Born Joy Dead (BJD) is the solo project of Brisbane musician Ben Dalton, best known as bassist for Hungry Kids Of Hungary.
This weekend BJD will perform a live show when Hey Geronimo takes over Trainspotters in the city for a night curating the finest indie music Brisbane has to offer.
Who is Born Joy Dead... We’re Born Joy Dead from Brisbane and we’re only just a few months old. After Hungry Kids Of Hungary split last year (I played bass), I wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I started this project to fill the void of no longer playing. The funk needed to come out. You can’t keep that shit in.
We sound like... The music sounds a bit like Deerhoof mixed with Tom Petty I think. There’s been whole lot of XTC, Tom Petty and Elvis Costello on rotation at home so it’s definitely based in the realm of late ‘70s rock. We’ve just tried to make it interesting and fun.
Elvis CostelloOur first gig is… Going to be at Trainspotters July 12.
When did you settle on the group’s name, and was it a unanimous decision... The name is some new words formed using my initials BJD. I was struggling to find an interesting name concept and didn’t want to settle on my actual name which is a bit plain. Ben Dalton just didn’t seem exotic enough.
In the studio I usually... Just play a bit of bass then sit down and wait for everyone else, however the new studio process for me has been a lot more involved and exciting. I got to play around with more toys and gear. I can’t really play the drums though so Miro from Brisbane’s Little Scout helped out and played on a couple of tracks. He’s great.
If I could tour with anyone... I would really like to tour with Tune-Yards. She’s a genius.
Tune-YardsSocial media is... Difficult to keep up with on a Samsung Gio GT-S5660.
To date, my most embarrassing moment was the time... I got locked out of my hotel room after having a shower once in Byron Bay. All I had was a towel. The window cut my hand and arms a lot more than I thought it would.
Life on the road can be... Very beneficial to the shareholders of McDonalds.
If you’ll have me on your bill, all I ask is that our rider contains... Some beer, some water and some cola.
The most scary scenario I’ve found myself in, was... Probably that time I almost slit my wrists on a pane of glass in Byron Bay while wearing nothing but a towel.
What celebrity would you love to be spokesperson of the band... It would be great to have George Clooney onboard purely because he’s great at selling things and he really seems to enjoy it. Nespresso would be nowhere without him.
Born Joy Dead join My Own Pet Radio and Bilby at Trainspotters Saturday July 12.
