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Perth MusicBob Evans Interview
Bob Evans (AKA Kevin Mitchell from Jebediah) has a new single, soon a new album and a new lease on life. The new single “Don’t You Think It’s Time?” will be available in stores May 13 and his second solo album “Suburban Songbook” will be available June 12. Justin Middleton asked him a few questions about his sophomore album and he gave us this interview:
Q. Tell us a little bit about the new album “Suburban Songbook”. Did you approach this album differently than “Suburban Kid” and was it a harder album to write?
Suburban Songbook is a timeless romantic suburban fairytale. I recorded it in Nashville, in September/October 2005. I approached it similarly to Suburban Kid in that I spent every free day I had in my backroom demoing however this time round I had better equipment and I also bought a synthesiser to demo string, brass and piano arrangements because I wanted to make an album heavy on varied instrumentation, so in that regard it was very diiferent to the stripped back, rawer Suburban Kid. It was a harder album to write in a way cos my standards had risen a little and also creatively my inspiration was demanding a lot from my brain.
Q. Who are your favourite bands at the moment and has your touring the UK and US shown you any bands you absolutely love but had never heard of before?
I really loved Tegan and Sara when I toured with them just before going to the US. I saw a cool band in Goteborg, Sweden that played the middle slot between me and Architecture in Helsinki but I can’t remember their names! They were very cool…like the Hives but with a female singer and minus the suits. Oh, I discovered Mary Gautier when I was in Nashville. I went to a bar cos Missy Higgins was playing and I’d never seen her before but I got there late and only saw 2 songs. Then the woman Missy was supporting came on and she was amazing. Like a lesbian Johnny Cash. I bought her album. I got in to Ben Kwellers album recently. Josh Rouse’s Nashville album. I’m digging Josh Pykes mini album. I like the Faker album. Oh, I really fell in love with Lucinda Williams “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” too while I was Stateside. A bit of Gram Parsons. I really like the new Sigur Rios record too.
Q. How has it been releasing the new album on a major record label (EMI) compared to the independant Redline Records which released your first album?
Well, it’s still early days yet, the album doesn’t come out til June so we’ll see. But obviously everything is done on a bigger scale. It’s kinda like what it was like being on Murmer with Jebs before Sony swallowed it up.
Q. Can the Eagles go all the way this year?
Definitely. We were the best team last year but it is very difficult for any side to maintain that kind of form for 26 weeks or whatever. We dropped off toward the end. We still haven’t solved our tall forward situation and we need greater results from Hansen, Staker and Lynch. I think we can forget about Gardiner for now. I hear we have one or two good kids that might debut this year but I aint seen ‘em in action yet. Ofcourse our midfield once again will dominate. Remember we had to lose to Hawthorn in 91 so we could win it the following year. The experience we gathered from all those finals and some good performances at the MCG last year will carry through to this year. I also like the Saints and the Western Bulldogs this year.
Q. Will there be any special guests or surprises on the new album you can tell us?
Not really. The best thing on this album on that front is that the drummer is Ken Coomer who used to drum for Wilco. That was a real thrill. And Brad Jones, who produced it, plays bass and is just an awesome player.
Q. Tell us a little bit about the first single form the album “Don’t You Think It’s Time?”. What is it about, is it an indication of the album and what can we expect for the new video for it?
I’m not saying what any of the songs are about for this record. I want to lay the whole album bare for interpretation. It’s definitely one of the most stripped back songs off the record. The second single that comes out just before the album, when combined with the first one, will give a pretty good idea of what the whole album sounds like. The new video plays with the concept of time and is the video makers interpretation of the song.
Q. What is your take on the Perth Music Scene at the moment? Do you think it is thriving or is it a bit of over-hype?
It is a little hyped but who cares? I think Perth really deserves the attention it is getting cos I genuinely believe we have a lot of really good bands here and the hype won’t last much longer so bands should be milking it while it lasts. I also reckon the hype has produced some really positive results creatively, because bands seem way more ambitious musically than they were before. It’s like The Sleepy Jackson caused some kind of seismic shift amongst indi rock bands. It’s a real blessed time for lovers of guitar bands here in Perth I think.
Q. What are you doing over the next few months?
I think I’m going to be on the road a fair bit actually. Touring with The Black Keys, then Josh Pyke then there will be the album tour and other things yet to be confirmed. And when I’m home I’ll be writing a new Jebs record with the other guys.
For more info on Bob visit his official website.
