'5 Questions With': Juice
"It’s about growing, experiencing, and interacting and about finding your best self."
Photo Credit: Samuel David Katz
Juice, an all-male collective, is truly a conglomerate of music. The indie band, a seven piece, is a melting pot of punk, pop, R&B, and alternative rock. The musical group consists of Ben Stevens (lead vocals), Christian Rose (violin, vocals), Kamau Burton (acoustic guitar, vocals), Daniel Moss (guitar), Michael Ricciardulli (guitar), Rami El-Abidin (bass), and Miles Clyatt (drums).
Equate sat down with lead vocalist Ben Stevens and violinist and vocalist Christian Rose.
Read the full interview below…
Words by Robert Frezza
EQ: How did the group get together?
B: We formed in 2014 back in Boston College. We started as friends, which I think is really what kept us together for so long with seven personalities. We managed to be caring for one another and allow everyone to express themselves creatively.
C: We were in Boston when we finished college and we started touring a lot. We were bouncing from place to place to place. We had many friends in NYC and our booking agent was based there. When the pandemic ended, we decided where we wanted to be. New York City had a lot of resources we wanted to utilize including a practice space. I was really excited building a community there. We spent so much time in Boston, we wanted a new frontier to go to.
EQ: Tell me about the new single ‘Superimposed’. What is it about?
C: It’s an expression about the emotion you’re thinking about an ex or relationship that went sideways. You are experiencing a complicated emotion that comes with something to say to that person—maybe that you’re still in love with that person or not. It’s about superimposing your reality upon them to give them the impression that you have and navigating through those complicated feelings. There’s a dichotomy with the track and the lyrics, but there’s a self-awareness in that dichotomy as well. We talk about some dark complicated stuff but it’s a bright, poppy song.
B: It’s about disillusion too when dealing with these sorts of things. Believing one story and formulating some sort of reality around that and drowning out the world with a bright energy. It’s a chaotic hopefulness, really.
EQ: The band touches on several genres including pop, punk, R&B, and alternative rock. Was this done intentionally?
B: I want to start saying in interviews that we all influence each other. We all come from different backgrounds. We are all drawn from different things, whether its something from our music from our childhood or something that’s being created today. Whether it be Brockhampton or the soundscapes of The 1975 and we obviously love our soul music. It’s a reflection of who we are.
“We all influence each other. We all come from different backgrounds. We are all drawn from different things.”
- Juice
EQ: Your video for “Superimposed” is colorful and very animated. Did the band think of the treatment?
C: I wrote the script for the video. Our friend Logan co-directed it with me. He did all the shooting and cinematography, and he did all the shots with me. We wanted the video to be an extreme reflection of what you hear in the song. What’s happening in the video is not a reflection of what’s happening in the lyrics of the song. The tone of the video and the strangeness in the mix of the hyper color is a solid depiction of what’s happening in the song.
EQ: What do you think is the theme of your project, Boystory?
B: It’s our collective narrative as a band. It navigates with our dreams of fame, self-doubt, and anxiety and how it affects relationships.
C: It’s a journey of self. It’s about what is toxic and what is healthy. It’s a journey about this boy character. It’s about growing, experiencing, and interacting and about finding your best self.
‘Boystory’ is out this fall. Juice has a headlining tour starting October 14.
Listen to ‘Superimposed’ below…
YouTube/Juice
Stream ‘Superimposed’ HERE
Keep up with Juice on socials:
Facebook: @itstimeforjuice
Instagram: @juiceband
