Justice McLellan - Blue J

On the Rhythm Changes Podcast, Justice McLellan talks about his band Blue J and their first indie rock album, A Sign of Good Luck, on Nettwerk Records. The band released it from Vancouver on March 4, 2022. Justice also hosts a local music podcast, The JPod.

Thank you to 12TH ST Sound for sponsoring this episode. Get going on your next music project today at 12thst.ca/booking.

We talked about:

• What Justice chose as the theme music for the JPod, and where it came from
• Lofi ambient playlists on YouTube
• The roots of Blue J's four band members, going all the way back to high school for Justice and his bandmate, Mark Robert Whiting
• Ruby Coast, Justice's first touring group where he played with Mark
• The wholesome reason why Justice and Mark started Blue J as the constant members
• Member changes in the band, including Ethan Hall from Casual Luxury changing out for Adam Fink on drums; and Lindsay Sjoberg meeting Justice while working at JJ Bean in Mount Pleasant (Adam would come get coffee from Justice, too!)
• Finding time at the start of the pandemic to get the band together
• The role of Tim Clapp, another one of Justice's good friends, in co-writing music for A Sign of Good Luck
• The way that Justice records music in the studio, which is the same way that I do it
• His experience working with labels, including Nettwerk for this album
• Blue J's first-ever show at LanaLou's in 2017
• The funny practice routine that led into Blue J's music video for their album cut, "I Feel Your Pull"
• Our shared love of "Happiness is a Warm Gun", and how my favourite song from A Sign of Good Luck reminded me of that song
• The strength of the band: acceptance and the band dynamic, personality-wise
• The philosophy that we share but that we may not all realize in our younger years
• How Justice, as a songwriter, crafted the moments in the arrangements where his voice is most exposed, almost a cappella
• The status of Blue J's shows at the Fox Cabaret
• The future of the JPod