Jimmy Eat World Interview

by Dave Sharp on Dec 31^st, 2010

The crowned champions of alternative/emo, Jimmy Eat World, returned to the scene in 2010 with their album Invented and an international tour.  The Mesa, Ariz. natives have released numerous critically acclaimed albums and hit singles since their inception in 1994.  Invented hopes to join those ranks with a matured sound derived from a three year time span between releases.  While the sound continues to develop a refined taste, the process of creating the heart of their music hasn’t changed.

The band ended the U.S. leg of their tour with a Halloween Special in their hometown and embarked on the international portion.  It was after that show that Sinizine.net had the opportunity to chat with lead singer Jim Adkins about the legacy of the band, Invented’s guest vocalist Courtney Marie Andrews, recording with producer Mark Trombino and more.

Inventing Invented

SZ: Mark Trombino, who worked with you guys on Clarity and Bleed American, came back and worked with you again fro your new album Invented. The album has a different feel than Futures or Chase This Light, what influence, if any, did he contribute to this new feel? Do you feel it relates more to Clarity and Bleed American, sound-wise because of this?

JA: I’ve always felt like Mark was one of the best people out there making records. The decision to work with him on this album was based heavily on how we wanted to make it. We wanted to work out of our home studio in Arizona as much as possible. And while we felt the songs could benefit from hiring a producer, we didn’t need them around all the time. We would work on a song as far as we could take it then send the computer session to Mark via FTP.

He would mix it and send it back to us. We would go back and forth like this adding and changing until a song was “done”. There aren’t many people who we trust enough, or who would just plain want to work this way.

The sound is always going to be just the way it is. I think that change has more to do with the fact three years have gone by since we cut Chase This Light. Of course you will pick up new things that interest you in that amount of time and want to incorporate them into your own work.

SZ: Invented also features Phoenix local Courtney Marie Andrews. What role did she have in producing and recording the record?

How involved was she in making the album in terms of songwriting and other collaborative efforts?

JA: Courtney just sang. She wasn’t involved in writing.

SZ: Since Clarity, what methods do you use to make new albums?

JA: It has been the same the whole time. There are no rules. It changes with every song.

SZ: How do you balance knowing what works and what fans like with musical progression and growth? You guys have a pretty impressive fan base ranging from casual listeners to hardcore fans. How do you please both groups?

JA: I think the best way to do right by fans of your work is to forget about them completely. At least for the time when you are making an album. If you go chasing approval of some vague idea of a specific kind of listener you will most likely make something that they wouldn’t like. We have always been brutal with making something we as a band could feel proud of on its own.

The Phoenix factor

SZ: What influence has the Phoenix area and music scene played on your music and growth as a band? Conversely, what role have you played in advancing the Phoenix music scene?

JA: The biggest thing I can cite would be just our outlook on how we want to be a band. For as long as I have been involved, Phoenix has never had a great, mainstream music scene. There are pockets of people who truly care and who do great work. But it’s so hard to get a critical mass of support. You have to really mean it when you say you are doing it for yourself. For your own reward. Because that is the only thing you can control… being proud of your work.

SZ: You just finished up your North America tour in Phoenix. How was it playing back in your hometown?

JA: Hometown shows are always a little stressful. You are more or less hosting a party. They feel really good once you are done.

“In the VIP section to watch Rome burn”

SZ: As a band, what are you most proud of or what do you feel the most accomplished about? Why?

JA: Probably just the fact we have been able to do this for so long. Not many people do.

SZ: How about individually?

JA: Maybe the experience of traveling. Also, seeing the record industry first hand go from late 90′s boom to total bust. It is an amazing time in the business of music that will never happen again. Kind of like being in the VIP section to watch Rome burn.

Punk and country

SZ: Can you trace any of your bands influences to country music? Are there any country artists that you would consider important to you?

JA: I don’t know how I could trace it back to what we do or if most people would call it “Country”. But, I would say Gillian Welch/David Rawlings. Richard Buckner. Whiskeytown. Those are some important artists for me.

SZ: What bands or artists from any of the areas of ska, punk and indie would you consider big influences?

JA: There was a lot of punk floating around when we started the band.

The way we throw octave leads around today probably came from all the Propagandhi and NOFX we listened to in high school.

Interviewer: Matt Sharp