After a successful run in their home state of WA, the indie-pop sensation is bringing their new show to the Gong as part of their first national tour since 2019

Words Emma Smith

First established in 2009, indie pop band San Cisco has been dominating the music scene for 11 years now. The three-piece is based in Perth and consists of Jordi Davieson (guitar, lead vocals), Josh Biondillo (guitar, vocals) and Scarlett Stevens (drums, vocals). They’ve featured in nine triple j hottest 100 countdowns since they released their debut album, headlined countless Aussie festivals and toured the world. A decade later and their catchy tunes have transcended time, with their latest album hitting number three on the Aria charts. We sat down with lead singer Jordi ahead of their upcoming sold-out gig at UOW Great Hall on May 29 to chat about surviving the pandemic, thoughts on live-streamed concerts, the creative process and his music heroes.  

What role did triple j play in helping you guys get noticed in the early days?
I think they were everything. I don’t think we would have the career that we do now without triple j. They obviously liked what we were doing, and they pushed it. When we got number seven in the hottest 100 for our song Awkward, that sort of catapulted us to a whole other level. I don’t think any of that would have happened if we didn’t have triple j backing us. It’s also a really sad thing, because there are heaps of Aussie bands that just don’t get picked up that are really good. There are also lots of bands that try to achieve the triple j sound, which is a bit like chasing a ghost. It’s a waste of time trying to do that. But there are a lot of people that try and do it. Triple j is amazing for being there and giving bands like us careers, but then the flipside of that is that sometimes people in bands and artists get pretty salty about not being picked by them, because they are so powerful. But yeah, definitely we wouldn’t be where we today are without them in the early days.

What state/city did you love the most on your 2019 North America tour?
I’m just trying to take myself back there. It seems like so long ago. I remember Philadelphia. We had a good time there we went and played baseball and went op shopping.

Tell us about the Fire Aid concert held in WA that you played at which raised funds for the people and animals affected by the 2020 bushfires?
Obviously, all the fires were going on at the time. We had a few over here, but nothing like what was happening on the East Coast. Our manager Phil Stephens just sprang into action and was like, “Let’s put a gig on!” He also manages John Butler, the Waifs and Stella Donnelly. Within four days, he had arranged two shows at the Fremantle Arts Centre which is a 5000-capacity venue. He had organised food trucks, got all the bands to play for free, got a lot of the crew and sound engineers to give their time and their equipment and in no time, we had these two huge shows. We ended up raising $600,000. It was amazing. It was a real cool thing to be a part of it.

Your song Awkward ranked #78 in triple j’s hottest 100 of the decade in 2020! That is insane! Can you tell me about that day? What were you all doing?
I feel like we were rehearsing. We were all together and then we got a message saying, ‘You guys got in.’ I really wasn’t expecting it at all. I try to not care too much, because then I get way too involved, and either get really upset or too happy. So I just try and keep my distance and whatever happens happens. But it’s a huge deal! It’s a huge deal to be in the top 100 of 10 years’ worth of music. We were just super flattered and very grateful.

You had a three-month world tour planned for 2020, which was sadly cancelled. How did you cope during the pandemic?
It definitely brought the band’s momentum to a bit of a halt. For me, I was pretty devastated that we couldn’t go out and be on the road and start building what was going to be our album release. Instead, when COVID hit and the lockdown happened, my girlfriend and I just happened to have gone down south for the weekend to chill out, but then WA went into full lockdown and we ended up staying there in the bush for three months, living on my family’s property in a glorified shed. It had a bathroom and kitchen, but we were really out in the bush. I just chilled out and spent a lot of time playing music, building things, going surfing, going on walks. It was like I was retired. It was what I imagine it would be like to be retired. I had all the time in the world to do nothing. It was definitely a bit of a kick in the guts for inspiration and motivation. But I also feel like I learnt a lot of other things that I wouldn’t have otherwise about chilling the f**k out and not always having to be doing something or being somewhere. So that’s the positive I try to take from it.

You did your first live stream event with Baby’s Alright in Brooklyn during COVID. How do you feel about live streams? Do you think they’re the way forward or are you happy for that to remain as a pandemic-only occurrence?
I don’t like them. I don’t like playing them at all. It’s so weird. Because you have that 10-second delay and so you’re just playing to yourself – you’re looking at yourself, talking and asking questions and you can’t really wait 10 or 20 seconds for someone to respond. That’s just shit viewing. Also, singing and playing guitar and also trying to read comments… I just get distracted. In COVID times, I’m all for it, getting around it, it’s something that can lift people up and get them feeling good. I think it’s cool to record a live performance and you can pretend like it’s happening live and post it. That’s cool because there’s no lag. It’s still all live, it’s just not happening exactly at the same time. It looks good and it sounds good and you can get it mixed properly. That’s what we did for our live performance.

What was it like finally playing a gig on your home turf in WA at the end of last year?
Oh, it was amazing. I think the past year has really made us appreciate how much we love being in a band and playing music. I think the whole year had been such a big question mark so to finally get up and play was so surreal. I can’t wait to go and do it around the rest of Australia.

Your album Between you and Me recently hit number three on the Aria charts! Can you tell us about the album?
The whole record was quite a journey – we spent a lot of time writing the songs on guitars and singing, for a whole year. Then our next process was demoing them and working them out and we ended up having 30 reasonably formed songs. Then from there we went to Mullumbimby and stayed out in the bush with our producer. Scarlet, Josh and I worked for 12 hours a day on these songs and slowly whittled away the ones we didn’t like and started choosing songs that would fit into the whole story and the whole flow of the record. It was a huge process – every record really takes something out of you.

Will you ever revisit the songs that didn’t make the cut later on?
We do that a lot with all of our records. We always talk about revisiting that hard drive, but we’ve never done it properly. We are always just like, “now we have these new ideas.”

But I really think that we should put effort into going back and using this music. At the time, you’re like, “this bit is amazing, but I can’t write anything as good as that bit after it.” So you just leave it. Maybe if we revisit it, we’ll be able to write something as amazing as all the little amazing bits that we originally had.

I heard your song The Distance was inspired by The Lego Movie – can you tell me that story?
We were struggling with lyrics for this song and our producer was like, “Guys lets’ watch The Lego Movie, because we’ve been going so hard at this for so long and it’s not working.” So we sat down and watched it. And he said “Let’s write a song about The Lego Movie.” So that’s what we did. And it works – it’s a love song.

What was it like having the Jungle Giants remix your song Reasons?
Oh, it was great. We went on our first tour with the Jungle Giants. Sam has been a friend of ours in the music industry for a long time and we’ve been growing together doing our things. He’s so much fun to hang out with. They have always done more indie pop stuff, and then he’s just gone off and done this crazy dance thing that he’s absolutely killing it at. It’s really interesting and fun to be like, “Here’s this thing we made – do whatever the fuck you want with it, because you’re really good at it.”

Who is your music hero?
I love Frank Ocean. I have a real soft spot for Frank Ocean. I love Kanye West. I think he’s f**king crazy but all the different stuff he’s done… I think he is one of the greats. Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys, too. The things he does with words and melodies is pretty amazing.

Favourite musician that you’ve played alongside?
Stella Donnelly. Every time I watch one of her shows, it just blows me away. She came on tour with us as a solo artist and she was really good at holding a crowd. Then she started playing with a band, who were a bunch of our mates, and it was just so good! We watched them on the end of their tour, and they had a full show. They had a dancing section, they had parts where they changed instruments. It was a proper show. And to watch their progression and confidence grow as a band was amazing. Every time I watch them, I think, ‘Wow, the world should be watching this a lot more.’

Is there a certain gig that stands out as being the most memorable and if so, why?
There are two sorts of favourite gigs. There are the ones where I play perfectly, and everyone plays perfectly, and we are locked in. And then there are the gigs where the crowd is just losing it and there is so much energy. I can’t really tell you a specific gig, but those are my two favourite types of gigs.

You’re coming to Wollongong on May 29? Are you looking forward to it?
Definitely, we’ve played in the Gong a few times. I like it. I think I even went surfing there once. It’s good – you’re not too far from Sydney. Good vibes. It’s a big coastal town. It’s what I’m in to.

What can fans expect from this gig?
It’s going to be great. We’ve played this set in WA a lot, so we’ve been able to hone it. There will be some of our greatest hits and then some of our newer songs. We just love playing it. It’s really fun. There’ll be lots of singing along and dancing.

What is your best party trick?
Not me, but Josh has got good party tricks. He can hold one foot and jump his other foot through. Like skipping with your own foot. He’s also really good at limbo. When the party tricks come out, I tend to recede into the darkness.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Gluten-free toast with super spread, some apple and a coffee.

What is your most used emoji?
The winky face with the kiss and the love hearts. I think you can use that to be like, ‘don’t worry about it’ or when ripping into someone. By putting that emoji in, it’s like, ‘I still love you’, you know?