The Jesus and Mary Chain Cometh!

Good news for audiophiles and any music fans with a sense of history: The Jesus and Mary Chain have booked their first dates in almost a decade. While this may not energize as many as it should, it really should. This band helped create so many sounds that it isn't funny; everyone from My Bloody Valentine and Mogwai to the Pixies and Interpol owes them something. Better yet, Morphizm's pals at Charm School scored us a shorty with Jesus honcho Jim Reid about the whole deal. Read it and smile:

1. Why are you doing the show now?
"Well, I would say 'Why not?' There are many reasons really. Firstly it's taken this long for me and William to get to a point where it would be realistic to do it, and to some degree each of us assumed the other wouldn't be interested, and it was only after we talked about it that we realised this. Also Coachella were very persistent."

2. The last show was in 1998?
"Yes, the last Mary Chain gig was in 1998 and was such a bloody awful mess, too much drink, too many drugs, nobody seeing eye to eye on anything and the band just blew up, and I suppose you could say this is another good reason for our reformation, cause that was no way for the Mary Chain to end."

3. William lives in LA and you live in Devon?
"You can imagine the problems this presents."

4. Who else is in the band?
"On bass it's Phil King, on drums it's Loz Colbert, and on second guitar is Mark Crozer, and of course myself and William."

5. Will there be more shows and an album?
"I really don't know. Maybe. I think we would like to and we're looking at another show or two."

6. Are William and yourself working on solo albums?
"Yes, both are at the recording stage at the moment, and both will hopefully be out later in the year."

Can you say, product placement? It's a different time indeed. The '80s and '90s were halcyon days compared to ours, but then again I was saying the same thing about the '60s and '70s in the '80s and '90s, so the more things change the more they remain the same. Either way, the world is better with Jesus and Mary in it. For more info on the new developments and tour, check out the band's official site.