When a Vance Joy song plays on the radio, there is something both timely and timeless about the moment. It feels serendipitous, like you’re the main character and it’s on the soundtrack of your life.
The Australian singer-songwriter has been capturing the world’s attention with his heart-on-his-sleeves songwriting since the 2013 release of his song “Riptide”, which served as a memorable introduction to the artist we know and love as Vance Joy. Fast forward to present day, his third full-length studio album In Our Own Sweet Time is slated for release on June 10th, with the first two singles “Missing Piece” and “Clarity” garnering plenty of listens and streams.
There’s a thoughtfulness in the way that Vance Joy approaches words and storytelling, whether in his music or in conversation. I was fortunate to spend some time in real life to chat with the lovely James Keogh before he played his biggest show yet in Vancouver at Rogers Arena.
Vance Joy: We’ve met before, right?
asapmusicblog ca: We have, but not in the way you’re thinking. I met you before your show at the Orpheum in 2016. I originally bought tickets to your show and had to sell them because I was really broke and needed to replace my laptop. I somehow ended up winning a contest where I won tickets to your concert…
Vance Joy: So you’d sold the tickets?
A: I had sold them! I won tickets, got to meet you, and I won a laptop.
VJ: Wait, you won a laptop?! You sold tickets to buy one, and you won one!
A: Yes! And all because of you, I wouldn’t be where I am today in my life because I didn’t have a laptop.
VJ: That would have been helpful. That’s a nice story, I love that. That’s really some intervention from some kind of cosmic forces.
A: And a full circle moment coming back here to officially interview you, which is super exciting.
VJ: Fanny, what a pleasure. That’s so good, I love this backstory. I feel like that should be in the interview.
A: So to start off my questions, welcome back to Vancouver! It’s been a few years since we’ve seen you play live and you’re playing at your biggest venue yet in Vancouver. What are some of your favourite memories of the time that you have spent here?
VJ: I remember that show at the Orpheum, that was a really fun show. I came here super early in my career, like 2013. I remember it was sunny, I was wandering around and that also felt pretty exciting – beautiful views of the mountains on the other side of this little bit. Then I remember playing here opening for Taylor Swift in 2015 and that was such a fun tour. It was such a great opportunity to play to ridiculously big crowds. Deer Lake Park we played at in 2018, is it called Deer Lake Park?
A: Yes, Deer Lake Park!
VJ: I remember walking around that area – that’s a beautiful wild spot, I loved that. That was a pretty great show as well. There’s a lot of good memories here.
A: Deer Lake Park also just has an amazing sound setup for all the concerts there, at least from the audience perspective. (Editor’s Note: In my humble opinion! 🙂)
VJ: I remember that being a really good show, there was just so much love in the crowd. Brad [Cauchey] who takes photos of our tours, he just got so many beautiful moments of people, like kids on parents’ shoulders – all these like beautiful moments, that’s what comes to mind.
A: It’s been about 10 years since you adopted your stage name and you previously shared that when you took on the stage name, you were trying to create a little world for yourself. When you’re kind of looking back at this time as ‘Vance Joy’, what reflections do you have around the world that you have created?
VJ: When you start using a stage name, or when I started using one, it’s kind of scary because it’s quite a step in a direction of taking yourself a bit more seriously because I have an artist name. You’re not just doing it for a hobby, or you are, but it’s kind of trying to give it some kind of officialness. I remember finding that name in a book and starting to call myself that and I had nothing to show for myself really. I’d organized Facebook events, which was like, ‘Vance Joy plays at St. Edmonds cafe’ and you know, five people would attend. It was like super, super beginnings and once I had a few songs under my belt and a song online, I felt more confident about using the stage name.
It’s funny how as time goes, it becomes something that people know, especially when you have a popular song like ‘Riptide’ – the name doesn’t seem so silly anymore. It’s like, yeah, Vance Joy! I’m not shy to say it, but I was shy at the start. I guess if I was reflecting, it’s nice to know that I was on the right path even when I was a bit nervous about using the name, and a lot has happened. I’ve gotten to do so many great shows and gotten to keep making songs. I feel like now I’ve got three albums worth of music and there are a lot of songs I’m really proud of. That’s probably one of the things I’m most content and feel good about is that I can look at a setlist and think, ‘I stand by these songs’. Some of them have lasted 10 years and are still connecting with people and still feel good to me to play – they haven’t lost any of their specialness to me.
A: I love that. I feel like with the title of your new album, In Our Own Sweet Time, you did talk about the meaning of the title and the timelessness in it and I do think your songs have that element. When one of your songs comes up, especially “Riptide”, it obviously resonates with a lot of people who discovered you. It just brings you back into that moment of discovering the song for the first time and doesn’t lose its magic.
VJ: That’s nice. Yeah, I know what you mean. Some songs, they definitely create a little timestamp for people in their lives and I think “Riptide” for sure does for a lot of people. I get a lot of messages from people about the way that song is connected with them and being forever bound to memories that they’ve experienced. That’s the power of music, and I have the same thing with my favourite songs.
A: So you are a man of many talents. You’re a singer-songwriter, you have a law degree, you skateboard, but what I want to highlight is that you also draw. You did an illustration for the cover of your second album, Nation of Two, and you’ve also done some drawings which are featured on your merch for the latest album. How did that come about in designing your own designs?
VJ: I definitely try and skateboard – I’m not very good, but I like to do things with my hands. I love even just games like throwing, like if it’s target practice or playing a game that requires any little bit of skill. That’s why I think I like playing guitar because it’s figuring things out. I like that creative aspect of the artwork for albums – you get to express yourself. Sometimes when people just pick up a pen and do whatever they want in an unselfconscious way, they’ll make something kind of cool. Who’s to say that’s better than the other thing or whatever, you know? I mean, I can’t draw someone’s face and make it look like them, but I can still do a squiggle that feels like me.
I have a lot of freedom because it’s my music – it’s nice to just do the creative side of the album artwork, and I think the merch looks cool. I’m not a super gifted drawer, I can draw like a little daisy or something, but you can still make something cool with a bit of help from people around you. I reckon those t-shirts look really cool – I’m glad you mentioned them because I love the daisy one with the writing in a circular thing, I think that’s a t-shirt I would wear. It’s nice to make merch where I would buy it if I saw it in a skate shop or something, I’d want to wear it!
A: A source of inspiration in your songwriting has been quotes that you’ve come across when you’re reading. Are there any books or pieces of writing that have kind of made its way onto the new album.
VJ: It wasn’t happening as much as it has in the past, in this album. I mean I still kept reading, but I wasn’t as studious and highlighting things, like this has got to be in a song – only if it just floated back to my mind. There’s a line just in that book Call Me By Your Name and in the film as well, there’s something about if they met when they were young, they would have been friends? I remember that scene… it’s not Timothee Chalamet’s character, it’s Armie Hammer’s character and it was in the book. They talked about how he’s sitting with this girl who’s got a terminal illness and they’re sitting watching the waves crashing in and they’re talking something along those lines – “If we’d met when we were kids, do you think we’d be friends?” and I liked that idea.
It is a book, but I was watching this Paul Newman movie called The Hustle about a guy that plays pool and does like games in pool. There’s a really nice scene when he’s talking to the female lead and then the character’s name is… I can’t remember, it’s like Sarah and Eddie! I think she’s like, “Tell me you love me” and I really liked the way he said something like, “You want the words? If I say them, I’ll never take them back” and I put that in a song called ‘Boardwalk’.
A: So I had mentioned a little bit earlier about the title of your new album. The sentiment behind it is essentially finding your own rhythm in a chaotic world. It’s especially fitting just with the last couple of years with the pandemic and all of the pivoting that we’ve all had to do. Do you have any go-to routines or music you listen to when you do need to recalibrate?
VJ: I like that, finding your own rhythm. I think music wise, it’s probably some songs that I always go back to – probably overplay them to the point where I don’t go back to them so much, I think that comes in waves. There’s a song by Bruce Springsteen called “Sad Eyes” and also another song of his called “Tougher Than The Rest”, which I really like. I also like Paul Kelly songs – he’s an Australian singer-songwriter and he has a song called “Down To The Soul”.
A: If there was a message that you would want the listener to take away from your music, what would it be?
VJ: I guess the songs, storyline-wise, are about – like you said, finding that rhythm and finding that connection. Just finding out what’s important, what allows you to feel connected and at peace or present. I hope that people listen to the songs and maybe they can take a little breather, or maybe they’re driving and they can feel connected, calm, and good. All those kinds of things when you’re listening to music – it can bring you some joy and you can connect with lyrics, maybe taps into some emotions. That’s the ideal response, I think.
A: Maybe even if someone needs to reset, listening to your music will help them.
VJ: I hope that if someone’s feeling whatever – anxious or stressed, that the songs can have a calming effect. That’ll be amazing.
Vance Joy is currently touring North America in support of his upcoming album release and will be touring his native Australia later in the year. In Our Own Sweet Time will be released on June 10, 2022. For more information on his new album and his upcoming tour dates, head over to https://www.vancejoy.com.
A big thank you to Charlotte at Warner Music for setting this interview up!
