The oval at Lyneham High School morphed into a moshpit today as Canberra punk rockers Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers brought the school of rock to town.
The lesson of the day was music, courtesy of youth music organisation The Push, a charity that supports young people with contemporary music programs and events.
The job title “rock star” may not appear at many career expos but Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers are showing students that rock can be a full-time job (although it’s a long way to the top).
Their resume has a couple of ARIAs and two hit albums to prove it.
Lead singer and guitarist Anna Ryan took time out from rehearsal to chat about the legitimacy of rock and roll as a profession.
While studying at Canberra College, Anna had a part-time job as a dishwasher at the National Press Club and a couple of casual barista jobs.
“I tell you what, I actually tried to pour a [latte art] tulip the other day and I’ve still got it,” Anna laughs. “I was like, I wonder if I can still like pour a coffee and you know what? It’s okay. If this tour flops, if this album flops, I’ve still got my coffee pouring.”
Anna used to hang out at Canberra College’s music room every lunch-time with school mates/band mates – guitarist Scarlett McKahey, drummer Neve van Boxsel, and bassist Jaida Stephenson.
“At school we definitely did the careers expo thing and I remember walking around like, ‘Oh my gosh I don’t want to do any of this,’” Anna said. “That’s because there wasn’t anyone saying that you could do other stuff – you don’t have to be a lawyer or a doctor. There are other avenues within music.
“I didn’t find that out until much later so I’m glad that kids are finding that out earlier through programs like [The Push].”
Anna and her band mates had an epiphany during a two-day songwriting workshop at college, where they learned to compose, record and perform a song.
“I remember being like, ‘Oh yes I can do this,’” Anna said. “We were in the band at that point already and we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we can really do it.’”
Shout out to music teacher Graham Mongar for giving Anna an A in music.
“I was really caught up on being really good at all the technical terms and all the theory and reading music,” Anna recalled. “I submitted an assignment and it was pretty much a disaster on paper but when I played the song to him, he was like, ‘Oh this is a great song’ and he gave me an A. There’s no way that was A worthy but having people back you and having a good support system and encouragement is awesome.”
Anna – whose first ever concert experience at the age of 14 was Katy Perry – would jam at the college’s music studio “anytime I could”.
“I spent a lot of time in that part of the school,” Anna said. “I don’t even know if I could confidently walk around any of the other classrooms, but I knew my way around the arts building.”
Anna toyed with the idea of being a hair stylist (Anna dyed her hair a lot during college) but music was always the driving ambition.
“When I was thinking about what I was going to study after school, I was like, ‘Oh I could do music but I’m not very good at music theory,’” Anna said. “But I was making music. I’m doing it. I don’t need to be some sort of music whiz.”
The band’s origin story of being inspired by the movie School of Rock during a sleepover, is now legend. They even mentioned actor Jack Black in their ARIA acceptance speech.
“We just love him so much,” Anna said. “We ask for a photo of Jack Black on our rider so every time we do a show, they put a framed photo of Jack Black in our dressing room.
“In my house, I have a really odd amount of framed photos of Jack because I take them home. My housemates are like, ‘Hey we might want to get some other art you know.’”
Other mentions on the rider include sushi and a card game (there’s a lot of time between sound checks) and if no games are provided, the band plays charades.
Don’t let the sushi requests fool you though. Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers have their feet firmly planted on the ground.
“My brothers don’t let me get too big a head,” Anna said. “I think just kindness keeps us all pretty solid. We’re just doing this because we love it, there’s not really anything else.”
Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers are about to embark on their biggest headline tour to date in May, covering Australia, UK and the US. For more info, visit teenjesusandthejeanteasers.net
The Push: thepush.com.au
