By Patrick Blennerhassett - Victoria News - June 04, 2008

Taking advantage of some free time, members of Victoria’s Jell; Alex Willey (from left), Rob Willey and Evan James, relax behind the Willeys’ home Sunday. For a chance to get up close to this slippery trio at Sugar Nightclub, see Coming Up on page A14. -------->

Victoria bandmates look to create their own niche

Sitting around a James Bay backyard, the members of Victoria rock band Jell are taking it easy. Guitarist/vocalist Rob Willey, brother and bass player Alex – they both live here – and drummer Evan James enjoy a couple of beers and ping-pong games as tunes blast from a CD player inside. The band’s sound fits this scene – rock, but not hard rock; laid back along the lines of the Stone Temple Pilots, Oasis and Red Hot Chili Peppers – a genre that defined the late 1990s rock movement. The three friends say they grew up listening to these very bands, even as far back as when they attended South Park elementary, where the trio first got together and started jamming. Rob and James first played together at the tender age of 12 and the band still maintains the same style of music, Rob said. “We’re trying to do something new, but at the same time maintain some of our influences,” he said. “That’s really the big period for us, the 90s rock and the late 60s rock is probably our favourite time periods.” About six years ago they got serious and formed Jell. The band’s debut release was 2005’s Stuck. The title track draws from a number of influences: Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, The Doors, Our Lady Peace and Metallica, with all of them sort of jelled into one sound.

The band has also played a wide variety of venues. They’ve criss-crossed Canada, ventured down to California to play at the famous Whisky a Go Go nightclub in West Hollywood, where legendary bands such as The Byrds, The Doors and The Kinks launched their careers. Rob said independent touring has been an excellent experience. “You could be playing in front of five people or you could be playing in front of 200 people. You never know, usually five people though.” “Playing music as a job is basically what we’re after,” added Alex. “When we’ve toured before, it’s not really been to make any money, it’s kind of just to get our name out there.”

The band will be re-releasing its sophomore record Drown with a bunch of new tracks this Friday at Sugar Nightclub. They’ve also just finished their sixth music video, “Try” off the new record. Rob said with the changing music industry, getting your sound out there anyway you can – MySpace, videos, touring, is a must these days to try and land some real support. “The industry is changing but we still want a record deal,” he said. “That’s kind of what we’ve been working towards and everything always changes. But at the end of the day, you still need some sort of record label to invest money in you and push you.” Even without the help of a label, Jell has so far done extremely well for themselves. Drown was long-listed for a number of 2008 Grammy Awards through the band’s affiliation with a National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences member in Rhode Island. The band was also nominated for Live Performance of the Year at the 2006 Island Music Awards. When it comes to defining the band’s sound, jelling might be the most appropriate word. You can hear a multitude of sounds coming in and out – Foo Fighters, Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, even bassist Alex busts out the cello on a couple tracks. When it comes to penning songs, they just do it and worry about explaining it all after the fact, Rob said. “It just happens song by song, or a couple songs. We go through phases and we’ll write some songs that are heavier. Then a couple months down the road it will change. It’s never really a conscious thing. I just kind of write them and however they come out is how they come out, I guess. But we definitely try to switch it up and do different things.”