The JB Conspiracy are an underground ska punk band hailing from Guildford. They've played shows and toured with an impressive number of bands including Catch 22, Big D and the Kids Table and Capdown and are currently working on new material for 2010. Suzy caught up with Matt (aka Lank) who plays guitar and sings in the band.
How would you describe your style of ska? How do you differ from other ska punk bands on the UK scene at the moment?
I guess the stuff we've released to date is probably best described as Ska Punk, not Ska-core but straight up, ol' fashioned Ska Punk. A lot of our early influences were taken from 3rd wave (mainly US) Ska Punk bands of the '90s, and we were fairly set on that direction by the time Ska-core properly emerged in the UK. I guess you could easily say our stuff still sounds Ska-core but I think the 3rd wave influence definitely makes up a large part of our sound.
We try to write meaningful songs that evoke a bit of passion, as we're all very conscious of the 'novelty circus act' stigma that's attached to Ska music these days. A lot of UK bands appear to be on the same page, and in recent years I think the scene on the whole has started to take on a more intelligent and mature sound (which in my opinion is a great thing).
Which bands would you cite as being big inspirations for The JBC?
Early inspiration came from bands like Less than Jake, Operation Ivy, The Bosstones and a handful of the Asian Man Records bands...Slow Gherkin, Link 80, The Chinkees. Apparently there was a CD that went round our group of friends when we were kids. I never got it but I think it was made by Joe's sister's boyfriend at the time, Dave. It was a compilation that featured some of the above bands and as I understand it, served as a bit of an introduction to ska and punk for some of us. As a result I'm pretty sure this CD had a lot to do with inspiring our early material.
These days we take inspiration from all sorts of bands. Can't list them all but here's one for every member of JB which I think is fair! ... Fat Freddy's Drop, Dispatch, Rise Against, The Cat Empire, Slow Gherkin, Ozomatli, The Slackers.
How's the new album going?
It's getting there. We have the vast majority of it written and should be finishing off the writing side of things by the end of this year. All being well we'll get into the studio by early 2010. We're aware its been a long time since we released anything so we just want to make sure this album is something we're all proud of and want it to be worth the wait.
How do you think it will compare to 'This Machine'?
The new album will be a bit more eclectic I think. The new material takes influence from a much wider range of styles than that of This Machine. There'll still be the stuff we're known for playing in there too but I'd like to think we've branched out a bit.
I think it'll differ lyrically too. The newer stuff's a bit more to do with personal experiences as opposed to the bigger subjects that inspired some of the songs on This Machine.
I've heard some of the tracks you've put on MySpace and I'm really looking forward to hearing the finished record. When do you foresee it being ready?
Those two were the first of the new batch of songs. We decided to start demoing for the new album and thought we may as well put a couple up for download to give people a bit of a taster of what's to come.
When will the album be ready?
Hmmm...I'm gonna play this one nice and safe and say within the 1st half of next year. Sorry, very vague I know.
Any touring plans yet for 2010?
We've been trying not to tour much lately as getting the album finished is the priority. Although tour is really inspiring we find it hard to make much progress with writing on the road, and the practices before tour are usually dedicated to rehearsing the set rather than new material. We're discussing it at the moment but depending on how things go we may do a short tour in February.
What's the hardest thing about having a band the size that yours is? A group of seven people has got to be difficult to organise when it comes to practices and touring, not to mention tiny venues with small stages!...
We tend to practise on the same night(s) each week, so its not often a problem. Everyone just makes sure those days are free and if they can't practise there's usually a good reason.
The hardest thing is finding out everyone’s availability when we get offered gigs and tours. We've all got day jobs and tend to work at different times so hearing back from everyone about a gig that needs to be confirmed there and then can be a bit tricky. We tend to communicate mainly through blanket texts, we haven't quite cracked email yet!
And small stages are always a good laugh, apart from when you get smacked in the side of the head with the sharp end of a guitar, so I've heard.
You've played with some great ska bands over the years such as Capdown, Catch 22, Rancid and Big D and the Kids Table... if you could choose to tour with any of them again, which two bands would you prefer to go on tour with and why?
My first choice would be Capdown. We were lucky enough to spend our first ever touring experience with those guys and I was blown away by their set every single night. They were one of the most professional live bands I'd ever seen, and no matter how many times we saw them play they'd never get tiring. Truly an inspiring band to tour with. I'd also like to tour with the Voodoo Glow Skulls again. As well as being a great band they were a really nice bunch of guys to be on the road with. They'd give us pretty much all their booze every night and they had some amazing stories to tell.
Your onstage performance is pretty energetic and the music is really fast, how do you keep your energy levels up on tour?
I don't think we do really, I've been sick on stage several times with exhaustion. Like any band we thrive off the crowd and that's usually enough to keep you going even if you've got no energy left at all. We play lots of ‘Knees’ on tour too which probably helps us stay fairly fit as we’re all completely addicted to it. It’s basically ‘Keepy Ups’ but taken more seriously and involves ‘getting your knee in!’ a bit more. It’s not unusual for us to stop at services in the middle of the night and play Knees for a good couple of hours.
Your MySpace always looks cool in terms of its graphics, who did you get to do the current theme?
The current design was done by Sam Nicholls, singer in the band Scholars. If you like the look of it and need something done then get in touch at www.myspace.com/scholars.
And I see you've worked with Tom Barnes (photographer) who did some promos for you, how was that experience? The shots look pretty awesome.
Yea we're really pleased with them. We got on pretty well with Tom at college so he was the first person that sprang to mind when we decided to get some photos done. I have to say I knew he was doing well but didn't realise he was doing covers for major magazines and stuff, so it did feel a bit weird asking him to come down to the river in Godalming to shoot little old JB! He was more than happy to help out though & I think he did a great job.
Recommend us 3 bands that you think we'd be fools not to check out now...
Ok (if you don't already know of them of course) you'd be a fool not to check out...
Taking Chase - Epic punk rock from Edinburgh, played with these guys a few times. Great EP, & the new tunes they're playing live are phenomenal http://www.myspace.com/takingchasemusic.
Scholars - 4 piece 'Powerpop' from Hemel Hempstead. Great songs & a really energetic live show. They've just toured with Hundred Reasons http://www.myspace.com/scholars.
Overthrow - Progressive rock 'n reggae Guildford chums. The 'So much power, so little time' EP is well worth getting your hands on http://www.myspace.com/overthrowrock.
Stand Out Riot - OK I know this is breaking the rules slightly but I've been listening to these guys a lot lately. 7 piece Ska Punk from Manchester, awesome EP which is on Spotify! http://www.myspace.com/standoutriot.
Probably a question that is often asked, but what does 'The JB Conspiracy' mean?
We decided a while back that whenever anyone asks what the 'JB' stood for, we'd annoyingly make something up on the spot. We started coming out with things like 'Jogging Bottoms' or 'Jelly Babies' and I seem to remember reading on a forum somewhere recently that someone was quite disappointed when they heard that's what it stood for. Don’t blame them really. It does stand for something a little more meaningful than the above but I think the rumours are funny so I'm keeping my mouth shut for the time being.
And finally what will The JB Conspiracy be asking for, for Christmas?!
Free studio time and a healthy van please!
