BOOZE, WOMEN AND ATTITUDE: Jesse demonstrates his rock credentials, showing the traits that got him recruited by Keane.
"Jess, we were just talking about you... Yeah, I was just listing the most legendary people I've ever met".
In the dim and distant past, I remember reading a quote by Bono that "rhythm is the sex of music". Now, before you immediately brush this off as yet another nonsensical soundbite from the man people love to hate, I'd say he's got a point. If we think about all the classic funk and soul records, the basslines and their interplay with the drums are what give the songs that sensual feeling. Not wanting to downplay the importance of a solid, pounding drum part (all due respect to you, Mr. Hughes), but the sexual aspect of the rhythm section is primarily coming from the bass. Think about the common words we (or at least, I) use to describe bass parts: deep, throbbing, sliding. With descriptions like that, the bassline for a song like Let's Get It On should really come with an 18-certificate. And that's before we even consider the phallic nature of the bass guitar itself, which is far larger, exaggerated and low-slung than its smaller 6-string electric sibling... in this case, it would seem that size really does matter. The swagger and sway of a typical bass player is very different to that of a guitarist - think of Dougie Payne at any Travis gig and you'll know exactly what I'm on about. Bass players tend to be more self-assured, moving suggestively to emphasize their bass part, exuding charisma and sex appeal.
Contrary to what that first paragraph may make you think, I'm not having some mid-life crisis or questioning my own sexual preferences - I think Dougie is a top bloke, but his swaying doesn't excite me in that way (I did once chase him down Union Street in Glasgow, but again - my reasons were honorable, if not sane). There is method to my sexualization of the bass and, since this is a Keane website, naturally it relates to Keane. Plenty of the band's female hoardes are all too willing to get carried away by their hormones at the sight of Tom gyrating in his (excessively) tight jeans, Tim's passionate facial expressions while rocking out on the piano, or Richard hitting six shades of purple out of his drumkit. However, I don't think any of us have ever seriously described any of Keane's songs as sounding sexy. Tim has always been one for coming up with some seriously cool bass parts, but I would struggle to class them as sexy - probably not actually because of the parts themselves, but because the general feel of the songs hasn't really had the necessary groove.
But maybe, just maybe, we are on the verge of getting a little more sexiness into Keane's music. If we believe what we've been told, there is much more of a groove in many of the new songs, leading to Tim himself saying to me that he thought the songs were sexier. If this is true, we need a bass player who is capable of not only simply playing the parts, but playing and performing in such a way that they make the sensual feel of the songs leap out to the front row and slap everyone across the face. In short, we need a man's man - all I can say is, thank God we've got Jesse on-board.
To most of us, Big JQ was a bit of an enigma... the most observant of folks might have spotted him being credited as "Production Assistant" on previous tours, but he first came on the radar for the Warchild and Union Chapel gigs. When it first became apparent that he was going to be playing on the album (and the band were being very open about his involvement), I was amazed that some people treated it as though the end of the world was nigh. "Give him a chance," I implored - "trust the band's judgement". Thankfully, most people did come round (probably because Keane is still officially Tom, Tim and Richard) and the first fruits of Jesse's involvement have certainly been great. He deserves an amazing shout out for the bass on Better Than This in particular - truly outstanding work. Combine that with all his backing vocal work (The Tim, Richard and Jesse male voice choir), handclaps, guitar and "award-winning humour" (his own words!) and we have the recipe for greatness - the legendary Mr. Quin has come among us!
Fear not though, because Jesse is in fact very much a down-to-earth kind of guy. When Tim told me that he was a "lovely chap" and talked about what he'd brought to the sessions, the genuine affection that the band hold him in was plain to see. He is a proper mate, a co-conspirator in the re-invention of Keane - not just some session musician who will turn up, play the show, then take the paycheck and go. That's why I have no qualms about his involvement in the album and the touring... if anything, he's strengthening Keane rather than diminishing it. Plus, he's also been full of kind words for this website, so again, bonus brownie points earned there!
Getting back to the nub of the matter though - if the new "sexier" Keane sound is to be followed through live, JQ is going to have a large burden to shoulder. I trust him to rise to the challenge - he's already proven to be a consummate musician with any number of instruments, as well as a great songwriter and singer (go and check out his songs with The Mets on MySpace if you haven't already done so). I'd particularly recommend their track Always Catching Up - it's a piece of brilliance, building from a gentle acoustic introduction through to a crescendo worthy of the likes of Arcade Fire and Doves. Combine that with the fact that Jesse has a voice reminiscent of Guy Garvey from Elbow (congrats to them on the Mercury Music Prize win, by the way!) and you've got yourself one hell of a package. All systems rock, so to speak.
The only issue is that in the past he has put on record his feelings about doing gigs - he just doesn't like it. In which case, this proves how much he really must have enjoyed the whole Keane experience - signing up to months of touring over the world for an established band in front of large audiences is not something that would ever by decided on the spur of the moment, let alone if you don't actually feel entirely comfortable on-stage. Fair play to him... I suspect it'll take the lad a bit of time to get into it, so we shouldn't judge him too harshly during the early gigs. Having confirmed with the man himself that he will indeed be going on tour (PopJustice caused a scare by the fact he wasn't shown in any of the rehearsal photos), it only remains to say "Good Luck JQ!" (I know he'll be avidly reading this eloquent prose I've written about him). We'll all be rooting for you!
However, for the avoidance of any doubt regarding my own preferences, I'll leave it to the ladies to take special note of any moves or hip-swaying that Jesse does - I'll be concentrating on his massive instrument. Oh, behave...