Spencer P Jones is perhaps one of the greatest living treasures Australia doesn't own. However, Australia is where he calls home and lucky for us and the rest of the world he has been very busy. Undercover caught up with Spencer to get the lowdown on his recent collaborations and reunion with the original Beasts of Bourbon lineup.
If you are fan of the work of Spencer P Jones, it is obvious to you that the man knows how to tell a story. He tells them with an uncompromising dry wit, sometimes poignancy and never fails to keep you hanging onto his every word. That's just the songs, the same is true of his conversation. I had prepared a bunch of questions to ask, but Spencer pretty much covered everything. So, I'm going to let this roll the way Spencer rolls and let him tell you like it is, because along with being a living legend, he tells a great story.
UC: What do The Escape Committee think about your collaboration with The Nothing Butts (Spencer P Jones, Gareth and Fiona of The Drones and James Baker) ?
SPJ: Well that's an interesting question. This really came about because I was doing a lot of solo gigs and I wanted to put together a solo record I could sell at my solo gigs. There's a lot of material I do on my own when I'm not playing with The Escape Committee, whether I've written it or they are covers of other peoples songs.
So, I was just going up to Nagambie, (home of Andrew and Kerry McGee's Empty Room Studio - Ed) spend a couple of days, record a bunch of songs and go home an listen to them and " No, I wanna re-do that one" and just kept going back whenever I could. This was over a period of two years. It was just me and I'd stockpiled around 17 tracks. I was playing everything, harmonica, lap steel, bass, very fundamental piano, maybe a tambourine, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, singing vocals and singing harmonies to my own vocals. But then, there were some other bands recording up there and on occasion I had Tim McCormack from Gruntbucket playing double bass on a couple of the songs, this guy from Silver City Highway playing keyboards and grand piano on one of the songs that had a really complicated part.... So I was thinking , "This isn't really much of a solo record anymore, now that all these other people are on it, Andrew McGee played guitar on something and Kerry McGee sang backing vocals on something...."
I went and saw The Painkillers play at Pure Pop, I said to James (James Baker, legendary rock & roll drummer from the West -Ed ) "It's a shame you aren't around for a few more days, cos' I'm going to Nagambie on Monday and I'm doing this kind of solo record, but it would be great if you and me do a track together..", because we hadn't really worked together since 1989. I rang Andrew McGee and said "I'm bringing James Baker with me " and he said "ah, cool yeah" and I said " Is that a problem? " and he said "Nah Nah, that's great. " I didn't know that Gareth and Fiona (members of The Drones -Ed) had moved to Nagambie and Andrew couldn't help himself, so he gets on the phone, tells them to get their bass and their guitar and come on over.
Well, we just kid of jammed, you know, we put down a couple of rhythm tracks, four tracks and one that I kind of wrote on the spot, which is " When He Finds Out" (track 5 on The Nothing Butts album -Ed) . That one Gareth was sort of noodling away on the guitar and I said " What's that, what's that ?" and he said " nuthin" and I'm like " you played a sequence there..." and I got a pen and paper and wrote this whole song, had a cigarette, sat in the sun, okay I got it. We recorded it straight away, just fresh and how it was. That was the song that really kind of did it for me. That made me think, " this is not part of my solo record, this is a whole set for a project." NOTE: (If you listen to the track Spencer is referring to " When He Finds Out" you will immediately recognise it's rawness and freshness. It's also one of the longer songs on the album and you can still hear them jamming on it as it was happening, literally in all it's newborn glory. Awesome - Ed) Back to Spencer.
This was maybe December last year. We got James Baker back in January or February and cut the rest of the tracks, which then, Gareth and I have been tinkering with in the last few months and it was just apparent "The Drones aren't breaking up, The Escape Committee aren't breaking up..." There was something about Spencer P Jones and The Drones have started up a new band that didn't even mention James Baker and it was like " No, we're not starting up a new band but I keep getting texts and calls from my band members, " What's going on?" and I'm like " Relax, relax I love you more than all the others, you are my special ones .." I said to Dave ( Escape Committee drummer) "Dude, it's ok for you fly to Europe and tour with Dan Brodie, so, is it alright for me to get a train to Nagambie to record?" ( laughs) Dave was kind of more upset about " Why aren't we ( The Escape Committee) doing these songs?" Well, I have a lot more songs that didn't work or wouldn't work with The Nothing Butts, so I've still got quite a bit of material for a new Escape Committee album.
UC: So, will there be a new Escape Committee album and a new solo album ?
SPJ: Yeah, so I have got to finish off the solo record and that's gonna come out on a French label called Beast Records. Beast were gonna do a Johnny Cash tribute record for which I have given them a couple of recordings and that seems to have been shelved, so, I want to say I have a solo record with 11 tracks and you can put these two Johnny Cash songs on as well.
UC: Which Johnny Cash songs did you record?
SPJ: I did "The Man In Black" and "I Walk The Line". Also, right now I'm recording an album with Kim Salmon and that's almost finished, but when it comes out? I don't know. I do know that Bang Records in Spain are going to put it out, they're really excited. And then the next thing is to go into the studio and record with The Escape Committee.
UC: So what's the Kim Salmon project?
SPJ: Well, we got offered a free day in the studio, which seems to have been snowballing into something. We ended up spending about five days in the studio with an agreement to split everything three ways with the studio owner.
UC: Did that come about through those Dig It Up! shows you did together?
SPJ: Yeah, well he ( the studio owner) saw one of those gigs and said "Look, I've got a studio, I'd like to offer you guys a day there, I really like what you are doing.." I think for some reason he wanted to record us to lend a little credibility to his recording studio, I dunno, it's a great little room in Thornbury. We've got twelve tracks recorded and it's about two thirds finished, I've got to do a couple of vocal things, a monologue, there's some weird shit on there. There's stuff we've written together and some stuff that's our own and some that are covers. We've done a cover of "Is That All There Is," Peggy Lee's classic and Kanye West "Runaway" and The Only Ones " The Whole Of The Law".
UC: So, speaking of Kim Salmon did The Beasts of Bourbon reunion for ATP come about due to the fact that The Drones are curating All Tomorrows Parties in Australia ?
SPJ: (laughs) I didn't know about that, I didn't know that they has put in for The Beasts of Bourbon original lineup. I mean I'm working with them at that time and there was no mention of it. The first I knew about it was that Kim Salmon rang me up and someone from ATP had been in touch with him.
Well, as soon as I found out I was like (to Gareth and Fiona of the Drones) "Ah, got a call from Kim today..." and they were like " Are you gonna do it ?" And I said " Well, I've got to see Tex," I said, " Are we gonna do it ? Are The Nothing Butts gonna do it, we're all gonna be there? " But they haven't said anything. I'd kind of like to do a secret show like a 7 o'clock in the morning tent show or something that no one would expect, just do six songs and then..... See Ya. - End
I guess that fans (and you will be fans once you hear the new Nothing Butts album) will just have to hang around ATP from the early hours on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th February, 2013 to find out if Spencer can pull off his 7am tent show with The Nothing Butts.
Meanwhile Spencer P Jones and The Nothing Butts self-titled album is out on Friday November 9th through Shock Records. Plus, they will commence an Australian Tour in December. Check out the dates and venues below.
Friday 7th December The Bakery, PERTH With Kill Devil Hill and Loose Lips
Tickets $25 +bf from www.nowbaking.com.au
Friday 14th December @ The Zoo, BRISBANE with Hits & Bittersweet Kicks
Tickets $25 +bf from www.zoo.oztix.com.au
Saturday 15th December The Annandale Hotel, SYDNEY with Jed Kurzel (solo) & The Bittersweet Kicks
Tickets $25 + bf from www.annandalehotel.oztix.com.au
Friday 21st December Thornbury Theatre, MELBOURNE with Harry Howard and the NDE & Bittersweet Kicks
Tickets $25 + bf for www.thornburytheatre.oztix.com.au
