The Sick-Leaves
Banking on The Sick-Leaves
By Robert Laing
Much as the famous painter Paul Gauguin suddenly walked away from his career as a successful stockbroker, Eksteen Jacobsz turfed in his job as an investment banker to focus on his passion for music. And so The Sick-Leaves were borne.
The gangly 27-year-old says he has no regrets about switching a yuppie career for the financially precarious existence of a Johannesburg musician. The Sick-Leaves' debut album Tunnel Vision isn't making much money, but it is in the running for the South African Music Awards' rock album of the year and has generally been critically acclaimed.
The album's producer Matthew Fink told me I must add "Eks" to the list of Joburg musicians I'm interviewing on my 1485AM show. "Nobody is more committed to South African music than Eks," Matthew told me.
Eks's single-mindedness in pursuing a music carreer is why the album is called Tunnel Vision. It's written <tunnel vision> on the cover, giving it an HTML look.
"I bracketed myself once I decided to focus on music, to go in one direction."
The album cover shows Eks walking away from what looks like an establishment stronghold — it's some building in London, he explained — against the crowd moving the other way.
Not fitting into a corporate mould is a recurring theme in his lyrics. I asked him if his song Such a Waster was inspired by what his boss in the bank used to tell him.
"Sort of," he chuckled.
While the press release issued by his label Sheer Records calls Eks a "master-guitarist (truly)", the man is very modest: "I've been playing guitar for ten years, which isn't that long. I'm still learning every day."
The influences listed at www.myspace.com/thesickleaves are encyclopedic, and I needed Eks to take me through the album to pick up all the references.
Commercial radio stations are playing one track from Tunnel Vision called All These Foolish Things (I've Said).
"A lot of people compare it to The Killers riff wise. I confess there was a lot of influence. It's the fastest track on the album and my favourite to play live."
In Across the line, Eks sounds like Jimmy Hendricks. John Lennon was his initial inspiration to play guitar. From Beetles chords he got into more progressive stuff, the psychedelic, backward guitars which are now his hallmark.
Some of the songs on Tunnel Vision date back to Eks's two year stint in London where he played in a band called The Infidels. Lyrics like "I'm sick and tired, living off fast food" in Par Avion indicate he wasn't too happy in the UK.
After returning to South Africa, Eks played guitar in Laurie Levine's band before getting his debut album out. The recording was done with the help of Jim Neversink's drummer Warrick Poultney, who says holding down a day job while playing in two bands was too much. The Sick-Leaves' drummer is now Wesley Robus and its bassist is Lionel Naidoo, with James Beukes on keyboards.
"There's no money to talk of. It's obviously tough. You need petrol money, and money for drinks wherever you are playing. It requires real commitment."
Despite the lack money, Eks has no regrets about moving from investment banking into music: "There's nothing I miss."
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