The Sleepy Jackson are on the brink of worldwide fame. The little band from Perth that split in half a few years ago to create End of Fashion are releasing their second full length album: Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird) on July 1st. Drummer Malcolm Clarke gave Justin Middleton this exclusive interview.
PM: First of all, congratulations on the album Mal, it is quite exceptional. Can you tell us how was the experience of making the album?
Mal: Well it was a different experience than recording our first album Lovers. This time round we didn’t have Justin and Rod to contribute which did limit us but made the whole process much more interesting and challenging. Luke had new songs in acoustic guitar and some lyrics to start songs off and we did the demos in about 3 weeks in the studio. The recording process these days makes it necessary to have almost complete songs demoed to show to the record company so everything can be planned for the album recording period. In the old days bands like Pink Floyd would just go into the studio and create the entire album as they record and the record companies were happy with that.
PM: Tell us about the title: Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird).
Mal: Well the Personality bit has to do with all the people that were involved in making this record and the different aspects that they brought along. The Spider/Bird bit has to do with some religious symbolism. It shows the two different sides - God/Devil, Good/Evil and leaves it up to each person to make up their own mind. Some people might see the Spider as evil and the Bird as good, other people might see the complete opposite.
PM: While The Sleepy Jackson consist of only yourself and Luke Steele at the moment, the band is a 5 piece while touring. Will the band ever have five people in it or will it just stay that way for touring?
Mal: We would definitely consider other people for the band. The way it has been in the past is that we have had very creative people in the band so I guess they can feel limited and restricted in staying in a band with other highly creative people. Everybody likes to have control over what they create so when there are a few people creating together, eventually someone will feel like they don’t have as much control as they’d like.
PM: I guess that can be one reason for creating a side project such as End Of Fashion or your new side project From the Skies.
Mal: Well when I started End Of Fashion with Justin and Rod it was just to have some fun and to play some different music to the Sleepies. We never intended on it becoming as big as it is now and I never considered leaving The Sleepy Jackson for it. I’m very glad that the guys are doing as well as they are and it’s the same type of thing with From The Skies. I use From The Skies as an outlet for myself to write music and it will only ever be a side project. Maybe one day From The Skies could release something but it is very different from The Sleepy Jackson and right now I’m happy just putting demos and stuff on MySpace.
PM: Speaking of MySpace, I see that The Sleepy Jackson have the entire new album on there for people to listen to for a limited time. The listening party is an awesome idea. Do you think MySpace is a great thing for the music industry?
Mal: Yeah it’s a great way for fans to interact directly with artists and we know if we have anything to say to the fans we can just post it to our friend list. It’s easy to use, which is good for me coz I can’t get into the whole website design stuff, I can just log onto MySpace and post stuff.
PM: I believe that one song on the new album (’Don’t Say’) was co-written by The Veronicas. How did that come about?
Mal: Well we met with their manager in the US, this was before they had broken out and they were about 17. They seemed like cool chicks and Luke and the girls decided to write a song together. Originally they were going to use the song on their album but then decided against it. Luke really liked the song so re-recorded the vocals and changed it a bit and now it’s on the album. A lot of people give us hassle about the fact that they co-wrote a song but it’s just like co-writing a song with a friend. They were involved so are credited for that.
Luke really likes collaborating with other artists and has done a bit of it in the last 12 months with people like Daniel Johns and Paul Mac. Things are getting set up for when we are in New York in a couple months for Luke to do a collaboration with Yoko Ono which will be very cool.
PM: That would be very, very cool. There are a few songs on the Personality with strings and orchestral sounds. Are you considering doing any live shows with a live orchestra?
Mal: Yeah we would love to do that. We thought about while recording and are hoping to do it at some stage, it’s just a budget issue which might stop it happening. But it would be great to do something like what Ben Folds did with the WA Symphony Orchestra.
PERSONALITY (One Was A Bird One Was A Spider) instore July 2006 worldwide.
For more info visit thesleepyjackson.com or their MySpace page.
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