The ‘Round The Campfire Interview Series is Pop Break’s preview series, curated by Lead Music Writer Andrew Howie, for Summer Camp 2022.
Champaign-Urbana has long been home to a vibrant music scene (the last couple of years notwithstanding). Now that we’re getting back into the swing of things, there are some new faces on the scene; I recently spoke to Jake Luce of Kangaroo Court, who recently earned their spot on the Summer Camp 2022 lineup. We discussed the origins of the group, how their music comes together, their excitement to play Summer Camp, and more.
Andrew Howie: Tell me a little bit about how Kangaroo Court came together.
Jake Luce: So we formed last fall actually. I had been trying to just find musicians to play with. I had a bunch of songs written, but I couldn’t really find a guitarist or drummer until last fall, so basically we just came together through mutual friends, and we all hit it off right away.
AH: So you’d say you do the lion’s share of the songwriting?
JL: Pretty much; when I write a new song, I try to compose as much of it by myself as I can. I’ll usually put it into my looper pedal and figure out a drum part, bass part, all that. By the time I show it to the band, I kind of have something to show each member for their part. Then after that, we play it a couple times and get comfortable, in a way that I had envisioned it, and we just kind of make changes and the song evolves over time. All the guys like to add their input and flavor to it, so that’s been working out really well for us, because it allows us to move really efficiently through the songwriting process and not get hung up at that stage. I’ve had a pretty thorough vision for most of these things.
AH: You’re playing Summer Camp after relatively little time as an organized group; what can you tell me about how that’s affected the group?
JL: It’s been crazy! I think when we first started the band, we all had the expectation that we would primarily be playing house shows in Urbana, you know, peoples’ basements, parties, things like that. I think back in November, we landed the opening slot for Post Animal at the Canopy Club, which was crazy for us because we’re all huge fans of theirs. I think that kind of just proved to us that we don’t have to limit ourselves and we can really shoot for things, because I think a lot of bands don’t necessarily always go for it. They kind of just put themselves into a box and remain there. Ever since then we’ve set our expectations much higher and we’ve been treating this as if we’re a very serious established band, even though we’re just starting out. I think people kind of pick up on that and it works in our favor, because now that we’ve started to release music, it just all seems more real to everyone.
AH: So how much music do you have out right now?
JL: We just have the one single out to the public so far. It’s been just about a month since it was released, and we’re up to over 20,000 Spotify streams, something like 10,000 monthly listeners now, which is way, way more than any of us expected. That’s kind of a theme for us, just set our expectations at a certain point and somehow we still get surprised. We are currently in the mixing phase of our next single, which should be out a week or two after SCamp. Trying to promote it there and release it in early June.
AH: Let’s talk a little bit about Summer Camp; this is your first time playing the festival, but have you experienced Scamp in any other capacity?
JL: I have not, but I have a bunch of friends who go every single year and have since high school. I think just the fact that I’ve had so many friends make this festival a massive part of their lives, they go every year, they feel they’re part of the family and whatnot, that’s always given me a great deal of respect for Summer Camp from an outsider’s perspective. Just really emphasizing that familial aspect of it. Everybody’s in it together for better or worse. Just really excited to be a part of peoples’ whole festival journey, and being able to create lasting memories for people.
AH: What do you think you can bring to the festival that’s unique to Kangaroo Court?
JL: I think there always has been a big crossover, at least with my friends – we’re a younger generation of music listeners for sure. But all my friends who listen to the Grateful Dead and Phish and that scene, they’re also massively into King Gizzard and Osees. So every single year when I look at the SCamp lineup, I always scan through and see if there are any bands from the psych/garage scene that I listen to. We’re hoping to get our name out to a lot of people out there. I think it could be a nice little taste of something different.
AH: You mentioned your friends and their years-long experience with Scamp – what do you think it is that keeps them coming back for more?
JL: Obviously the camping aspect in and of itself sets it apart. There is so much that can go wrong at a festival like that, from the weather to losing your campsite at night, to anything. I think all of that just adds to the overall experience of it. When you come away from a weekend like that it all just feels like one big lifetime to you. Whereas maybe something more traditional might not have the same immersive effect, where you feel like you’re completely detached from society and living in that universe for that weekend. It creates that alternative place for people to make their home away from home.
Kangaroo Court will perform at Summer Camp 2022; tickets and more can be found here: summercampfestival.com
