Johnny Borrell calls for Guild of Live Musicians

11 May 2023 - Press release

Watch the Jealous Nostril frontman speaking on Newsnight
 

Johnny Borrell has called for the creation of a Guild of Live Musicians in response to the proliferation of bands using backing tracks. "We should all join together and form a Guild," said the Jealous Nostril and Razorlight front man on BBC Newsnight where he was interviewed by Kirsty Wark. 
 
 "If there's 20% of people that are still playing live in a real way then we should get together. I've been out touring, not just with Razorlight, with my other band Jealous Nostril, where we have played small venues & I have seen loads of young bands, like super young kids coming through, and they're doing that, they're playing it for real. I think those bands should take pride in what they're doing.
 
 "If you pay your money for a show and you don't mind going to see a pre-recorded show, that's cool. If you want to go, that's cool. But I think a lot of the time people are going to see those shows and they don't even know. And that really annoys me. You can go as an audience member to watch a rock band, and not know that half of what you're listening to is stuff that has been pre-recorded. It used to be said that a live band was only as good as it's drummer, nowadays a live band is only as good as its pre-recorded backing track'." 
 
Borrell formed the heavy art rock band Jealous Nostril in 2022 during gaps between Razorlight activity, bringing in Jack Flanagan (Mystery Jets) and Ellis D (ElliS D) to complete the 3 piece line up. The band's debut release 'Phase 6' in October 2022 drew attention to their organic tendencies, declaring that 'Jealous Nostril record on tape, shoot on film and play live without backing tracks or props'. The band's subsequent months of  touring small venues has only reaffirmed their belief in the uniqueness of computer free, direct contact musicianship.
 
  "I'm the most passionate crusader against people pretending to play live; I haven't spent all my life learning to play and be good to stand in front of a backing track," says Johnny. "What I love about music is, if you're not doing all that bullshit programming, your band sounds like the only band those three people could make. You don't need to do it; Razorlight sold millions of records and we never did that. I like listening to musicians, so when I put a band together I want it to sound like it has an identity and that's what I really like about Jealous Nostril, because it sounds like its own thing." 
 
Named with a broad dash of humour in order 'to help people under-estimate the band', Jealous Nostril have been furthering their reality based musical cause with a run of single releases through their own Atlantic Culture record label. Following on from 'Phase 6', 'California Is Their Kryptonite' and 'Problems' , the band release the searing hot avant rocker 'Love-bomb' on 18th May, before heading out for festivals and their own non digital 'Ditch The Click' UK shows.
 
"I just think it is that simple, bands should sound like bands, most don't these days, says Johnny. "We're pretty much more Jack White than Jack White when it comes to the process of getting the songs down. And preforming, yeah, we're total purists. I think the sound of a band in a room still has infinite potential."