By Mike Faloon
Best album of 2007? I recognize that it's early in the year but I'm going to call it now: The Jennifers' latest disc, Colors From the Future. Shades of R.E.M., the Soft Boys, the Feelies, Television, even a bit of Echo and the Bunnymen. It's all good, friends, and Colors From the Future gets better every time around the track. In some ways it reminds me of Spalding Gray's Swimming in Cambodia when he writes about searching for the perfect moment. Only with Colors From the Future that perfect moment never seems to be in the same place twice. Or maybe it's more like that bit in What the Bleep where the physicist talks about matter being able to occupy more than one place at one time. Clearly, while my appreciation for this record is running high, my mind is still jumbled. That's why, in the upcoming issue, we'll document The Search for the Perfect Moment with the Jennifers. In the meantime we will be posting a series of mini-interviews with the band.
You replaced a Jennifer (on drums) and your special lady friend is name Jennifer. How about amending the band name to The Jennifers (In Skizz's Life)?
That would certainly shut up all the people who have to keep pointing out to us the similarities in name between us and the early-Supergrass incarnation. But the only special Jennifers in my life that are in the band are my fellow bandmates, who are Jennifers simply by being in the band, so that name wouldn't really work too well and might offend the special Jennifers in my life that aren't in the band.
What makes John's songs fun to play?
It depends on the song. Besides John's songs being very catchy, there are some songs where I can't simply get away with playing 1-2-3-4, and instead I have to stay on top of some tricky counting. There's other songs that have several parts to them and the order of the parts isn't the same each time through, so I have to constantly think to myself, "OK, which part comes next?". I like those challenges.
Any chance of the uke stick surfacing in the Jennifers' future?
Certainly not live. I have too much drum gear to load in and set up as it is that I wouldn't want to have to bring anything else. But you never know what we'll toss into our studio recordings. If there's a place in a song that could use a good uke stick track, the guys know I'm their man.
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