Sweet N’ Juicy plays Friday, Sept. 27, at the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture in Joseph.

LA GRANDE — Earlier this week, I was able to sit down with Oregon’s hardest-working band, Sweet N Juicy, to ask them a few questions about life on the road.

Go!: Thanks for joining me today. It’s great to finally have you here.

Sweet (The Banana): Thanks for having us.

Juicy (The Strawberry): Nice office!

N’ (The Pineapple): *digs around in his bag*

Go!: So, how do you create content to keep your band sounding so fresh and juicy?

Sweet: Writing new songs is the most important thing.

Juicy: Going to new places and seeing new things helps. That and we improvise a lot so as we grow as a unit, we find new inspiration for things.

Sweet: And writing for an audience. Sometimes I like to imagine what song a crowd would’ve liked to hear in the moment, and then write that.

N’: *dumps contents of bag on the ground*

Go!: Have you written a song for La Grande yet?

Juicy: Not yet, but it’ll happen.

N’: *picks up a harmonica, plays a few notes*

Go!: How did Sweet N’ Juicy come to fruition?

Sweet: We got sick of playing in cover bands and wanted to write our own music.

N’: “I’m goin down to Louisiana, baby behind the sun…”

Juicy: All of us were sidemen bouncing around Portland doing pick-up gigs for bands. I think we were just not playing enough original music to satiate the need, so Sweet asked me to play in a group he was forming and N’ joined later. N’, you got that throat coat?

N’: *stops playing harmonica* Yeah it’s in here somewhere, one sec.

Go!: Be honest. Do you ever get sick of the fruit costumes and wish you could wear something different on tour?

N’: Yeah, we’re sick all the time.

Sweet: We catch anything a town has rolling around. It’s part of being an entertainer.

N’: Sometimes the suits can be a lot. I’ve been interested in togas or Grenadier Guard uniforms. Wearing a big bear-skin hat, tossing a rifle around…

Go!: Yeah. Um, what’s the Portland scene like these days? Have you noticed any shifts over the last few years?

Sweet: Like many places it’s become very tribute/cover band centric, which frankly sucks. Who wants to listen to the same stuff every weekend until death?

Juicy: There are some cool folks out there. Jermaine is doing great. Glitterfox just got signed to Kill Rockstars.

Sweet: Yeah, there’s good stuff happening.

Juicy: Man, it’s kinda chilly in here.

N’: *starts stacking sticks into a pyramid*

Go!: Okay, one more question and I’ll let you go. Did any of you receive musical training, or are you self taught?

N’: All music is self taught if you believe. *strikes match and sets wooden pyramid on fire*

Juicy: *warming his hands by the fire* Oh man that’s better, thank you.

N’: *continues playing harmonica*

Sweet: Yes, but the university of the streets taught me far more than school could dream about.

Go!: *coughing* I don’t think you should-

*fire alarm and sprinklers going off*

Go!: Alrighty! Thank you for joining me today, Sweet N’ Juicy. I think we should leave now.

Sweet: Thanks for having us.

Juicy: You’re rad.

N’: Castoreum.

Shows

The band plays Saturday, Aug. 3, 7:30 p.m. at Side A Brewing’s public house, 1219 Washington Ave. They also play Aug. 9, 6 p.m. at Barley Brown’s taphouse in Baker City, and Aug. 11, 7 p.m., at Terminal Gravity in Enterprise.

 Come if you’re in the mood for some humor, funky jazz, and yes — lots of fruit.