| On the phone with JIMMY EAT WORLD's RICK BURCH... |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway |
| Monday, 27 September 2010 17:26 |
 Thirty seconds into our conversation, and JIMMY EAT WORLD bassist RICK BURCH had quickly established himself as one of the most humble musicians I have ever had the chance to speak to. Thanking me for "wanting to take the time out of [my] day to speak with him" - I quickly had to set the record straight that it was in fact I, who was appreciative of the chance to speak with him. Then another thirty seconds later, Burch answered the question on every Kiwi Jimmy Eat World fans mind: does he foresee a Jimmy Eat World appearance in New Zealand any time soon? His answer: "I’m gonna say yes, we will. The four of us really want to play a show over there. We don’t have anything scheduled right now but we’re trying to fit it in." With their forthcoming album ‘INVENTED’ being released in New Zealand on October 4th, Burch is quick to state that the anticipation leading up to its public release remains the same, despite it being their seventh full-length. "Being that it’s finished and we worked so hard on it and we’re proud of it - we really want people to hear it. It’s done and it’s ready but there is this waiting time between when it’s finished and when it is released, so there is this big build-up. When it’s released hopefully people will like it as much as we do. [The nerves and anticipation] don’t subside. When you create something new it is always an entirely new experience every time." COUP DE MAIN: It isn’t long now before 'Invented' is released, what does the title of the album mean to Jimmy Eat World? JIMMY EAT WORLD - RICK BURCH: The title 'Invented' comes from a song on the album. Listening to the album, I think that song sums it up... it’s like an abridged version of the album. CDM: And how would you sum up the album? RICK: 'Invented' is a rocking album, there is a lot of rocking tracks, but it’s also really diverse. There are some mainly acoustic songs on there, and we’ve put in more layers using keyboards, and lots of harmonies. It’s a pretty diverse album, but at the same time it’s definitely Jimmy Eat World. CDM: One thing I’m personally looking forward to hearing is guitarist Tom Linton back on lead vocals for one of the tracks... RICK: I am so excited, yes he does! Finally after many years, Tom is back on lead vocals for a track and I love it. He has a great voice and it’s a really cool song - it’s a good rocker. It’s called ‘Action Needs An Audience'. CDM: Do you think on your upcoming tours, Tom will perform the song? RICK: For sure. CDM: Was having Tom step back into vocals something you had planned on doing, or did it just happen naturally? RICK: It kind of just happened. We had the music for the song for awhile, and Jim had some scratch lyrics but they were nothing really. It wasn’t coming naturally to him so Tom took a crack at it and I think he did a really good job. CDM: Do you think in the future, we will see Tom take the vocalist role a little more? RICK: I hope so. I hope this will give him a taste of it again and inspire him to continue. CDM: Sounds like you personally are a fan of having Tom sing a little more... RICK: Yeah, for sure. I just think he has a great voice, it’s really powerful. Also I played in a band with Tom when we were kids in junior high and high school and he was the singer in that as well, so I’m really used to hearing him singing I guess.  CDM: ‘Invented’ was produced by Mark Trombino, who you guys have worked with previously. What made you decide to work with him again after all these years? RICK: When we were recording the album, it was just us four in our studio in Arizona and we were making the songs and everything was coming along great. However, it got to the point on a couple of tracks where we needed an extra something that we weren’t coming up with ourselves. We saw Mark at a show we did in San Diego late last year, and we were talking to him about the new songs and he just started giving advice. So we were like: ‘Well hey why don’t you come hang with us for a while and we’ll see what happens?' It came together naturally, it was cool. CDM: Also, you have a female vocalist Courtney Marie Andrews featuring on 'Invented' quite a few times - how did that relationship come about? RICK: I think Jim met her at a show. I’m not sure if she was performing, but she had a great voice, and Jim was writing a lot of harmonies that were right at the top of his range... We’ve always wanted to have a female voice, and in previous albums we’ve had Rachel Haden in them and she has the voice of an angel. I guess Jim just met Courtney and she came down to the studio and she adds a nice ladies touch to the album. CDM: At Soundwave Festival earlier this year, Hayley Williams from Paramore joined you on stage... What are your thoughts on younger bands who list Jimmy Eat World as influences? RICK: It’s really flattering - I think it’s really cool. We had done that tour with Paramore, and there was a female vocal on some of our songs, so we got her to sing with us. It was a good time for everyone; she could play with one of her favourite bands and she added a cool element to those songs live. CDM: Did you ever think you would be part of something so influential? RICK: No, never. We were just making noise and playing music because that’s what we loved. It’s still sometimes hard to believe, I still pinch myself like: ‘Is this for real? Am I dreaming? No it’s really happening'. CDM: Do you personally have any upcoming artists that you have your eye on? RICK: I’m actually interested to see what Courtney does. She is writing tonnes of music as we speak, even though we’re rehearsing with her. She’s just now releasing an album of her own and everyday she comes in with new songs and I think she’s really talented. CDM: Fans who pre-ordered ‘Invented’ through an indie store received a free bonus 7-inch. What was the motivation behind that? RICK: It was a group decision. We’ve always been a fan of a 7-inch record. Our first recording was a 7-inch our friend put out for us. Combining that with wanting to do something cool for the indie retailers and for the people who are actively buying music, we just wanted to do something cool for them. CDM: Do you think offering such incentives will become something more common in the future? RICK: It could be, yeah. It’s hard to say what the future will be like. I think I understand what is going on but the next day I am totally lost again, so we’ll see.  CDM: In a really old interview, Jim Adkins stated that he was surprised at how well Jimmy Eat World had done since there was never a set plan. Is that still the case? RICK: For sure, we don’t have a grand master plan. We have our goals that we work towards, and we try to stay true to that, but ultimately you have to remain flexible to deal with new things that arise and roll with the punches. CDM: You previously mentioned that before Mark Trombino was on-board, you were working on 'Invented' without an outside producer - was that the original plan? RICK: Yeah that was the initial plan. We felt that the songs we had, they had more to them than we were giving them on their own. We loved what we had and we knew they were special but there was unrealized potential we wanted to harness, so we turned to Mark and I think he brought it. CDM: Also, before ‘Invented’ was being recorded, there were rumours that Jimmy Eat World were going totally solo with no label... is that still an option? RICK: That’s definitely an option. We’re still under contract at the moment with Universal, but in the future I think it might be interesting to do it that way - to totally produce and create the album ourselves and release it ourselves. It’d be interesting to see how that would work out. CDM: What advice would you offer up to younger musicians or bands who want to achieve the longevity and success that Jimmy Eat World has experienced? RICK: It’s tough. It takes a lot of work. I think one of the main ingredients to that is always making sure you are happy with any decision you make. When it’s all said and done, you don’t want to look back and think: ‘Oh we should have done that differently'. You need to do things for yourself the way you want to do it. CDM: Do you have a personal highlight that stands out to you from your career so far? RICK: Oh, there are so many. Performing on 'Saturday Night Live' in New York was unbelievable. Then a number of tours, like doing Soundwave and Big Day Out and Fuji Rock in Japan. Being part of massive festivals we had only heard about in the States and all of a sudden we’re part of them. It's really cool, I’m really lucky. CDM: What is in store for Jimmy Eat World once 'Invented' is released and you have done your U.S. and U.K. tours? RICK: There is nothing in pen right now, but we’re definitely looking to get back to Australia and we’re trying to work in a New Zealand run with that. We also want to explore more of Asia. That’s one thing we have always kept as a common goal - to expand our boundaries, see new places and meet new people. CDM: And finally, do you have anything you would like to say to your New Zealand fans? RICK: Yes! I’d like to say thank you for listening and I hope to see you soon - at a show in your home town! JIMMY EAT WORLD's new album 'INVENTED' is released in New Zealand on October 4th. Watch the music video for the first single ‘My Best Theory’ below…
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