Rock Star Love
COSMO chats to the front man, Jon Savage, about love on the road and working with your partner.
Cassette is cool. They have a SAMA for Best Rock Album, have played with Pink, Evanescence and Eagle-Eye Cherry, and have worked with local heroes Mahotella Queens, Zubz and Vusi Mahlasela. Nelson Mandela himself asks for them from time to time, when they aren’t too busy touring Europe or making mini tsunami waves as the first SA band to tour Japan (which they did recently).
Having cut a world class album that sounds as good as it looks, Cassette are touring from town to town, bringing textured pop rock and a little bit of mystique to even the most obscure corners of South Africa. In addition to heavy pressure and the highlights of showbiz, the front man and lead lady are an item. We got down to the nitty-gritty with Jon about working with his lead lady, Jane Breetzke, and what it takes to make it as a travelling minstrel.
MIXING WORK AND ROMANCE
How did you and Jane meet?
We were both at Rhodes University. This crazy friend of ours, Zingi, who truly believed that he was Michael Jackson, put on this big show called the Zingi Dream Experience (this is actually true, believe it or not). He needed a band to help him and just went out hunting musicians. Somehow he roped both Jane and I in to do this crazy venture and we became friends quickly by asking each other ‘What the hell are we doing here?’ a lot.
When did you know there was a spark?
We were very close friends for many years and both moved to Cape Town. Then when I got offered a record deal in Johannesburg years later, I just went knocking on Jane’s door and told her that I was moving and asked her if she wanted to come with. She just said OK there and then. We packed our cars and moved to Johannesburg. A few months later, we were together.
Who made the first move?
There was a hotel room in Bloemfontein, two bottles of wine and an Elvis Costello album. That’s all I’ll say!
When did you decide to mix work and romance?
The band started at the same time as the romance so it has always been intertwined. Obviously it can be very stressful and often unbearably complicated, but we have a big love for each other so we make it work.
Is there anything you regret about this decision?
It’s a very hard thing for both of us to live with. Touring is very hard on Jane and I hate to see her upset. Sometimes an issue in the band becomes a full-blown relationship issue and can linger for months. It sometimes causes tension in the band as well because it must always seem like Jane and I have discussed a topic ad nauseum before even presenting it the band. I’d say one of the hardest things is you can never come home and tell the person you love about your hard day! You’ve both been through it and no one wants to talk about it for one more second. But at the same time, a good show can be a hugely rewarding experience and when we both go through it together it makes us happy that we can share it.
Is there anything you would like to change about it?
I wish it were humanly possible to separate the band from our relationship and still keep both in tact. Even though it is not an ideal situation, we make it work.
On the whole, do romantic relationships at work work?
I think it makes you much stronger! If a relationship can actually survive through work then it can survive anything!
What makes or breaks a romance with a workmate?
Personally I think the lack of space that working with a loved one creates is very destructive and can easily break a good thing up. The hard thing is to learn to give each other space at home and even at work, but it is crucial – possibly even central – to making it work. It’s still something we constantly work on and we have been at it for years.
Does being involved with a workmate enhance your productivity and creativity?
With us, even though things can get tense and overly-emotional when we are working on a project such as song writing, it also pushes both of us to reach deeper and to be better. There are songs, like ‘Back Up Plan’ on our new album that is a genuine collaboration between me and Jane and I think that song really stands out as something special because of that. We are still learning to work together, but when we get it right, it really, really works.
Does knowing each other intimately ever compromise your contracts? Like when you both call in sick because you want to spend the day in bed…
Obviously I can’t comment on that for legal reasons! Hahaha!
Does being colleagues ever compromise your relationship?
I think that even when you try and set boundaries about these sorts of things, being in a band invades all aspects of your life so, yes. When we go out for a romantic supper we try our hardest not to talk about the band, but it’s not easy.
How does life on the road (late nights and hard drugs) affect your relationship?
Jane is very sensitive to the touring aspect and it can be extremely gruelling for both of us. If we go out on the road and party every night our relationship is going to take serious strain. In addition it already takes a lot of strain just being in the bands space the entire time and our relationship takes a knock because there is no place or time to find space to just be together. After a long tour, we try and spend time reconnecting.
Does it help that you share the same lifestyle – or is it harder to have a relationship with a non-travelling, non-music making soul?
I’d say it’s probably 50/50.
REALITY: THIS IS NOT A DAY JOB
Is it true that independent musicians work 24/7?
False. I work 29 hours a day! It’s hard work I tell you. It is definitely a full time job.
How’s the job satisfaction when your office is seedy bars and swish corporate gigs?
It can be the greatest and it can be the worst. And it can be everything in between.
How do you keep your feet on the ground when you have a mobile office?
With great difficulty. It’s very easy to lose the plot when you are out on the road for long periods of time.
How do you manage time if so much of it is spent travelling and promoting?
I’m still learning!