Jim Bob interview

Acclaimed author and legendary musician, Jim Bob, tells Bobbysix.com about his new novel, his solo tour and his gigs later in the year as frontman of Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine:

As your second novel, did you find it easier or harder this time round? Was it your Difficult Second Album or did the lessons you learnt from writing your first novel stand you in good stead for this one? 
From start to finish it was a lot quicker. Six months instead of six years. I wouldn't say it was easy but I possibly had a better idea of what I was doing and once I'd decided it was ok to have illustrations in the book again, I had my own writing style, which made it slightly simpler. I did worry at various stages about whether or not it was any good. I think it is though.

When we talked about your first novel, Storage Stories, you said that you wrote it in the same way you would write a concept album, in that you spilt it up into smaller parts and went off at tangents. It was, you said, the only way you could actually write a full-length story. Has that changed this time round? Is Driving Jarvis Ham structured more traditionally?
It is more traditional in structure definitely, but it is still broken up into smallish chunks. So, I'm still writing in the same way. Chapters that are almost self-contained, with a beginning and an end. It may have as much to do with all the films and TV I've watched. Like I'm writing cliffhangers. I doubt whether I could write a book with few and long chapters.

In terms of themes and tone, how does Driving Jarvis Ham compare to Storage Stories? Is it similarly funny, sad and sweet?
It is still all of those but apparently it's a lot darker. Certainly the second half is. I do like stories – books and films etc – that are funny and sweet and then suddenly kick you in the teeth. But hopefully with a satisfying ending – happy or sad.

Do you get much time to sit down and read? What have you been reading lately? 
I'm always reading. I have to have a book on the go. I'm reading The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy at the moment and before that I read Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles, which is brilliant. Sometimes I think if I could sit down somewhere nice and read and never do anything else again, I'd be happy.

You're taking the book on tour along with your guitar. Would you say you are now an author that also sings songs, rather than a musician that also writes books? 
I think most people would see me as a singer who's written a book. And I'll always be that. Maybe when I've written more books and they've been more successful that might change. Or I'd have two different audiences, the book one and the music one.

Do you still get a buzz out of playing live? 
Yes. I enjoy the act of doing it rather than the thought of doing it, if that makes sense.

Totally. Talking of playing live, the Carter USM reunion gigs over the past few years have been incredibly successful, do you have any more of them lined up? 
Two in November. After that, I don't know. I doubt it can go on forever. I don't want to take the piss.

Can you tell us what else you've got going on at the moment? You were involved in theatrical production Gutted not too long ago, any other stuff like that in the pipeline? 
No offers for theatrical stuff. I think my acting days were short and prematurely over. You never know though. I had no plans to be in a musical, or to write songs for a pantomime. Things just happen sometimes.

And in terms of your writing, have you already started working on your next novel? 
I have started a new novel. It's what I most want to do at the moment. I'm looking forward to spending more time on it. I've written about twenty thousand words and made loads of notes that I need to sit down and piece together. Now that I have an agent who asks me from time to time how the new book is going, I have a small amount of pressure to finish it. Which is good, because I'm lazy.

Driving Jarvis Ham will be published by The Friday Project on 10th May 2012. You can pre-order it here, or here. Check out Jim playing songs and reading (out loud) from his book this May and June.

Interview by Bobby Townsend.

Exclusive Jim Bob interview for Bobbysix.com

I have a few heroes: the legendary Tom Waits, genius wordsmith/artist Jeffery Lewis, footballing god Bobby Zamora, charity good-egg Sophie Epstone, supercool Jarvis Cocker... the list goes on. One man who would sit towards the very top of that list though, is unquestionably Jim Bob. I first saw him perform as frontman of indie/pop/dance/punk band Carter USM at Brixton Academy in 1993 and have followed his career very closely ever since, through his solo work over the past few years right up to his recent reincarnation as an author. So when the man who I spent my teenage years singing along to in various sweaty venues around the country headed to the small town in which I grew up, I simply had to grab a few words with him.

Eastbourne's Gildredge Park was resplendent in the early evening sunshine as it acted as the setting for our interview. With birds merrily whistling in the background and trees dancing in the breeze, Jim and I talked about writing, about music and about the upcoming Carter gigs, before the affable Londoner headed across the road to the ancient Lamb Inn, where he would perform a 30-minute set to a sold-out room.

Below is the interview, along with a few musical snippets from his acoustic performance (note: you might need to whack the volume up to eleven as it came out a little quiet after the upload to Youtube and I'm too much of a luddite to know how to fix it). If you like what you hear from Jim Bob, you can find out more about all of his current projects by visiting his website.

Interview by Rob Townsend
For more stuff like this, follow Bobbysix at Facebook. Also, you can read my review of the gig here, and check out my previous interviews with Jim Bob here and here.
 

Jim Bob and Isy Suttie at The Lamb Inn, Eastbourne

Eastbourne, in the South of England, is not known for much other than being the place where blue-rinsed octogenarians tan their leathered skin on pebbled beaches. It has never been 'on the circuit', as it were, so Jo Neary, the organiser and compere of the relatively new That Comedy Thing, deserves the mother of all pats on the back for the volume of talented, well-known individuals that her night draws to the the town. With the likes of Robin Ince and Josie Long already having graced the stage of the ancient Lamb Inn, yesterday saw arguably the best line-up yet, with Jim Bob and Isy Suttie doing their thing.

The first time that this particular reviewer saw Jim Bob (above) was in 1993 when he was playing at the Brixton Academy, as one half of indie-pop-punk-electro duo Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine. Nowadays, Jim Bob is a solo-artist and author and seems as happy playing intimate, sit-down gigs such as this as he is belting out the hits to the masses (he'll be back at the Brixton Academy in November, Carter fans).

It must be a tough gig, being the musical entertainment on a comedy night. The audience, primarily, are there to laugh, so it is just as well that Jim's wordplay was witty as hell and he offered a wry turn of phrase as he performed a half-hour acoustic set. After the opening cover of Mr Blue Sky, we were treated to a ditty about the Tesco riots - which he would go on to deconstruct in a Stewart Lee-esque manner, explaining the song's three jokes and why they were funny. Other highlights were a song about a swearing food technology teacher and a cynical take on The Wheels On The Bus. He also occasionally dipped into his "emergency set-list", much to the joy of the Carter fans in the room. Glam Rock Cops and The Only Living Boy In New Cross, rather than sounding as though they were being played out of obligation, were delivered - to steal a line from one of those songs - with utter comfort and joy. It was as though Jim was introducing two of his oldest and dearest mates to a largely uninitiated audience. The fact that, a couple of decades after they were written, they still had resonance and sounded exciting, bodes well for the Carter reunion gigs later in the year. Also, the inclusion of some new material left fans excited about the possibility of a new release somewhere in the not-too-distant future.

After an interval in which Jim chatted with fans at the bar, it was time for the headliner. Isy Suttie (above) used her 45-minutes in Eastbourne as a warm-up and sounding board before she takes her show to the Edinburgh Festival. Combining stand-up and song, Isy's performance was themed around a strange love story between two characters called Pearl and Dave (which Isy alluded to when she chatted to Bobbysix.com recently).

Being a work in progress, there were plenty of rough edges to Suttie's set. Indeed, much of it existed in the form of scribbled notes, yet there was something rather appealing about seeing her vision in the process of coming together. It was almost as though, through the feedback that bounced off the audience, the show was being formed before our eyes - as though we were part of something tangible, something fluid. Despite its embryonic nature, the set was still great. The best thing about Isy Suttie is that she doesn't rattle off jokes, but rather weaves genuinely funny truths into her songs and stand-up. Like Jim Bob before her, she is quite the wordsmith, and, as she dealt with the differences between dating pre and post internet, her observations were perfectly judged.

Perhaps the biggest compliment to pay Isy Suttie would be to say that her songs are as emotive as they are funny. She isn't just a stand-up who can sing a bit, but rather a genuinely talented songwriter, and, in fact, her best song of the evening worked because of its sentiment rather than because of the gags within. "Make sure you're sure the one you love is the last one that you'll ever love before you listen to Tom Waits with them," she sang in resignation, while everybody in the room who ever had a song or artist tainted by the memory of a former lover nodded in agreement. In a night of chuckles and guffaws, it was a wonderful moment of genuine depth and touching sincerity. And, besides, anyone who references Tom Waits in a song is okay by us.

At the end of her turn, Suttie offered her gratitude to the audience for their patience during what was a useful run-through for her. Her humility was hardly necessary. Sure, the show may have been a work in progress, but it was still nuanced, honest and funny with a solid and interesting narrative. Anyone who sees this show once she has crossed the t's and dotted the i's is surely in for a treat. As for the future beyond Edinburgh, we would simply love to hear Isy Suttie pen an album. After all, she proved tonight beyond any doubt that she has the musical ability and lyrical nouse to produce something really rather special.

Words and pictures by Rob Townsend

If you want more of this kind of awesomeness heading to the South Coast of England, then you need to support nights like this. Next up is the return of Josie Long on the 21st June. Book at Oxboffice.com or find out more by dropping an email to thatcomedything@gmail.com. Also, Follow Bobbysix at Facebook for news of an exclusive video interview with Jim Bob and footage from this gig, coming soon.

Jim Bob is heading to Eastbourne in June!

It's something I never thought I'd hear: Jim Bob - the man who once seemingly made it his mission to oust Maggie Thatcher Milk Snatcher through the power of bile-fuelled, politically charged indie music - quoting Phil Collins.

"I do still think of myself as a musician, I suppose," he shrugs as we discuss the fact that, when we spoke last year, he told BobbySix.com that he had no inclination to put out any new songs or albums in the foreseeable future. "In spite of all the books and stuff, that's what I'll always be I guess. I have moments when I think I want to write a new album, usually when I'm inspired by hearing somebody else's music that I either love or hate. Phil Collins said recently that he wasn't making new music because he had nothing to say. I hate to quote Phil Collins but I do feel a bit like that at the moment. I get confused if I think about it too much. I feel like I've betrayed myself as a musician by being lazy."

The good news for attendees of June's That Comedy Thing in Eastbourne is that Jim Bob's back-catalogue is bursting with quality. The singer/songwriter has released plenty of solo records and had best-selling singles and albums in the early 1990s as part of indie/pop/punk/dance crossover duo, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine. So, considering that he has to squeeze over two decades of music into half-an-hour, what can people expect from his performance at That Comedy Thing at The Lamb Inn? "I'm not totally sure," he admits. "I imagine a fairly short set of songs played on the acoustic guitar. I haven't done a conventional gig for quite some time, so I'll probably make things up closer to the night depending on how I feel at the time." He pauses. "I've made it sound rubbish, haven't I? It'll be an incredible set of my most popular songs interspersed with great anecdotes and probably a bubble machine."

The low-key and intimate night in the ancient Eastbourne alehouse stands in complete contrast to the gigs Jim has in store later in the year. While Carter may have been best-known for silly haircuts and angry social commentary, they were also an absolutely brilliant live band. So much so that, when, in 2007, they announced that they were to reprise the sweat-drenched live Carter experience with shows in London and Glasgow that would simultaneously serve as reunion and farewell gigs, tickets sold out in a heartbeat. Due to their popularity, rather than acting as the full-stop they initially intended them to be, the gigs marked the beginning of an occasional coming-together of Jim Bob and his old mate Fruitbat (below). In November, they'll be stomping around the stages of the Brixton and Manchester Academies, and preparations for these shindigs are coming along steadily. "We've been talking about the gigs and have a rough idea of the songs we'll be playing. We want to make the shows as good if not better than the previous ones. At the moment we have no surprises planned but I imagine there will be some. I tend to spend too much time thinking about what I'm going to wear and what to do with my hair. I'm incredibly shallow."

More pressing than these nights of singalong mayhem is their first festival appearance in a very, very long time. "Need to get fit," Jim says of their headline appearance at Beautiful Days at Escot Park in the heart of Devon in August. "Festival gigs involve more shouting and running than conventional gigs."

Carter concerts and entertaining Eastbourne's most discerning punters aside, Jim Bob's focus lies away from music at the moment. Having released the critically acclaimed novel Storage Stories last year, his new book is well on its way to completion. Storage Stories, a fictional autobiography told in words and pictures, was laugh-out-loud funny, gripping and often rather touching, as Jim Bob combined darkness with the wonderfully witty and surreal to create a strange sense of doomed romance in an otherwise mundane, miserable and menacing England. Will his new offering take a similar shape? "I don't want to curse it yet by giving too much away but basically it's about two blokes in a car driving from Devon to London and one of them has discovered the other's secret. It's similar in style to Storage Stories. It's funny and there are pictures. It's probably a bit darker. I hope to get it out in time for Christmas."

From the enthusiasm with which he talks about his burgeoning writing career, and the fact that he mentions an idea he has had for another book and also a film screenplay, it's clear that this is where Jim Bob's heart lies right now. His creative juices have obviously been stirred and it seems that his foray into the literary world has opened plenty of other doors as well. "I've been enjoying what has happened to me in the past year or so. It was pretty unintended and unplanned. The little bit of acting in the musical Gutted, the comedy-related gigs and the literary events. I've met some amazing new people recently and every now and then one of them asks me to take part in something."

However, while it may seem that Jim's future lies away from the recording studio, excitingly there is still some musical output from this outstanding songwriter. "I've got one newish song on the Miles Hunt Shared album and I've recorded a cover of a song [Mr Blue Sky] for a radio comedy drama theme tune," he tells us. On top of this, two brand new acoustic tracks appeared on his Soundcloud page last month.

With so many creative ventures on the go, these are exciting times for Jim Bob and he is ready to embrace whatever the future throws at him. "Anything could happen really," he beams.

Jim Bob can be seen performing alongside Isy Suttie at The Lamb Inn in Eastbourne as part of That Comedy Thing on Tuesday 7th June. Such a strong line-up will ensure that tickets will sell out fast, so don't delay in booking yours today from Oxboffice.com For more information on Jim Bob, visit his website. In the meantime, here's one of his brand new songs:

LONDON 2012 by mrjimbob

Interview by Rob Townsend.