I KNOW WHAT SOME OF THOSE ‘MUSICIANS’ CAN BE LIKE, ESPECIALLY THE DAM MOODY ONES. IT’S A WORLD OF ONE WORD ANSWERS, AWKWARD SILENCES AND EARTH SHATTERING BOREDOM. SO WHAT IS MY RESPONSE WHEN I FIND THAT MARTIN WANTS (SUGGESTS) ME TO DO A PHONER WITH IDAHO’S JEFF martin? well, he recieves a cold ‘do I have to?’ type OF RECEPTION. I’M THINKING 1 KINDA LIKE HIS MUSIC IN SMALL SPURTS BUT I BET HE’S A MISERABLE GIT.’

JEFF MARTIN, THE BRAINS AND TALENT BEHIND IDAHO MAY WELL BE A MISERABLE GIT, BUT YOU REALLY WOULDN’T KNOW IT BY TALKING TO HIM FROM SEVEN TIME ZONES AWAY.

IDAHO’S SECOND ALBUM, ‘THIS WAY OUT’ IS A TAKE ON THE FIRST, ‘YEAR AFTER YEAR’, MOVING SLIGHTLY, VERY SLIGHTLY TOWARD THE UP-BEAT. IS THIS CONCIOUS OR DOES THIS SHIT JUST HAPPEN?

“IT’S HARD TO SAY...A LOT OF IT IS AFFECTED BY MY OLD partner not being with me anymore because i think he KEPT THE MOOD SOMEWHAT...AH...”

SOMBRE?

“YEAH, WHATEVER ADJECTIVES YOU WANT TO FILL IN THERE.”

ADJECTIVES JEFF IS VERY MUCH TIRING OF?

“SO WORKING BY MYSELF I WAS ABLE TO EXPERIMENT FREELY AND IT WAS A LOT MORE NATURAL.”

JOHN BERRY, JEFF’S OLD PARTNER IN IDAHO IS STILL A FRIEND BUT DUE TO A HEROIN HABIT RUNNING OUT OF CONTROL THERE WAS A SPLIT. THAT’S THE BASIC STORY. NOW AS TIME GOES ON AWAY FROM JOHN DO WE EXPECT THINGS TO BECOME MORE UP-BEAT, HAPPY EVEN? GOOD LORD, I HOPE SO.

“I THINK YOU’RE GONNA SEE IT GO BOTH WAYS, ON THE NEW RECORD THERE IS MORE UP-BEAT STUFF AND SADDER, DARKER STUFF.”

OH LOOK, TWO OF THOSE ADJECTIVES. NO SLIPPING NOW.

“I BUILD IT FROM THE GROUND UP. I’M WORKING A LOT MORE NOW WITH MY COMPUTER WHERE I CAN EXPERIMENT WITH THINGS. I DON’T THINK THAT’S CHEATING. I’M NOT REALLY A BAND SO THAT’S THE ONLY WAY I CAN GET MYSELF TO PLAY THINGS DIFFERENTLY.”

TWO OF JEFF’S BAND (YES, HE REALLY IS A BAND) ARE NOW BECOMING SEMI-PERMANENT . DAN AND MARK ARE WRITING WITH HIM BECAUSE HE REALLY LIKE WHAT THEY’RE DOING AND BECAUSE THE MUSIC NEEDS SOME MORE BLOOD IN THERE.

“I JUST CAN’T KEEP DOING IT BY MYSELF.”

HOW RIGHT YOU ARE, EASY NOW. SO, ULTIMATELY WHO IS THIS ALL FOR? YOURSELF OR US LOT?

“IT’S REALLY FOR MYSELF.”

(I KNEW THE ANSWER BEFORE I ASKED THE QUESTION. THIS MAN IS NO FAKE.)

“IT’S REALLY THE ONLY THING IN LIFE WHERE I FEEL I’M AT PEACE AND NOT WORRYING OR WRITHING ABOUT IN MY CHAIR. I’M LIVING IN THE MOMENT AT THAT POINT, I’M NOT THAT MUCH OF A FREAK, THERE ARE OTHER ASPECTS OF LIFE THAT I ENJOY BUT I FEEL LIKE MUSIC IS MY DIRECT ROUTE TO BLISS. AT THAT MOMENT EVERYTHING MAKES SENSE.”

THERE YOU GO, JEFF MARTIN, HE HAS HIS UPS AND DOWNS LIKE THE REST OF US, DUALITY BEING THE KEY, A MAN TRYING TO MOVE TOWARDS A ‘NEW’ ALBUM. NEW SOUNDING, WITH A LEAP FROM THE LAST TWO RECORDS. HE SOUNDS COMFORTABLE WITH HIS MUSIC AND WHAT GOES ALONG WITH IT. THE FUTURE LOOKS HAPPY/SAD/UP. YEAH, DEFINATELY UP.

MR KEMP

THE ALBUMS ‘YEAR AFTER TEAR’ AND “THIS WAY OUT’ ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH QUIGLEY RECORDS. EXPECT IDAHO TO CATCH A PLANE TO THE UK LATER IN THE YEAR FOR SOME LIVE (LIVELY?) DATES.

JON DOE MAY 1995