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Frost
is yet another new band to pop up from the very busy British
progressive rock scene – all put together by a newcomer to the
scene – Jem Godfrey. We have put a few questions together to
learn a bit more about this new band…
“Milliontown”
will be released mid-July, what kind of expectations do you have
for it?
Jem - To be honest, I don’t have any expectations for
Milliontown. It was a very simple brief I set myself when I
started writing it - I just set out to make the record I’d
always wanted to hear coming from a prog band. If other people can
dig it, then I’m even happier about having done it. And grateful.
If
you should suggest one single song to understand the full Frost
musical potential, which title would you choose and why - my
choice would be the title track off the new album?
Jem
- I would agree with your choice, I think Milliontown touches
on all the previous moods and themes included within the other 5
songs and it also hints at some things to come. It’s my
favourite song certainly.
How
did you end with a name like Frost, is there some deeper story
behind it?
Jem
- I wanted
a crisp, 21st century sounding word that didn’t
necessarily suggest a progressive rock band. Something as far away
from all the prog clichés involving Knights of the Round Table,
Sorcerers, dragon slaying and all that shit. Frost seemed to fit
the bill nicely! ;-)
Do
you feel that your sound will evolve in some different direction,
in the future, or will you still follow the same path?
Jem
- I
think the sound will definitely evolve. I don’t think repeating
the same ideas over and over again makes for happy fans or happy
musicians. Unless you release make an album like “Invisible
Touch” obviously, in which case, evolution is clearly a very bad
idea!
What
inspires you when you write lyrics?
Jem
- I think up horrible stories and try to explain them with
lyrics. Normally beer is involved. A lot of the stuff I write
about seems to involve death in one form or another, except for
“The Other Me”, which is about giving birth to yourself.
The
artwork seems very simple, why and is there a story behind?
Jem
- Again, I wanted a modern, simple theme. And I wanted to get
London
into it. Frost is a
London
band really. I’m proud of where I was born, even though it’s a
bit violent these days.
Any
touring plans for 2006?
Jem
- Yes! We’re off on a small run of gigs with Pallas in
October, hopefully there’ll be a few more support shows for us
to do before the end of the year as well. We want to really gel as
a live band before we attempt any headline shows of our own.
That’s for next year…
Let’s
speculate - you have been granted a free slot on a tour of your
own choice - who would be your ideal touring partners?
Jem
- I’d sell my granny to do a few shows with Spock’s Beard.
Guys?
Name
a person, event or maybe an album, that have had a big influence
on you life, and why?
Jem
- Peter Gabriel is a very important musical influence on me. I
really like and admire how he’s not afraid to experiment
sonically. His album “Security” (or Peter Gabriel 4) was the
thing that got me into playing with sound and thinking of it as a
huge creative resource rather than as a solid, untouchable
element. Also Delia Derbyshire, she was beyond cool.
The
internet is a very important source for many music fans - how do
you use the internet and how important is it for you and other
bands, and what’s your opinion of Napster, file-sharing and so
on?
Jem
- The internet has largely been responsible, I think, for the
current prog scene and it’s extremely healthy (albeit still
underground) condition. People from all over the world can share
the music they create with anybody who chooses to listen, free
from contracts, politics and all of the negative things that
affect the mainstream music industry today (and indeed pretty much
all corporate industry these days). It’s been nothing short of a
revolution frankly and I wholeheartedly love it.
As
for illegal downloading and all that entails, I certainly don’t
endorse it, but at the same time I understand why it exists.
How
do you feel about the progressive rock scene at the moment?
Jem
- See
above!
I
thank you very much for participating in this interview and
sharing this information and your thoughts with us - these last
lines are entirely for you. Any final words you would like to
round off with?
Jem
- Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, I hope
this article finds you well and I hope we can meet at a Frost gig
sometime soon.
Kenn
Jensen
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