Jesus Jones FAQ
Who?Where?Why?What?When?
Anything you feel should be here and isn't, or should be added, please feel free to email me - cmap@clara.net All quotes Mikes. Various versions of the FAQ can also be found at - Jasons JJ homepage - http://www.jesusjones.world.nu/ Johns JJ homepage - http://www.world.net/Noisebox/jjones/ Davy and Elaines - http://home.clara.net/cmap/ Steves homepage - http://www1.cedar-rapids.net/00000045/ WHO? ? Q.Who is in the band? MIKE Full name - Michael James Edwards Born - 22/6/64 in City of London Brothers/Sisters - Younger brother Tom. And he does what? - Lead vocals, lead guitar, sampling, all song writing, some production and most interviews. Pre - JJ - Dole cheque writer, builders labourer, mechanic, council promotions worker.Height - 6'2" "an a bit "Shoe size - 10 Odds 'n Ends - Daughter Hana (1/10/93) JERRY Full name - Jerry Simon de Abela Borg Born - 30/10/60 in Kentish Town, London Brothers/sisters - older sister Jan, younger brother Nigel And he does what? - guitar, backing vocals Pre - JJ - Artist with a greeting cards firm, with HMV painting largesize lp covers, designed some record covers. Height - 5'11"Shoe size - 9 AL Full name - Alan Leon Jaworski Born - 31/1/66 in Plymouth Brothers/sisters - no. And he does what? - Bass guitar, backing vocals.Pre - JJ - ?Height - 6'1" Shoe size - ? Odds 'n Ends - Married to Poni and lives in Chicago. IAIN Full name - Iain Richard Foxwell Baker Born - 29/9/65 in Carshalton, Surrey. Brothers/sisters - Joanne And he does what? - Keyboard playing. Pre - JJ - record shop assistant, head at Rough Trade Shop, Manager Slam City Skates.Height - 5'11"Shoe Size - 10 1/2 ? Q.Who decides on what gets released as a single? A."'We're going to release X. OK ?' Actually, it's not quite that draconian but the company listens to the single and decides, on the basis of it's expertise, which song they can most likely help to be a hit. As long as the band and management don't disagree enough to obstruct it, that's the song that gets released."(Mike) ? Q.Who has done covers of JJ songs? A.Diesel Park West did "Info Freako" on the Food Xmas EP, and Vic Reeves did "IBYT" on his TV show. ? Q.Who produced their albums? A. Liquidizer - Craig Leon, Doubt - Mike, Martyn Phillips did RHRN, Andy Ross did I'm Burning, Perverse - Warne Livesey and Already - Martyn Phillips. ? Q.Who does the official JJ site? A. Mike does the content, Mark Prigg the html stuff. ? Q.Who is Wiff? A. A JJ roadie who drummed for them on their '96 UK tour after Gen left. (See where for "Where is Gen?") ? Q.Who are Satan Smith? A. Noone knows. They are supposedly a band who do hardcore covers of JJ songs, but noone seems to know any more, including the band themselves. ? Q.Who is David Balfe? A.Ex-Head honcho of Food records who Mike mentions from time to time. TEMBBTSOJJ - "The Evil Mr Big Behind The Success of Jesus Jones" according to Mike. ? Q.Who is on Magazine? A.Loads of really nice people who spend too much of their time talking and analysing all things to do with JJ. Jason is the list manager and he will let you know details of the number of people online etc. Mainly in the UK, North America and Australia. Mike is on magazine sometimes(write to him c/o jimbo@jesusjones.com). Magazin has lots of regular subscribers with a steady flow of people coming in and out. By subscription type (approx. 6 months ago): 63 subscribers, 55 digesters, 11 addicts by top level domain: 9 au - Australia 1 bg - Bulgaria 1 br - Brazil 7 ca - Canada 35 com - typically United States 27 edu - United States 1 ee - Estonia 1 fi - Finland 2 jp - Japan 1 mx - Mexico 15 net - typically United States 3 nl - Netherlands 1 org - typically United States 1 pt - Portugal 1 se - Sweden 1 sg - Singapore 21 uk - United Kingdom previous subscribers have came from New Zealand, Turkey, Switzerland ,Ireland and Israel. Join the mailing list by sending an email with subscribe in the header and subject body to magazine-request@cs.rmit.edu.au Further correspondence to magazine@cs.rmit.edu.au ? Q.Who are Jesus H Jones and Barry D? A.Jesus H Jones was Mikes alias cos he thought his own name was too boring. The 'H' didn't stand for anything. On record Jesus H Jones became Mike Edwards on the 9/89 UK single Bring it on Down, though strangely enough it was back to JHJ for Liq. a month later. A year later and Record Mirror were calling him anything told them.......(and you wonder how they no longer exist)Barry D was Iains alias and is short for Barry Dog(g) cos he reckoned Barry was a crap name for a dog. ? Q.Who is Traci Lords? A.An ex-porn star who has turned singer. Mike worked with her and wrote the music and produced three of her songs on her album' 1,000 Fires', on Radioactive Records. They were 'Distant Land', 'Say Something' and 'Okey Dokey'. He also produced 'Fly' on the album. ? Q.Who is the "desperation girl" in "Song 13"? A. There isn't one. Its about a fixation on the mythical. ? Q.Who is Hotei? A. A Japanese guy who Mike has worked with previously on a song called "Electric Warriors" which appeared on Hotei's "Guitar Rhythm III "album. (Its techno in a "Prodigy" sort of way). A song written by Mike, called " Together" is a collaboration with Hotei. A JJ sung version is a B side on NBT and an album track on the Japanese "Already" album, while Hotei has a version as a B side on one of his singles. WHERE? Q.Where is the " put a live chicken in your underwear" sample on 'Barry D Next to Cleanliness' from? A.Steve Martin used to use it in a song as part of his live set. ? Q.Where is Gen? A. He left cos things were taking so long and he had an offer to drum with the band "Baby Chaos". ? Q.Where can I get more JJ info? A. Try the Links page on my site.... ? Q.Where can I get hold of JJ promo videos? A.'Big In Alaska' is on video in several countries and is on laser disc too. It covers their releases from Doubt and Liquidizer. For Perverse, you can either get the promos thru Steve (if you are in the US) or me (UK). The official site has a downloadable Real Media File of the Chemical No.1 promo. ? Q.Where can I buy (order?) old singles from all 3 albums? A.Record fairs are good, Record Collector and Goldmine mags, music press adverts, and 2nd hand shops. Check out the new sales page on my site for what you can find on the web. WHY? ? Q.Why does the Aphex Twin keep cropping up? A.Mike likes this ambient techno guy (real name 'Richard James'),and he did two remixes of Zeroes and Ones. This is probably the most repeated question(at least three times its been asked) - something along the lines of "what Aphex Twin stuff do you recommend ?" ? Q.Why the delay between 3rd and 4th albums? A. Record company ineptness IMHO. Busy doing other things. ? Q.Why do Japan and the USA seem to get more tracks on the albums than the UK? A.They get extra tracks because they tend to get less singles and thus B sides than the UK. With the exception of the Caricature remix, some Real x3 remixes and Right Here right Now remixes, everything else is UK released as well as extra stuff USA and Japan didn't get. ? Q.Why don't JJ get on with the British music press? A.Pass. Take your pick;- Cos they are new, different and good, Cos they have a vendetta against band members, bad Luck? Basically started with the "New Musical Express" (NME) and has filtered thru' various UK publications. ? Q.Why is there a skateboarding connection? A.Iain and Mike back when they started were avid skateboarders, and visited skateparks regularly in cities they visited on tour. Iain was manager of 'Slam City Skates' and got them their clothes at a discount and thus the initial 'skatepunk' image. Mike has also done some skateboarding articles for "Details" and "Thrasher magazines. WHEN? ? Q. When will Already be released in countries it hasn't already been? A. Still no news on South Africa, France, Italy, Poland, Scandinavia and all of South America. Release dates for North America became uncertain after the then record co. (EMI) went bust! Latest date for an American release is April 21st, with a tour to follow in May/June. JJ are signed to Combustion records there. Q. When was "Already" released then? "Already" was out in Japan on May 21st 1997. In the UK and most of Europe, it came out in August 1997. The Japanese version has two extra tracks - "Man on The Moon" and "Together".The track order is - It was also released in Australia in August. 1) The Next Big Thing 2) Run On Empty 3) Look Out Tomorrow 4) Top of The World 5) Rails 6) Wishing it Away 7)Chemical #1 8) Motion 9) They're Out There 10)For A Moment 11)Addiction, obsession and me 12)February The first single for the UK was "The Next Big Thing" and it got to No. 49 in the UK chart.The British version of "The Next Big Thing" had three classic tracks on CD1 - RHRN, WWW(new mix) and Idiot Stare, and three new songs on CD2 - Man on the Moon, Far out in Nowhere,and Together. The cassingle has Man on the Moon as a b side The second single, "Chemical No.1" was backed by 3 remixes (Optical,Kris Needs, and Soundscandal) on CD1, the Prodigy remix of Zeroes and Ones,Change of Season and Natural State of Grey can be found on CD2. It got to no.71. ? Q.When were JJ formed and how did they get the name? A. Jerry came up with the name on a beach in Spain, and they were formed as Jesus Jones in 1988. ? Q.When will there be a live album/video? A.Never if Mike has his way, cos he reckons it doesn't capture the live experience and he doesn't always like the way they sound. However, you never know what record co's might do and there is always the SBK live promo CD and 'Info Freako' bootleg CD and tape bootlegs and numerous radio broadcasts. Check out my list of live tapes and videos on my site. WHAT? ? Q.What are the band members up to just now? A. Iain is DJing regularly and due to contacts, likely will stay in music in some capacity. Jerry has recorded six songs with his new band 'The Feely Room' with the aim of getting a record deal. Alan has been playing regularly with 'The Waco Brothers', and working on lighting at concert halls in Chicago where he lives. Mike and a couple of friends are designing websites now...check out their companies page at "Infobomb". He's also writing a book about what the past year meant to JJ. ? Q.What record label are they on? A. In the UK Mike is signed to a solo deal now with EMI. In the USA JJ are signed to Combustion Records for the impending release of Already. ? Q.What is the likely US first release single? A."It seems that NBT and C#1 are the most likely candidates very much favoured and partly because the videos are already done for them. NBT in particular has been going down well."(Mike) And it's NBT due out March 23rd. ? Q.What are the chart positions of UK releases? A.Singles -Info Freako 42, Never Enough 42, Bring It on Down 46, I Don't Want That Kind of Love not Top 50, Real x3 19, Right Here Right Now 1st time 31,International Bright Young Thing 7, Who?Where?Why? (Crisis mix) 21, Right Here Right Now re- release 31 (?), The Devil You Know 8, Right Decision 36, Zeroes and Ones 30,Next B Thing 49, and Chemical 71.(all singles have a promo video, Real x3 has three - a UK, USA with cartoons, and USA without cartoons one, Right Here Right Now has two variations as has Who?Where?Why?, and Devil has a full length and an edit).In the USA RHRN t to No.2 and Real x3 to No.3. RHRN #7 in Switzerland, 1991. ?Real X3 # 3 in Poland ? 1991. RHRN # 2 Billboard USA 1991, #50 Germany.(thanks to Mike for that last bit) (If you know of any chart positions of JJ songs in your country, please email me - cmap@clara.net) ? Q.What is "Random"? A. A tribute album for Gary Numan. Various bands covered his songs for it, JJ covered "We are So Fragile". ? Q.What are their influences? A. Broadly speaking, techno and indian/middle eastern music for Mike, and way back in Liquidizer time, rap. Way too many to list, but include - FSOL, Aphex Twin, Public Enemy,Prodigy, German, Dutch techno, Underworld, Warda, Ofra Haza, The The and in the olden days,hip hop, acid house,jungle, etc. And Mike - "Like the Top Five singles, it's impossible to answer this one succinctly,and precisely but a rough outline would be ; - The Beatles, AC/DC, Sonic Youth,Hardfloor, Public Enemy, The Rahbani brothers. Those are the cornerstones but that tawdry list would be augmented by a lot more songs, styles and artists both contem rary and past for individual songs of ours. In the past, I've gotten inspiration from Take That and Gabba, Chris De Burgh and Heavy Metal." ? Q.Whats the mumbly verse of IBYT? A.Atsuko's dropping dishes while Sam is making wishes while Aki's up there somewhere Anca's on the air (First words are girls names) ? Q.What is 'Scratched'? A.A Japan only compilation CD of some B sides and remixes, though not all of them. It comes with a lyric book and sticker.Check out Dans discography on Jasons homepage for more details of releases. ? Q.What is "Come Again"? A.An album celebrating 100 years of EMI. Has covers by EMI artists covering other EMI artists. JJ covered The Stranglers "Go Buddy Go". ? Q.What is the 'JJ Sound System'? A.The name under which Mike, Iain and friend Joel DJ. ? Q.What is 'Hendrix 303'? A.The first title that the fourth album went under for a while. Hendrix as in Jimi, 303 as in the TB 303 bass machine that Mike thinks has "revolutionized dance music." ? Q.What equipment do JJ use and why? A.Atari 1040ST running Steinbergs Cubase (v3.1) and a 100Mb ICD external hard drive, a Roland SH 101 (MIDI retro fitted) a Roland TB 303, Roland W 30 workstation, Roland D 10, Boss Dr Rhythm DR 660, Roland JD 800, Roland Super JD 990, Akai S950, Akai S1000. Along with whatever is in the studio they are working in.Why is becau its what they like and have and Mike says he is no longer into machines. ? Q. What is JJ's relationship with EMF? Why is there no mention of JJ on Cha Cha Cha? A.Never was any, press stirred it up is the sort of official line. eg Mike Rage 91 - "We were never gonna let anyone stir the shit between us and EMF, so we became repulsively friendly! We made an effort to get so close together that people couldn't tear us apart." The bands are good friends though, or at least used to be, to th extent of sharing silk knickers. Theres no law against not name checking a band on your album sleeve when you are no longer influenced by them. ? Q.Whats mountain biking got to do with anything? A. Mike is very into mountain biking - "I have five bikes, a Saracen Hard Trax, my hack bike / daughter transporter/ ultimate urban transport machine, a titanium Saracen Kili Ultra bike, a GT Dyno Coaster which is seven feet long, weighs a ton and has only one brake and gear. Also a road bike; a Lemond Aple D'Huez, and a Turner urner cross country, full suspension mtb. Results this year. 2nd overall in SAMBROA series, 3rd overall in the Gorrick MBC series, Leading the London Beastway series, 2nd in the West Drayton MBC Mad March Dash, 8th in the Ash Classic, 34th and 19th in SAMS rounds 1 and 2." During last year - "I've had two 9ths, a seventh and a fourth out of 52 racers. 21st overall in the NEMBA series, 20th in the SAMS." "I've biked all over, : Scotland, The Lake District and Peak District in England as well as all the races here, The Brecon Beacons in Wales,British Columbia, Washington and Colorado. I just got back from an epic trip to Utah (again) and Arizona. I can't say Tibet is a regular haunt of mine but it does possess the mother of all ownhills - a day long, 15,000 foot descent into Nepal." ? Q.What is 'Strawberry"? A.The second title under which the fourth album went under. Suggested by Tom Dolan on magazine. ? Q.What have the band been up to between albums? A.Mike - DJing in the South of England, Wales and Japan, presenting 2 'Byte the music' series on UK Radio 3, writing a chapter on Arabian music for the book 'Love is a Drug', appearing in the book 'Right to Imagination and Madness' about songwriting, going on holiday, playing on the playstation, partying, writing songs for raci Lords, looking after his daughter Hana, and remixing for GTO, Metal Master, M-Age, Roxette, Equilibrium, Nrsha, and The Next Generation. Also producing the Next Generation. Iain - DJ'd in similar places to Mike, and went on tour with the 'Utah Saints' as their keyboard player and with 'The Pretenders' as a DJ. Alan - Stil living in Chicago with his wife Poni, doing DIY and playing in a band called the 'Waco Brothers'. Jerry - Set up his own studio and has been working on his own material. Played football too. ? Q.What are the lyrics to Phoenix? A.An attempt at them is on Jasons homepage, but Mike isn't saying, and it is probably wise not to ask him for the 100th time. ;-)