London Calling is a band poised on the edge of something big. How big only time will tell. They've got all the ingredients necessary for success, now it's up to them and a little luck to see just how far this thing will go. The timing couldn't be better either. Rock and roll thought by many to be dead, appears to be making a comeback.

Who are these guys and where did they come from? There's not much out there on the band. Their website is as sparse as a bachelor's pantry, and the sample songs are intriguing enough to make you wonder what else they have up their sleeves.

The band is made up of Jamie Rowe (vocals and guitar) Jon Gilbert (guitar and piano) Matthew Martin (bass) Derek D. Sorrells (drums). For those of you who pay attention to liner notes and stuff you may recognize some of these guys.

Jamie Rowe is probably one of the world's youngest journeyman vocalists. He was a member of Guardian, was part of AdrianGale, and is now with London Calling. The rest of the guys were formally in The Frantics; a band that kicked some serious nether regions - their eponymous release got a lot of play at my house. Unfortunately they only released one album. Label issues and the departure of their lyricist and singer put the band on hold.

Now being a curious sort I figured I'd chat with Jon about the band before the media scrums and press conferences took up too much of his time. We all know that every great band has a great guitar player, in addition to an enigmatic vocalist. Vocalists get to talk all the time, it's what they do, so I'm going in the side door and getting the goods from the guitar player.

So Jon, thanks for taking the time to chat with me about the band.

Hey, thanks for taking the time for us. We really do appreciate each and everyone who gives even a second out of their day.

I guess first off, I gotta ask how weird is it to be active again as a band?

It's a lot like riding a bike. I like to think of the Frantics as a starter bike, now I feel that I've got a new Mongoose, and taken the training wheels away.

The Frantics were a pretty impressive starter bike Jon. Most bands would be lucky to get a ride like that. So here you are with London Calling, you've got Jamie on board. How'd you hook up?

We (Derek & myself) hit it off with Jamie on the Guardian Bottle Rocket tour back when we were in Miss Angie's backup band. We kind of list contact with all of those guys until we were writing for the "Meet the Frantics" record - and were tossed a song called Let it Go. For anyone who doesn't know - Jamie wrote that one. Long story short, it ended up being not only on the record, but our only song to get serious radio airplay.

Let it Go is a pretty good song; it gets good treatment on Jamie's Beautiful e.p. What surprises me is how a song like Kids of Summer didn't bust open all over the place. That is one terrific song. The guitar bridge on that one is worth buying the whole album for.

Back to Jamie, I read that he contributed vocals as well on that first record.

Over the course of recording the record we began to hand out and do some moonlighting gigs with Jamie. One was opening for Stryper at the Stryper Expo in New Jersey (2001?). After the Frantics disbanded we had a few different failed attempts of try and try again. We were ready to throw in the towel after two years of failing at just about everything we had done when Jamie calls Derek out of the blue. I'd say mostly he was just bored and tired of doing the same as us - just spinning his wheels.

Voila! Here we are, ready to conquer the world.

Glad to hear you guys managed to hang in there. I don't think people realize how hard it is to persevere, for so long without getting anywhere. If it was so easy there'd be a lot fewer people with day jobs.

Help me out here, what's with the name London Calling. Is this a nod to the Clash? Referencing the Brit influence from the late 70's early 80's? I read somewhere you were originally called Pop Gun or something.

Never listened to the Clash. Jamie did a lot. A nod, yes you could say that. Plus, I think it's an attention getter. I liked what Nikki Sixx said in the Motley Crue Behind the Music. He wanted to name his band "Christmas" because he figured if you chose a name that was already successful, you'd be successful. I hope we can be half of that of The Clash.

Not a big fan of the Clash either. They had a couple of classics, but I don't have any of their stuff. Not a big fan of the Crue either, but I know what you're saying. One of the best titles I've seen in a long time comes from Brian Healy's Dead Artist Syndrome "Jesus Wants You To Buy This Record."

You guys have the added baggage of not only being musicians, but musicians who are Christian. How do you guy maintain balance and focus in an industry that's not generally perceived as charitable?

Balance … We are KINGS of the tightrope.

I would guess you're only partially kidding too. You guys are making a big deal about making rock music, which is pretty funny in a way as the music I grew up with was just rock and roll. The Cars, April Wine, Cheap Trick, Toto, Boston, The Knack - ooh pop quiz anyone out there able to name more than 2 songs by these guys? So I find it funny to see all these "new" bands. Heck, I'm still in my 30's and I find myself able to be nostalgic about music.

Cheap Trick is the most underrated band in history. Matthew like the Rolling Stones a lot right now, that and Coldplay. Derek is into Filter. I like 50 Cent's In Da Club - no really, I'm still listening to Oasis, and The Verve. Those bands will always be timeless to me. Jamie likes Sugarcult - well today he likes them. I don't know about tomorrow, just today.

Cheap Trick. Bang on the money Jon. People get hung up on the Budokan thing, which was great, but man don't stop there. Pick up Sex America Cheap Trick - one of the best box sets I've picked up. Funny you should mention Oasis I really like them too. I think they've had their run sadly. Hey, you're missing out if you haven't picked up Sound Track of our Lives, and a Canadian kid called Sam Roberts.

Enough memory lane for now, back to London Calling. We were chatting a while back about the interest you guys are generating. You've been hard at it in the studio, and you'll have an indie coming out pretty soon. How's it feeling? What I've heard so far is sounding pretty dang good. I'm looking forward to a full album.

It feels great to actually write music again, it's the anticipation that hangs on whether or not people will like it. I think that this album is what it is - an album. No two songs really sound alike. I mean it sounds like the same band from track to track - each track is a different chapter of the book. Does that make sense?

Yes it makes perfect sense. There's a sense of continuity, without it sounding like you've just keep playing the same songs over and over again.

The thing I always like about Derek and Matthew is no matter who we played with, The Frantics, Phil Joel, London Calling - it always felt like a band. There is always a chemistry with the three of us. Jamie goes nothing but take that to a higher level. I have never met anyone who could sing a track in one take, note perfect and that's what goes on the record - that's unheard of. We're very fortunate to have him with us. I mean he could be singing with Ratt or something right?

So how important was it for you guys to gel in the studio and get something out, with or without a distribution deal?

As far as distribution goes, we have links on our website now as to where to get our album when it comes out. As for today we're still free agents.

It must be odd in a way since the three of you have such a long history, but from what your saying this is a real band, and I know from reading a little bit from Jamie's own site that he's really pumped about the band.

As to the Ratt thing, I'll leave that one alone. I think this is the better move. No offense to Steve Pearcy and whoever is flogging their dead horse now …

As to your free agent status, enjoy it while you can.

I'm looking forward to hearing the album when it comes out. Anyway, that's about it for now. My thanks to Jon Gilbert for taking the time to trade e-mails with me, and best of luck.

For more information on the band check them out. Their debut album The New Sensation will be available late June - early July.

Jevon the Tall
banopernalia.com
June 2003

(Images ©2003 London Calling used with permission, which I'm about to ask for. Hey, Jon, can I use these images on the site?)

Updated August 2003: Album Review You should know, it's better than I expected.