{"id":7392,"date":"2015-09-17T13:12:36","date_gmt":"2015-09-17T13:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-jim-adkins\/"},"modified":"2018-09-17T23:03:23","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T22:03:23","slug":"interview-jim-adkins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-jim-adkins\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Jim Adkins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JimAdkins\"<\/a>
\nWhen you\u2019re the frontman of one of the most beloved emo bands of the past twenty years, going out on your first solo venture can be a daunting task. However, for Jimmy Eat World<\/b>\u2019s Jim Adkins<\/b> he has taken the opportunity to explore what is possible outside the realms of his \u201cday job\u201d.<\/p>\n

One of these possibilities was to abandon the standard album route. Instead, Adkins decided to release a series of 7″ singles titled \u2018I Will Go\u2019<\/i>. \u201cI just thought about how people listen to music now. It\u2019s more and more \u201cby track\u201d. Whether it\u2019s a curated music service or a streaming scenario, people just listen by playlist.\u201c<\/i> explains Jim ahead of his recent show in Birmingham, \u201cI wanted to see what would happen as an experiment if I put out more often, less things.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no rules anymore. You can do whatever you want.\u201d<\/em><\/h1>\n

Adkins\u2019 decision to abandon the album route is an admirable departure. With his solo venture, Adkins has embraced the digitalisation of how music is released by putting out a new song every week. \u201cThere are no rules anymore. You can do whatever you want. If you write something and you\u2019re excited about it, why not just put it out. It comes down to what you want to do as a musician. Do you want to put out an album? You don\u2019t have to but you can. In the past you had to put out an album because that is (just) how you did it but now it\u2019s not quite as comparative.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Since July, Adkins has released a mixture of original solo material alongside a hat-trick of covers. When asked about what his intentions were when he began writing, Adkins explained \u201cthey were always intended to be solo songs\u201d<\/i> whilst his take on songs by The Everly Brothers (\u2018Give Me A Sweetheart\u2019<\/i>), Beck (\u2018Don\u2019t Act Like Your Heart Isn\u2019t Hard\u2019<\/i>) and Cyndi Lauper (\u2018Girls Just Want to Have Fun\u2019<\/i>) allowed Adkins leave his mark on the songs he admires:<\/p>\n

\u201cI just hear a song and something about it clicks with me. I just try and explore that then once I\u2019ve figured out what that something is, then I can develop that on my own according to whatever sensibilities I have personally. So with that, pretty much nothing is off limits. I zone in on the hooks or the elements of the song that are important and I develop them in my own way.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

It is no doubt Adkins has taken the opportunity to use the freedom of being a solo artist head on. Gone are the expectations of fans and the constraints of being in a rock band, in their place is a mix of warm and undefined songs that allow Adkins to explore musically; \u201cI guess as it being something new, there is a little bit of freedom. It doesn\u2019t have any sort of definition yet. It is whatever I do.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

One element of the solo project is Adkins\u2019 ability to explore the use of musicians from his home state of Arizona. \u201cIt seemed like a good fit for the things I wanted to hear. The people I have worked with on these songs are the people I know can do it the way I want it to be done. I have a lot of respect for those people and it\u2019s a great excuse to play with people I like outside of the group.\u201d<\/i> explains Jim before discussing the current state of the Arizona music scene; \u201cIt\u2019s a lot like everywhere. There are a lot of good people that are talented, that are doing great work that for one reason or another, can\u2019t rally that critical support to break out to the next level. Everyone is really supportive. It\u2019s a great community. There are no egos about shit because you\u2019re in Arizona.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Whilst some have struggled to break out from the area \u201cbecause no one cares\u201d<\/i> says Jim, he does give the impression that things are looking up for his local music scene as he explains \u201cthe downtown Phoenix area is getting better. There are a few really good music venues there that are serving as the hub for a new scene. It\u2019s exciting.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really the first time I\u2019ve tried doing something like this. No one knows what to expect. People are excited. I can do whatever I want.\u201d<\/em><\/h1>\n

As part of this solo venture, Adkins decided to take it on the road. First playing shows in the States before heading to Europe for the first time on his own. \u201cIt\u2019s been really cool. I think most people have been coming to shows out of curiosity more than everything. This is really the first time I\u2019ve tried doing something like this. No one knows what to expect. People are excited. I can do whatever I want.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Having toured relentlessly with his band for the best part of twenty years, Adkins\u2019 solo shows are stripped back and ideally intimate. Adkins agrees that the experience is certainly different in comparison to playing with Jimmy Eat World; \u201cWith the group you\u2019re responding to what you\u2019re hearing. You\u2019re constantly getting feedback from other musicians and when it is just yourself, you\u2019re just responsible for building and directing that momentum all on your own. I think the audience play a bigger role because it is just you. That is where your feedback is.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Having witnessed Adkins on the opening night of his recent UK run, there is respect and admiration for him as he showcases solo material alongside a smattering of covers and Jimmy Eat World material. \u201cI am in a fortunate position of having a lot of catalogues to fall back on.\u201d<\/i> says Jim, yet surprisingly he explains it is not just Jimmy Eat World fans attending shows; \u201cI have met a couple of people who have never seen Jimmy Eat World before or didn\u2019t know our music and their friends dragged them to the show, and they were impressed. It\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it\u2019d be a good time to say yes to things outside of the band musically\u2026 suddenly I\u2019m playing solo acoustic gigs with a series of singles.\u201d<\/em><\/h1>\n

Whilst this solo outing has been successful so far, it certainly isn\u2019t the end of Jimmy Eat World<\/strong> and both Adkins and their fans have an understanding of what this project is; \u201cFrom the beginning I made it pretty clear to people that are just purely an effort to be productive in a new way in between Jimmy Eat World albums. We\u2019ve been a band for 21 years now and we\u2019ve operated on the same pattern this whole time. I thought it\u2019d be a good time to say yes to things outside of the band musically. Whether that is producing or co-writing or solo material and it has kind of turned into this. \u201cOk lets see where this goes\u201d and suddenly I\u2019m playing solo acoustic gigs with a series of singles.\u201c<\/i><\/p>\n

Now with the ‘I Will Go\u2019<\/i> series of 7\u201d singles all released and a run of shows throughout the UK and Europe all done, Adkins seems at home when reflecting on his activity in recent months: \u201cI try and set myself achievable goals in this and think about what the fan experience would be like and try and shoot for that. So far it\u2019s working. People are into it. It\u2019s been fun.\u201d<\/i> Yet it may not be the end of this solo adventure just yet; \u201cI might go to Australia or Japan or Asia with the solo thing. I can\u2019t really confirm that yet or I might just stop and start writing new stuff.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

However, there isn\u2019t much time to rest for Adkins. He\u2019ll soon be back playing with his band at the Summer Ends Festival in Arizona before heading to California for the re-launched Taste of Chaos festival where he will be sharing the stage with the likes of Thrice, Glassjaw, Saves The Day, The Movielife and Story of the Year. When we asked about his expectations about the one-off event, Adkins was in good spirits about reuniting with former tour buddies: \u201cIt should be an insane party. It\u2019s with people we were playing punk houses with on the East Coast and now its in a huge outside arena. It\u2019s crazy how that works.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

On the whole Jim Adkins is in a good place right now. His solo outing has been welcomed by fans, both old and new, while he will be ending the year working with Jimmy Eat World on new material. Yet don\u2019t expect to see the light of day too soon as Jim closed with \u201cOf course sooner is always better, but it\u2019s got to be good before it\u2019s anything.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

‘I Will Go\u2019<\/i> by Jim Adkins<\/b> is out now (iTunes<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Jim Adkins<\/b> links: Website<\/a> | Store<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Jimmy Eat World<\/b> links: Website<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Sean Reid (@SeanReid86<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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