ANAHEIM, Calif. — There’s a reason Jimmy Eat World has been such a constant presence in Southern California over the three decades since the alternative rock band formed in Mesa, Arizona, in 1993.
Just look at a map, singer-guitarist Jim Adkins explains.
“I mean any tour that we would do, that’s the first place we would drive,” he says on a recent call. “Because like if you head east, I think that’s like five hours to El Paso but then it’s like 14 hours to anywhere else in Texas, and the drives get so long.
“You can go to San Diego and work your way up the coast and play so many gigs,” Adkins says. “Especially if you’re small. Like, the Troubadour isn’t gonna get mad you did a gig in Riverside. There’s no exclusion clause when you’re playing Koo’s Café in Santa Ana. That’s fine, man.”
In the early years of Jimmy Eat World, the Southern California circuit came to feel a lot like home.
“We just did what you normally do in your hometown,” Adkins says. “Working our way up the coast we just made friends. Met a lot of really amazing musicians and other bands that we’re friends with to this day.
“It’s just a part of our formative years, you know, not just as a music project but us as people.”
With alternative hits such as “The Middle” and “Sweetness,” both from the breakout 2001 album “Bleed American,” as well as “Pain” and “Work” from the 2004 follow-up “Futures,” Jimmy Eat World grew ever more popular in Southern California, playing bigger venues and frequently showing up on KROQ Weenie Roast and Almost Acoustic Christmas lineups.
This summer, Jimmy Eat World, which includes guitarist Tom Linton and drummer Zack Lind, both of whom like Adkins have been in the band since the start, and bassist Rick Burch, who joined a year or so later, is on road with Manchester Orchestra for their co-headlining Amplified Echoes Tour.
In an interview edited for length and clarity, Adkins talked about everything from the tour to the two bands deciding to cover one of each other’s songs, three decades of Jimmy Eat World to the moment when Adkins says he finally felt like this band thing was going to work out all right.
Q: How did you guys and Manchester Orchestra get together for this and what kind of shows do you have planned?
A: They’re a band I feel like have been friends of friends for a really long time. I’m surprised we’ve never ended up doing gigs before. There were a couple of times where we tried to tour with them but for whatever reason it didn’t materialize. This time the stars aligned.
The last couple of big tours we’ve done we’ve been clearly the support act. And with this one, it feels like it’s truly a night that us and Manchester Orchestra are hosting. We’re not going to neglect the songs that I know everybody wants to hear but I think in the extra time that we have we’re going to be playing some stuff that maybe fans haven’t heard in a while.
Q: You also recorded each other’s songs. You covered ‘Telepath’ and they did ‘Table For Glasses.’ What was that like?
A: Andy (Hull) from Manchester Orchestra and I’d been talking back and forth and we just sort of decided to do this. And we weren’t going to tell each other what song we’d chosen or show each other until basically we were done.
I kept making jokes to Andy like, ‘Oh, man, I don’t know if we’re gonna make it in time. I’ve got to find a trombone player for a ska version of ‘Gold.’ I think it really freaked him out. ‘It’s just a perfect chance to showcase some local rappers. It’s gonna be polarizing but you’re gonna love it.’
Q: How did you find the Jimmy Eat World way into a Manchester Orchestra song?
A: I approach cover songs a couple of ways. I think you can look at it like a karaoke version. Like you get to pretend you’re in that band, and that’s fun. And there’s like, ‘This is one of our old demos which we forgot about,’ and just what jumps out at you, what’s exciting about this. And you forget that it’s already a released thing and people like it. You just chase that with abandon and see what happens.
Both ways are really fun, but I think it’s kind of obvious we went with the abandoned way. We just made it ours, like a Jimmy Eat World song really.
Q: Thirty years as a band is a noteworthy achievement. In 1993, what were your realistic hopes for the band?
A: Honestly, I feel like it was just something fun. The horizon of our ambitions didn’t extend further than maybe next month’s gig. Or it would be awesome if we were able to put out a 7-inch (record). Or it’d be awesome if we got to book a show that was out of town. That’s all we kind of hoped for this thing.
Coming from Mesa, it’s not exactly like a hip, happening music scene, or at least it wasn’t when we were kids. And so we fell into a group of people that felt very realistic and motivated by pure intentions. It’s as empowering as it is nihilistic. You can do whatever you want because no one cares. The bummer is when you’re really stoked on something no one cares. So you better be doing it just for the reward of challenging yourself and making something exciting for you.
Q: So when did you finally feel like this was something that would last? Something that would pay the bills?
A: I mean, sometime around 2011 I think I might have started to let it sink in that this is what I do. Everything up until then was always just, ‘What is the next most realistic goal to set our sights on?’ Like after we did put out a 7-inch we could probably make an album. And then after we did play out of town it was like we could probably maybe do a week of touring.
Yeah, sometime around 2011, I guess maybe around our ‘Chase This Light’ record, I felt like, ‘Wow, I’m kind of doing this. I guess this is what I do.’ I still think it could go away at any minute. I still identify as the 14-year-old metal kid who really can’t take this that seriously.
Q: It’s interesting to me that even after all the success of ‘Bleed American,’ which had some of your biggest songs, the ones you’ve got to play every night, you still quite feel it.
A: I mean, it’s after the gig and I’m looking at a rusted drain in the concrete floor in the converted German slaughterhouse that we just played. And then our dressing room is right next to Cameron Diaz and we’re playing ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Like how do you let that go to your head? ‘OK, I’m this important,’ or, ‘Yeah, dude, here we are, man.’ It’s insane. Insane. Like there’s no feeling of job security or financial security or career status that comes with something that insane.
Q: I can see how that could feel disorienting or unsettled.
A: You’re just laughing to yourself and just happy that you’re there. And there’s immense gratitude for being there, but there’s not the feeling of something earned to be there. It’s like you are really lucky and you get to be here for now. Or here’s where you get to be right now, and maybe tomorrow you’ll still be here. Maybe not.
I don’t know, a lot of people don’t get that. But you are now, so, like, have fun. Because that’s what you got.
