Five Minutes With ... Jim Valentine

Five Minutes With ... Jim Valentine

Words: Linn Branson


With the black leather, slicked back hair and shades, Glasgow's Jim Valentine certainly have the look cut and dried for their garage/rock'n'roll brand of music. Having graced stages already with the likes of Amazing Snakeheads, Baby Strange and Dexters, judging by the first tracks they have put out, it won't be long before they are bagging the headline role for themselves.

With their double A-side single ‘Hello/Trippetta’ out now (on limited 7” vinyl and digitally), we grabbed that suave young rake of a frontman for a few questions.

So, hello....who do we have here then?
Awright, it's James.

Introduce us to your fellow band members and their respective parts within the unit.

James John - vocals and guitar, Carlo on drums, Alekzander, bass, and Charlie, guitar.

When you first embarked on JV was there a conscious decision to go for a rock'n'roll sound, or did that evolve more or less organically?

We were going to gigs and with the exception of a few bands there wasn't any excitement there. It was all very nice and buttoned to the top. That drove us on initially. I wouldn't limit rock'n'roll to being a genre. There are obvious musical connotations there but it's more than that, it's excitement, youth and sex. We wanted to make music that would scare people and evoke a reaction.

James, 'Marc Bolan-style vocals' - how does that description that has been accredited to you rest? 

I think there's far too much importance placed on attaining an unblemished vocal. It's boring. Dylan and Joe Strummer couldn't sing. Marc Bolan had the vibrato and Elvis had those slap back twitches. Even artists like Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, who were impeccable singers, sang with passion, excitement and oozed character. These quirks are far more appealing to me than someone perfectly hitting each note in their rendition of 'Hallelujah', and they are quirks that are lost in the attainment of studio perfection.

Clash spoke of 'the band's twin styles: pain / beauty, agony / ecstasy, brutality / melody'. Would that be a correct summation?

We play loud. But we're Beatles obsessives so there's always a consciousness to preserve the melody. I dunno is that not your job?



Tell us a little about 'Make You Mine', 'Hello' and 'Tripetta' and how they came to be written, inspiration and focus?

There isn't a writing process in place and that gives us a fluidity and freedom to fuck about and see what sticks. If a tune is taking much thought or time to come to fruition then it's not worth writing. You'll never recreate that feeling of the first time you play a song or the first time you meet someone who shakes you to the core and music should be a preservation and extension of that feeling. Lyrically it's all Sun Records for the blank generation. Passion, emotion and desire. 'Hello' was written whilst reading a Richard Hell autobiography, and 'Trippetta' is a character from Hop Frog. Their relationship fascinated me.

Have you been surprised by how the media and fans have picked up on the band? And what kind of live reaction have you been receiving?

The shows keep getting busier, so I presume we're doing something right.

How do you hope Jim Valentine are perceived by the public?

There's not enough mystery surrounding artists. So intrigue would be an ideal reaction.

And for those who have not had a live experience, what is JV all about - particularly as we have only the three tracks so far to go on.

You'll need to see us live!

Any amusing/naughty/scandalous tales you can let us in on?

Carlo killed a man using a Charlie Murphy poster that we now affix to the kick drum during each performance as a reminder not to fuck about with the groove.

Who are the musical influences behind JV, and how would you say that has impacted in your style and sound, if at all?

There are bands like Black Rebel and T Rex that will always influence us. However, there's an ethos which dictates that as soon a band get comfortable they're dead. Seeing or hearing something or someone for the first time and becoming instantly infatuated is more of a catalyst. I remember getting into Elvis for the first time and it blowing my mind. It doesn't necessarily need to be a song, it can be an image, an injustice, a girl. Although I heard Sanford Clark for the first time tonight, and oh ya fucker.

I gather you listen to T Rex a lot, could we expect to see a little eye make up, a few feather boas and a 'Ride A White Swan' cover then soon live?

Yeah, I think 'Electric Warrior' was the record that the band all gravitate towards. We recorded a cover of 'Jeepster' a while back. It was featherless, unfortunately.

How important IS your style and look? 

It's not: we just wear black.

What are your plans for 2015? Album? EP? UK tour? World domination?

We're going to release a new single fairly soon and dominate the world with it, yeah...

Last word: spill your word or words of wisdom. Say 'pass' if you have none!

What would Keith Richards do?


Catch Jim Valentine in the flesh, in all their glory on the following live dates before the end of the year:

December

05. The Macbeth, London
06. Surf Cafe, Tynemouth
12. Green Rooms, Perth
13. Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh
18. Buskers, Dundee