Meet the royal vagaBonds

In conversation with Janelle Thomas (Lady J), vocals, Lady J & The Royal Vagabonds. What does your band’s name mean? Everyone in this band has spent most of their careers on the road, away from home, and embracing the vagabond life. But, we try to keep it classy — hence, Royal Vagabonds. Janelle Thomas is Lady J, of course. The band was already playing together at The Music Room, but decided to form a new project that would be a better fit for our original music. Where do you jam? We’ve got a great set up to practice at home — in Felix’s flat in Tecom. We can hear everything with the headphones, but the neighbours only have to listen to the vocals. The band members include Andy Lynn on the keyboard, Felix Fréchette on the guitar, David Hewett on the bass, and Joe Bashorun on the drums. What’s your recent album about? Janelle and Felix put out an album of original music called Noise Rises in 2012. It’s definitely time for another one. We are in the process of writing our next album of originals, which we plan to record and release in Dubai this year. What is the kind of music your band leans towards? It’s a mix of some Blues and some Rock — both originals and covers. Some Classic Blues, some Classic Rock, and Pop songs, reinterpreted in a Blue-sy style. What are your fondest musical memories in Dubai? We have had many special moments over the hundreds of gigs we have played here, but opening the Jazz Garden series in October 2017 was a definite highlight and the largest audience we have performed for, to date.