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“This is an album for people who work hard, and want to let go. People who want to grab that crazy night that recharges them.”

Can you encapsulate a wild night, or better yet, a wild weekend in an album? JC Brooks has with his upcoming effort, The Neon Jungle, which is due out April 7.

With elements of everything from rock to pop to soul, the album is a perfect soundtrack for a good time.

Myspace has the exclusive first listen of The Neon Jungle, so if you’re ready for your day to get significantly more upbeat, click play, and let JC Brooks turn wherever you are into the place to be.

Wanting to know about about The Neon Jungle, we caught up with JC Brooks to find out about his inspirations, what we’d need for a weekend in The Neon Jungle, and what we’d find there.

Why a neon jungle?

While it's a classic general metaphor for a city, for me neon is a retro-futuristic evocation of night, and wild nightlife.

The city of Chicago is The Jungle, at least according to Upton Sinclair, and that's where part of this came from.

One of the strongest themes of that book is how people work themselves to death – unappreciated and anonymous. This is an album for people who work hard, and want to let go. People who want to grab that crazy night that recharges them and keeps them sane enough to keep killing themselves Monday through Friday for the sake of some greedy asshole to whom you mean less than nothing.

The jungle also evokes a sense of survival which would drive the brand of "sanity" I just mentioned. A city is a hard place to adapt to if you weren't raised in one. Being sheltered is a luxury most here can't afford because obliviousness makes you easy meat.

What about your jungle is bright and colorful?

Fresh blood, new money, blazing blunt tips, intricate graf, freakum dress – masc and fem, Skyy vodka bottles, the drag queens at Smartbar, the beauty of a 3AM mini burrito at Trés Panchos, the karaoke screens at the VFW after-hours ... all these things are part of my neon jungle.

What kind of camping gear would someone need if they wanted to spend a weekend in The Neon Jungle?

Comfortable shoes – You'll spend a lot of time on your feet. You'll dance, and you may have to do some sprinting.

Nugs, 1 oz. – Player's choice.
Some form of prophylaxis … or not.
A pocket knife – Ya never know.
Caffeine pills/espresso dealer – You only get a weekend, don't waste it sleeping.
Some surplus "fuck it" – When will you get to do this again? Only the future knows, and you could be dead by tomorrow anyway.

Tell us about an especially memorable recording session for The Neon Jungle.

During one all-nighter we got drunk and blazed and ran around in the woods chasing ghosts and inspiration.

There were strange dogs out there. There were also hidden fire pits that were invisible on a moonless night.

We all burned off some individual life frustrations that had nothing to do with the studio process, and also some internal stuff – I tend to get really mad at myself when I'm not nailing takes. It wasn't the inspiration for the song "Stumble In The Dark," but it could be retconned as such.

We took our problems into the dark woods, scraped our knees, and eventually found inspiration – or at least a way to stop blocking myself from my creativity – as a result.

Listening to The Neon Jungle makes me think you grew up on some classic soul records. What was in rotation in your house when you were a kid?

While I'm said to have a soulful voice, on this project we actually swung it back in a more rock-based, neo post-punk direction.

We've done classic soul, and it was fun, and we still include it in our live shows, but as far as creativity, we like more than that, and trying to keep making classic soul albums fits like a straightjacket. We've done it, we got good at it, and now we wanna grow beyond that, and get good at something else, you know?

Some artists naturally get their inspiration and productivity from that place. Take Gabe Roth and Daptone Records – that shit is beautiful, but it also ain't us. We do more of an indie-soul thing that dovetails with the aforementioned neo post-punk.

Here are some records that inspired this album

Steely Dan – Gaucho
Billy Ocean – Suddenly
Luther Vandross – Stop For Love
Prince – Sign o' The Times
Guns N' Roses – Appetite For Destruction
Terence Trent D'Arby – Introducing The Hardline...
Michael Jackson – Off The Wall
Phil Collins – No Jacket Required

Here are some of the records I grew up on at home

Steely Dan – Aja
Anita Baker – Rapture
Earth Wind & Fire (catalogue)
Stevie Wonder (catalogue)
Luther Vandross (catalogue)
DeBarge – All This Love

Here's some of what I bought for myself at a teenager

Blind Melon – Blind Melon – First CD I purchased for myself
Bob Marley – Kaya
Wu-Tang – 36 Chambers
Aerosmith – Get A Grip
Hackers Soundtrack
Tori Amos – Under The Pink
Boyz II Men – Cooleyhighharmony
Salt N Pepa – Very Necessary
Tool – Undertow

 

Listen to more exclusive tunes by visiting our Premiere page.

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