ARTIST FEATURE: TEENAGE JOANS

8 DEC 2020

Triple J Unearthed High winners Cahli and Tahlia better known as The Teenage Joans join the Roundy for a chat about their music journey, inspiration behind their amazing single Three Leaf Clover, and how they got through iso. Their music brings Australian indie pop-punk to a whole new level with punchy guitar riffs and phenomenal lyrics that tell a real story. We can’t wait to see what these guys have in store!

ROUNDHOUSE: Hey Cahli and Tahlia also known as The Teenage Joans, thanks so much for joining us for a chat today! 

Teenage Joans: Thanks so much for having us!

ROUNDHOUSE: Just to start us off how did you guys get into music and how did the dynamic duo of The Teenage Joans form? 

Cahli: so BASICALLY, i released a song under my name back in 2018 and uploaded it to triple j unearthed. from that i actually got a show offer to open for The Hard Aches, and of COURSE i said yes! i realised i didn't have a band but wanted to put one together, so i messaged our mate Nick from Adelaide's Northern Sound System wondering if he knew any drummers around my age!

Tahlia: I knew Nick from NSS as I was doing a few workshops and music lessons there. I got a friend request from cahli and stalked her account for bit and thought she was really cool, but a few minutes later I got a message from her. She said that she was looking for a drummer as she had a gig coming up and needed a band. Anyway, she asked to jam and the first time we met was at my house and we instantly clicked!

ROUNDHOUSE: So this year you guys have blasted onto the Australian music scene winning Triple J's 2020 Unearthed High competition with your second single Three Leaf Clover. Can you tell us the story behind this song, did you know it was something special when you were writing it?

TJ: To be honest not at all! TLC has actually always been the "filler" song. it was definitely our personal favourite when we were in the studio recording a few songs but because of how heavy it is we didn't think it would get as much attention as By The Way!

ROUNDHOUSE: Despite Covid restrictions and upcoming HSC exams how did you guys manage to celebrate the amazing achievement of taking out the top spot?

Cahli: well we had a pretty cool small afterparty that night organised by our amazing manager Rachie. she made it Three Leaf Clover themed, there were little clover cutouts on the tables and stuck on the wall! she even got us these balloons that said "Unearthed High Winners 2020". all our close mates and family were there.

Tahlia: we ended up having a super cool surprise party which was organised by our manager Rachie and my mum and heaps of our friends from around Adelaide which was super wholesome.

ROUNDHOUSE: It wouldn’t be an interview in 2020 without discussing the elephant in the room, so how did you guys get through isolation/quarantine and the whole COVID situation? 

Cahli: for me personally, I watched A LOT of Netflix. I rewatched all of Orange Is The New Black from start to finish, and I also watched Bojack Horseman for the first time (probably my two favourite shows ever!)

Tahlia: I tried to take up a few arts and craft hobbies like embroidery and making earrings and necklaces, but embroidery didn’t last because I sucked. I did watch a lot of Netflix though, I think I binge watched Community twice and rewatched a lot of Adam Sandler movies. As I was also trying to finish year 12, I also had to do a few online lessons and finish a lot of assignments.

ROUNDHOUSE: So we also know you’ve been voted South Australia’s Best Live Act at the 2019 National Live Music Awards, what are some of your best or craziest experiences while performing live? 

Cahli: Some of the most amazing experiences we have is when the crowd picks up the words and sings along. At our single launch for By The Way, all 200 people in the room screamed every word with us which was such a surreal experience!

Tahlia: I think for me one of the most amazing experiences while playing live was when we played at A Day of Clarity. There were so many people that came to watch our set and when we played our song ‘Therapist’ everyone was singing so loud, it was the most amazing feeling ever!

ROUNDHOUSE: Following on from the release of By The Way in 2019 and Three Leaf Clover in 2020, do you guys have anything else in the works at the moment, and will we be hearing it any time soon? 

TJ: We do definitely have a cheeky new single in the works! We can't say too much but we wanted to put something out ASAP after the win.


ROUNDHOUSE: Okay so just to finish off we’ll have a quickfire round, to get to know the real Teenage Jones.

1) First place you want to travel to? (once borders open) 

Cahli: BRISBANE!!!

Tahlia: Brisbane because I heard its super super fun!!

2) Favourite lyrics?

Cahli: My favourite lyric of ours is probably "You aged like wine and I still haven't aged to like wine" from our song Wine. And from other artists IT'S SO HARD TO CHOOSE! Probably just every lyric from Taylor Swifts "All Too Well" tbh.

Tahlia: My favourite Teenage Joans lyric is ‘its funny how people show, put them up to the light and see their skin and bone, oh how you have grown” from our song Something About Being Sixteen. And from other artists it would have to be “Your jinx just floats around, like the taste inside your mouth” from Title Fights ‘Lefty’

3) Wedges or fries? 

Cahli: I love some good fries (particularly maccas fries) with sweet and sour sauce.

Tahlia: hmm this is hard but I love fries, especially the ones from Salsas

4) 3 words to describe Adelaide? 

Cahli: SUPER DAMN UNDERRATED

Tahlia: So friggen wholesome

5) Most played album? 

Cahli: Probably "Sounds Good Feels Good" by 5sos!

Tahlia: at the moment it’s The Greatest Generation by The Wonder Years buy over all I think it has to be Best Buds by Mom Jeans.

ROUNDHOUSE: Thanks so much for stopping by the Roundy to chat with us today! We can’t wait to see where you guys go next!