Interview: Jim Bob on his novels, live shows and new music

JB Morrison, otherwise known as Carter USM legend Jim Bob, is having a busy 2020. He will be releasing not one, but two new novels in March, and has just announced some live shows. Oh, and there is talk of a new album too. Our editor, Bobby, had a chat with him:

Hello Jim! Thanks for taking the time to chat. How is 2020 treating you so far?

Hello. Not so bad thanks. I’ve got a lot of projects on the go that are either finished and waiting for release or are in the not quite ready to share with the world phase of the process. Often this can be a frustrating time as it involves a certain amount of waiting, which I’m not good at at all.

You’ve got two new novels coming out in March. That’s very exciting! What can you tell us about them?

I’ve been saying that they’re either a double A side of novels, with ‘A Godawful Small Affair’ being the A side story and ‘Harvey King Unboxes His Family’ as the AA side. If that makes sense. ‘A Godawful Small Affair’ is yet another story about a teenage girl who goes missing but this time seen from the point of view of her ten-year-old brother who thinks she’s been abducted by aliens. He decides he needs to be abducted by the same aliens so he can find his sister and bring her home. It sounds like it’s either a thriller or a sci-fi novel but really it’s about a family falling apart and a boy’s experience of that.

‘Harvey King’ is about a man researching his family tree and finding out his dad died six months ago, rather than the twenty years he’d always believed.

Are the two stories related at all, in terms of narrative or themes?

When I decided to publish them both together I didn’t think they had anything in common at all. But during the proof-reading and editing process I started to see more and more common threads. ‘A Godawful Small Affair’ is about something life changing that happens to a ten-year-old boy and ‘Harvey King Unboxes His Family’ is about a man dealing with something that happened to him when he was an eleven-year-old boy. Both characters are science fiction fans and in one parent families.

I genuinely hadn’t realised the obvious connections until I started re-reading the two stories. They’re also both connected to my mum. Harvey King’s mother is in a care home. She has dementia. There’s a lot of me and my mum in that stuff. I wrote it in the last years of her life. The main event in ‘A Godawful Small Affair’ meanwhile, takes place on the first anniversary of David Bowie’s death, which was also the first anniversary of my mum’s death. Although it’s not a story about her, I wanted to somehow convey what a thoroughly confusing day that was. For my mother and David Bowie to die on the same day. I wanted to mark it creatively somehow. I hope to talk about it on BBC Breakfast or The One Show.

Was it always the plan to release two novels in one book, or did the idea develop itself over the course of writing them?

It sort of comes back to my impatience and not being able to wait for things to happen. Writing books and getting them published is possibly the worst thing for me to be involved with in that respect. It takes forever. I’m so aware of time passing and time wasted. I thought if I didn’t publish both books now, at least one of them would never see the light of day. And that seemed like such a waste. One or two years of hard work for no reward. Luckily Cherry Red were happy to publish the books together .

You’ve recently announced that you’ll be heading on the road later this year to play some shows. Will they take a similar shape to the brilliant live gigs you played last year, with a full band? I was at the Shepherds Bush gig and it was awesome.

Thanks. The shows will most likely be very similar. I didn’t exactly plan it last year but it worked out really well having the songs with the band first and then the singalong solo bit, the piano section and then bringing the band back on at the end for the rock out and bubbles. It felt like a really well thought out show. We might not bother with the beach balls in August though as I almost lost a tooth at the Brighton gig. Beach balls need high ceilings. That’s my tip for young bands.

Will you be announcing any more gigs?

That is the plan. There definitely won’t be loads though. I’m going to continue to spread myself thinly across the UK. And the world. I’m playing one gig in Canada in May. That seems mad. Such a long way to go. So, there will be the smallest sprinkling of gigs. I’m terrified of empty venues and would rather play three sold-out shows than ten almost full ones. It’s pathetic really. I’ve been doing this for too long to feel insecure about it.

Will you be showcasing some new music at these shows? Talking of which, is there anything in the rumours of a possible new Jim Bob album?

These days, there seem to be two ways of announcing an album. You either announce it ages in advance and share lots of little video clips and photos from the recording studio. Ramp up the anticipation. Or you bung the album out with no warning at all as a big old surprise. I’m ignoring both methods by hinting that there will be a new Jim Bob album and not saying much yet. All I will say is that it’s going to be my best record ever. For Jim Bob fans it’s going to be the new Anglestrike! And for Carter fans it’s 30 Something. Seriously though, it’s amazing.

When we’ve spoken before, you’ve mentioned that, in recent years, you’ve been through phases of lacking the inspiration to make music. What has inspired you to write some new songs in 2020? Are we going to be hearing songs about Trump/Johnson/Farage etc?

I tried to write songs for a number of years. I struggled mostly with the lyrics. Music is easier. Bernie Taupin is the real genius in the John/Taupin relationship.

And also, I didn’t know how to physically release a record any more. Stream it? Put it on YouTube? Give it away for nothing. It was easier to not bother. But then I played those few gigs with the band. It got me a bit fired up about making a loud record. And then I was listening to the audiobook of James Acaster’s ‘Perfect Sound Whatever’. His descriptions of some of the five hundred records he’d bought in 2016 and how they were made was enough to make me start tinkering on Garageband. Once I’d written the first song, the others followed pretty quickly. Lyrically the album is the one people have been suggesting I make for the past few years. I’m not saying it’s going to solve all the current world problems but it will maybe help us make sense of them or at least take the piss out of them.

Do you still enjoy the routine of touring? What’s your go-to service station snack?

I do it so little but I do enjoy it. I like it when it’s just me and my manager Marc and roadie Mister Spoons in the car. And then I had a great time in the back of a fairly comfortable van with The Hoodrats. For me, touring is about the company.

I do like a Marks and Spencer’s in a service station. Their selection of vegetarian friendly jelly sweets has been life-changing. Mister Spoons is also good at driving to out-of-the-way pubs for lunches and intimidating the local poshos.

Thanks for the interview Jim! Before you go, do you have any music/TV/reading tips that you can share with us?

‘The Dutch House’ by Ann Patchett is the best novel I’ve read for a long time. Her writing makes me realise I’m a pop singer. I’ve just finished the Costa award winner, ‘The Volunteer’ by Jack Fairweather. It’s about a Polish resistance fighter who volunteers to go into Auschwitz to set up an underground resistance. It certainly puts everything into perspective.

Music wise, the first album from Hurtling is brilliant. Jon and Jen from the band are both in The Hoodrats but that’s not why I’m saying it’s great. You should check it out. I’ve been listening to Phoebe Bridgers a lot. I discovered her via her work with Conor Oberst. There’s a new Bright Eyes coming out this year. I literally can’t wait for that. Looking forward to the new Shame album too. The few new bands I’ve listened to in the past couple of years have been direct recommendations from Steve Lamacq. He’s incredibly reliable with his choices. Steve is like someone I imagine Elton John employing to keep him up to date on all the new music. Thankfully Steve is less likely to recommend Ed Sheeran.

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Pre-order Jim’s new book here. The book will also be available in all the usual places, from March 19th. Visit your local independent bookshop if you have one.

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Interview by Bobby Townsend.