102.3FM
     
    
   
   
    
     
      CABLE
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Jitters
      Interview
     
    
   
   
    
     
      On
      Friday,
      September
      21st,
      CIMN
      Program
      Director
     
     
      Bruce
      Davison,
      interviewed
      Blair
      Packham,
      the
      lead
     
     
      singer
      of
      the
      Toronto
      band
      the
      Jitters.
     
    
   
   
    
     
      CIMN-
      How
      would
      you
      describe
      the
      kind
      of
      music
     
     
      the
      Jitters
      make.
     
    

    
     
      Jitters-
      If
      I
      had
      to
      come
      up
      with.
      a
      quick
      phrase,
     
     
      itd
      be
      "thinking
      man’s
      rock
      and
      roll.".
      You
      know
     
     
      it's
      party
      music
      and
      its
      fun,
      but
      it’s
      also
      -
      there’s
     
     
      some
      depth
      to
      it,,
      the
      lyrics
      are
      kind
      of
     
     
      thought-provoking.
     
    

    
     
      CIMN-
      How
      has
      your
      music
      changed
      from
      your
      first
     
     
      self-titled
      album
      to
      your
      second
      album.
      Louder
     
     
      Than
      Words?
      A
      lot
      of
      people
      seem
      to
      agree
      there’s
     
     
      a
      more
      serious
      sound,
      do
      you
      agree?
     
    

    
     
      Jitters-
      Yeah,
      I
      would
      agree,
      but
      I
      think
      there’s
      a
     
     
      distinciton
      that
      should
      be
      made
      between
      the
      band
     
     
      live
      and
      the
      as
      we
      appear
      on
      record
      out
      our
      first
     
     
      album
      only
      presented
      the
      real
      party
      band
      side
      to
     
     
      us...There’s
      a
      lot
      more
      to
      us
      than
      that
      and
      we
     
     
      wanted
      to
      get
      that
      across.
     
    

    
     
      CIMN-.
      Getting
      into
      the
      history
      of
      the
      band,
      did
     
     
      you
      think
      all
      along
      that
      you’d
      make
      it
      big?
     
     
      Jitters-
      Yeah,
      actually.
      I
      think
      anyone
      that
      tells
     
     
      you
      that
      they
      are
      just
      doing
      it
      for
      fun
      isn’t
      really
     
     
      telling
      you
      the
      whole
      story.
      We
      were
      doing
      it
      for
     
     
      fun
      but
      part
      of
      the
      fun
      is
      seeing
      how
      far
      you
      can
     
     
      take
      it,
      how
      many
      people
      you
      can
      reach...it’s
      really
     
     
      exciting
      to
      play
      in
      a
      place
      you've
      never
      played
     
     
      before
      and
      see
      people
      singing
      along
      with
      your
     
     
      songs,
      the
      song
      that
      you
      wrote
      in
      your
      bedroom
      6
     
     
      months
      ago.
      I
      think
      we
      always
      did
      think
      that,
      but
     
     
      it
      was
      never
      a
      forgone
      conclusion.
      I
      remember
     
     
      reading
      a
      story
      about
      the
      Beatles-how
      when
      they
     
     
      first
      started,
      to
      make
      themselves
      feel
      better,
     
    
   
   
    
     
      700AM
     
    
   
   
    
     
      CAMPUS
     
    
   
   
    
     
      encourage
      themselves,
      John
      Lenon
      would
      say,
     
    

    
     
      "Where
      are
      we
      going
      fellas?’
      And
      the
      rest
      of
      the
     
    

    
     
      Beatles
      would
      chant
      out
      "To
      the
      toppermost
      or
      the
     
    

    
     
      poppermost"...If
      they
      had
      that
      vision
      of
      themselves,
     
    

    
     
      I
      think
      its
      fair
      to
      say
      that
      we
      do
      too.
      ee
      we
     
    

    
     
      have
      not
      turned
      into
      the
      Beatles.
     
    

    
     
      CIMN-
      Not
      yet,.
      but
      its
      coming
      though,
      right?
     
    

    
     
      Jitters-
      Well,
      maybe...At
      this
      point
      I’m
      pretty
      happy
     
    

    
     
      to
      making
      a
      living
      making
      music.
     
    

    
     
      CIMN-
      Actually
      that
      leads
      into
      my
      next
      question,
     
    

    
     
      at
      what
      point
      did
      you
      actually
      start
      making
      a
      living
     
    

    
     
      doing
      this?
     
    

    
     
      Jitters-
      Probably
      about
      1985
      just
      before
      the
      first
     
    

    
     
      record
      came
      out,
      although
      I
      wouldn’t
      call
      it
      a
      very
     
    

    
     
      luxurious
      living.
      That’s
      when
      we
      decided
      we
      were
     
    

    
     
      all
      going
      to
      do
      this
      fulltime.
     
    

    
     
      CIMN-
      What
      is
      your
      song
      writing
      process
      like?
      Do.
     
     
      all
      members
      of
      the
      band
      contribute?
      Do
      you
      write
     
    

    
     
      about
      real
      or
      fictitious
      events.
      Do
      you
      write
      on
      the
     
    

    
     
      road?
      Jitters-
      All
      of
      the
      above..:Often
      it’s
      a
      case
      of
     
     
      putting
      yourself
      in
      a
      situation
      and
      judging
      how
     
     
      you'd
      react.
      One
      of
      the
      first
      songs
      I
      wrote
      was
     
    

    
     
      about
      a
      girl
      who
      |
      was
      with,
      after
      we
      broke
      up,
      she
     
    

    
     
      killed
      herself...
      That
      didn’t
      happen.
      ;
     
     
      CIMN-
      (God,
      I
      hope
      not)
      What
      about
      your
      videos
     
    

    
     
      -
      do
      you
      get
      alot
      of
      creative
      input
      when
      they're
     
    

    
     
      made?
     
    

    
     
      Jitters-
      Yeah
      we
      do,
      that’s
      why
      we've
      go
      a
      very
      ~
     
     
      strong
      video
      (the
      Jitter’s
      latest
      video
      "When
      the
     
     
      Fever
      Breaks")
      "The
      Last
      of
      the
      Red
      Hot
      Fools"
      was
     
     
      another
      one
      we
      were
      very
      pleased
      with
      "Closer
     
     
      Everyday"
      was
      one
      that
      we
      weren't
      so
      pleased
      with,
     
     
      that
      was
      the
      one
      that
      we
      had
      the
      least
      input
      on,
      no
     
     
      that
      we're
      geniuses
      or
      anything...
     
    
   
   
    
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
      October
      4,
      1990
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Page
      24