Interviews

Brett Detar – The Juliana Theory 'A Vehicle for Nostalgia and Connecting to A Younger Part of Life'

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

May 2, 2025

8 min read

25 years on from dropping the genre-defining album Emotion Is Dead, scene icons The Juliana Theory is hitting Aussie shores for a run of nostalgic shows that will transport all emo fans back into the angsty teens we once all were.

While the band may not have achieved the longevity and soaring highs of sellout stadium tours like their ‘00s emo counterparts, there’s no denying the Pennsylvania five-piece created a cult classic when they released Emotion Is Dead, with its innovative blend of emo, alternative rock, and introspective lyrics that went on to inspire many other up-and-coming bands in the genre.

After the band pulled the plug in 2006, they’ve reunited on and off over the years, before making their official comeback in 2020 and releasing brand new music.

Now, joined by The Spill Canvas, they’re hitting Australia in a three-date tour to play Emotion Is Dead in full, in a nostalgic tour that will undoubtedly tug on the heartstrings of all Elder Emos ready to feel something again as we all joyfully scream along to ‘We’re On Top Of The World’ (while probably also crying).

‍Wall of Sound chatted with lead singer Brett Detar ahead of the tour to discuss the impact of Emotion Is Dead all these years on, the ever-evolving genre of emo, and if fans can expect any cheeky surprises when it comes to the Aussie tour setlist.

‍Thank you so much for joining us today, we’re very excited to chat with you. How are you feeling about the upcoming Australian tour?

‍Super excited. And thanks for having me. But, yeah, can't wait!

You're touring the album Emotion Is Dead and it's now 25 years old. Did you ever imagine it would still hold such weight and such popularity with fans wanting to still see it unfold all these decades later?

‍It's very humbling to think of because all of us were younger than 25 when we made the record, so we probably couldn't have even pictured what 25 years in the future would even feel like, let alone the idea that people would care about this thing that we made in basically a converted garage in Little Rock, Arkansas. So, yeah, it's truly amazing that there are people that care about it. It's awesome.

I did want to touch on that too, given obviously so much time has passed since you first recorded the album. Is it hard to go on stage now and perform those songs and get in the same mindset that you were when you were writing it? Or is it kind of like putting on a costume nearly, and it's just nostalgic?

‍I don't think I have to really think too much about the headspace that I was in when I was writing it, or recording it, or anything like that. I think we're really just embodying the current moment and trying to live in that moment.

And of course, obviously there's certainly a lens of nostalgia that just comes with playing songs that are 25 years old, and I know that for 99% of the people in the audience, the show is a vehicle for that nostalgia, and it’s a way to connect to a younger part of their life and maybe a simpler time that is tied to musical memories.

But I think in general, we're just just trying to be present. It's weird. It's like, I relate to that person I was then. And sometimes I think of it as a separate character, like a different person. And then sometimes I'm like, ‘Yeah, that's that's still me!’ [Laughs]

Absolutely! Are there any songs on that record that you find hard to tap into now when performing them?

‍Well, there are a couple that we don't like now, I'm not gonna say which ones. There's certainly things that I don't really necessarily relate to lyrically at this point. And then there's other things where songs have a new meaning, or a different meaning, or because of the lens of time, they have transformed and have a different kind of feel to them.

I imagine every band and artist has songs that they don't like performing now, but I understand why you don't want to say as well. Some fans can probably get a bit territorial about it.

‍It's so funny, like, sometimes I've been very vocal about certain songs that I don't like. There's one particular song off of the record that came after this that I always talk trash on, and there's always people that'll be like, ‘Well, why don't you like it?!’

‍I guess when I think about it, if I had, you know, read an interview with David Gilmour or something, and he was like, ‘Oh yeah, I hate, ‘Breathe’ off The Dark Side of the Moon, I'd be like, ‘What?! How?!’ That's a terrible example, because we're not Pink Floyd, but it's just that whole thing of when it means something to somebody else, you don't really want to disparage it. But you know, we are honest about how we feel sometimes!

So what can fans actually expect from your show? Are we going to see any kind of reimagined versions of songs? Are we going to see some acoustic sets? Are we going to see a country twist on anything?

‍Oh, yeah, um, no, country twist [laugh]. We’re definitely just going to play the record pretty similar to how it is. Sometimes we'll change things up pretty drastically, [or] sometimes just a little bit. But when it's a case of an album anniversary and an album play, we try to stick pretty close to how it was, just because it's kind of… I guess it's a celebration of that thing. So we won't change everything up too much.

‍Touching on the nostalgic meaning for people, emo as a genre has had so many different waves and evolutions over the years. And the nostalgic thing is really big now too, like you guys coming on this tour during the 25th anniversary, with The Spill Canvas, and there are a lot of nostalgic festivals popping up these days too, like the When We Were Young Festival. Are you surprised at the undying popularity of the genre? Did you think when you were making this record, that you could see it transcending time and eras?

‍We definitely didn’t see it transcending time and eras when we were making it, because we honestly didn't really have a frame of reference or even understanding that anybody could necessarily care in the future. But that's a great question, and I think I have two different thoughts on it. Part of me is like, ‘Yo, that's weird that people are nostalgic about this!’ But then I think when I was really young, there would be like, ‘80s nights or things everybody was super into, like, Led Zeppelin and stuff. And then there would be ‘80s night, then ‘90s nights… It always feels like whatever happened 20 years ago or thereabouts will have some sort of resurgence.

‍And it might not be a huge commercial thing, but there always seems to be an appreciation for things that happened X amount of years ago. So when I look at it in that lens, it doesn't surprise me.

‍For a lot of people too, the album's probably kind of like a safety blanket, like one of those old albums you like to go back to listen to and relisten and relive that time in your life. What kind of band or album does that for you?

‍There's so many for me, and it's like then every one of them corresponds to a different time period, like when I was really young and first started getting into music. I remember becoming obsessed with this Iron Maiden record called Powerslave when I was 11 or 12. And then a year or two later, it was the first two Fugazi records, and then a couple years later it was the first two Sunny Day Real Estate records, and then it was the first Jimmy Eat World record.

I can still think about where I was the first time I heard ‘Creep’ by Radiohead, and how much that completely blew my mind.

And so I think there's something very special about the sense of time and memory that's connected with music. There's certain things that I will go back and listen to now, and I’ll immediately feel 19 years old or whatever. It's wild.

That's so awesome! Obviously, this is a very special run of shows for Australia and you’re playing with The Spill Canvas. I did notice on social media, when you guys announced it, there were a lot of people in the comments being like, ‘When's this happening for America? When's it happening for Europe?’ Is there any upcoming plans you want to tease for any fans?

I don't know if we have anything else that we will do with The Spill Canvas yet. I talk to Nick all the time, and he owes me a text, Nick, wherever you are! But we have a bunch of stuff coming up, but nothing I'm allowed to talk about yet. But I would love to do more shows with those guys in the States or anywhere else. I certainly wouldn't write it off, because we love those guys and we're good friends.

So everyone can watch this space?

Yeah, exactly!

And can we look forward to any kind of collabs on stage between you guys?

‍That's a great question. Maybe, maybe we'll think about that. Now that you mentioned it, I might have to see if there's a way that we can do that. That's a really good idea. Now the gears are turning in my mind…

If you get a reply to your text anyway.

Exactly!

Is there any other very nostalgic band that you would love to do a co-headline tour with at any point?

There's so many! I feel like so many of the bands that we toured with like 20-25 years ago would make sense to do again at some point, too many to even name off the top of my head. But I think in general, I hope at some point we'll end up doing more support stuff, because we are almost always headlining or co-headlining. And we haven't really ever done that many tours where we were opening, and we got to do that a couple years ago with Dashboard Confessional and that was really fun. It's really cool to play for 30 minutes and to not have it be your audience.

There's just something fun about knowing that maybe 20% of the people, 30% of the people in the room, know who you are, but then you're kind of trying to win over other people.

Do you find it nearly like the pressure off in that sense, because you're not the main headline, or does it feel like more pressure because you do want to win over those new fans?

I personally feel less pressure from it. If it's like a hostile audience, which we have done tours in the past, where I felt like the band we were opening for, the fans did not like us.

I remember one time… this was a weird tour, and it was only like maybe 10 shows. But it was right when Evanescence came out and blew up, like, right when they became massive. We were main support for them for two weeks. And I remember one show in Texas where they [the fans] did not want to see us play. And it was really funny. So in that way you feel pressure, like, ‘Oh, we'll show these people!’ But in general, I do find it liberating when it's like, these people are not here to see us, and half of them are annoyed that there is an opener. [Laughs]

What does a crowd do when they're not that keen to see you?!

Usually they're just standing there really bored, looking at their phone, or talking really loudly, or then it escalates, and then sometimes they're booing you in between songs, or sometimes they're flipping you off in between songs.

‍And I remember that Texas show there was one dude in particular that was, like, super obnoxious, and he just kept flipping us off and yelling things. And I have a move for that. If a male member of the audience is being particularly aggressive and hyper masculine, I found that the best way to diffuse that is not to try not to be more masculine, but to do the total opposite. If I start to, like, blow that guy kisses or make eyes at him, or try to flirt with him in a way, it freaks them out so much, and they do not know what to do.

That is so great. A little bit of reverse psychology for the crowd! Beyond the Australian tour. I know it's been a big couple years and it's been around five years now since you reunited again and put out new music. Can we expect more new music soon?

We're finishing a full-length this year that I'm super excited about. I think that's priority number one. And then there will be a bunch more shows... but the record’s kind of like the main thing at this point.

Well thank you so much for your time today. It was really great chatting with you and just to speak on behalf of Australia, I know we're all very excited to see you guys very soon.

Thank you, we can't wait!

Interview by Tahlia Pritchard.

The Juliana Theory kick off their emo-filled East Coast run on July 18th alongside The Spill Canvas

Tickets on sale via thephoenix