Changing Pitch
Fur Patrol’s versatile front woman has opted to self-manage her new solo career.
Julia Deans is living proof that Kiwi women can foster high-flying international careers as rock stars.
As the lead singer and principal songwriter of Fur Patrol, Julia - with her flame-red hair, impressive vocal range and feisty onstage presence - enjoyed success most wannabe rock stars only ever get to dream about. The band’s debut album Pet, released on independent Wellington label Wishbone in 2000, was an instant hit, with star track Lydia becoming the most-played song on radio that year. A popular and critical success, the album went platinum and scored the band four ‘Tuis’ at the 2001 New Zealand Music Awards.
A move to Melbourne promptly ensued, as did deals with major record labels, a frenetic international touring schedule and, in 2003, their second full-length album Collider. Selling out their own shows, supporting the likes of US rock gods The Strokes and The Dandy Warhols, working with some of the world’s biggest-name producers and jetting off to LA to make music videos, the Wellington foursome had well and truly made it, superficially at least.
Julia makes no secret that, for all the glitz and the glamour, the band endured long and painful stretches which made them question careers in the music business at all. “It’s such a tough [industry] to make it in, you only do it for the love of it and we lost our passion for a couple of years,” she admits. “We’d worked our arses off, toured relentlessly and had all these people in our ears telling us what to do but, when things fell over, no one would take responsibility.”
When guitarist Steven Wells quit in late 2004, Julia and remaining band mates Andrew Bain (bass) and Simon Baxton (drums) took six months off to reassess their options and get their respective grooves back. Deciding to take charge of their own careers, they disentangled themselves from Universal Australia, their record label at the time, and set about the long, slow, but ultimately enriching process of producing their next album.
“We knew we needed to give ourselves time to rediscover the joy of making music,” Julia says. “When you’ve been banging your head against the same wall again and again, you need to remove yourself from the situation and, when you’re ready, come back and reassess it with fresh eyes.”
It took them three years, but they got there eventually. Their third full-length album Local Kid, released on independent Auckland label Tardus, finally landed in music stores in 2008. Although the band is proud of the album and all they learned while making it, they have all focused on their own projects since.
For Julia, this has meant finally getting around to recording a solo album. She had penned numerous songs over the years which she felt were more Julia Deans the introspective individual than Julia Deans the fiery Fur Patrol front woman and felt confident they would form the basis of a great album. Until recently, however, she says she lacked the time and motivation to get started.
“I had a few years of drifting before well-meaning friends gave me the kick in the arse I needed,” she says.
But the resultant bruises and bumps have been worth it. Released on the Tardus label in August this year is Modern Fables, recorded in Berlin, Melbourne and Christchurch over a period of six months. Single, A New Dialogue has been nominated for a prestigious APRA Silver Scroll Award.
Critics have made much of Julia’s talents as both a singer and songwriter. The Press newspaper’s Vicki Anderson wrote the album conveys “a depth of emotion … which veers from being gently moving to starkly beautiful”, marvelling at Julia’s uncanny ability to “change gear from an esoteric whisper to assured rock chick growl”. The New Zealand Herald’s Russell Baillie also gave the album a favourable review, saying, “The best of Fables shows that Deans striking out on her own might just be the making of her”.
Julia describes it as “a lot more introspective and a bit mellower”. Determined to take ownership of her solo career, Julia has opted to manage it herself, saying she wanted “to be 100 percent involved in every aspect of everything.” While she’s relishing having such absolute power, she admits she sometimes feels overwhelmed by how much she has to do.
“I mostly enjoy it but occasionally it’s intimidating. The hardest thing is having to call all the shots. I’m not used to having to make all the decisions on my own and I’m not very good at putting my foot down. I need to learn to be more demanding!”
But the now-solo artist isn’t exactly unaccompanied. Her newfound freedom has enabled her to experiment with multiple new music partners -something she says has felt almost akin to taking new lovers.
“Having worked intimately with Andrew and Simon for so many years, I felt like I was betraying them in some way. But they’ve always been very supportive [of my independent projects] and it’s been fun working with people who come from completely different angles.”
Boyfriend David Wernham, the live sound engineer for Shihad, has been a big support, recording and co-producing Modern Fables.
Over the past few years, Julia has worked on numerous projects with artists including P-Money, Tiki Taane, Anika Moa, John Toogood and her brother Sean, who is working on his own album. Based in Melbourne for nine years, Julia says an imminent return to New Zealand is an option. “It’s highly likely that I will come back [to New Zealand] but I love it here in Melbourne. All my best friends are here now and the thought of moving away from them is gut-wrenching.”
While Julia clearly has more big changes in store, she’s satisfied with where she’s at right now personally and professionally. Looking back on her career, she says she has no regrets.
“For all the hard times, there were an equal number of incredible ones. We had some amazing experiences and learnt a hell of a lot along the way.”
Lorna Thornber
