Mark Hoppus: You've heard it here first folks! Acclaimed music group The Nimrods have returned from the depths of hell to grace us with their music once again! Tonight I have a very special treat for you guys, I will be interviewing none other than the man, the myth, the naked legend himself, Jimmy Him!
*The audience cheers and Jimmy walks out and sits down*
MH: Glad to have you here Jim!
JH: Glad to be here *smiles*
So let's jump into things here; The Nimrods have a history of disappearing and then reappearing so the fact that you guys have returned is never really a surprise. My main questions are: where have you been? What do you have in store?
Well Mark, after our last major album, we put out a large body of work from random demos and projects. However, we couldn't seem to gel and make a legitimately good, full-length project. So we decided that the best thing to do would be to take some time of, do things that we each wanted to do, and then regroup and try to make something that wasn't forced.
So what did y'all do?
Davey went home to California and just sort of mellowed out there. Surfed, went to shows, produced stuff for local bands, smoked alotta pot, y'know just stuff that we would normally do in our free time and didn't usually have the chance to do. Kit decided to go to Australia...I'm not entirely sure why haha. But he basically split his time between drinking at every bar in Melbourne and jamming with any of the musicians he met. He also produced and played drums on some hard rock album there which was pretty solid.
And now for you?
Yes, and now for me haha. I actually decided to take refuge in London
Fantastic! Why was that?
Well, England in general is home to some of the greatest rock musicians you'll ever meet. It's really a cradle of civilization for music as a whole. I figured if I wanted to start fresh, that'd be a nice place to go. Hendrix went there, The Wailers were there for a bit, even The Nimrods had some early gigs there to promote our first album. So I got a really nice flat overlooking the river Thames and made a ridiculous amount of music.
Is it the usual metal stuff, or the garage rock of the old Nimrods?
I would say it's a bit of our old stuff, but certainly with some new influences.
Such as?
Well I most certainly got more into The Clash,specifically their first three albums. I love the more raw sound of their first two albums in contrast to the more sophisticated but equally powerful London Calling. I was already a fan of The Sex Pistols, but I got to meet their guitarist Steve Jones and we talked music and smoked a lot so he's had a bit of an influence on me as well. I've played a few Buzzcocks records somewhere along the line too and a fair share of The Who and David Bowie as well.
So you're kind of trying to blend vintage American sounds with vintage British sounds?
Yes exactly. I would say that in my biggest influence Iggy Pop, I appreciate the rawness, the heaviness, that just almost hypnotic quality. I would say the same about The Velvet Underground. But I also really appreciate the musical quality and attitude of British bands.
So what kind of sound can we expect?
Essentially, imagine The Stooges if they knew how to really play their instruments and incorporated a few more genres into their style of music. What I've been working on has a larger share of piano and acoustic guitar which gives the music a fuller sound and I think it's one that fans of older music will certainly appreciate.
Can we expect a similar sound from whatever The Nimrods come out with next?
I would say so. I think that whatever we come out with next will sound a bit like our first album but with more sophistication. Even though we're The Nimrods, I think that we've gotten to the point where even though we as people certainly shouldn't be taken seriously, our music should.
So no more nudity and public intoxication?
No there'll be plenty of that *laughs while the audience cheers* our music will just be a bit more mature. We haven't matured at all, I don't think we ever will.
Fantastic to hear you haven't changed much *laughs*
Not at all. Our new album's going be called Still, The Nimrods. Our first album was self titled and we're going back to that kind of music in a way, so we're saying we're the same dudes who went to The Birdies naked and get kicked out of every hotel they stay in and things like that. Our music is older, we really aren't.
Speaking of the old Nimrods, drugs were certainly a factor in your music before. Are they still?
Well I would say that our use has certainly cut down. We're still huge pot heads, that's really not going to change. But Kit is the only one that really drinks crazy when we aren't on tour. However, London has it's fair share of Heroin so I can't say I've completely kicked that, but that's as much as I'll say about it.
Well I hope you guys continue to improve....so how have you managed to capture this older sound?
Yes! I love talking gear! Well I was never really a Fender man because I didn't think that they catered to the music I was playing, and they didn't at the time. However,I've become a really big fan of old Tele's, like between '64 and like '72. For what we've recorded so far I've played a few that I swapped the pickups out of so the sound was a bit thicker, but the signature twang they have is still definitely there. I've also used some Gibson and Gretsch hollowbodys. As far as amps go, just straight Marshalls with vintage cabinets, can't go wrong! Essentially, vintage gear = vintage tone!
So certainly that 60'2 to 70's period has influenced your sound. What about your band members?
Well Davey has always liked that vintage warm bass sound used by like, Noel Redding from The Jimi Hendrix Experience or like Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath or like Geddy Lee from Rush. So his tone hasn't really changed much and he's still got every bit of ability that he's had before. Kit's has moved to a smaller drum set and bases his playing on Keith Moon from The Who more than anybody else. So there hasn't really been too much change, we've just applied our skills differently I guess.
Do you think you can regain your old status as absolute Rock Gods?
*laughs* I feel like that was more in the metal scene than anything else.But only time will tell. Audiences change and we've been gone for a pretty long time. I just hope people will listen because we've got some pretty awesome stuff planned that we think people are really gonna like.
Alright thanks man *shakes Jimmy's hand* and thank all of you guys in the audience, good night!
OOC: Haven't RP'ed in a while and felt obligated too since I'm back and such
