddenly, no one knows who we are and we've got to play a shit load of shows to get the name out there --- which is starting to work."
Gig after gig is the way they made it in New Zealand, and it's the same in Australia - the thing is, the distances are a hell of a lot longer. "We've just been playing five or six nights a week, with four or give or six hour drives in between," admits Wells.
What Melbourne has allowed the four Furries to do is concentrate more on music.
"We're pretty much broke and stuff, but at least we're able to focus on what we really want to do," says Braxton. "Professionally our sole existence is to make the band work and stuff. It's quite a liberating thing to not have to worry about the day job and other domestic stuff. It can be overwhelming - but it's really fuckin' liberating. But it's by no means an easy situation. I don't go out for breakfast as much as I used to. I don't buy as many coffees as I used to," laughs Braxton.
Braxton now flats with Jon Toogood from Shihad and Fur Patrol's manager, Dave Benge. "I've known Jon on and off on a very casual basis for years and years," says Braxton. "But I've just really started to get to know him in the last couple of weeks really. Flatting together is quite an intense way of getting to know someone. Just as I've started to get to know him he's fucked off to LA to record [Shihad's new album]."

The Next Level.
How do Fur Patrol take it to the next level and achieve what they have in New Zealand, in Australia and the rest of the world? This idea of taking Kiwi bands to the world stage applies to all bands of course. On the other hand, many bands will say as long as we're playing music, who cares?
According to New Zealand band the feelers, one-way to the top is by snaring a top producer, but that costs.
Wells says it is a million dollar question. "That's what we need. Give us a million dollars and we'll be world famous. I've heard statistics - I don't know if they're complete bullshit or not - but bands like Oasis and Blur have millions spent on promoting themselves around the world."
"I just guess it comes down to fuckin' working really hard," adds Braxton. "That's the only way it's going to get to the next level, whatever that may be. Do what you do, do it the best you can, and enjoy yourself."
Leave the last word to Julia Deans: "By doing our best to get in peoples' faces."


Space, Oct 5, 2000
(Interviewed by Jacqui Brown and Dominic Bowden)

Dominic: Now on the eve of their debut album Pet, which is due out next week, they've just signed to Warner Music, they are Fur Patrol. Now they did very well at this year's bNet music awards, they got two nominations, one for best video, the other for best vocalist. They are Simon, Steve, Julia and Andrew. And I'm pleased to introduce, Simon and Julia from Fur Patrol.
Jacqui: Welcome along to Space. Now the new Rip It Up has just come out of..er..press…
Simon: Hot off the presses.
Jacqui: Thank you, thank you. Maybe we should swap seats. It has a beautiful photo of you on the front there Julia.
Julia: Yes! [strikes a pose]
Jacqui: Bosums out, teeth up. That's what my mother always said. [Julia makes bizarre cat growling noises] My mother always said that. It says "Life's a bitch and then you meet one." Julia, are you really a bitch?
Julia: Absolutely. [raises her hand in a menacing fashion towards mulleted TV host]
Jacqui: [shakey] Good..just wanted to clear that up..with you..tell me all about your music. I'm not intimidated at all by your tough rock exterior.
Simon: It's kinda bitchy, bitchy pop.
Jacqui: Bitchy pop.
Simon: Yeah. I guess you could say..
Dominic: But of course Julia, you are the only woman in the band ya know? Do you have to boss the guys around? [co-host nudges Simon]
Simon: You're right bro.
Julia: I don't need to.
Dominic: Who wears the trousers? Who wears the trousers in the band?
Julia: These guys can be girls at the best of times. Can't ya? Can't ya love? Can't ya love? Eh?
Simon: Weeeeell we can. We can be a bit bitchy ourselves so...
Jacqui: How do you feel Simon when everyone says Fur Patrol and the face they immediately think of is of course Julia because she's everywhere, and shiny and everyone graduates towards her first. Do you feel annoyed?
Simon: Is that what happens? Cuz I always thought everyone always automatically assumed "Oh Fur Patrol. Oh the drummer. He's amazing."
Jacqui: Well you're not usually available for comment.
Julia: Simon's always available for comment.
Simon: I'm always ready to talk.
Jacqui: And what is your main comment when you are available?
Simon: Ummmmm…
Julia: BUY THE ALBUM! Isn't it Simon?
Simon: Yeah, yeah that's right, buy the album, and listen to the single.
Jacqui: How's things.. how's things…changed…how've things changed, now, um, being signed to Warners?
Julia: We've got, it means we've got a bit more clout behind us. We're also…we're actually signed to a local label, Wishbone, in Wellington who are a..
Simon: Indie.
Julia: A little independent label. And um, we've licensed the album to Warners, so we've got that little extra bit of clout to get us in people's faces..
Simon: Get us on all the awesome TV shows...How was that?
Julia: And buy us dinner…
Jacqui: Shut up! You mean us? Oh stop it!
Dominic: Now the bNet nominations. That's great for you guys and how important is that for you though, as musicians? Are you kinda just like "We don't care about it, we're just making our music. We don't care about the accolades. Or is it something you appreciate?"
Julia: Of course we appreciate it. It's nice to be recognized in that way.
Simon: It's not something we sorta think about until it happened. When it happened and we were nominated it was like "aww cool, wicked" but we hadn't really thought about it up until then.
Jacqui: So in that respect it would be quite important to have the support of radio stations around?
Julia: Oh definitely. Without a doubt.
Simon: Extremely.
Dominic: As we said, your debut album comes out next week. Are you guys happy about it?
Julia: Yep. Very. It looks great. Sounds fantastic.
Simon: It's big and phat, and yummy.
Jacqui: And of course you're touring with Shihad..
Simon: Shihad in November.
Julia: But before that, we're just about to blat off to Australia up the Gold Coast, and Melbourne, and Sydney.
Simon: Brisbane. Brissy.
Julia: We're going to go and play with the Dandy Warhols!
Simon: The Dandy Warhols!
Jacqui: Oh fantastic! That's really something.
Julia: Yeah! That's our big news of the day.
Simon: Two sold out shows.
Jacqui: And you just found that out today?
Simon: Yeah we found out today…………….


Julia on Squeeze 1999
(Interviewed by Francesca Rudkin)

Francesca: I'd like to introduce to you our special guest, Julia Deans from Fur Patrol. Hi.
Julia: HI!
F: Hows life in Wellington?
J: Good!
F: Yes.
J: Great! Fast! Fast! It's crazy!
F: Ya reckon? We really like our place. We've been to Te Papa..
J: Good, I haven't.
F: That's shocking. You live here. It's been here for a year and you haven't been to Te Papa.
J: I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I wont…NOT go….
F: It's not very rock n roll though is it Te Papa? We decided that.
J: No, No…Yeah ok.
F: The cool people aren't seen at Te Papa is that right?
J: I don't know. I haven't been in there!
F: Oh you haven't been there! Of course. Duh. Anyway, hey um…of course theres lots of boy bands here in Wellington..
J: MmmmHmmm…
F: And then there is yourself…Are there any other females doing the…rock/pop thing?
J: There are a few…few.. they tend to stick pretty underground at the moment. I dunno I haven't sorta seen anyone leaping out and waving their arms going "Hey!"
F: So how do the boys cope with you being the front person? Ya know the front person does get a lot of attention.
J: I think they cope. Simon, as long as he gets attention will cope…I love you Simon.
F: The only reason you're not here Simon is because this is a Women's Only show. Ok?
J: And you did turn down that dress I offered you…bitch.
F: And now you're going to feel REALLY discriminated against AREN'T YOU? That's ok. I'm sure you'll email us. Um, how's the Starlifter ep going?
J: Good. It's going well. Still truckin' along. Um, we're gonna make another video for You're So Beautiful, and we're working on some demos for our new album which is sounding really good.
F: And did you enjoy making the video in the pool? Dominoes?
J: Yeah. It was fun. Greg Page is lovely to work for but it was bloody cold.
F: Well lets watch it. Did you ruin your instruments?
J: Yep! So watch some serious instrument carnage!
F: Rock!
J: ROCK!
F: That's rock n roll!
[Dominoes video..]
F: Ok coming up we've got a classic clip for you, well actually it's not for you. It's for you.
J: MEEEEEEEEEE…
F: It's for Julia. This is one that I picked especially for you because when we first saw Fur Patrol play, you were doing covers of Sharon O'Neil. [Julia sighs and puts her hands over her heart] She's special to you isn't she Shazza?
J: Dear to my heart.
F: Yeah?
J: Yep.
F: What do you love about her so much?
J: The pants. The pants. She can wear those and sing. That's special.
F: It's all in the pants apparently. We picked Maxine for you. I hope that's a favourite.
J: That is absolute the most favourite and you couldn't have possibly done better!
F: We done good! Of course, it's a song about a prostitute on Kings Cross. And Sharon liked to write songs about people she met on her travels. I read that somewhere. Do you like to write about people that you meet on your journey?
J: My journey through life? Yeah. I think I do. But I definitely wouldn't name them, not so obviously as that.
F: So there wouldn't be a song called…Simon..maybe?
J: Why would I write about my drummer?…


Lungfish by Caron Copek

Have you ever put steel shelving together? Asks Mr Simon fresh from a hard day of office furniture wrangling…
Simon: It’s mindlessness and fiddly. It’s heavy, it’s noisy and it cuts you.
Simon: But we’d like to talk about the album. It’s being produced by David Long.
LF: Isn’t he a Muttonbird?
Simon: He used to be.. He’s now flightless. Once bitten..
Julia: Twice flightless.
LF: So how do you hook up with a flightless Muttonbird?
Julia: Can Muttonbirds actually fly, though?
Simon: Yeah. They nest in cliffs.
LF: You eat them when they’re wrapped in fat, or something..
Simon: They taste a little bit like mutton
Julia: Mmm…old sheep
Simon: I’ve tasted them and they were disgusting. But anyways…Dave heard "Not Your Girl" on the radio one day and he thought, shit that’s really cool, and went and bought the EP. We’d been casting around for a producer, thinking who could we use? Who could we use?
Simon: There was Butch Vig. Although he really wanted to work with us, but we decided no, same with Flood. Allan our record company guy said Dave’s in town and apparently he’s looking for some production work. We gave him a call and he said I’ve got your EP and the rest is soon to be history.
LF: So your old EP, or current EP is called Starlifter. What’s a Starlifter and what’s that all about then?
Simon: It is a BIG plane.
Julia: [Adopting mock US accent] It’s an American plane. It’s the Lockheed C141 Starlifter. It was originally made in 1964 for transporting military cargo and supplies.
Simon : Supplies, not necessarily weapons. Food…humanitarian aid is what it’s used for now.
Julia: They’re mostly used to do regular Antarctic missions these days..
LF: Like for that woman with breast cancer…
Julia: They took her breasts down there.
Simon: [very excited] Yeah yeah. I was impressed when I read about that.
LF: So how does the Starlifter relate to the Fur Patrol?
Simon: Well we have aspirations of becoming big…
Julia: …and going overseas.
LF: Your EP generated some interest with the customs officials when it came back into the country after being pressed…
Simon: Yes. Customs were very interested. What is this thing "Fur Patrol"? It sounds a mite dodgy to me, they thought. That’s why it wasn’t there for the release party.
Julia: They thought it was X-rated CD Roms. When they didn’t find anything wrong with it they checked up all the copyrights. Very bizarre.
LF : What would you do with a squillion dollars?
Julia: We’d fly business class all the time!
Simon: Make a really big m$tha*u#n album!
Both: But we’re gonna do that anyway.
Simon: But of course we’d give a lot of it to charity.
LF: Any charities in particular?
Simon: I believe Smokefree to be a good cause. We are a smokefree band.
LF: Were any of you in rockquest?
Julia: I was
LF: Was your band good?
Julia: We did the best version of Ozzy Osborne’s "Crazy Train". [much laughter]
LF: Did you bite heads off bats in true Ozzy style?
Julia: No just my guitarist.
Simon: Yeah yeah. Then Ozzy became a vegetarian and stopped. It’s true.
LF: What are Fur Patrol’s aims and aspirations for the next wee while?
Julia: We just want to make a good album and then do another one. We want to make one we’re happy with and then do another one which we can have even more fun with. If we’re 100% happy with what we’ve done, we’ll never get any better.
Simon: We want to test the overseas waters. I hear the Mediterranean is very nice at this time of year… We’re looking outside of NZ. It’s a lovely, lovely place and it’s my home but it’s so small and it’s hard to survive. The whole push is to promote the album and get it happening and into overseas ears so we can then follow it through.
Julia: We all love NZ. We love living here and the lifestyle and everything. But realistically if we want to follow our dreams which is to play music to a lot of people and to make a living doing it. Then we can’t stay here. Simon: Leaving will be hard. But it’s necessary.
Julia: As a band we’re knowing each other a lot more and reading each other musically. To know when Simon is in a bad mood. To know when Simon hasn’t eaten or slept enough…
LF: Your videos are choice. There’s vids on the telly for "Dominoes" and "Beautiful"…
Simon: Yeah they’re cool and that’s all Greg Page’s fault.
LF: Now he’s a bit famous on the NZ film scene. How was it? Did hanging around in those harnesses get…erm…pinchy in the Beautiful viddy, Simon?
Simon: I was horizontal during filming..
Julia: Or what did you bitch and moan about then? [Simon and Julia bicker on for a while…quite a while actually]
LF : Um. Hello. Julia you were strapped to the front of a large Mack truck cruing at 100km/hr along the Petone foreshore. Sheesh.
Julia: I was hanging there and suddenly realised I couldn’t breathe. Everyone was looking at me and this dark tunnel thing started to happen. Julia’s going pale and she’s not laughing any more. We had to work on that harness thing for a while to avoid asphyxiation…
Simon: Beautiful was filmed in Wellington. Dominoes was made in sunny Palmerston North. Jeez, that was cold. For the playing in the pool thing the water was being pumped from a fire hydrant which draws water from underground into the pool.
Julia: The pool hadn’t been used for quite a while. The frogs came out of their habitat and said hello…
Simon: It felt like the pool had been used to store spiralina. It was green and slimy and yucky…bleuch…Greg Page loved it. We like making vidoes…nearly as much as we’re looking forward to making our new album…and yeah…playing live!
Fur Patrol are doing tour dates around the country with their "Starlifter" EP. Be sure to catch them while you can.


Come and Get Some Fur -Scott Kara

"Look they may play Lydia, but its new years eve for gods sake. Don't you wanna rock?"

That's what we call a penis visit" cackles Fur Patrols Julia Deans. "Yeah… you go in and out" she laughs. Its Wednesday morning in Melbourne. And she's describing last weeks fleeting visit back to New Zealand that her and band mates Simon Braxton, Andrew Bain and Steve Wells just did. No catch-ups with friends or press, just play, drink, go out, back to the hotel, get stoned, back to Melbourne, in and out.

Along with King Kapisi, Fur Patrol did one of the braver sets of the World Series a week of concerts to showcase kiwi talent to top music brass from overseas. Surprisingly, even with these influential people in town, Kapisi and Fur patrol played entirely new songs. The only slight familiar Fur Patrol track was the last, Get Along- That comes across like a raunchy version of the Knack's my sharona. " I think its like one of those big dumb rock songs" dismissed Deans.

Maybe its because Lydia, is what Fur patrol is best known for in New Zealand., but the majority of new material is rawer and comes out effortlessly.

"We want people to be aware that we've got a new album coming out. We may as well start the buzz now. We may as well give people something new and exciting." Yet Deans admits playing the World Series was a very industry affair, except for "the people down front." At the other extreme Fur Patrol play The Party 2003 in Paihia on New Years Eve. "Last year we went and watched Che Fu and he came on just as the sun was setting- you can't get more perfect than that." "And then…" [Her voice spazzes out, she sounds like Donald duck] … sorry, this morning...I'm tongue tied. And then when we played 12, 000 people were just going off. At one point I threw my hands up in the air and I swear every single person put their hands up in the air. I was like: "I'm Jon Toogood." It was a really good party and I'm looking forward to playing again this year."

Today fur patrols are off to the studio to write more songs. Deans' song writing has been helped by getting a computer. " I loooooooove it," she coos. "Its Fuckin' choice… we've done heaps of demos into it. It also means I can sit here and fluff around with ideas that I've got that's not Fur Patrol. It's like having a whole new instrument." These non Fur Patrol pursuits include playing with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra next year and forming a duo, The Fridge magnets, with friend Celia Church. But Fur Patrol is definitely the main focus. "the four of us have given up everything back in New Zealand to do this. The commitment is a lot stronger and especially right now we're seeing things pull together. And guess what… we're really excited about it." "Its been kind of scary at times… y'know, what the fuck are we doing her? Especially for Steve because he's got a daughter in New Zealand."

"we're all doing the hilarity jobs.. I'm pouring beer, actually im spilling a lot of it on myself and drinking a lot of it. Simons working at a movie theatre… and Andrew's been playing postie. He's actually been made redundant… they actually let him go because they don't need him." She says affectionately.

And Steve told Rip It Up proudly at the World Series that he's "clearing glasses" and its amazing what people you meet. * fur patrol are playing the party 2003 on New Years eve, The fridge Magnets (Julia Deans and Celia Church) play the Kings Arms, Auckland, December 29th


Squeeze's Fur Patrol special - Oct 15, 2000
(Interviewed by Francesca Rudkin)

Here at Squeeze we're proud of Fur Patrol so we thought we'd do something a little bit different today. To celebrate the release of their debut album Pet, we're going to let them programme the show. Now this is a priveledge that hasn't been bestowed on any band before. This is very special. I hope for your sake they do a good job. [Clip of Holy plays] Fur Patrol are of coure, Julia, Steve, Simon and Andrew. They're based in Wellington and this is their latest single Holy. You know who they are!

Francesca: Quite a debate going on here. Now are you guys fine with the rules? You all have to agree...
Steve: Well what we've agreed to do is each choose our own song.
F: Oh.
Julia: But if we seriously object to the song that the other band member has...
Simon: We'll have a scrap
Steve: Then tough
J: ...then there'll be a fight and if they still wont give in they're out of the band.
Steve: Fuck
Simon: So the stakes is high.
F: Yeah it is actually.
Andrew: Can we change the rules?
F: Yes you can change the rules.
Steve: The stakes is high?
F: This could be the beginning or the end of Fur Patrol really couldn't it?
Simon: That's right
J: It's a test of our..
F: Bonding..
J: Bonding together..yes our love for each other..and all that kind of stuff.
F: It's good to have little bit of risk involved. Alright so who's going to pick the first one?
Simon: Go on Steve
Steve: Oh well I love in Cat Inna Can by the Straitjacket Fits. It's such a beautiful little tune. And I've never seen the video so I'd like to see the video.
[Cat Inna Can video]
F: Who were some of your favourite New Zealand bands? Who were some the bands that sort of inspired you or influenced you?
Simon: Muttonbirds.
Steve: Dave Dobbyn..
Simon: Yeah Dave Dobbyn..Big D. Obviously Mr. Finn. And the other Mr. Finn. And those other guys in that other band that the Finn's were in.
A: Ahh my first New Zealand band I saw would have been the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band.
Simon: Wicked
Steve: That was your cousin wasn't it?
A: Yeah my Aunty and Uncle were in that.
Simon: Bit of an old knees up eh?
A: Yep.
Simon: Eh? *Wink and click at each other*
J: I saw heaps of Loves Ugly concerts when I was young. Probably because I lived in Christchurch and they used to play there lots. I could sneak out the window. *Winks and clicks*
Simon: The first band I saw was probably when I was about 6. New Zealand band it was called.. Sam Ford's Verandah band. [Band cracks up laughing except Simon] They were like this touring blues band that used to go around the country in this big old house bus. It was awesome. They were great.
F: Ok. You gonna pick now Julia?
J: I am. I choose Scene III by Che-Fu because Ahh Thank It's Purty. That's all.
Simon: Che...you got a purdy mouth...
[giggles..Scene III video]
F: Welcome back to Squeeze. This is our Fur Patrol special where they're picking their favourite music videos. They're going pretty well too I think. Hey um..who produced your album?
Steve: David Long...Muttonbirds.
F: From the Muttonbirds. Why'd you pick David?
J: Ahh..he picked us.
F: Did he?
J: Yes. In the great great great big universal legend thing it just came together. It's very cosmic.
F: The great big universal legend thing.
J: Yeah.
F: What was different between like, recording an EP and singles and then going in to record an album?
Simon: We recorded them all at the same time.
Steve: Not the EP.
F: Yeah not the EP
Simon: So bugger all would be your answer..that you're looking for.
F: But longer period of time obviously and things and..
J: You mean..from Starlifter to Pet?
F: Yep
J: Starlifter was originally recorded as just a bunch of demoes and then we figured seeing as we were spending the money on the recordings we may as well release something because it was about time that we did. And um, so we did that whereas with the album we actually sat down and decided we were going to record the album, um planned it all out. Worked out who we wanted to use as potential producers. Ended up with Dave which was perfect choice. He's fantastic. Then sort of got a basic framework to work to and um..did it. So it was all quite premeditated.
F: Organized
J: Yes! It's a rare moment.
F: What was the most delivered food to the studio?
Steve: We went out. We had lots of Malaysian.
J: Yeah but we made ou own bread. We had a little bread machine. The best one was..peanut butter..banana and..chili
Steve: Sweet chili sauce
F: Rock n Roll huh?
J: Rock hard.
Simon: Rock hard! It was too.
J: Very chewy.
F: Ok. Ok. Who's up?
Simon: ME ME Pick me pick me! Um..I'd like to pick as my video pick for kiwi song video thing..
Steve: Yeah just get on with it.
Simon: Affco by the Skeptics because it's really scary and wicked.
F: Are you a vegetarian?
Simon: No. I love eating meat.
J: Hear that boys?
[Affco video]
F: Alllrighty. We're up to the 4th clip. Time for Andrew to pick a clip. Hi Andrew. How you going?
A: Hello. I'm well thank you.
F: Are you happy you've got your album out? Are you feeling good about it?
A: Yeah yeah. It's real.
F: Ahh what happens next? Oh we'll get back to you in a minute Andrew. But um. what happens next? The albums out. You're going to Australia to do a couple of gigs.
Simon: [Aussie accent mockery] Orrrstraaaylia Orrrstraaaylia. We love yew. We love yew.
F: Oh..kay...
[Julia pushes Simon out of the camera's way]J: Yeah anyway..
[Equally bad aussie accent]Steve: We're going to Seeedney, Melbin and the gold coast.
F: Then you come home and do a bit of a tour around the country.
Simon: With the Had.
F: That's quite exciting in November. Shihad, Weta and Fur Patrol. Criiiikey it's enough to make you wanna wet your pants!
Simon: It's actually Fur Patrol, Weta and Shihad.
F: Oh. I'm sorry. Back to you Andrew!
Steve: How you been?
A: Well...
F: Um. Favourite video?
A: Yeah. I wanna see...I wanna see [Simon whispers into his ear] Yeah. Thanks..thanks Simon. I wanna see Walking in Line by Th'Dudes.
F: Do you wanna be Peter Urlich?
A: No! I wanna be Dave Dobbyn!
F: What is it you like so much about that song and video?
A: Um..have you not seen Dave Dobbyn's hair?
(NB: In the early 80s Dave Dobbyn modelled a stunning bright yellow afro)
[Walking in Line video]
F: There ya go. That's all we're gonna play..that's the last video. Thank you so much for coming in and good luck for Aussie. Have fun.


Fur Patrol on tour with Neil Finn - Squeeze 2001
(interviewed by Francesca Rudkin)

Francesca: In about a half an hours time the doors are gonna open here at the Forum for Neil Finn's second concert here in Melbourne. It's Fur Patrol's job to play support for Neil Finn to a capacity crowd. Nothing to be nervous about.
Simon: This Neil Finn tour is like, we're in the lap of luxury right now. It's just playing like..really yummy places like last night, to great big crowds. Neil Finn's crowd turn up really early so we go and we're playing to a full house every night. It's like..wow. We've been playing toned down sets.
Julia: We're playing our more mellow stuff. It's actually really nice because it gives us a chance to explore that side of things.
Simon (to Julia): I think we've explored it quite..
Steve: Enough..
Simon: ..quite thoroughly over the last few weeks. I'm looking forward to a big loud dumb rock show.
F: Is it kinda scary coming over here in a way sorta starting again. Walking out on stage and thinking "Gosh I dont know if anyone's heard of us."
Simon: There's a certain freedom in it. We can sort've..we don't have to just play the stuff where we're gonna go "oh..well we gotta play the stuff people know, so they'll know this one." We can do whatever we want because no one knows it so it's cool.
J: You get the odd kiwi in the audience and you start playing Lydia and it's like *SCREAMS*. Then they realise no one else is doing it so it's like *SCREAMS.....stops quickly*.
F: What is Neil Finn like on tour?
Steve: Horrible.
Simon: He's an ogre! He's got this real charming, gentle guy persona thing. But it's an act. But he's such an ogre.
J: Backstage he turns into this mammoth man with green eyes and foaming mouth. "GET ME A BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!"
F: So it's cups of tea and cookies then?
Simon: Yeah it's pretty mellow. Lots of green tea.
F: So why have Fur Patrol, and many other New Zealand and Aussie bands headed to Melbourne? We spoke to Ben from music magazine Beat.
Ben: All the bands seem to come to Melbourne to try and make it. Bands coming down from Sydney, from Adelaide, from Western Australia will move to Melbourne to try to make it in the Australian music scene. All the major heads of all the labels are in Melbourne. It's the place to go and impress.
Simon: Radio play in conjunction with going out and playing live is a winner. How could it fail?
J: No no Simon. Eets a weener!
Simon: EETS A WEENER!
F: Do you think Fur Patrol will be able to make it?
B: Definately.
J: Treefeec!!
S: You'll go seeeck eef you do it laaaake thaaaat.
B: They are an excellent, excellent band. They're like a darker version of the Superjesus who have done really well here for a couple of years. And they've got great stage presence.
F: Triffic.
[Ad Break]
Now while in Australia, Fur Patrol scored playing support for Neil Finn. Which is choice. But is it going to be enough for them to make a name for themselves? So is it actually easy over here, if a New Zealand band wants to come over here and they wanna get some gigs. Is it easy for them to score some gigs?
Bech (triple R): I think it's easier then any other capital city in Australia. Theres a lot of promoters or band bookers who are quite open to that type of thing. I think if you have a demo and it sounds reasonably okay they'll give you a go, even if it is a Monday night supporting someone.
J: At this stage in the game, where we are just starting out playing with people who are already established artists and do have their own crowds, to go out and get in touch with their crowd..."Hi...check us out!". Word of mouth and people go "Oh..they were that band that played with those guys. Oh I think I liked them so I think I'll go back and see them again or I might buy that album!".
Simon: We've been on the road for the last 6 weeks or whatever but we're still not even breaking the surface. If we'd been doing this in NZ everyone would've been going "OH GOD! Not Fur Patrol again! Go AWAY!"
B: Their live show is fantastic and that's really key in this country. You've gotta really put up live.
F: So you guys are still having to stay in one room when you're touring?
Simon: Sometimes we even have to bunk up! I've slept with Andrew a few times.
Andrew: It was good though eh?
Simon: Yeah you were really good actually!
F: So what's coming up. What do the next few months hold?
J: We've got a few round town gigs..then we go to FIJI!
F: Whats the deal with this Fiji trip? Who organizes this?
Steve: It's a competition in New Zealand to win a weekend with us in Fiji on Beachcomber Island. But you can also go to STA travel and buy the "Fur Patrol" package.
J: GET THAT!
Steve: It's a three day "party" with Fur Patrol.
Simon: We're playing music one night but we're juggling for the other nights and sorta fire playing and things like that.
J: We're also running around massaging peoples feet and hands.
Simon: It's gonna be a good time folks!
Steve: Don't give them any ideas...
F: Andrew's just going to sit there and yawn.
Simon: He's going to just sit there and be beautiful.
B: I think the key places in Australia is Melbourne. That's where you've gotta prove yourself because there's so many bands. If you prove yourself in Melbourne and succeed there you'll succeed anywhere.
Simon: We're moving on up. Moving on out. Time to break free. Nothing can stop us. Yeah. .


Fur Real - Grant Smithies

Fur Patrol's Julia Deans is still a rock star - and a busy one at that - despite the band's low profile of late in New Zealand. But she warns Grant Smithies, that's all about to change.

Her voice cracked and croaky, her brain "not quite working yet", New Zealand's foremost rock chick rolls out of bed in her adopted Melbourne home for a natter. Why is Julia Deans still in bed at two in the afternoon? Because she's a rock star, that's why.
This means hellishly late nights playing support for everyone from Aussie acts Killing Heidi, The Cruel Sea and You Am I to much-hyped visitors The Strokes and The Dandy Warhols. It means being recognised in trams, fighting off groupies, having the clout to haul in major-league producers to work on your albums and jetting off to LA to make videos.
Which all comes as something of a surprise to us back home. I mean, who knew?
Like a close friend you see every day who then goes on holiday and severs all contact, Fur Patrol was practically unavoidable in New Zealand a few years back, all over radio, TV and magazines, kicking up a din in venues around the country. Then the band packed up, moved to Australia and promptly disappeared. Vanished. Not a peep.
So little information filtered home you might have surmised Deans and co had kissed their rock'n'roll dreams goodbye, hung up their guitars and got jobs driving taxis or working in burger bars.
You'd be wrong. The news vacuum was partly due to momentum lost as the band extricated itself from what Deans calls a "pooey, absolutely stinky banana record deal" with Warners in Australia, though Warners NZ still represents the band on its home turf. "Yeah, Australia has been fantastic, though at the moment it's bloody cold over here," says Deans through an assortment of sniffles and yawns.
"If I had bollocks I'd say I was freezing my bollocks off . . . winter aside, things are good here now, but it was rough at first. When we arrived two and a half years ago Warners over here weren't that interested in us because, hey, they had Bardot! And of course, Bardot had longer legs and perkier tits."
Fur Patrol, despite Deans' more natural allure, had no money, was living on two-minute noodles, and, because it cost the band money to play gigs, let their instruments go dusty.
A new record deal with Universal was signed in January and by February, UK producer Mark Wallace, a "big, lovely bear of a man" who has worked with everyone from Travis and U2 to the late Marvin Gaye, had flown in to start work on the new album.
"He helped make our sound so much more intense," says Deans. "Bigger, wider, bumpier, more emotional, more personal, just more raw and extreme than our debut album Pet was, but also more representative of what we sound like live."
Most local bands who spend time playing the Australian pub rock circuit come home with a harder, blunter sound, but Deans assures me Fur Patrol hasn't sped up or dumbed down to accommodate the average subtlety-shunning Ocker rock fan.
"There are still a couple of beautiful ballads amongst all the rough stuff," she says of the as-yet-unnamed new album.
"But the rough stuff is definitely rougher. The first single will give people an idea of what to expect. It starts with this mad 'Weee-dle weee-dle weee-dle' guitar riff that sounds like our van starting up and then gets more and more full-on as it goes on. It'll scare the shit out of people who think of us primarily as the band that wrote (gentle radio single) 'Lydia'."
Live gigs in New Zealand always involve a small bunch of fans in the front row yelling "Lydia! Lydia!" at the band, she says. "And then as soon as we launch into a full-on sonic assault they just stand there with their mouths open thinking, Oh my God! This isn't what I paid my 20 bucks for".
Scary it may be, but new single "Precious" is a great song. It careers along on a mean snarly riff, the bass throbbing like a headache, with Deans out front sounding sexy and malicious as she warns some poor bastard there's no escape: "You can crawl though the house, hide under the bed, there's no use to hide, I've come for your head." Cleverly, the song leaves itself open to a more sexual interpretation as well, such lyrical ambiguity also a trademark of Deans' best songs on Pet.
Deans downplays her leadership role, carefully sharing praise with drummer Simon Braxton, guitarist Steve Wells and bass player Andrew Bain, but clearly the strength of her songs is what sets the band apart.
This fact is underlined by an upcoming project in which Deans has been invited to perform her songs solo, backed by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra as part of a September songwriters' series that will also include Anika Moa and Bic Runga.
As with all good songs, Deans' best efforts work independently of their settings. Ditch the drums, unplug the bass, strip away the pile-driving riffs and the lyrics and the melodies are strong enough to work if sung solo with an acoustic guitar.
"Well, that's how most of them were written," says Deans. "And that's how I started out, learning acoustic guitar so I could accompany songs I'd written in my bedroom. Then, after a while, you discover the joys of plugging things in and making a far bigger noise. Basically, I've always loved classic, catchy pop songs."
As a kid, Deans spent hours singing along to '50s and '60s radio pop and loved Led Zeppelin, The Stone Roses and The Cure. "Having those kinds of influences has meant that people sometimes bag Fur Patrol for not sounding enough like a New Zealand band, meaning I guess an early Flying Nun band," she says. "But I always far preferred the prettiness of radio pop songs."
Anyway, what constitutes a distinctive New Zealand sound these days? Deans says our isolation makes us hungry for international sounds which we "spit out in strange new forms".
"It's like hearing a Japanese band playing rock'n'roll - we emphasise different things within the music and make our own wonky hybrid. Look at what Fat Freddy's Drop has done with hip hop and soul, or Chris Knox with his abrasive but beautiful ballads, or the warm, emotional edge Pacifier bring to hard rock."
But ask Deans what makes Fur Patrol's sound distinctive or original and she is at something of a loss.
"Hmmm. Beats me. Perhaps the fact that no other band has Andrew, Simon, Steve and Julia belting out little poppy, rocky, noisy little numbers about bitter and twisted spurned lovers."
So, LA bound, living in Melbourne, working with U2's producer - is there anything Deans really misses about New Zealand? There's barely a pause.
"Eta peanut butter. You can't get it over here. The Australian stuff has so much sugar in it, it's disgusting. I like peanut butter on hot toast with lots of garlic."
Hold on to your olfactory nerves Jon Toogood. Fur Patrol is touring with the too good Pacifier mob this month and garlic on toast may be only the start of their worries.
Deans downplays the substantial role her sex appeal has had in the band's success. She falls about laughing when I remind her that she was once voted "Biggest Fox" at the bNet music awards and groans loudly when I mention all the adolescent boys who once clogged New Zealand music internet chatrooms with endless "Julia Deans is, like, so hot" cyber-lust.
"It's all so ridiculous, really. I've never gone out of my way to play up any sex kitten rock chick image, though I do ham things up on stage 'cos I'm a bit of a show-off. Maybe some of that kind of thing is inevitable."
The record company's spin, she says, is that it's good for your career if people in your audience think they'd want to either hang out with you or be you. And if they want to shag you? "Eeew!" Deans explodes with great snorts of laughter.
"What a revolting thought. But yeah, you're right, and some people really play that up, especially singers from years ago like Debbie Harry from Blondie. I prefer to leave that kind of behaviour for sociologists to analyse and just have fun up there."
Speaking of good, clean, sex symbol fun, Fur Patrol's video, which they're currently shooting in LA, features Deans seducing people at a gig and taking them back to a hotel.
"Then the boys all leap out of the closet, we pin them down on the bed and I slice their ears off. Yee-haa!" she says.
"It's pretty much symbolic of our last couple of years here in Australia. It's like - all right, no more mucking around. We're Fur Patrol and we've come for your ears!"


Julia Deans on the ROCK 96.3FM - August 9, 2003
(interviewed by Johnno)

Rock: What have you guys been doing? The latest we've seen from you is Che-Fu emails you in the Telecom ad... and you're playing guitar, but we don't know too much more than that Julia.
Julia: Awww... well we've been recording a new album, ahhh making some videos, playing some shows. Now we're getting ready to come back to New Zealand and have a rocking good time with Pacihad.
Rock: Now while Fur Patrol's been in Melbourne have you guys been solely working on music or have you had to have other jobs or that sort've thing?
Julia: Oh we have had to have other jobs I'm afraid.
Rock: What have you been doing?
Julia: Pulling pints in a pub. That's some nice alliteration there. Pulling pints in pubs.
Rock: Are you still doing that?
Julia: No!
Rock: Bugger that!
Julia: Well... I got a bit lazy on it. It's like..."Aww I don't wanna do this anymore..."
Rock: Now, the new album "Collider", when's that out over here mate?
Julia: It should be out in November we're hoping.
Rock: Excellent. And the first single which is named...?
Julia: Precious!
Rock: And it's a bit of a rocker. It's quite different from a lot of the stuff that was on the "Pet" album wouldn't you say?
Julia: Oh there a still definately some beautiful, gentle moments on "Collider". But yeah Precious is our kickstart with a "HERE WE ARE!"
Rock: Did you go into the mindset Julia when you started working on this album that, right we're gonna make it a bit harder, a bit rockier?
Julia: No we just did exactly what we did with "Pet" which was lets just see where it goes sorta thing. Lets just record these songs and lets see how they turn it. I think it's just kinda the Fur Patrol approach is "lets run with it and see what happens."
Rock: Has there been much pressure from record company and the likes of "We want another Lydia!"
Julia: No no. We've changed record companies. We're still working with Warner in New Zealand but ahh they've pretty much gone "Nah.. do what ever you want.."
Rock: So what was the main reason for the move to Melbourne? Was it to broaden your horizons?
Julia: Yeah definately. And um so that we didn't end up.. we've always intended to push this thing as far as it will go and Melbourne seemed like a fairly sensible step to take. It has been good. It's been a tough couple of years but now it's proved to be worth everything.
Rock: Are you looking forward to getting back over to NZ and playing a few shows?
Julia: FUCK YEAH! It's going to be awesome. Two Lane Black Top and Pacifier. We're all good friends so it's going to be absolute riot of a tour.


Julia Deans on Strassman - March, 2002
(interviewed by David Strassman and Ted E. Bare)

David: Hi. Nice to meet you. This is Ted E. Bare.
Julia: Hello Ted E. [Julia reaches to shake his paw]
Ted: Don't touch me. [Julia recoils in HORROR] But nice to meet ya.
D: He just has his own personal... space.
J: Very sensitive. Yeah, I understand that one.
D: Now congratulations on Fur Patrol's success. Who thought up with the name?
J: I kind of did. I kind of did...
T: Are you the hair police? [Julia cackles] What did I do?!
J: Apparently we had a competition on the radio to get people to ring in and say what they thought "Fur Patrol" meant, and a young girl actually rang in and she said it was a bunch of teddy bears that ran around on motorcycles. [Teddy gurgles happily]
T: What happened to your hair?
D: Teddy Teddy... it looks very nice.
J: What happened to your ears? There's holes in them.
T: Yes so I can hear.
J: No no but they go all the way through.
T: There's a hole in your lip. What happened to your hair? [Julia makes squelching noise as she "squeezes" her labret piercing] Ewww...
D: How did you start off? Didn't you start by teaching yourself guitar?
J: Yep. Basically. I actually started playing the piano when I was about 8. And then picked up guitar when I was about 14 and there it went. Moved up to Wellington.
D: Acoustic guitar or electric guitar?
J: This crappy old five dollar guitar that my mum bought from a garage... 2nd hand sale. The strings stuck up about [3 inches] away from the neck. So I now have this vice like grip on the neck of the guitar which gives me sore fingers.
D: Well it works out for you though. You start out with a bad instrument it helps you when you play a real good instrument. How much is your guitar worth?
J: It's worth more to me than it is financially.
T: We wont see it in the Hard Rock?
J: No. [sad]
T: Aww.
J: I feel like I've done something bad now.
T: You have.
J: Just for Ted E. I'm going to put it in the Hard Rock.
T: Yeah... what's she talking about?
D: Were you ever a starving artist?
J: A starring... artist?
D: Starving.
T: Dave moved his lips.
D: Yep I moved my lips. Let me try that again... were you ever a starving artist?
J: I AM a starving artist!
T: Still?
D: With all your success?
J: There's no money in it in New Zealand unfortunately so that's why we're living in Melbourne now.
T: I've got some fat you can have.
J: Some fat? Is that so I can put it on my toast? [Ted shakes his head in disgust]
D: Do you tour Australia?
J: Yes.
D: Is it easier than touring NZ?
J: Hell no. The distances between cities is about 10 times greater. I mean we used to bitch about the 5 hour drive to New Plymouth or the 8 hour drive to Auckland. Now we moan about the 12 hour drive to Sydney or the 24 hour drive to Brisbane.
T: You can't afford to fly huh?
J: No [whimper]
T: Your band must not be doing very well then.
J: No. We suck.
T: Huh? I don't get her words.
D: That's alright Ted E. So you write all the songs for the band?
J: Yeah. The lastest lot were a much more collaborative effort. Do you understand co-llab-orative?
T: No. It sounds good though. Can you help me? Do you think my fur needs some highlights?
J: Yeah you could do with a little bit of orange... [Julia reaches over to touch his ear]
T: DON'T TOUCH ME!!!
J: I wasn't gonna touch.
T: SHE WAS GONNA TOUCH ME!!!!
J: You're just so cute!
T: I am?
J: [whispers behind her hand] All the girls want you.
T: [whispers back] Whaaat?
D: Now you've had number 1 singles and albums that have gone platinum...
J: Well number one SINGLE and ALBUM that have gone platinum... hopefully one day we can add s's onto the end of both of those.
T: Now I know why she's not rich...
J: Not yet.
D: With all your successes do you feel that Fur Patrol is on the verge of going global?
J: YES! YES we are! I'm being confident.
T: What's your favourite colour?
J: My favourite colour is red.
T: MINE TOOOOOO!!!!! [Ted starts licking foot... Julia holds up her foot to be licked] No. You've gotta wash yours first.
J: I cleaned them [shoes] yesterday. They were black... well not black but they are definately a lot whiter than they were.
T: They don't look clean... and they don't smell clean...
D: So you set out to be a rockstar and now you are one. Is that what you always dreamed?
J: Yeah it is actually. Apparently when I was about 3 years old Mum came in and found me standing on the overturned washing basket singing into the heater cord plug.
T: That would have hurt.
J: Yeah if it was plugged in. That explains the hair.
T: Hey! That was my line!
J: Awww thats because we think alike.
T: Yeah... [nods... shakes head]
D: Did you ever wake up one day and say "Wow! I'm a rockstar!"?
J: I dunno about rockstar but I wake up some days and go "Cool I'm doing what I always wanted to do and it's a really nice feeling..." And other days I wake up and go "OH GOD I've gotta drive to Brisbane!"
T: I like the drive to B... B...Bizbin... Brr... [turns to Dave] Could you cover your mouth?
D: Sure [covers mouth]
T: I like the drive to Brisbane!
J: Is that a B thing? Or is it because it's an Australian word?
D: Actually it's because it's an Australian word. That's the problem here. We have a special Ted E. Bare to give you. It's a Ted E. Bare teddy bear.
J: Awww... can I touch this one?
T: Not now.
D: You actually have to win him. We have a trivia question which is alcohol related. Do you drink at all?
J: A little...
D: Has your band ever trashed a hotel room?
J: No. We're not very rock n' roll like that...
T: They'll never make it.
D: Oh Ted E.! Here we go. This is a multiple choice question. In 1986 Al Capone's secret vault beneath the Lexington Hotel in Chicago was opened live on American television. The event was accompanied by the usual media circus. IRS CIA were there who were interested in what they were hoped to find from money to the bones of his enemies. What did they discover inside the vault when they finally blasted through the walls? Is it A) Shares in ones of the worlds largest rum distilleries, B) Two empty bottles of gin or C) The corpse of D'Angelo Capricio pickled in a vat of whiskey?
J: Oooh the third one sounds pretty good but I'll probably go for the two empty bottles of gin.
D: That's correct!
J: WHOO HOO!!!
D: Julia Deans ladies and gentlemen!



Fur Trading, New Zealand Musician - August/September 2003
(interviewed by Emma Philpot)

While the Auckland sky lets forth with a torrent of rain on another wintery day, Julia Deans and Simon Braxton, Front person and drummer of Fur Patrol, are on the phone from a much sunnier Melbourne.
Reintroductions are in order. Aside from Christmas visits, playing at Haruru Falls’ New Years Eve Parties plus the off World Series showcase in Auckland last November, the former Wellington four-piece has barely set foot here in New Zealand for over two years. And there is a lot of catching up to do as they begin the run up to the release of their second album “Collider”, which hopefully we will all see later this year. Hard time reports apart, they have had nothing going on to keep them in the Kiwi public’s mind in a period, which has spawned a deluge of chart bothering local acts.
The day after this interview Fur Patrol were heading for LA to shoot a video and play the infamous Viper Room- a welcome relief after five months of recording, mixing, and mastering the new record.
On the first day of August they dived headfirst into a major Australian city tour with old mates Pacifier. Eight NZ dates follow also with Pacifier and Two Lane Blacktop (who share Fur Patrol’s Atlantis management), starting on August 21st in Invercargill.
At the moment things are looking particularly sunny-but the last couple of years have been stormy to say the least. Fur Patrol Left NZ in 2001, with the country’s pop/rock lovers and media raving about them. Their First EP “Starlifter” (released on Wishbone in 1998) has stuck in the charts for six weeks, while their debut album “Pet” which was eventually released by Wishbone in 2000, with distribution through Warners NZ, sold double platinum, spending 30 weeks in the charts. A large chunk of thanks for that success go to that song Lydia which hit number one on the singles chart in December 2000, spending seven weeks in the top five.
Together then for less than four years, the band admit they had not expected to do so well, so quickly. While in Australia supporting Motor Ace they felt a bigger challenge beckoning.
Along with manager Dave Benge, the four members of Fur Patrol -Deans, Braxton, guitarist Steve Wells and bassist Andrew Bain - left the comforts of easily filled gigs with regular paychecks, as well as friends and family, to head for Melbourne. Simon sees it as the response to a need for fresh challenges, as a band and as individuals.
“Our prime reason for actually existing in this country is the band. We didn’t really have a lot of that in New Zealand. It was much more the band was something we were doing, as well as whatever else we were doing in NZ. But the only reason we’re here is for this band. We’re a much tighter unit as far as that’s concerned and we’ve had to learn to be able to rely on each other and support each other. “I think if we’d stayed in NZ much longer we would have started getting a bit bored with each other. We definitely needed to move on and try and push ourselves a bit further and actually get a bit of that struggle happening. And it’s been good for us to have that, to get out of the comfort zone and really be forced to work for your life haha… really!”
In Australia they certainly found a tougher scene and, not much later, a newfound poverty, imposed by the complications of having a record deal still in effect [with] Wishbone Records.
Fur Patrol were the first (and only) band signed to Wishbone, and independent Wellington label set up basically to release the “Starlifter” EP by then owners of Wellington’s Marmalade Recording Studio, in conjunction with studio manager Allan Clark. They has two releases on the fledgling label- “Starlifter” in 1998 (distributed by Jayrem) and “Pet” in 2000 (distributed through Warners Music NZ) But the contract became restrictive once they made the decision to move offshore and watched to secure backing from an Australian major. Wishbones too were in a financial hole, having funded the recordings, which spawned a number of well-received videos.
“They were contractually obliged to make records for them (Wishbone) and on that label were signed for the world.” Says Benge. He says the label was happy for them to move overseas, but didn’t have the means to fund an album recorded in Australia. To record a second album they would have had to move back to Wellington, which the band weren’t happy to do.”
“It sort of froze us in the position where we weren’t able to move on and look for a new label. We were struck in this quagmire,” confirms Julia. “There wasn’t any point in playing any gigs because we didn’t have anything new to promote and every time you play a show costs you money-and we didn’t have any money to be able to play.”
Compounding that problem was an Australian licensing deal with Warners Music Australia- who had taken Fur Patrol on board because of “Pet’s success for Warners here. “Warners Australia has Bardot,” Julia laughs. “They didn’t really have a vested interest in us!”
Without any real promotion of their debut album in Australia it was tough to build an audience for a band. While initial reports from Melbourne had the band enthusing about being able to concentrate solely on their music, as things drifted on part time work, difficulties meeting rent payments and a much publicised diet of two-minutes noodles became the new reality. After 18 months of struggle, the Furs came out of the Wishbone Bind, slimmer and a bit tousled but intact. Unable to divulge the details of the settlement, Benge can only say they were not let off easily and there were lawyers involved! He says it was really difficult for the band -They could only move forward in Australia by recording a second album.
Julia agrees, saying there were moments that the band could have fallen apart. The fact that they didn’t, she credits to the strength of friendship between the band members, but also their manager Benge.
“There were times, where if it wasn’t for him it would have fallen to bits. And he was like ‘Come on guys, what are you doing…don’t let this get on top of you, we’ve got to keep fighting’. He’s a really fucking awesome person.”
The tables have turned just at the right moment- Universal Music Australia expressed interest just as the contractual relationship with Wishbone had closed. Benge says he had a contact from A&R manager Dave Shrimpton within two or three weeks.
The Furs signed directly with Universal who have provided the long awaited finances for a follow up to “Pet”, but have retained their distribution with Warners here in NZ.
Benge is keeping mum on the budget spent on the album, only hinting at the likely cost. “it was a lot less that a lot of bands. Big Australian bands like Grinspoon and Powderfinger spend in excess of $200, 000… we’re spending a lot less than that.”
The new albums lead single Precious (also the last song written before hitting the studio), sounds more like the stomping guitar anthem Now that anything poppier on “Pet”. Julia says the song pretty much sums up the mood of the band right at the moment. “That’s the seal on the bottle, “ she says. “Its very much the ‘Nah, fuck this shit, we’re going to go out and we’re taking the world on’ song!” She laughs.
“That sounds really naff! There were just, you know, hard times, as a band and personally, not having any money and for a while there we wondered if we were going to make it through this. Things were getting a bit fractured with our relationships with each other and people around us. It sounds really dramatic and it was at the time, but it’s kind of, it’s done now and let’s move on.”
The lyrics are even more personal and honest than her previous work. Julia’s voice is again very much the centrepiece on “Collider”. Her vocals are noticeably grittier and although she swears she hasn’t started smoking, or started singing lessons, she agrees it has matured.
“I think I’ve grown into it and become more aware of its capabilities.”
The same could be said of the bands overall sound. Julia remains the main Fur Patrol songwriter, but they now work more collaboratively to structure her arrangements.
”Since “Pet” came out we’ve played a million…” she laughs again, “… times more shows together and spent way more time in each other company than we had previously. So I think that has definitely changed the way things work.”
Not surprisingly the songs on “Collider” reflect the turmoil of the last two years. This album sounds harder, heavier and noisier than its predecessor. There’s a precarious balance between noisy rock passages and the quiet moments, themselves filled with details not immediately noticeable.
“Just after we finished it all, I was going ‘I don’t know if I like it’.” Admits Julia. “You kind of get that when you spend so long doing something. I just didn’t know how I felt about it all. Listening to it since then, having a bit of space from it, I was like ‘Oh no, that’s really cool’.”
While some songs have been milling round for the last two years, work on the album proper only started early this year. The first step- sending out a bunch of demos to producers that band thought they might want to work with- resulted in them selecting UK producer Mark Wallis, (Travis, The Smiths, U2 and Talking Heads et al) to work with them.
“When we spoke to Mark on the phone, one of the points he made was there’s all this dynamic stuff happening, but not nearly enough. He sort of saw what we were trying to do, but not quite nailing,” says Julia. Wallis flew from London to Melbourne to make the record.
“It was a bit scary” says Julia “Like I was going ‘What if we don’t get on when he gets here?” But he was fantastic. He’s really, really, really lovely man to work with.”
Before heading into Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios, Wallis spent a couple of weeks with the band in pre-production where he restructured some of the song. Julia explains it as making what they were doing sound even more extreme.
“For example Little Heart had bits cut out of it, and the end got changed, now it dissolves,” she says. “We never even thought of doing that.”
“The great thing about working with him was having this outside perspective on the album,” Julia continues. “Sometimes when you spend however long working on something, you kind of lose perspective and it’s quite hard to take a step back. The objectivity is important because you can crawl up your own little […pauses…] arse-hole [giggles] sometimes.”
“He was great to work with,” agrees Simon. “ He pushed us the hardest we’ve ever been pushed in the studio, but really got a lot of extra cool stuff out that we probably wouldn’t have managed otherwise.”
The band and Wallis settled into the studio so happily that their initial four weeks booking was extended to six. “It’s a really comfy place, it sounds wicked and we had a good play,” says Simon. “It’s just got a really good vibe in there as well. It’s set up really well. There are three studios in there plus a mastering studio, but there’s not enough room for everybody.”
The resulting album is ambitious, showing little regard for the programming tastes of pop/rock radio, right from the four-minute instrumental track, which kicks it off. Tracks often build into a frenzy before backing right down, creating a cinematic-style soundscape. “Mark really encouraged those dynamics,” explains Simon. “He would say, ‘Okay, if you guys are going to back off a bit here, let’s really back it right off, so the light and shade elements are really quite highlighted and it just makes it so much more interesting to listen to.”
Wallis also became the mix engineer. Figuring that they could mix the album for around the same price with him in the UK or in Australia, Fur Patrol opted to cross the globe and crash on Wallis’ Croyden studio floor for the mix-down.
“It was a collaborative effort,” confirms Simon. “He wanted us to be happy with it and he wanted us to put our ideas forward about how the mixes should sound.” The process took twice as long as Wallis had estimated, meaning Fur Patrol were in London six weeks. “The mixing process is a funny one,” says Simon. “It can really change a lot. You can record a whole lot of stuff, but you can get rid of heaps of it. So a song can drastically change in the mix process.”
While they didn’t have a chance to play any shows over there, Julia and Simon did get to spend a day mastering at Abbey Road. “That was amazing,” says Simon. “I couldn’t believe that I was able to walk into Abbey Road. I was wandering around and I had to ask someone where to go to get to where we were working.’” Then it was back home- to Melbourne that is- to start shooting videos, prepare for touring and get things on track for the release of “Collider”. Fur Patrol don’t stop from here on in. They will be in NZ with Pacifier for the aforementioned quick jaunt, then head back to Australia for a headline tour in support of the Precious single release. Julia will visit Christchurch to play a one off gig with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in September. “I’m totally stoked,” she says about that opportunity. “I turn up in Christchurch a week before for rehearsals, and then it’s the big night. It’s quite exciting. I’m nervous, but excited nervous. It’s all good! I studied classical music since I was wee, so I actually get to do something with a real life orchestra is very exciting. We are going to do some Fur Patrol songs, and some of my own things.”
The band will spend three weeks doing shows in the UK in late September, before returning to Australia for more touring. “Collider” will be released in NZ and Australia within the next 6 months, exactly depending on just how well Precious and the second single Fade Away are received in the two territories. “It’s all a bit crazy,” says Julia, quickly listing all the things they’ve done in the making of this album. “Its kind’a all the things I dreamed about when I was a kid.”
“To be honest, right now I’m sure I should be getting people to pinch me on a regular basis. There are all these really cool things happening. I know it’s going to be hard work but I’m like totally up for it.”

Fur Factors:
Julia Deans: Guitar

- ’68 Fender Coronado
- Rickenbacker 6/10
- Fender Bassman through Fender 4x12 Cab


Steve Wells: Guitar

- Early ’70’s Gibson 335
- Tokai “telecaster
- Stephen Delft 30W Custom amp through Marshall JCM 800 combo speakers


Andrew Bain: Bass

- ’75 Musicman stingray
- Mesa Boogie 400+ through Ampeg 4x10 and 15” cab
- Hotcake and Prunes & Custard pedals


Simon Braxton: Drums

-A thoroughly mixed bag of Premier, Pearl, Tama, Sabian and Zildjian and Remo