In the Chair is a regular feature on Eventalaide, highlighting artists from across Australia and occasionally overseas. Everyone gets the same questions. It is just meant to be a bit of fun so please treat it as such.
Questions by Geoff Jenke
Above photo: Peter Stagg (Stagg Photography)
Having been immersed in the creative arts and songwriting since first playing guitar and drums as a child, Joel Turner, brother Tim and cousin Chris Heiner began performing together under the moniker Modern Day Poets, with the group soon changing their name to Joel Turner and the Modern Day Poets to capitalise on Turner’s runaway success following his Australian Idol appearance in its debut season. And it was on the very Australian Idol stage that Joel first caught the eyes and ears of one man in particular: none other than the touchdown king himself, Mark Holden, and it’s a relationship that has only blossomed over nearly two decades, with Mark also a key driving factor behind the long-awaited release of Mullet.
Signing to Mark’s label Dream Dealers, Joel and the Modern Day Poets’ double Platinum single These Kids swooped in at #1 on the ARIA singles charts upon release in 2004, with the group’s Gold-certified, self-titled debut album releasing that same year, while Joel also toured alongside some of the best beatboxers in the world. From entirely humble beginnings to primetime and now, as of 2022, returning to doing what he loves best, Joel is ready to share his passion and creative exploration with the world.
As Joel concludes, “I got into beatboxing when I couldn’t afford a drum kit so I started making the noises with my mouth on the bus or at home or wherever I was. My older brother and cousin were already rapping from a young age so I started beatboxing on songs we wrote together. That’s how the Modern Day Poets were born. I have more music coming out after Mullet, and I’ll be playing guitar, bass and beatboxing just like people remember. And you might even hear Modern Day Poets on some upcoming tracks…”.
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Name: Joel Turner
What was the first
record you bought with your own money and where from?
I bought a George Benson live album from a CD store when I was 15 after an
engineer/producer showed me his album Breezina.
80’s or 90’s Music:
Both are great but I grew up in the 90’s so I’d have to say 90’s
What music are you
currently listening to?
When I go for walks, I play songs on YouTube. I like different stuff from hip hop
to guitarists. Lately I’ve played Tommy Emmanuel, Pat Metheney, Joe Satriani,
90’s and 2000’s hip hop
The Best live
artist/band you’ve seen:
Stevie Wonder
Your “In the mood for
love” song:
Macarena
Your favourite Saturday
night party record?
Any
hip hop from the 90’s
Your favourite Sunday
morning chill out record?
I
don’t really listen to music on Sundays, I tend to sleep in.
Which song do you wish
you had written?
‘Breezin’ by George benson
Roger Daltry once said
“Rock N Roll has no future”. Do you agree with him?
No because a bangin’ lead guitar solo will always hit someone straight the
feels.
Vinyl, CD or Streaming?
I
usually play stuff off YouTube but I think there’s a place for all of them
If you could record or
play live with any artist (dead or alive), who would it be?
Michael Jackson
What is the most useless
talent you have?
Video games
Your finest recorded
moment?
It’s coming up on a new track that I’m bringing out soon.
Who is your musical hero
and what one question would you ask them?
Michael Jackson and I’d ask him how he hits that scream
Dying, peacefully on
your death bed, what song would you like to hear?
Breezin by George Benson
Stuck on a desert island
for a year and can only take three albums. What would they be?
Dre: The Chronic 2001
Breezin – George Benson
Joel Turner and Modern Day Poets
Favourite all time movie:
Terminator 2
If you drove an ice
cream van, what music would you play?
The Lonely Island: Threw It on The Ground
Best show you have ever
played in your career:
Australia Day Concert in front of a crowd 60 000
Any backstage incident
that makes you laugh?
On my 1st show of my first Australian Tour a crazy fan tried to climb up to my
room with a ladder and I had to close the window.
Neil Young or Paul
McCartney?
Paul McCartney
Who is the nicest person
in Rock n Roll at the moment?
I’d have to say Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters
What do you hope the next 12 months holds for you?
To be performing live and bringing out new music.
Hold onto your hair and your hats, Aussie singer-songwriter and beatbox extraordinaire Joel Turner is back with his first new material in well over a decade; and he’s celebrating the iconic mullet itself with a brand-new track Mullet featuring Macca the Rappa. And while the track also comes primed with a brand-new video, what better way to top off celebrating this new coiffure-based tune than with an appearance at Mulletfest in Dubbo on Saturday August 20, with Joel performing his ode to the oft-controversial hairstyle live onstage at Dubbo’s Commercial Hotel, raising funds for brain cancer.
Mullet fuses comedy, rap and an undeniable Aussie spirit with guest vocalist Macca the Rappa firing off mullet-friendly lyrics like, “I’m going back to Queensland / Yeah, XXXX is my brand” alongside some 90s hip hop elements and driving beatboxing from Joel himself. Recorded with MC Preech with mixing by Steve Scanlon, Mullet re-announces Joel and his skills that first turned heads as the surprise standout of Australian Idol’s inaugural season back in 2003 in fun and tongue-in-cheek fashion. Of the inspiration to pen an ode to the hairstyle dubbed “business up front, party down the back”, Joel shares, “We’ve had this idea for a while now, but it felt like the right time to bring the song out since mullets have made a comeback. We kept noticing that heaps of everyone from kids to adults to celebrities and even athletes were rockin’ mullets, so we thought: it’s time.
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