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Jolene from California, USA asked James: - Q:Hi Jimmy! My question is about your musical taste. Who inspired you the most and who are you listening to now? Any favourite bands or artists? Hope to see you soon in the States! A: In the beginning it was mainly reggae drummers that influenced me. People like Sly Dunbar, Style Scott and Carlton Barrett had a major effect on the early albums. Later on I think I developed my own style out of that. I’ve got quite varied taste in music, most of it recommended through friends. I don’t really follow the charts very much, apart from R&B. Recently I’ve been listening to a new singer called Anthony Hamilton, Nor Elle, Ursula Rucker and Stereophyle from Germany, Naked Sessions compilations, Tweet, Common (Sense), Masters at Work, Kruder & Dorphmeister (Australian), Nitin Sawhney, Bjork, Outkast, reggae hits compilations and various DJ samplers. Stephanie from Birmingham, UK asked James: - Q:Hi James. Did you think ever think you would come this far in the music industry? What is your favourite song the band has made? A: Yes, I suppose in the beginning we were conceited enough to expect success. But when you look back I think you realise how much luck was involved (and maybe a little bit of talent). As far as my favourite song is concerned, try anything from our first album ‘Signing Off’. Paula from Glasgow, Scotland asked James: - Q:Hi Jimmy. I have always wondered why you are the first up at the side of the stage, because we always know when the gig is about to start when you appear, is this a ritual? A: Its not really a ritual, more like a habit. Its nice to take a look at the audience, and have a bit of a joke with the roadies before the show. Also, because we use headphones and earpieces to monitor the sound, the different acoustics in each venue don’t matter so we don’t need to soundcheck. That means the only chance I get to make sure the kit is set up correctly is immediately before the show starts, so its nice to get comfortable a few minutes beforehand. Deano from Essex, UK asked James: - Q:Out of all your single and album releases are there any in particular that you were surprised wasn’t more successful, or any that you wish were? A: I’ve given up on trying to predict or to have any expectations for records that we release. I wish they were all mega-successful, but they’re not. A famous screenwriter once said about the film business, but it equally applies to the music business, that “in this industry nobody knows anything”. Joris from The Netherlands asked James: - Q:I wonder how it is doing solo projects and even a solo tour outside of UB40 with Star Company and V-Birds? Is it really different from touring with UB40 and the regular crew? And do you have more recording freedom not having to have the vote of the other 7 in UB40? A: I’ve always worked on projects outside UB40, but its usually with another group of musicians rather than solo projects. So even though the music might be completely different, the experience is very similar to UB’s. I enjoy collaborating and seeing what happens, its nice to be surprised by the end result. Sting from Sheffield, UK asked James: - Q:Hiya James. Please can you tell me when this eagerly anticipated dub album with you and Earl is expected to be released? I’m a bit of a dub fan and want to run out and buy it. A: With a bit of luck it’ll be ready by summer. It’s a dub album but we have got a lot of vocals to record and its being mixed by Brian Nordhoff (who mixed Labour of Love III) and it’ll be available on the website soon so watch this space! Helena from West Midlands, UK asked James: - Q:Hi Jimmy. If you could be the drummer for any band other than UB40, past or present, which band would it be? A: Having developed my musical tastes in the seventies I went to a lot of reggae gigs including Bob Marley at the local Odeon in ’76, but I also went to a lot of funk and jazz-funk gigs where I saw bands like Parliament; Funkadelic; Earth, Wind and Fire; Chaka Khan; Rufus; The Crusaders and Billy Cobham, and they were all equally inspiring. Jazz-funk may be boring and indulgent for some people but for drummers it’s very satisfying. Sandy from Downington, USA asked James: - Q:Hi Jimmy. I was just wondering if you every planned on singing more during concerts? A: I’ve never really sung live and I don’t think I’m going to start now, but I do tend to sing along while I’m playing without realising it. Louise asked James: - Q:Hi James. Do you still get a buzz from performing live after all these years? A: I probably get more of a buzz now than I did in the beginning. In the early days I was too nervous to enjoy it. Johnny from Telford, UK asked James: - Q:Jim, just wanted to ask – to me as a live act nine times out of ten the tune starts and ends with you, how do you look so composed? I respect and love after 23 years of following, the way you lads move on and on. Do you and Earl have a major say on how the riddims are dropped? Big Love to you all from Johnny P. A: Nice one Johnny! Drummers are very often taken for granted so its nice to be noticed. I haven’t always been as composed as I am now, but as you play more shows you become more confident. After 25 years I feel completely at home on stage. For me being relaxed is by far the best way when in comes to live performance. When it comes to the rhythm tracks, different songs are put together in different ways. In the early days we would all set up in a rehearsal room and Bash! And Twang! until we had an album. As time went on we moved into the studio and wrote there. Nowadays, with technology advancing the way it has, we could all lie in bed writing the album online if we wanted to (we don’t!). Now when we want to record a new album (there’s no demo stage any more, that’s just for new bands who can’t afford the inflated prices of most state-of-the-art studios), I’ll go into the studio with Earl and a good programmer/engineer (Brian’s son, Jamie) and just make some music, creating rhythm tracks for Ali’s melodies. The rest of the band add the dynamics and counter-melodies and there you have it! I think after all these years we all know how to knit together in a complimentary way, its what gives the band chemistry. Anne-Marie from Birmingham, UK asked James: - Q:Hi James. As we all know you are an excellent reggae drummer, but when you are not doing UB type of things what else do you like doing? A: I’ve got a varied taste in music, but funk, hip-hop and R&B are the most satisfying styles to play from a drummers point of view. And there are plenty of talented musicians in Birmingham to work with. Erica from Wallingford, USA asked James: - Q:Off all the places you have visited in the world, which as your favourite and why? A: I had a vacation in Bali a few years ago that was surprising. I’m not vaguely religious but there is a real spiritual feeling there. My favourite city to visit is Tokyo. It’s like a film set (Blade Runner), and its culturally a different universe, but its highly civilised and the streets are safe. It’s really expensive though! Q:With so may fans communicating online and meeting up at the fanfests, how do you fell about the fans online? A: To be honest, I’ve never ‘surfed the net’, so I’m not really the right band member to ask. I’ve got four daughters at home so the chances of me either using the bathroom or the computer are virtually nil! But it’s obviously a useful communication tool for lots of people and that’s a good thing. Sue asked James: - Q:Hi James, hope you and your family are well. If you had the chance to meet anyone in history who would it be and why? A: Hi, my family are fine thanks! If find this question the most difficult to answer of all the questions I’ve been asked, maybe because I’ve never done this particular exercise before. Usually in history books you only get to hear about famous people, rulers, tyrants, murderers, inventors etc, but I’m more interested in ordinary people. I suppose I would like to meet someone from the Iron Age, or even the Stone Age. I could find out what we have in common and how different we are. I’d like to know how they organised their societies, how they related to each other, what it was like to try and bring up a family, who makes the rules and how they related to their environment. I think that would be really interesting.
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