JAY DRAPER AND THE SUBTERRANEANS is a goth pop punk rock projected band, that has been actively doing music since their formation in 2016. Since then, they have released singles, and two full-length albums, with new music on the way! Plans for now, is to create music, play when possible and much else. The band talks about all of this below.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Jay Draper & the Subterraneans is primarily a studio recording project that was formed in 2016 while I was on a break from my main band, The Scarlet Fever, and originally was more of a collaboration between me and Justin Minister (former guitarist for Amy’s Arms, touring bassist for Sex Gang Children, and current bassist for The Scarlet Fever). We also frequently had guest artists collaborate with us, like members of Faith and the Muse (USA), L'autre Dame (Toronto), and Bloody Blue Darlings (Toronto), and may others. After a couple of singles, we put out our first full length album, Behind the Night, in 2021. Since then, Justin has mainly stepped away from the project, so I’ve been using it more as a solo effort, and just recently I put out the second full length, Dollhouse, which features guest performances and producers from members of SU (Montreal), L'autre Dame (Toronto), Poor Violet (Toronto), Animal Party (Toronto), and Attaloom (Toronto).
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
The Subterraneans thing was for a couple of reasons. Mainly because I had spent the previous 15 years living in a rat-infested basement apartment with ceilings so low I couldn’t stand up all the way in parts of it, while also working in a basement store for at least 10 of those 15 years. During the long Toronto winter months, I would often only see daylight on my walk to work in the morning. I’m a night time guy, but it honestly got really depressing after a while. So, the name felt very personal to me. I literally was a subterraneans at the time, and still in many was feel like one. Secondly, we knew from the get go that nothing we were going to do would probably consider “mainstream”, so I felt it also had the effect of embracing the underground music scene in Toronto that we came from. It’s part of why we wanted to work with as many other underground artists from the scene as we could. It’s how we get that subterraneans sound.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Well, I guess that’s a good segue from my last answer. Obviously, we are a Toronto based project, and we try to work with as much local talent as we can. Of course, I would highly recommend the bands and artist we’ve worked with, but there are a bunch of cool acts here that don’t always get the limelight they deserve. I’d definitely give a shout out to:
Double Eyelid
L'autre Dame
SU
Spectral Eyes
Poor Violet
Attaloom
Animal Party
Bloody Blue Darlings
KOK
Cadavers
Death Mask
Soap Eater
And of course, check out my other band, The Scarlet Fever, that will hopefully have a new album out later this year or possibly early next year.
4. How would you describe your style?
It’s always hard describing yourself. The main influences range from post punk ((Magazine, Joy Division, Wire), early goth (Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Specimen) and early 70s glam rock (Bowie, Brain Eno, Roxy Music), but there is also some psychedelic sounds like Floyd in there, and more synth driven stuff like Gary Numan or Kraftwerk. I guess if I was to label us I’d say post punk inspired. I don’t like to get pined down to any one sound too much though. The fun part of a studio project is getting to experiment with different sounds. We’re definitely on the darker more existential crises side of the music spectrum though.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
So far, we’ve put out two double A side singles, two regular singles, and two full length albums. I’d like to say you should expect the unexpected, but I guess there is usually an element of drama and existential issues that usually comes with what we do. I once said we’re like a panic attack you can dance to.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Always. I’m worried that if I stop, I might die. I’ve never tested it, but the fear is real. If nothing else there is a new Scarlet Fever album on the way, but I’ve definitely been working on tracks for further singles or a new full length sometime soon.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
Scarlet has always been my main live act. At one point Justin and I tried to put together something live for Subs and we managed to rehears a bunch and then play a secret house party show, but soon after the pandemic descended on everyone, and not long after that the live group dissolved do to lack of momentum. I’d be into trying it again if I found the right people who could commit time to it.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
To continue to put out music and to find new talent to work and expand my horizons with. I would love to get a live act going for this again, and it would be a dream to bring them or Scarlet overseas to tour Europe and the UK. I feel like we’d be better appreciated there, but there is a lot that goes into setting things like that up and it’s difficult to say what the future holds when we’re all living in a state barley-controlled chaos.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
The Main place would be our Bandcamp which can be found here. Do please check out the new album,
Dollhouse on your way through the gift shop.
https://jaydraperandthesubterraneans.bandcamp.com
And you can check out The Scarlet Fever here.
https://thescarletfever.bandcamp.com
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Mainly stuff like that they left the oven on, or what they came into the room for but also, I hope they come away from it feeling like they’ve experienced something different. Something that has elements that they are familiar with, but that the whole is something they can’t quite describe. If they enjoy it, great. If it scares them, even better. I just don’t ever want to bore anyone. Dullness is the ultimate sin.
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