The Juliana Theory to Re-Unite for 2 “Emotion is Dead” Anniversary Shows
Broken up since February of 2006, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania’sindie-emo-poptrailblazers The Juliana Theory have remained quite silent. Aside from the formation ofVesta (featuring 3 members of TJT), all has remained rather still in the Juliana camp. But with the recent announcement of an upcoming J’ Theory B-Sides Album, futurevinyl re-releases, and a few cryptic posts on lead singer Brett Detar’s twitter, rumors have been abuzz on the web.
August2010 marks the ten-year anniversary of the release of The Juliana Theory’s defining and influential sophomore album “Emotion is Dead.” With this coming anniversary the band will put speculation to rest and reunite for two shows only to play the entire album from start to finish. Having not made music together since disbanding shortly after the final show of a European tour in January of 2006, this will be their first time to share a stage again as well as the first time playing the record in its entirety. “There’s a few songs off of Emotion is Dead that we’ve never even played live before so I think it’s going to be pretty great to play the whole album in sequence. I’m really looking forward to it,” said frontman Brett Detar. “I’m super excited for these shows, not only for us, but its finally the chance for all of our fans to get that last show. And my 2 year old daughter will get to be there this time around too,” added guitarist Joshua Fiedler. “We haven’t played in the US since 2005 so I think it’s going to be pretty great to get back up there together,” remarked bassist Chad Alan. As for the impetus behind this reunion, Detar elaborated, “When we broke up it was for real and it still is. We’re not into pulling a KISS move – getting back together all the time. The thing is, we never played a farewell show. We posted a goodbye blog and that was it. I think it was pretty unfair to our loyal fans and to us too. Now the five of us get to do what we always should have done and say goodbye properly – to do right by everyone. It’ll be great to share the stage with my brothers again and with the anniversary that just makes the whole thing even better.”
In addition to playing the record from front to back each night, the band will also be performing a second set of songs comprised of fan favorites culled from all of their other releases. Dates and venues are currently being determined but fans who want the best chance of grabbing tickets should sign up for The Juliana Theory Email List where exclusive tickets will be made available first. Detar explained, “The reunion dates will be announced very soon but the shows won’t be until late summer of 2010. We did this to give our die-hard fans, far and wide,plenty of time to make travel arrangements after they get their tickets. We also did it to give us plenty of time to knock the cobwebs off and make sure these shows are top-notch. We’ll be working hardto put on the best shows possible and, in this information age, to give our fans updates and insight into the process of knocking those cobwebs off as well as input on the set-lists. I’ll be taking requests, answering questions, and posting unfiltered updateson my facebook and twitter andyou can be certain we’re going to make sure these are some of the most memorable and fan-friendly shows of our career. We’re anxious to make it happen.”
Dates coming soon.
If you’d like more info about this reunion, or to schedule an interview please email thejulianatheory@thejulianatheory.com
Ex – Juliana Theory Lead Singer& Guitarist Brett Detar Announces Solo Project
In my own words: I’ve never had any desire to be a solo artist. The thought of it sorta’ frightens me, to be honest. When my band of 10 years, the Juliana Theory, broke up in 2006, I frankly quit music. I always loved being in a band, touring, writing songs, and the dynamic of working togetherwith other musicians running a business we believed in. I was beyond fortunate enough to be in two bands that not only had fantastic musicians and songwriters but great friends as well. I was spoiled by how good I had it and figured I’d just let the dream go after a great ten-year run. Not long after the breakup I moved to Los Angeles where I ran a vintage clothing store, designed websites, and took odd jobs. All the while, though, I was still writing songs. These songs didn’t have a home but they were just coming to mehonestly and from a very genuine place. As soon as I’d write something I’d quickly record a rough version and then forget about it. Over the last few years these homeless songs piled up on mini recorders, cell-phone voice memos, and hard drives with little hope of seeing the light of day. But that all changed recently.
A couple of months ago I moved from LA to New York City. My dog, who was practically like my kid, died suddenly during the move and that combined with the whole coast-to-coast displacement got me into a state of thinking. When I got to NYC, I sat down to re-evaluate my life and I came face to face with the fact that I’ve never gotten over being on the road and making music. All I’ve ever really loved to do is be a music maker and if there’s anything I’ve learned in all my years of touring and writing songs, it’s that life’s too short to waste your time doing things you’re not passionate about. So, in my self-questioning I went and listened to the 50+ songs I had written over the past 4 years and realized that there is a lot of stuff in there I feel quite strongly about. I’ve been going through a good deal of soul searching in the last few years and most of these lyrics make that pretty obvious. I can say with certainty that these are the best batch of lyrics I’ve ever written, although it’s scary how personal they are. Everything about this music is quite different from what people may expect from me. It’s definitely the most bare-bones stuff I’ve ever written and my vocals have never been so un-effected and un-contrived. For the first time in my recorded life my voice actually sounds like the real me when I’m just singing by myself in a room. It’s natural and, most importantly, unforced. I genuinely have no idea what anyone is going to think of it all but I do know that I believe in the raw emotion behind these songs and I believe in the feeling of the music with all of my heart. So, with all of this in mind, I’ve come to the decision that I am going to get back on the horse and start releasing music again. I’m going to play shows, hit the road, and do what I’ve always done since I left college at 18 to make music my full-time job. I’d be honored and thrilled to have your participation with me, in fact, I can’t do it without you. My first official release is in the midst of being recorded and I am hoping to have it out as soon as possible. I have to take a small break from working on it in the near future to score a feature film, but my biggest priority is getting this music out. So please join me at my website / blog, facebook and twitter (man, that’s a lot of stuff) so I can let you know how it’s coming along. I’ll be giving away music as soon as it is ready and I can’t wait. Thanks so much for reading this. It means the world to me. I look forward to getting these songs out of this little studio and into the hands (and iTunes) of anyone who would like to give them a listen.
Sincerely and Humbly,
Brett Detar
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