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MIKE INTERVIEW 16/05/06

1. Are you going to do new JJ stuff this year ?

Probably not without some change in circumstances. I was speaking about this to Jerry just the other night when he expressed the view that we should get a 10 song album out. For me that would be 3-4 months exclusive work, for which the last few years have shown us I would get nothing in return. Yes, there's the pleasure of doing it and the opportunities that then opens up regarding touring etc. but I can't square that with fitting other things in my life and not covering expenses for that period.

2. Are you going to do solo stuff this year ?

There's a chance I may pick that back up later in the summer, or afterwards. That's an itch that really needs scratching, although I might always just turn it into new JJ stuff instead.

3. What is the plan with rerecording the old stuff for
remixing ?

Can't remember where this came about or the details. Sadly, the answer's exactly the same as for new stuff ; it's a huge amount of time and effort for me with no reward (financial or otherwise). Very hard to justify.

4. How often do you speak/email to the others ?

Jerry's on the phone quite often (once or twice a week) and Tony and I catch up a lot. Iain less regularly but if I'm in London I'll see him. Al least of all but that's mostly because of geography. I've been speaking to Gen quite a lot recently, partly because I've been buying a motorbike and he's the motor bike man, and partly for another reason I'll come to
shortly.

5. Would you want to play festivals again ?
I'd love to. I know the answers to doing new stuff have seemed a bit negative but that doesn't reflect how I feel about the band, just the realities of life. In order to play festivals once more we need some sort of release and so new stuff WILL come out, it's just unlikely to be an album, and seeing as we're already almost in festival time, it's unlikely to be this year.

6. Do you plan on continuing with any of the flingflang projects ?

That's open at the moment. Ben's currently enduring parental life and so not well disposed towards doing anything that involves creative or mental effort. As with all the Jones stuff, if there was a strong, viable reason to do so, we'd pick it up in a flash. In the meantime, as I say, it's open.

7. Are you planning on doing the TDF stage again this year ?

Oh blimey, another negative ! I got dragged into it by a friend last year and did pretty well despite my training not being great. This year I knew I wouldn't find the time to train and so the same friend (who didn't complete it last year) got rebuffed. He's since also withdrawn which given his lack of training and the utter brutality of 100+ miles in the Alps, finishing with an infamous 8 mile climb, was probably wise. As you can tell I was very sorely tempted.

8. What happened to the solo stuff from about 3 years ago ?

It's still sitting on my computer. Perhaps if I break both legs (hey, I've the motorbike now, it's likely) l will get the opportunity. The desire is there and as I said earlier, it's an itch that I need to scratch.

9. What are you listening to now ?

An awful lot of Country & Western. No, really This is not because I'm going through a Rattle and Hum phase but because a friend of mine has co-opted me into a dream of his. To start from the top, he is Andrew Mueller (www.andrewmueller.net), a journalist of some repute who actually reviewed our first Sydney gig in 1990. He's always been a C&W fan and recent events in his life have pushed him into doing something about it. After advice from Elvis Costello and some C&W artists he's done his first gig, solo, in Nashville. I mention that because he lives in London. His next show is a rock festival in Albania, for which he needs a band. And that's where I come in, on bass probably. And Gen, clearly on drums. So lots of Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam and Robbie Fulks. It takes some getting used to and I don't see it as a permanent switch in taste. I found the last Murcof album spoke to me a little stronger.

10. A goal for this year would be...

Look into why it costs us so much money to do gigs that can't possibly pay us that amount and resolve the problem. Have a month of catching back up with music and writing some songs that will either complete the solo stuff or form the basis of new JJ songs, using that space in life to remind myself the joy of creativity and how it overrules the mundane concerns of day to day life. This is all more likely than I have made it sound above and I get enough pressure from the rest of the band to mean I can't let it slide too long.