Recently I was very curious to know what my beloved Just Joans were up to so when I went on Myspace to message them, I decided to ask them to do a wee interview instead. If you require an introduction to the Just Joans, I recommend you listen to their song Friday Afternoons from the album Last Tango In Motherwell. Besides being an absolutely perfect sad pop song, it nicely sums up their incredible talent for capturing that feeling of desperation for something better.

Hi David! We’re all very excited about the Just Joans return to Indietracks this summer. What does the festival mean to you?

“I’m not a huge festival fan. I had a bad experience with a T In The Park portaloo when I was 17 and never fully recovered. The horror. Saying that, we all love Indietracks. We played in 2008 and it was probably the first time we all felt like we were in an actual real life band. We went back last year as punters and again had a really lovely weekend. We will be eternally grateful to Stuart and the rest of the Indietracks team for having us.”

What bands are you looking forward to catching there this year?

“So many good bands playing again this year – Allo, Darlin’, Mexican Kids At Home, The Felt Tips, The Specific Heats and of course The Smittens, although one of the best things about Indietracks is just pottering about and seeing bands you’ve never heard of before.”

The name Coia crops up in a couple of your songs (Coia’s Empty and What Do We Do Now). Is he a real life person?

“Coia was one of my best friends when I was 16-18. I remember getting drunk for the first time with him, going to one of my first gigs (Oasis – Newcastle, 1997) with him and forming my first band with him. However, shortly after leaving school we completely lost touch and I haven’t seen him for over ten years. I guess a lot of our songs are quite nostalgic or concerned with the passing of time and lost youth. I think he’s become a character who represents all that stuff. Jesus, that sounds pretentious.”

Your last release was a split single with the Smittens which came out on WeePOP! Records last summer. How did this collaboration come about?

“We first met the Smittens just before Indietracks in 2008 and immediately fell in love with them musically and socially, and sexually! They are literally the nicest people you will ever meet. Fortunately they seemed to like us too and since we’re on the same label – the sublime WeePOP! Records, it seemed quite natural to do a wee EP together. We’re looking forward to catching up with them musically and socially, and sexually again this summer. Not really sexually.”

What’s next for the Just Joans?

“We’re surprisingly busy at the moment. We’re finishing off a new EP called Your Pain Is A Joke Next To Mines which we should be releasing on WeePOP! in time for Indietracks. We’re also looking towards a christmas EP – Teardrops ‘Neath Mistletoe, and possibly a ‘best of’ album early next year. ‘Best Of’ probably isn’t the best description. It’ll be more of a scrapbook of ineptitude entitled For Those About To Weep….”

Thank you, David!