In this age of random and oft-pretentious band names, Simpl is a rare bird indeed: an aptly named band. The clean, minimal arrangements and pragmatic production of Simpl’s eponymous debut evoke early Talking Heads, XTC and Del Amitri as well as contemporary Scandinavian intellipop acts Whitest Boy Alive and The Notwist. Amplifier catches up with Simpl’s humbler-than-thou Oregonian front man, Cameron Jones, for some straight talk about everything from astrology to basketball-playing werewolves.
WHAT’S WITH THE BAND NAME? WHY DID YOU DROP THE “E”?
I didn’t want to be in another band that you couldn’t look up online. My previous band was called Two Guys, and it was impossible to look us up without getting a bunch of porn. I picked the word Simpl because I hate band names that are mysterious and arty but don’t actually say anything about the music. What I write for this band is a lot more straightforward than anything I’ve ever written before, so it just seemed like the perfect name.
DID YOU WRITE ALL THE SONGS ON THE ALBUM?
Yeah. This whole thing started as a recording project for me, so all of the songs were written before I found people to play in the band. But these days it’s more of a collaboration, where we work the songs out together in practice.
HOW DOES THAT FEEL?
It’s nice. I can definitely be a huge control freak if I let myself, so it’s kind of hard in that sense to let go. I like the fact that I’ve found people to play with whom I can totally trust to write cool stuff.
WHAT STAR SIGN ARE YOU?
Oh man, I hate astrology. But I’m a Libra. Does that tell you anything?
ONLY THAT YOU’RE A FUCKING CONTROL FREAK!
[laughs] Yeah, but I guess Libras are supposed to be really indecisive, which would make sense for me, too.
WOULD YOU SAY YOUR LYRICS ARE INTELLECTUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY DRIVEN?
It depends on how recently I broke up with somebody. If I’m emotionally stable, then they’re definitely more intellectually driven. A lot of the songs on the CD have really simplistic lyrics that don’t mean anything but sound kind of nice. Or they’re about things that don’t really make much sense unless you’re me.
TELL ME ABOUT THE TRACK “FOREIGN.”
That’s one of the few that is actually about something specific. I was on tour in Europe and it was a really unpleasant experience because of the people I was with. It was something that should have been really awesome but ended up being just kind of ugly. That’s what the song’s about. I’m in this foreign place and the people who are from the same country as I’m from are the people I’m having the hardest time relating to.
ARE THERE ANY BANDS FROM THE 80S WITH WHOM YOU FEEL A CERTAIN KINSHIP?
I love XTC. I’m a fan of Talking Heads, too. I remember reading about “Love For Sale,” where David Byrne was trying to write a song that only consisted of lines from commercials. I just wrote a song that was kind of like that, about really stereotypical things that people say in commercials.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR APPROACH TO SINGING. HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE VOCALS IN RELATION TO EVERYTHING ELSE YOU PLAY?
The vocals are something I struggle with - making it sound like I want it to sound. Because they’re so important. It’s hard not to be a perfectionist about everything. I think that’s part of the reason I hate recording so much.
FINAL QUESTION: WHY DO YOU THINK TEEN WOLF WAS SUCH A SENSATION IN THE 80S?Is that the one with Jason Bateman?
THAT’S THE SEQUEL, TEEN WOLF TOO.
Right. But don’t both movies have a werewolf who plays basketball?
THEY DO.
Well, how can that not capture the national imagination?
--Kenyon Phillips
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Simpl's Simplis available now.
http://www.simplmusic.com
