{"id":3489,"date":"2013-01-08T08:37:16","date_gmt":"2013-01-08T13:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=3489"},"modified":"2013-01-08T08:37:16","modified_gmt":"2013-01-08T13:37:16","slug":"im-in-the-fan-club-a-conversation-with-jellyfishs-roger-manning-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2013\/01\/08\/im-in-the-fan-club-a-conversation-with-jellyfishs-roger-manning-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m in the Fan Club: A Conversation with Jellyfish\u2019s Roger Manning, Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continued from Part One<\/a>…<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bill Kopp:<\/strong> I remember one of those live-in-the-studio sessions you did back around the time of the second album. It was for 99X, a radio station in Atlanta (WNNX-FM). The thing I remember most from the interview part of that session \u2013 and I don’t know if it was you or not who was responding \u2013 but the DJ made the point of comparing Jellyfish’s sound to Queen<\/strong>. Whoever it was, he didn’t appreciate the comparison. But while Jellyfish always sounded modern, there was a clear, shall-we-say, classicist<\/em> bent to the music, especially the arrangements. So if not Queen \u2013 and I’d agree with you there \u2013 what sort of aesthetic were you aiming for with the band?<\/span><\/p>\n

Roger Manning:<\/strong> Well, thank you for your kind words and the way you put it. You pretty much nailed it: for us, the biggest priority was, no matter what we did, we did something that gave us a chance to be adventurous and bold. And respectful of artists past, one s who had various influences on us. The main thing was<\/em> to create something that had a classicist feel to it. In a nutshell, we were operating on a tradition of rock\/pop history, and putting our own stamp on it. That’s all we ever wanted to do. And Queen was as much a part of what influenced us, inspired us in that direction, as anybody. Certainly, vocally. People don’t realize that there were groups like The Carpenters<\/strong>, Fleetwood Mac<\/strong> and 10cc<\/strong> who were very, very strong vocal influences on us.<\/p>\n

BK<\/strong>: When the first album came out \u2013 and even more so when Spilt Milk<\/em> was released \u2013 I evangelized about Jellyfish to any of my friends who would listen. But the band never really broke through with the massive success I thought it deserved. I even thought the timing<\/em> was right. You had it all: the music, the lyrics, the arrangements, and<\/em> a distinctive visual style, so important by that period. So why do you think the band never truly broke through in a bigger way?<\/span><\/p>\n