Jim Bob on his new record, tour and how something life-changing happened this year
Jim Bob spoke to us about his upcoming Essential album and tour, his new music, and about a new arrival:
Hello again Jim! How has 2022 treated you so far?
It’s been fine thanks. I haven’t told many people outside of my family so I suppose this is an exclusive but something truly life-changing happened at the start of the year when I became a grandfather. Although the term we’ve settled on is ‘the Guv’nor’. It’s put a lot of other things into perspective. So many moments of pure unadulterated joy. Apart from that it’s been business as usual. A slow-paced and gentle rollercoaster ride, full of medium ups and downs.
You’ve got a big few months coming up, with your tour and double-album collection coming out. Firstly, can you tell us a little about the album?
I can’t remember if it was Cherry Red’s idea or mine. But it’s a good idea to bring a collection of past material together and reflect on the past and the present and future, etc. And it gives people something to play in their cars. It’s something I realised with the difference between advance orders for the CD compared to vinyl. I think we like to play greatest hits collections in our cars and a lot of cars have CD players. This is not a scientific study, by the way. I haven’t conducted a poll and I know nothing about cars. We’ve got a CD player in our car though and the glovebox is packed with Best Ofs and Greatest Hits collections.
How easy/hard was it to select the tracks for the record? Any songs that you originally thought would make the cut that didn’t, and any that snuck in at the last minute, etc?
I’d say it was medium difficult. There are songs that had to be on the record. And we (me and my manager Marc) tried to pick a couple from each album, going back to a certain point, and trying not to just repeat the Best of Jim Bob collection. Which is why the School album doesn’t feature. There were only four sides worth of vinyl time to play with too, so a few songs had to go.
One good thing about calling it an Essential rather than a Greatest Hits is I didn’t feel obliged to put the songs in chronological order. This made it more fun and interesting to compile. Sort of like putting together a gig set list. It also meant there was no risk of the album getting worse or better, depending on your point of view, as it went along. I’ve got a few Greatest Hits Singles collections that really take a quality dive about halfway through. Usually in the 1980s when everyone adopted the same big snare sound. Incidentally, I don’t think this would have happened with me because I think I’m doing my best stuff right now. ‘If God Was a CCTV Control Room Operator Called Steve’ on my recent Beach Ready EP for example is my favourite ever Jim Bob recording.
Mark Reynolds’ artwork for the album looks brilliant, as always. How did you start collaborating with him?
I love the artwork. It’s got about seventy ‘Easter eggs’ on it. Hidden references to my songs and not just the ones on the record. It’s a fun game you couldn’t play with Spotify. Something to do in the back seat of the car while the CD is playing in the front. I first met Mark when he posted a cartoon poster for my first solo Shepherd’s Bush Empire gig online.
It led to us asking him to design the cover of my ‘A Godawful Small Affair’ novel and the ‘Jim Bob from Carter’ memoir, and then various images for singles and albums. Appearing on all my artwork in cartoon form has done wonders for my otherwise bruised ego and feelings of mortality.
Have you begun work on any new material yet, and if so, what can you tell us about it?
I’ve written the next album and recorded demos for it. Mark is already working on the sleeve. I’m going into the studio with The Hoodrats in a couple of weeks’ time to record it properly. At the moment I want it to sound like a big eff off pop record. Really throw the kitchen sink at it. Anyway, that’s the plan. I like to start with a plan. Top ten or number one. They’ll have to bring back Top of the Pops because of the wall-to-wall bangers on it. I’m calling it the third album in a trilogy.
What shape does your songwriting take these days? Do you sit down and think (for example), “I’m going to write a song about the cost of living crisis today”, or do bits of lyrics, melody etc, pop into your head when you’re going about your day? Do you write stuff with The Hoodrats? Or is it a mix of all of the above?
I’ve very rarely started a song knowing what it was going to be about. I’ve had titles before and maybe a gist or feeling to what the song might be about but usually I’ll play the guitar and stuff happens. It helps when I’ve just written some songs and am kind of warmed up. Writing some of the new record was almost easy because it felt so natural. I was just in the song writing zone. I genuinely wrote some of the chord structures in as long as it took me to play them once for the very first time. It’s like when I go swimming. The first couple of lengths almost kill me, the next bunch are murder and then I settle into a rhythm and could swim to France and back. I’m not exaggerating. Anyway, these prolific periods are often followed by seven years of not being able to write a single line or chord change. The long fallow period between ‘What I Think About When I Think About You’ and ‘Pop Up Jim Bob’ was like I’d had a bang to the head and completely forgotten how to make music.
Knowing I’m recording with The Hoodrats has definitely affected certain aspects of the song arranging. Knowing Chis is an amazing pianist (this is not a cleverly inserted cheap nob gag if you’re reading this, Chris) and having Jen on the guitar for a start. One thing we’re doing this time that we didn’t do with the previous two albums is rehearsing the songs together a bit first. That’s exciting. Everyone’s promised me it won’t be a jam session.
You’re hitting the road later this year. What can you tell us about the live shows, without spoiling any potential surprises?
We’ve got a couple of gigs coming up in August first. A small one in Newport and a big one on the main stage at Beautiful Days festival. I’m super focused on those two gigs at the moment. Even though a lot of people told me it was great, I really wasn’t happy with my performance at the last gig we did. When I do an unsatisfactory gig it haunts me until I play another one to sort of cancel it out and fix all the things I did wrong. I’ve panic bought stuff that I thought might help, like a new guitar and guitar pedals. Clothes. I’ve had my hair cut because I hated the pictures on Facebook from that last gig. I’m ridiculously vain. After those two hopefully redemptive August shows we’ll concentrate on making the November tour great. I think we’ll focus on playing songs from the Essential Jim Bob album. Apart from that I want to make sure we’re the best band in the world. Even if it’s only me who thinks it. I’m my own biggest critic but I’m also my own biggest fan.
Have you got any other projects on the horizon away from music? Any writing stuff happening at the moment?
Just making the new album. I sometimes forget that I was an author or that I am still one. The thought of the intense hard work involved in writing a book terrifies me though. Just to get started would be difficult. But then I remember my earlier swimming analogy and maybe that’s all I need to do – start. But there’s nothing planned at the moment.
What are your hopes for 2023?
A big, critically-acclaimed hit record of course. I’d love to play some huge gigs. I’d like to support somebody massive and stay somewhere other than Travelodge afterwards. Outside music, it would be great if everyone could get on with each other a bit better. Stop arguing about things we surely have in common or don’t actually really care about. Mostly I’m looking forward to earning my Best Grandad (Guv’nor) coffee mug and T-shirt.
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You can order The Essential Jim Bob double album here. For tickets to Jim Bob’s November live dates, go here.
Interview by Bobby Townsend.
