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Interview: The Birthday Suit
It's all go for Rod Jones new solo project, The Birthday Suit, at the moment, as it's only a few days until their debut album The Eleventh Hour hits the UK. We managed to catch up with Rod for a quick chat before the release.
Sorry, we made the mistake of reading your interview with GaydarNation, and now all we can think about is the Strapless Pant. Forgive our ignorance, but are they real and if they are please describe them to us?
They are real in my mind but only there, for now. Patent pending
How did your new project, The Birthday Suit, come together?
I'd started to write a new solo album which started out quite folky, but I guess I just started to feel like I missed playing with a band and making noise. I started to rethink all the songs I had, and how to reshape the album. I started to learn the drums, and think about the songs in a more rock frame of mind, which led me to the realization that I needed a band to play and fully form the ideas. I collected together a bunch of friends and local musicians, some of whom had played with me on my first solo tour, and we gelled together really quickly, and so did the songs in their new form. After recording the record, it felt to me like this was much more of a band than a solo album, so The Birthday Suit was formed.
Why the name? You're not naked now, are you?
That's for me to know... but no, not in this weather.
A lot of people are comparing your debut album, The Eleventh Hour, to Idlewild's 100 Broken Windows. How do you feel about the comparison?
It's inevitable I suppose. I spent 15 years writing music in Idlewild, and so anything I do in that style is always going to have similarities. I think maybe the fact that it's a new and exciting band for us, the enthusiasm and energy translates into the music in a similar way as it did with the earlier Idlewild records.
The Birthday Suit - Do You Ever? by abadgeoffriendship
We were really sorry to hear about your shoulder, and the tour postponement. When do you think you'll be hitting the road again?
Thanks... It was bad timing but I'm on the mend. We will be honouring the gigs we had booked from November 25th onwards and rescheduling the postponed dates for mid February.
Are there any plans for future releases?
Yes. I'm working on new songs at the moment and hope to record early next year. We're just finding our feet as a band and have a lot more to say.
What are you listening to at the moment?
I'm really enjoying The First Aid Club and Sparrow and The Workshop, but have also been listening back to some old Sonic Youth records and some even older King Crimson albums.
Are there any future plans for Idlewild?
No future plans at the moment. We're all in very different places musically and busy with our other projects. Never say never, but not for a while certainly.
Finally, a meteorite is going to take out the planet in half an hour. How do you spend the last 30 minutes?
Just being with my wife and my family.
Although The Eleventh Hour is due for release on 11th of November 2011 (that's 11.11.11) via Sing It Alone Records, the band have made the album available to download from their official website today at a special early bird price for fans - £5!
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