Interview: Michael Simmons
The sparkle*jets u.k. Singer/Multi-Instrumentalist Discusses 'Best Of Friends'
Los Angeles was a hotbed of guitar pop activity in the ‘90s and early 2000s.
Boasting an impressive pool of musical talent, legions of dedicated fans, a network of passionate club bookers, talent-hungry A&R reps, and annual pop festivals, the LA music scene produced a steady stream of amazing bands, packed shows, stunning albums, and should-have-been hits.
I was there, so I might be biased, but a new double-album from sparkle*jets u.k. adds credence to these nostalgic reassessments.
Although the trio—featuring singer/multi-instrumentalist Michael Simmons, vocalist/guitarist Susan West, and bassist Jamie Knight—were relative latecomers, they quickly connected with more established popsters like The Wondermints, The Masticators, The Negro Problem, Cockeyed Ghost, The Sugarplastic, Third Grade Teacher and The Andersons.
Those bands, along with many others, are the focus of sparkle*jets u.k.’s comprehensive cover song collection, Best of Friends. All the tracks were written and originally performed/recorded by their peers from LA’s ‘90s/00’s guitar pop scene.
Mike Baron reviewed the album for Remember The Lightning earlier this week, but today I chat with Michael Simmons to discuss the origins of this project, why now is the right time to unleash it, and what’s next for sparkle*jets u.k.
Michael Simmons/sparkle*jets u.k. Interview
Congrats on the great new release. Why is now the right time for a project of this size and scope?
Michael Simmons: Long story short, we had the idea for this back in the year 2000, we just never did it. We really wanted to put out something new, and this old idea came up and sounded fun. It was a very quick way to make an amazing collection of songs, and draw attention to us, the label, and all the original artists in one fell blow.
The Los Angeles guitar pop scene was pretty incredible throughout the '90s and into the early 2000s. What was your personal entry point?
Michael Simmons: We played our first few shows mostly in Orange County, just south of LA county. We'd met a few bands like the Negro Problem and Third Grade Teacher and were hosting them for OC shows, but we met the bulk of the people when we first performed at International Pop Overthrow. Soon after we helped curate the Wheat from Chaff festival, which was our first official LA county show I think. That's really where we were embraced by everyone.
As a band from Orange County, did sparkle*jets u.k. have a hard time fitting in with the tight-knit LA scene?
Michael Simmons: Everyone we met was very supportive and wonderful. Everyone was cool and seemed to like what we were doing... we were one of the last two bands to make it into that well-established group.
Do you have any memories of favorite shows from International Pop Overthrow, either as a fan or a musician?
Michael Simmons: There are so many! My personal favorite was playing at a place called The Gig on Melrose for IPO. We were on the bill with Big Hello and the Masticators. All three of our bands were at our point of maximum impact and we just SLAYED at that show. I remember Chris Collingwood from Fountains of Wayne walking in during our first song. It was a hell of a night!
The first single from this album is "He's Coming Out" by The Masticators. Why was that the right song to lead with?
Michael Simmons: Back then, the Masticators were the group we spent the most time with. We did a few little tours and shared a lot of bills, as well as recording studio space. We played that song in our set on a number of occasions and it's a bit of a barn-burner featuring Susan and her amazing voice so it seemed a good choice. I don't know who picked it, probably the label!
The Negro Problem is the only band that you cover twice on this collection—"Come Down Now" and "Mahnsanto." Why is that?
Michael Simmons: We made this track list back in 2000 or 2001, and even back then we couldn't decide between the two songs. When it came time to record these, we still couldn't decide and wanted them both.
I was happy to see Cockeyed Ghost covered here. Why did you specifically choose to cover "Ludlow 6:18"?
Michael Simmons: That whole album was so wonderful, and that song is really the showpiece of it. It's very much of its time and holds a lot of nostalgia. Also, I can't imagine us doing 'Ginna Ling' or something like that!
Same with Linus of Hollywood. His songwriting seems perfect for sparkle*jets u.k. Was it hard deciding which song to cover?
Michael Simmons: Yeah, it was. That was one of the few songs that we added to our original list when I thought we needed more lead vocals from Susan to balance things out. His first album was a pretty big deal among the pop folks back then, everyone loved it. 'Good Sounds' is super accessible and goes well with the vibe of this collection.
Twenty of these tracks were recent recording—all of them except for "Fantastic Pantsuit" by Third Grade Teacher. What's the story there?
Michael Simmons: Ah... well, a few of these songs we used to play live because we learned them for special shows, record release parties, and such. ‘Pantsuit' was by far the most twee 'pop' song Third Grade Teacher ever made, and we decided to do it for their record release way back when and turn it into something more rock. It was so dumb and fun that we tracked it back then. It came out as a split single on Big Stir a few years ago, and wanted to make sure it had a home here on this LP.
If you added a twenty-second track, what artist/song would it be?
Michael Simmons: Something by Tsar, obviously! Actually it was going to be a song by Ultra Violet Eye but I never quite got that one together. And at this point we realize there are a TON of bands we could have or should have represented here that are not. If people really dig this record, we are definitely writing down ideas for Vol 2 if anybody wants to campaign for that!
What is your ultimate hope for this project?
Michael Simmons: That people listen to it! We hope they discover these great songs and bands.... discovery, discussion, debate. And more than anything, we'd love to get these boxes of vinyl out of our houses and into yours!
Will there be live shows?
Michael Simmons: We hope to do a couple this summer to launch this record... we don't have much free time to worry about booking shows at the moment. We wanted to do a little California tour but I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon. That said, I'm setting a goal for NEXT summer to go on tour with the Armoires in the UK. I think a full-on Big Stir Revue show is in order, don't you?
Check Out The sparkle*jets u.k. POPcast (Podcast)
Join members of sparkle*jets u.k. as they chat with their peers from the late ‘90s/early ‘00s pop music scene, which was mostly centered in Los Angeles.
Using their 2023 double album release Best of Friends as a topical springboard, your hosts discuss their musical experiences and reminiscences of those heady days with many of the people involved.
Remember The Lightning—A Guitar Pop Journal
A new semi-annual music journal featuring some of today's best music writers on modern guitar pop, and talented modern artists on the music/genres that inspire them.