Interview Buster Shuffle: Jethro Baker

De ska, rock 'n roll band Buster Shuffle bracht recent hun nieuwste plaat (Do Nothing) uit onder het label People Like You Records.

Tijd om zanger/pianist Jethro Baker enkele vragen te stellen.

You guys used to play in return for beer. Can you tell us something about that time?

Not so much to be honest. It’s difficult to remember exactly as we were all so drunk all the time. Thankfully it didn’t seem to affect our performances on stage, though…

What are the biggest differences between making decisions yourself and being signed with a label?

It takes a bit the pressure off in terms of how the band uses its time. It allows us to concentrate on the music and on playing live more…

How were the reactions when you got signed to ‘People Like You’?

Really good I think. We really like the label and the label seems to really like us, so it’s great…

Did you know the label before getting signed to it?

We’d heard of it before of course … the name’s been shortened, but nobody forgets something as outrageous as that!

How did you decide to get the reinforcements you got last summer? (Pete Oag, Carrie Griffiths, Debz Bridgeman)?

Well I think it was a pretty natural progression in the end. The music we were making in the studio kind of demanded that we expanded in order to do it justice in the live shows. So we recruited a keyboard player and some singers and it’s given us a much bigger and more interesting sound I think…

What would be your favorite part of being in a band?

Getting to see different countries is great fun… We played our first gigs in Italy and Denmark recently, both lovely places…

How would you describe the latest record 'Do Nothing' yourself?

It’s part pop, part ska, part rock ‘n’ roll and ALL Buster Shuffle. I think it’s important not to be too derivative so we try to keep things as fresh as possible. We don’t want to be pigeonholed as one type of music for one type of scene. Our music is about having fun. Everyone likes to have fun so there’s no reason why we can’t appeal to a lot of different people from a lot of different ways of life.

What are the biggest differences between that and earlier record 'Our Night Out'?

I think it’s a more mature record in terms of the overall sound. We’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with some fantastic musicians from some great bands, too, namely Mickey Gallagher of The Clash and The Blockheads, Roddy Radiation from The Specials, Ian Catskillkin of Art Brut and Wag of The Infidels. That’s really helped lend the album some nice variations in flavour…

Can you tell us your favorite tracks of the album? And of course why?

‘Around Here’, ‘Doesn’t Matter’ and ‘Made in China’ because I love the melodies…also ‘Elvis Vs Wag’ because I love its energy and ‘The Lake Song’ because it’s like nothing else that we’ve done before…

You guys have a lot of different styles and influences in your music, I can find even more in the latest records if I may say so. Where does that come from?

I guess it comes from a desire to make our music sound as fresh and interesting as possible. All the best and most long-lived bands have succeeded because they are unmistakable, unique if you like. I’m not saying we’re reinventing the wheel, but we’re certainly putting a different spin on it…

What can we expect from Buster Shuffle in the near future considering the promo of 'Do Nothing'?

We’re just going to play as many shows as possible now: festivals and our own gigs all over Europe… The best way to get our message out there is to come and show people in person so we’ll be very busy, especially in Germany…

How did the writing and recording process of the album go in this case?

It was a joy if I’m honest… It’s always great fun seeing your ideas taking shape in the studio, one of my favorite things about being in a band.

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