Gothic Theatre
Gary Jules
This past December, four decades after the British invasion of America, San Diego natives Gary Jules and Michael Andrews returned the favor with a stunning rendition of the 1982 Tears For Fears hit “Mad World.” The song exploded on the U.K. singles chart, rocketing straight to No. 1 during Christmas week, making Jules and Andrews only the sixth American artists in more than thirty years to hit the top of the British pops during the coveted holiday period. The single, which originally appeared on the 2002 Donnie Darko score album, went on to sell more than 650,000 units (and still counting) while maintaining peak position for five consecutive weeks. It even became one of the most ordered cellular ring tones in the U.K. Before long, the track was charting everywhere from Ireland to Israel. The reverberations were also felt on this side of the Atlantic, where “Mad World” drew rave reviews and became the No. 1 Most Added Track at AAA radio. Not bad for a song the duo recorded in about an hour as a demo.
This year promises bigger things with the major label release of Jules’ album Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets. Working once again with longtime friend and collaborator Andrews, Jules has crafted a spare-but-compelling album filled with beautifully sung meditations on faith, hope and love. From “Mad World” and the mandolin-driven “Princess of Hollywood Way” to the upbeat “DTLA” and the soothing breeze of “Barstool,” Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets is exactly the kind of diverse album you’d expect from an artist Rolling Stone called “an important new songwriting talent.”
But critical kudos are nothing new for Jules, who is described by Nic Harcourt, the music director at KCRW and host of influential radio show “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” as both “a captivating performer” and his “favorite L.A. artist.” (It should also be noted that Harcourt championed “Mad World” early on and was instrumental in its success.) VH-1 named Jules their “Fresh Pick of the Week,” saying that he’s the “best American singer-songwriter to emerge out of the late ’90s, and the only one worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence with Paul Simon, James Taylor, Cat Stevens and Nick Drake.” Wrote Britain’s NME, “Jules has the sort of voice and melodic grace that makes radio programmers fall to their knees in prayer.”
Accolades aside, nothing has come easily or quickly for Jules. In late ‘96, after paying labor-intensive dues on L.A.’s singer-songwriter scene, he signed with A&M Records and recorded his debut album Greetings From The Side. Company politics delayed the album’s release for over a year. It finally saw the light of day in August of ‘98. “Two weeks later, the label disappeared under a corporate merger,” laughs Jules. "It happened so fast, I couldn’t get copies of the record, which meant I was unable to go on the road and sell it. To make matters worse, I was still signed, so I couldn’t make a new record elsewhere. I was sold along with thousands of other people and because I was a new artist and near the bottom of the ladder, it took a year to review my contract and for me to finally get dropped." Disillusioned, he went back to college and finished a degree in English literature.
In March of 2001, Jules visited Andrews, his childhood friend of more than 20 years, in San Diego. Andrews previously produced Greetings From The Side and the two co-produced Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets. When Andrews was hired to score the soundtrack for Donnie Darko, he invited Gary to sing on “Mad World.”
In two days, they did basic recordings of four songs: “Broke Window,” “DTLA,” “Pills” and “Patchwork G.” In the months that followed, the duo tracked seven more songs, which later, along with Gary’s solo recordings of “Umbilical Town” and “Lucky”, became Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets. The songs were mixed on a friend’s home stereo and in January 2002, Jules put out Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets on his own.
He toured endlessly in support of the record, sharing stages with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Todd Rundgren, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz and Turin Breaks. Along the way, he managed to sell nearly 10,000 copies in the U.S.—a remarkable feat for a self-released album with absolutely no advertising or marketing behind it.
“It started happening for me at the second attempt and came together very organically,” says a reflective Jules. “I figured it wasn’t that big of a mystery—just write songs that mean something to you and sing them for whoever will listen. Hopefully, they’ll mean something to them, too.”
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MICHAEL ANDREWS and GARY JULES BIOGRAPHY
Michael Andrews and Gary Jules liked their British Eighties classics. Echo and The Bunnymen, The Smiths, Tears For Fears… Friends since they were 10 years old, they had always played music together. They have always kept in touch through music; Michael produced Gary’s A&M debut and co-produced, with Gary, the Adventures/Sanctuary follow-up Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets. Gary sang on Michael’s score to a little known film called Donnie Darko.
In late-2000 Michael was working on a soundtrack for an independent film. Like many of his favourite soundtrack composers—John Barry, Ennio Morricone, Lalo Schifrin—used the ‘trick’ of incorporating a song into their instrumental score. The song he chose was Mad World. He sang the song to the producer, Nancy Juvonen, over the phone and she loved it and that’s how it all got started. Gary came down to Michael’s place and in an hour-and-a-half they recorded a demo version of the song, with Gary on vocals. Donnie Darko creator Richard Kelly came over and loved it. Michael and Gary had nailed it in 90 minutes. From the bombastic synth-pop of Tears For Fears, they had fashioned a mesmerising, eerie, haunting lament.
While the film’s U.S. release was modestly received, Gary began performing the song on the local LA singer-songwriter circuit to overwhelming response. The track was added to the already completed Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets and local tastemaker, KCRW’s Nic Harcourt, took an interest. The film found success overseas and Mad World found itself on radio charts from Ireland to Israel.
Donnie Darko had its climactic song, and a modern cult was born around that little number. Three years on, that ad hoc demo is one of the most talked-about songs of the year. Fortunately for all those who’ve heard it pouring out of Radio One throughout November, or who consider Donnie Darko one of the greatest movies of the year, Mad World is finally available domestically on CD.
In fact it appears on two very different but equally appropriate albums—both of which are released by Adventure/Sanctuary on 19 January 2004.
