Caught in the Carousel

Jim Shepherd—Jasmine Minks

The Jasmine Minks, wrote Kevin Pearce in the liner notes to the Rev-Ola compilation The Revenge Of The Jasmine Minks, were "A magical mix of melody and aggression, purpose and doubt, Rickenbackers and one of those see-through guitars Tom Verlaine used." He goes on to write that they were capable of ".mixing the belligerent and meditative; making the connection between the post-punk invention of the Blue Orchids and Josef K and the garage primitivism of the Seeds and Standells." One of the first bands signed to Alan McGee's Creation label, The Jasmine Minks, even now, almost twenty-five years later, are a thing of wonder. Vacillating between Who-like abandon ("Work For Nothing"), raw garage pop ("World's No Place"), or jangling brilliance ("Cut Me Deep"), it seemed there was nothing the Jasmine Minks couldn't do. "We had a good thing going," singer/guitarist Jim Shepherd sang in "Cut Me Deep" and indeed, they did. Explosive, visceral, poetic, contemplative and melodic, The Jasmine Minks were so exactingly soulful, their body of work still sounds as fresh and exuberant as ever. Although they're on an indefinite hiatus, Shepherd has just released a new E.P. called We Make Our Own History and is already at work on other projects. From his home in his native Scotland, Shepherd was kind enough to sit down with Caught In The Carousel and take a look back.

Caught In The Carousel: What bands were the Jasmine Minks influenced by from the start?

Jim Shepherd: I cringe a bit when I hear the word 'influence'. Influences are so wide and varied, can be absorbed consciously and unconsciously. And often when I've mentioned influences in the past there has been an ulterior motive--to try to lay red herring trails so that we couldn't be compartmentalized easily in the press. It's too easy to look cool so we'd mention unlikely influences like George Benson, Prince or Elvis Costello to get away from the most obvious indie, 60's garage or others. But if we are honest we are just a product of our times. The books we read, the television and films we watched, the philosophies we espoused to and the conversations and relationships we had. Kurt Vonnegut, Joe Orton, Yukio Mishima, Colin MacInnes, Monty Python, Sartre, Steptoe and Son, The 'Carry On' films, socialism, anarchism, populism, "Gregory's Girl" etc. The influences are just there--no words spoken.

CITC: But who did you really want to be when you got started?

JS: When The Jasmine Minks first started in the early '80s we wanted to be Joy Division or the Scars--the two most played groups on my turntable then. But then again there was the omnipresence of The Sex Pistols, The Clash and Dexy's from the recent past and Bowie, Lou Reed, Marc Bolan and Iggy Pop from childhood/teenage years. Then one delves into rock 'n roll past history to uncover The Doors, Love, The Velvet Underground (to pick up the first real rock groups), or back to Sun-era Elvis or Chess Records for some roots rock 'n roll or a bit of digging in secondhand record stores brought some great soul and R&B singers--James Brown, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. It may seem a bit like the idea of post modernism--picking from the past and making up a new hybrid but I didn't see it that way. For me it's just modernism as it ever was--being discerning and keeping one step ahead. Northern soul was a revelation to me. As teenagers we would alternate playing punk and northern soul records at our youth club in Aberdeen. The dancing, the obsessiveness of the soul boys, that was right up my street. The big names are who obviously come to mind when talking about influences, but we were in the post punk era and there were loads of funk and pop groups vying for our attention: Cabaret Voltaire, The Pop Group, Simple Minds, the Postcard records groups (Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, Josef K, the Go-Betweens), Delta 5, DAF and the Fire Engines. All these played their parts, as I am sure we played our small part in influencing others later on. And some of these influences still resonate for me; especially when you look at the music scene now with its post-punk copyists. The one real new influence for me is '90s music--drum 'n bass and the dance scene with its chill out music.

CITC: I've always sensed a jangle with the Jasmine Minks..

JS: I forgot to add probably the most influential group with me and the 'Minks: The Byrds! The Beatles come close too, of course--but for that '60s guitar and harmonies, nobody ever beat the Byrds. There was an album out with the first ten singles and their b-sides--I tried but can't get it on CD. Probably one of my favourite albums ever!

CITC: What was a particularly humbling moment for you in the early days of the 'Minks? Did you ever come face to face with someone who you admired quite a bit?

JS: Morrissey came to see us--The Smiths had already become a cult overnight sensation. (I went to see them with the Go-Betweens and Felt supporting--what a bill!) We were playing at the Living Room supporting some Manchester band, who for now I forget the name of. But no one really talked to him--he just sat at a table in the bar and looked a bit pensive. I was quite lacking in confidence myself and it just seemed a bit odd for a pop star to be on his own--no one would go near him and he never ventured over to us. Alan McGee talked to him but he was far more confident than most of us.

CITC: You must have tons of amazing memories-is it possible that one could stand out as a favorite?

JS: My favourite memory is sneaking Kevin Rowland in to see us at a concert in London. It was a big Creation all-day concert and sold out with hundreds of disappointed people outside. We were passing out our passes to let people in and then collecting them back to do the same again over and over. Then Kevin Rowland showed up. Our roadie, Chris, took my pass to Kevin; he looked very cool in a white kaftan and jeans and had some strong perfume on. He'd just released his first solo album. He stood in the hall watching the groups and after our stint he asked to meet me. He thanked me for getting him in and said he really liked us. I was too shy to say anything and just felt really proud. He was REAL talent in my eyes. I met other heroes like Malcolm Ross on that day--but they didn't compare at all.

CITC: You must have loved meeting all those cool people.

JS: I liked to meet nice people, whether musicians or not. Some music promoters, like the guy in Leeds who booked us and then phoned a few days later to say that he had Mo Tucker wanting to come and play the same night and it was her only U.K. concert. He could have blown us out of the water if he wanted to, but he said it's our gig and would we like her to play--we supported, joyfully! Pat Fish of the Jazz Butcher is one of the nicest guys on the planet and he was great to us. I met Captain Sensible and sat with him for ages backstage at a Damned concert and he was one of the nicest guys ever--Rat Scabies was moody, though! Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols was a lovely guy--we used to rehearse at the same studios. He came in once and asked to borrow a bass drum pedal--we were really excited to see him. I don't think he knew of us at all. But one day when Adam and I went to a bar for a drink before a Jonathan Richman concert, we saw Glen and we ended up talking to him. Adam didn't take to him too well, but I liked him. Then the guitarist from Madness came in and him and Glen got into a deep conversation. Adam and I backed off a bit. Then we decided to leave and just as we were getting to the door, Glen shouted out to me, 'see you later Jim--nice to meet you'. The fact that he remembered my name made my day. Something must have clicked between us; it's nice when that happens.

CITC: What's your take on heroes?

JS: I often prefer the unknown heroes in life (guys with no axe to grind--selfless and friendly) and didn't like things like record company get-togethers. There were a few times when the 'Minks were close to signing to a big label. McGee was brilliant at it. It was all fake to me, trying to pretend you're something you're not. Or at least trying to sound each other out. Mates I met who came to see the 'Minks in the early days I'm still in touch with--guys I met on building sites where I worked and who would come along to our gigs to lend their support.

CITC: The Creation era is looked back upon by many rock historians as a time where there was a great sense of fraternity amongst the roster of bands. Much like Rough Trade, I suppose. Did you feel that or is that one of the many clumsy errors of retrospect?

JS: There was a feeling early on (before McGee signed loads and loads of groups) of camaraderie, centered around the Living Room. The Television Personalities, Biff Bang Pow!, Andrew Innes, Bobby Gillespie, Jim Beattie, Kevin Pearce, The June Brides, Alan McGee and Dick Green, plus many others. We hung around a fair bit together and that was nice. We'd book unusual gigs like a striking miners' benefit at a Greek labour club or an acoustic tour of Carnaby Street. But I didn't like a lot of the music around. There were too many twee groups and it began to get really annoying. McGee signed a variety of really good groups (he quickly got away from the 'twee' thing: Emily, Felt, Primal Scream, Jesus and Mary Chain; and some that I didn't care for like House of Love and The Membranes (although I love John Robb). But we got on well and had our own ambitions, I suppose. Our best gigs were the small ones organized around the country by fans. They were more personal and although there might have only been 50 people at these nights, they still worked better for us than a support for Primal Scream with hundreds of people. We'd see the change taking place in the Primals--they were acting like rock stars before their time--confident with an enigmatic aura, yet moody and destructive and very sexist of the girls who would hang around (I wasn't comfortable with that side of things). But they were fun and were good friends for years. They looked after us and stuck up for us, they never walked over us and gave us proper soundchecks etc. (We even borrowed their sound engineer at times.) I still love their music to this day, although I have to buy it now! The Jazz Butcher were great with us; always shared everything and Pat Fish even gave us a wonderful introduction to the all-day concert in London I talked about earlier.

CITC: Would you say the Jasmine Minks were a part of a specific scene?

JS: There were, of course, a huge variety of music and groups around then, just as now--we played gigs with Del Amitri, The Pogues, Violent Femmes--so it was difficult to say there was a definite scene because basically you took what you could get in the way of gigs. Maybe the smaller cities had a more cohesive scene--Bristol or Glasgow? We did sense a Living Room culture spreading as we played around the country. But I had my mates from work and I never really got into this camaraderie thing with musicians. Nobody could really play that well, so we couldn't exactly jam or anything. At Creation Christmas parties people might get up on stage and do "Sister Ray" or something but it was usually horrible! I think that more talking was done than playing together and you could tell! The indie scene was second division and although we might have been towards the top of that league we were never going to get promotion to the premier league! Musicianship was not high on the agenda. People thought that punk was about that, but they were wrong; in my experience even punks wanted to play well. I'll never forget what a perfectionist Mark E. Smith was when he came to play Aberdeen. The 'Minks were definitely trying to play better; I took some guitar lessons, Tom took some drum lessons, I learned how to program drums for demos, etc. But we were no Led Zeppelin! No super musicians were around that I was aware of anyway (maybe they hid and didn't let on?). I think it would have been nice to have more good musicians around, because when Ed joined the 'Minks (he could actually play very well) I upped my work rate and began writing much better songs. I still rushed things a bit but I had more confidence and loads of extra songs to choose from.

CITC: But you had to know what you were doing when you started.

JS: Well, I had something intuitive musically when I first started and very little musical knowledge--scales, technique etc. so I suppose I've learned a bit along the way about those things. But somehow I forget all those things when I'm writing or being creative in any way-it all goes out the window. I get into this deep place where the feel and sound, the rhythm of the words or just something unexplained happens--a place where there is no thought or feelings, just raw emotion without any way for it to come out except musically. When I first started I used to play the Sex Pistols' first album and learn the guitar bits. Me, Tom and our mate Steve would play in Tom's bedroom, writing our own tunes and doing Clash, Bowie and Sex Pistols covers. Dougan joined us to sing but he could only sing with a half bottle of vodka inside of him; Dougan sadly died a few years ago, tragically falling from an oil rig in the North Sea. When me and Tom were 16 Gary came along. He was 18 and seemed like a real grown up to us in lots of ways. We wrote songs with titles such as "Scarred For Life" and "Colin B. Goode" (about a local music journalist). It was great with Gary--we played some gigs locally and were protected by his fighting skills (even the toughest, meanest bikers left us alone when Gary was around!)-and my only aim then was to learn to play guitar decently. The aim for me and Tom was to get big enough to release a single, have a minor hit and then retire gracefully from the music biz and open up an engineer shop with friends as the tradesmen. We used to go and see the groups in Aberdeen: The Clash, Siouxsie, Buzzcocks, Subway Sect, Stranglers, Adverts, Slits, The Jam, Patrik Fitzgerald, The Cure, U.K. Subs, Skids, etc. but in a year or two as punk progressed I felt the guitar was a bit passé and I wanted to play in a less rock style and to learn synth. We became more stripped down sonically and relied on repetitive hooks and beats (groups like Joy Division and The Fall had come to Aberdeen and made a big impact). Adam joined us and his lyrics were much darker and poetic (I still think his lyrics are some of the best of the 80's).

CITC: Why did the band end up moving to London?

JS: We moved to London because Tom fell in love with a girl who lived there--no other reason. It didn't occur to us that it was a better place to be in a band; more opportunities for gigs and making records, etc. I was losing interest in guitar altogether--listening to Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire after getting sick of too many punk rock guitarists around or going the opposite way listening to funk and soul groups like 23 Skiddoo on the alternate circuit or Maze and George Benson in mainstream funk. Toasting reggae was a big thing for me then, too. This went on for a year or two. Then Edwyn Collins came along and suddenly there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel. I was inspired to pick up the guitar again and realized that it felt right--for me punk had passed although there was a second generation of groups which to me were a joke: Cockney Rejects, The Exploited etc. I felt that a reaction to all that was to accept the musical past and began discovering Dylan and Neil Young for myself. I bought a secondhand fender jaguar and concentrated on guitar again.

CITC: What was your guitar style like at that point?

JS: My style was basic but melodic and was compared a lot to Tom Verlaine. The fender was a workman's guitar to me; you had to press hard to get a nice tone and open chords were my main thing with lots of picking and hammer-ons. Adam was playing bass and wanted to play guitar so we auditioned for a new bass player. Harry Howard (later of Crime and the City Solution and brother of Roland S.) tried out for us, but he wanted us to be the Stooges and we wanted something softer and more melodic; less ROCK.

CITC: At first how did the songwriting process go?

JS: Adam and me wrote together at first--I wrote the music to Adam's brilliant lyrics. They came fast and furious: "Ghost Of A Young Man", "Cold Heart", "Work For Nothing". I suppose it was a merger of the Byrds influence (I'd recently discovered them) and an acceptance of a wide range of music and our punk background. Pop was our thing--as long as it was guitar pop we didn't mind. I swapped my jaguar for a Dan Armstrong see-through guitar like Tom Verlaine and Keith Richards had. For a while even I was rocking out. There were loads of indie guitar groups around and they were beginning to get on my nerves so we wanted to be The Who! Pretty soon we settled onto a sound of melodic rock with some soul references--I'd add some harmonica live and wanted brass. I asked Geoff Blythe, the leader of the first Dexy's horn section to play for us. Me and Tom went round to his house and had a few beers with him. He said he could get the whole section if we wanted it; work out the parts on piano.

CITC: Sounds kind of intimidating.

JS: It was way beyond my skills, to be honest, and it was nice to have been at least considered by a hero of mine! My limit was humming a brass bit for my school mate Derek to play on trumpet. So you begin to get an idea of my limited musical skills. Songwriting was always hard for me; I didn't know the best chords to use for the best sounds and I just bungled along until things sounded okay. Somewhere inside me was a bullshit detector that sifted the crap songs I wrote. I'd write using a 4-track recorder; write a drum pattern on a roland drum machine and then overdub until the song sounded good: guitar, bass and basic keyboards. When Wattie joined, after Adam left, he got a Radio 1 session with Janice Long on the back of some of my first home recordings (we'd already done a John Peel session with Adam). My lyrics just gushed from me and I never checked or corrected them.

CITC: What were the prominent themes?

JS: The themes were often of hurt and pain at my mother's death (she died when I was 16) and loneliness without her; guilt for not being around enough for her when she was dying. I suppose the words came out and once they were written I could sing them almost as a balm to my pain. Calmness and a knowing that personal peace was somewhere inside was a recurrent theme in my lyrics--our first single "Think!" was a mix of anger in the verses and acceptance that I had the answers in the chorus.

CITC: Do you remember your first introduction to Alan McGee?

JS: McGee first came along to see our rehearsal at a studio in London. It was converted from under the railway arches near Waterloo Station (the trains would rumble by and we'd hear them between songs and in the quiet bits on recordings). Loads of groups used the studio--Robyn Hitchcock, The Bollock Brothers, Shriekback and hundreds more. We'd had a review of some demos in the weekly music paper Sounds by Ian Pye. McGee phoned me up and asked me if we liked the Velvet Underground. My answer was yes, of course. He came along and watched us perform all our songs--really fast and loud. We were sweating with fear and nervousness. Afterwards we adjourned to the bar for a drink--Alan drank half pints which was unheard of for us. Adam was in form and was really dogmatic and vocal. Adam is a real character--lots of stories and opinions. He could be a wonderful entertainer--that's why I fell in love with him in the first place and I think McGee felt the same. Musically he preferred the song that I sung that day, which was "Think!"--he said that would be our single and he was right. He told us bluntly that our songs were too long and mostly not that good and that I played guitar well. He told us to smarten up a bit and to come along to his new club The Living Room and play there. Our first gig was with Primal Scream! McGee managed us for a while and got us loads of reviews, some good gigs, got the majors interested (even Simon Napier-Bell came to see us!). McGee was the main person who helped us, worked positively for us. He set us up nicely, thank you very much. Even after it all died down a bit in a year or two and it became obvious that stardom was not beckoning, McGee said that there would always be a place for his favourite group on his record label and true to form, after we sent him some new demos he did sign us for Poptones in 2001. He said he only signed us because our songs were good and that he wouldn't have hesitated to drop us if they weren't. He doesn't mince his words--in fact, at one point he said that he thought I should be an author instead of a rock 'n roller. But I can't write for tuppence, so that was a non-starter!

CITC: What are some of your most satisfying professional achievements?

JS: Satisfying achievements with the 'Minks? Mmm.pleasing people with concerts, songs, records, staying at people's houses after gigs (we never booked hotels, always bummed a floor or sofa and had a party where possible) and eating their food in the morning (two eggs, please!). Lovely naked swims at midnight whether in the sea or jumping the fence to Hampstead outdoor pools! Traveling around the U.K. and Europe and learning the local accents of Birmingham, West Country, Newcastle, etc. so we could stop people to ask directions to that nights' gig to marvel (or take the piss out of) the voices. Getting out of France alive after being stopped with no vehicle insurance or permit to travel abroad (luckily the police didn't speak English and we didn't speak French!), getting through Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin unscathed even though I got a look from an East German soldier that could kill. Writing 'Jasmine Minks Were Here' on the Berlin Wall--someone says it's still on the bit that's left. It's mostly about people, I suppose; making new interesting friends. Learning new skills from photograph sessions in the music press (or even once a promo session with a Vogue photographer), recording studios and sound engineers, finding the weirdest drink concoctions (one called a "Depth Charge" if I remember correctly, involved a small glass of spirits being submerged into a pint of beer!), finding the real times when people begin to crack and lose their cool (Adam and Dave in Germany, me in Plymouth), the fights--punching objectionable hecklers and dodging flying beer bottles. All these things are grist to the mill and move life forward in amazing ways.

CITC: And musically?

JS: Musically.releasing our first single "Think!" on 7" vinyl--a dream come true. BBC sessions--three in all (so far); imagining The Beatles using the very same organ I played for "Cut Me Deep" at Maida Vale studios. Having well-known journalists bother to put pen to paper to slag us off (and give us good reviews, too). Spontaneous cheers after a live song--just knowing that the chemistry is right (we had some great concerts and some stinkers, too). Radio France live session and interview--translated simultaneously! Friends I've made through the music who I'm still in touch with. Meeting Tommy Sheridan (the only real socialist in the Scottish parliament at the time) and having the honour of him being involved in one of our songs ("Daddy Dog" from Popartglory). Getting up the confidence to become the main singer and songwriter after Adam left.

CITC: What was it like when Adam left?

JS: When Adam left I was actually pleased. Things had been going wrong for a while. Adam had been living up in Somerstown and taking lots of drugs (more than the rest of us put together), hanging out with different people and it seemed like his heart wasn't in it. I cared a lot about him but I found it difficult to help because I had my own problems splitting up with my girlfriend and getting involved in a doomed love affair. The group was keeping me together at times--a focus for my energies. But there were also times when I was happy to forget about the group and just concentrate on earning money to live. When we recorded our first album (originally titled Everybody Has Got To Grow Up Sometime--from a song title of the same name we recorded and McGee ditched, although he was really keen on it at first--and then lazily renamed Jasmine Minks) we had had problems.

CITC: What kinds of problems?

JS: Adam and I stopped writing as a partnership of Sanderson/Shepherd and from that came friction between the songs not always based on merit but on who wrote them. Adam and I weren't socializing at all and then when we played a gig at the Africa Centre in London he seemed unhappy with the rest of the group. There was no campaign to get him out, but it was obvious that the group was no longer a socializing group as it used to be and that created obvious splits. Adam was on his own and it must have seemed lonely for him as the rest of us still mixed socially. Adam was much more involved in Creation Records with McGee and I kept away from that side mostly. My love life, earning a living and the music were my priorities. So when the phone call came from McGee saying that Adam was leaving, I was relieved. It was hard as Adam was the leader in the press, the great lyricist and frontman. My job was very much behind the scenes arranging and getting songs together, so to step into his shoes was a big task for me. Initially we kept as a foursome (guitar, bass, drums and trumpet) and went a bit funky--we were really tight and a surviving rehearsal tape shows that. I wrote "Cut Me Deep after Adam left as a tribute to the influence he had on me and the partnership we had. He went on to run a club in London. He put us on and there was no animosity although it must have been difficult for him to see the 'Minks without him. Adam works for the BBC now and has done for many years. We still keep in touch and I'd love for us to be able to sing together again. One day...

CITC: What's the current status of the Jasmine Minks?

JS: Well, me and Tom did the June Brides tribute song '"The Instrumental," but apart from that it may be a while before we do anything else. I tend to be the catalyst in doing something new and it's just too much organization. The Popartglory album took an awful lot out of me. I spent months organizing recording, rehearsals, going round doing everybody's recordings etc. and, although it was a really good album, we couldn't really back it up with lots of live concerts. So for now, I'll keep things simple. I'm sure Tom and Wattie would want to do something again in a year or two--who knows? What I'd really love to do is to hook up with other people--maybe do something with Adam again, or one-off projects with someone like Martin Stephenson of the Daintees fame who said he is keen to record some of my songs for his label.

CITC: What can you tell us about the songs that comprise your new EP We Make Our Own History?

JS: There is a common thread that has run through my songs since I was a teenager: the need to express the anger and frustrations of work, relationships, to say the things you couldn't at the time for whatever reasons (just not quick enough, diplomacy etc.) and the yearning for peace and contentedness through images and ideas in words and music. The four songs on my new E.P. are very much 'songs'--each one of them has words and thoughts contained, although only one is a conventional song in that it has the words sang. The others the words didn't make it in the end--didn't scan right or the melody worked better on keyboard.

CITC: Can you take us through track by track?

JS: "Breaking Out Of The Circle" is the typical, for me, song trying to find peace by finding myself and not following the herd, being aware of it at least and being brave enough to stand up for what you believe in even if it means being the odd one out--or learning to live with the pain of everyday life, accepting it and getting to know and understand the ups and downs of joy and pain; and then watching the cycles that repeat. The freedom comes from knowing that you can break out whenever you like! "We Make Our Own History" is a bit more obvious in that I actually sing the words! One of those conversations where someone tries to show off their knowledge and it usually bugs me, especially if it is particularly conservative and you feel hemmed in as if there was only one solution to the world--money, greed, selfishness, etc. Sometimes I feel this keenly in people and just can't respond at the time--so it comes out in a song. You make your own choices; whether to let others make your decisions for you or to make your own. It's up to you. "A Little Story" is very similar to "History"--someone trying to trip you up with bullshit. They've seen every group you ever wanted to, they've experienced everything you have, except better. But I'm not falling for the bait and instead I'm just getting into Velvet Underground guitars (live '69 album or the 3rd album) and just letting the guitar echo my feelings--a little story goes a long, long way, so the man says. "The Mountaineer" was the code name for the go-between that enabled dialogue between the British government and the IRA in the time of the hunger strikes at the beginning of the '80s (Bobby Sand, etc.). Thatcher says she never talked to the IRA but she always had the mountaineer putting her points to them in the Maze prison. I still don't understand why Ireland is not united--what have people got to lose by trying to live together?

CITC: How are the songs on We Make Our Own History different from the Jasmine Minks?

JS: The four songs on the E.P. were written for the Jasmine Minks so I don't see any major difference in this case between the 'Minks' songs and my own stuff. But there are times when I write songs that I think 'this is not a 'Minks tune'.

My obsessions are much shorter lived nowadays than they used to be. I used to have periods of writing for weeks or months. But now the obsessions are few and far between--middle age, other responsibilities, other priorities now. I like not having other people to compromise with--things seem more pure that way. And I like doing things for fun; no pressure...

CITC: Going back to what you said about distinguishing between a 'Minks song or a Jim Shepherd song, can you describe specifically what characteristics a 'Minks song must have?

JS: I think a 'Minks tune is harmonious, has some distinctive bass and backing vocals maybe or just has that 'feel'--the mod, punk thing, maybe, or plenty of ringing guitars; maybe a distinctive chorus or emotional lyrics.

CITC: If pressed, what are your five favorite Jasmine Minks songs?

JS: 1. "Ghost Of A Young Man"

2. "The World's No Place For A Romantic Today"

3. "Living Out Your Dreams"

4. "Daddy Dog"

5. "Marcella"

CITC: How do you compare yourself now as a musician and songwriter to when you first got started with the Jasmine Minks?

JS: Things haven't changed much now. I still don't know fancy chords on guitar or piano, but I know when I hit on something good. My picking style is still there and I still love the Byrds and guitar pop. Of course, my finger is not on the pulse of modern music anymore. I'd rather read Allen Ginsberg than listen to music a lot of the time. And I record in the kitchen when the kids are sleeping (or even when they are around; some of my demos have kids talking all over them). I use a fender strat because I still like that twang, but now I may add a bit of mandolin for that ringing strings sound. I play acoustic much more now and have more subtleness in my playing, allowing a wide range in dynamics.

CITC: Is that different than when you were playing in the '80s?

JS: One thing about the '80s that took me a while to get out of was the uniformity of sound level. Everything had to be its optimum, which gave a very bland sound, especially in recordings. We picked things up quick, but weren't clever enough to see through the gimmicks of those times. Now I'd rather have a recording with mistakes and a good sound over a perfect bland sound. My words still flow freely but more often now I'll write characters like in a play or imagine situations or combine characters to say something that tickles me. Or not at all! A lot of the time I just won't write things down; I've no need to solidify words onto paper. Letting them go before that stage is just as cathartic; even before talking sometimes. I think John Cage had something when he recorded silence!

CITC: When people look back--and I know I do this a lot (shouldn't have broken up with her, should have blown off finals to go to Italy)--there's usually a sense of regret that surfaces here and there. Do you have any regrets?

JS: I'm full of regrets and guilt: bad decisions, laziness, words I shouldn't have said, etc. Musically and artistically the 'Minks were too eclectic. We should have had a better plan. I should have spoken up for myself more and not let others walk over me. Young and impressionable and all that... I could go on and on. In general my optimism usually wins out. I'm grateful for the chances we got. Not all groups get to release records and play gigs with some of the people we did, after all!

CITC: What's your plan for the future?

JS: God knows. if I was a professional musician then I'd maybe have a plan. You know, record an album in the spring, tour in the autumn, etc. but I don't so I just have to play around with music like a toy; have fun and learn some things along the way--things about the world, things about myself and through interviews like this or other ways, about other people (my favourite in that list). Right now I'd like to play some gigs. I may play one or two this year--acoustic probably. I'd love to rock 'n roll again, ultimately with a group. I aim to work with more people this year and be less stand-off-ish--put myself about a bit as they say!

CITC: You know so many cool people--how about a supergroup? The Butcher, Shepherd, Martin Stephenson.....

JS: The internet is a great link between people. I'd like to link up in real life with these people you mentioned this year. These guys are great and I'd love to collaborate with them. Don't know if a handful of people turning up to a concert or buying records qualifies as a supergroup, though. The last time I played a gig at McGee's Death Disco club in London two years ago, none of the crowd knew me at all. But they probably weren't born when the Jasmine Minks started!

***We Make Our History is out now on I Wish I Was Unpopular Records (www.iwishiwasunpopular.com)***

Exclusive MP3s:

"RUNNING"-The Jasmine Minks (Previously unreleased outtake from 1987's Another Age sessions)

"BREAKING OUT OF THE CIRCLE"-Jim Shepherd (From the E.P. We Make Our Own History)

Like many bands, the Jasmine Minks' lineup went through many permutations. At one point or another, the lineup may have included: Jim Shepherd (vocals/guitar), Adam Sanderson (vocals, guitar), Tom Reid (drums, vocals) and Martin Keena (bass) were the founders of the band. Other members included: Dave Musker (organ), Derek Christie (trumpet and tambourine) Wattie (guitar and management) Paul Cooper (organ and piano), Dave Arnold (guitar), Ed De Vlam (guitar and vocals), Foosky (guitar, vocals and drums), Ken Hossick (keyboards, vocals). "And of course," Shepherd reminds us, "there were many helpers-- roadies, drivers, managers, guys who helped in a variety of ways..."

Jasmine Minks Discography:

Revenge of The Jasmine Minks (Rev-Ola, 2004)

Popartglory (Poptones, 2001)

Veritas (Genius Move, 2000)

Soul Station (Creation, 1991)

Scratch The Surface (Creation, 1989)

Another Age (Creation, 1988)

Sunset (Creation, 1986)

The Jasmine Minks (Creation, 1985)

1,2,3,4,5,6,7 All Good Preachers Go To Heaven (Creation, 1984)

Further Reading:
http://www.jasmineminks.com
http:/www.poptones.co.uk
www.creation-records.com