Artists Off Stage - Jules Batterman

by LEXI MCCOY

Jules Batterman has been spending time off-stage in Los Angeles, CA hosting a radio show on KPISS.FM, recording new music for multiple projects, and rollerskating - like, a ton.

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Hi! What is your name and what are your pronouns?

My name is Jules Batterman, I use she/they pronouns, and I am in Julez & The Rollerz!

If you had to pick any album to describe your current mood, what would it be and why? 

This is a hard one, but probably First Flower which is an album by Molly Burch released in 2018. I’ve been driving around listening to this album a lot lately because the vibe of the entire album feels like the start of something new. Hopefully that makes sense.

Without being able play shows, we're asking artists how they've been spending their time during quarantine. What have you been doing to stay busy?

The beginning of quarantine I truly did nothing of substance. I was feeling down on my music career to be honest….but boy has that shifted! I recently started my own radio show on KPISS.FM called Rock N Roll Love Letter, where I have had the opportunity to play some of my favorite glam, punk, and psychedelic songs from back in the day and talk about them. I’ve even had the opportunity to interview the amazing Nikki Corvette of Nikki and the Corvettes in a recent episode! Back in June, I started a record label called ‘Party Mermaid Records’ with two of my close pals in music, Chelsea Nenni and Rachel David (who also plays bass for my band) of “Late Slip”. I’ve been recording a bunch, including vocals for an upcoming “Daisy Dell” album, guitar for my friend and bandmate Rachel David’s new project called ‘The Everythings’, and of course preparing to record my own music with Evan Taylor of Loantaka Records. Oh, and I’ve also been rollerskating a TON. 

You recently changed the name of your project! Tell us about that. 

I’ve been going by just ‘Julez’ since the end of 2017 when I first started releasing my own music. At the time, I had so many songs I wanted to release and didn’t think too hard about what I wanted my project’s ‘name’ to be. I just went for Jules with a ‘z’ because I thought it was quirky and different….I was very wrong. There are multiple artists named Julez including like, 3 rappers, and I truly believe it’s been confusing the hell out of people. I’ve also never really had a consistent band until I moved to Los Angeles in 2018. My current bandmates, Rachel David on bass and Steve Donofrio on the drums are so cool and passionate, and I’ve been tired of having my project be all about me. I had also been talking about changing my name for a while now. My current bassist Rachel David made the suggestion of changing the name from just ‘Julez’ to ‘Julez & the Rollerz’ and I was immediately on board. Rollerz for many reasons, but mainly because both Rachel and I love rollerskating haha. 

Can we expect any new music soon?!

You bet!!!!! Got two new songs in the works, and we’ll be recording them in mid-October so stay tuned!

How have you been staying inspired to write/practice? Any tips? 

It’s been really hard….I’m still having trouble with finding inspiration to write and practice my new material, but the fact that I’ve been recording music for other projects has definitely been keeping me inspired and passionate about music in general during this weird time. 

What are a few songs you've been listening to?

I’ve been listening to a lot of music but most recently I guess ‘Get Off Your Ass and Jam’ by Funkadelic, “O, My Soul” by Big Star, “Jukebox Mama” by Link Wray, “Wait, Please” by Moonfuzz, and “Everybody Likes Something Good” by Ify Jerry Crusade

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This interview is part of Artists Off Stage - a series of snapshot style interviews and photo-stories highlighting how musicians are spending their time during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

All interviews are done remotely as we continue to practice social distancing. For resources and information regarding COVID-19, click here.

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Interview by Lexi McCoy