BLUEJUICE
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Waves nightclub
Friday, October 17
Stavros Yiannoukas can explain the story behind the impending break-up of his band, beloved Aussie indie-pop weirdos Bluejuice, in just a few words.
"For once, we wanted to do something classy," Stav says of the unexpected announcement.
The infamous Sydney band, helmed by the duo of Stav and Jake Stone, announced the decision live on Triple J radio in August.
Mainstays of the Australian touring circuit, with seemingly a yearly slot on the Big Day Out and Falls festivals, the neon-daubed, jumpsuit-wearing, morally questionable band ended their run after 13 years as a unit.
"It's time to just do other stuff, but it was also important that we didn't become shit," Stav states bluntly.
"We want to maintain a level of quality, and know we did good stuff, rather than just keep going in the machine for the sake of it."
It is with more than a tinge of melancholy that Stav delivers this verdict on the roots of Bluejuice's disbanding.
In recent weeks it has emerged Stav's own loss of interest in the band may have been another reason behind the decision to pull up stumps, but he sounds no less sad about the call.
"Most artists keep doing it too long, sometimes for the money or because they are addicted to performing and trying to recapture a part of their career they can't get back," Stav says.
"We didn't want that."
Bluejuice have since announced and commenced a massive Australian farewell tour, winding their way around the country to adieu the fans that catapulted the likes of Vitriol, Broken Leg and Act Yr Age on to radio charts and playlists nationwide.
"It will be Bluejuice's destructive last hurrah, so catch them going out the only way they know how: deafeningly loud, a bit drunk, and dancing maniacally into the night," reads the tour's media release.
"We wanted to give people an opportunity to say goodbye, do a proper farewell," Stav says.
"The end will be bitter-sweet, it has been a huge part of my life."
Bluejuice have a revolving door of special guests supporting them on the Retrospectable tour, with acts including The Aston Shuffle, Tkay Maizda and Deep Sea Arcade popping up unannounced on the night. The band's run will officially end with performances at Falls Festival over the New Year's period, but from there, members will follow different trajectories.
Stav says Jake will likely stay in music - "he's got albums' worth of material sitting around, I'm not sure if it will be a band or a solo thing" - but for himself, music will go on the back-burner.
"I'm not doing music for a while, I'm completely getting out. I want to go into teaching, and I'm going to be coaching basketball."