“Coachella was such a big moment for us, being that it was our first show back,” notes Mark 7even. “I mean, it’s Coachella!” he laughs. “It’s huge. It’s one of the biggest festivals in the world.” And indeed their comeback show solidified their status as hip hop royalty. Taking to the stage and performing a bombastic slew of hits from their classic back-catalogue, including Quality Control, Concrete Schoolyard and Freedom, the rock-solid performance was met with rave reviews and was a definitive message that J5 were as unyielding as ever.
“It was great. It was a ground for us to prove ourselves. To see if we could still vibe together and if we still had that bond onstage,” he explains. “We practiced for about two weeks before Coachella and by the second day we could already feel that things were clicking back together. We had about 15 years together as a group, it becomes your second nature. I mean, you can walk away from it, but it’s always going to come straight back.”
It was only a month following the twin Coachella performances that J5 took off on their question for world domination, touring non-stop throughout the United Kingdom, Spain, Japan, Canada and the United States. “We played around 30 shows last year. We played a killer show at the [O2 Academy] Brixton and then played at a heap of festivals,” he recalls fondly of 2013. “It was a really good and productive year. It was a great way to kick things off and let everyone know that we’re back.”
Flash-forward to 2014 and after a two month break, J5 are once again ready to jet-set and perform around the globe. “The year has started off great. We actually just got back from doing a show out at Denver in Colorado. We played up in the Red Rocks [Amphitheatre] to about 7,000 people. It was a great way to kick off [2014], things are going real well for us.”
Next month will see the legendary hip hop outfit return to Australian shores with their dynamic live show, the first time since 2007 which was followed by their unceremonious split. “We’ve been playing about an-hour-and-a-half long sets. We just be us,” notes Mark of their current live performances. “We bring a lot of energy and throw around the classics, we’re interactive with the crowds. We just do what we’re famous for.
“This ain’t our first trip down to Australia. It’s not going to be the first time that people in Australia have seen us,” he details of the upcoming tour. “They know what to expect, that’s why they bought a ticket. Y’know what I mean? Not to be like that, but they know what J5 does and the level of quality that we like to bring to a show, into our performance. That’s what we’re going to bring; showmanship and energy. It’s going to be memorable.”
Following their touchdown in Australia, J5’s global onslaught will continue well into 2014. “We’ve got a lot of stuff on the books. We’re currently in the early stages of possibly bringing back the Word of Mouth tour. We’ll be heading back to the UK in the summer. We’ve got quite a lot of tours and festival offers that have been made to us.” And as for the possibility of hearing some new material? “I will say that you can expect to hear something new from Jurassic 5 in 2014. I won’t say if it’s an album, a single or a video, but you will see something new from Jurassic 5 very soon.”
BY TYSON WRAY
