In Sheffield, there a few noticeable things that signal Christmas has arrived: a big tree on the top of Fargate – check; Belgian Blue on draught in your local – check; a well-known Milburn frontman announcing his festive singalong featuring a cohort of musical muckers – ho, ho, Joe, and Happy Holidays to all!
With just over a week to go before the first of two live shows at Network, we grabbed a mulled wine with the main man, reflecting on the year gone by and previewing some exciting projects heading our way.
Great to catch up, Joe. How has 2023 treated you?
Like a box of Celebrations. There have been some really lovely moments with the birth of my daughter and third child (Galaxy Caramel – that’s an analogy, not a name) and watching Wednesday pull off heroics in the playoffs (Malteser), but, quite frankly, there’s been a couple of real Bounty moments too. I’ll not go into more detail. So 2023 has been quite a Forest Gump affair for me.
Has the year taught you any big life lessons that you could share with us?
Savour the small, seemingly insignificant moments. They often tell you more about life than the so-called big ones. Namaste.
Namaste, pal. Now let’s get down to business. After an enforced change of venue, Network will now be hosting the annual Joe Carnall Christmas Show, plus a warm-up event the night before. What sort of treats are in the stockings this year?
This year is proper jam-packed. We have the very talented Harriet Rose opening the show on both nights. There are still some tickets available for the first intimate acoustic show. That should be a really nice singalong vibe.
On the Saturday my old cockney mucker Joel (The Rifles) is coming up to take a Liam Gallagher-esque stride down memory lane. I also have a little festive treat in the form of Stannington Brass band doing a turn. That’s an exclusive right there. Oh, and maybe another brand-new special guest will be jumping up for a tune…
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On that note, the guest appearances and covers have become a highlight of these festive gigs. Over the years we’ve seen you belting out Donna Summer with Self Esteem, Iggy Pop with Jon McClure and Amy Winehouse with Tom Grennan. Could you give us a clue for this year?
Not really because that would spoil it now, wouldn’t it? Anyway, a few red herrings keep it fun, don’t they?
Fair do’s. The second Good Cop Bad Cop album is available for pre-order now, with the release date set for February 2024. The first album saw you jetting off to LA to record with Matt Helders, but this one has been put together in Sheffield with Andy Nicholson (Gold Teeth) on production duties. How has this influenced the sound and feel of the record?
Andy operates in a much more hip-hop-orientated world, a lot less traditional indie than me. I wanted this to influence how we made the record and the sounds we used. I just wanted to experiment with a new palette whilst staying true to the GCBC concept.
The album’s called Welcome to the Marble Zone. Big question here: what is the Marble Zone?
The Marble Zone is an introspective place where you reflect and think about what’s going on in your life. Sometimes that’s a nice thing; sometimes it’s not. Either way, there’s a lot less lava than Sonic’s version.
The pre-release single ‘Does It Get Any Easier?’ is a lovely bop. There’s that retro-futuristic vibe which has become a trademark of the GCBC sound but with some squelchy, electro-hip-hop-style beats carrying it along nicely. Can we expect more of the same with the remainder of the album?
Yeah, the whole record has taken a lurch in that direction. I love the playfulness of ‘Does It Get Any Easier?’ despite it being quite a heavy subject matter.
It’s been announced that Milburn will be headlining the Rock n Roll Circus at Don Valley next year. It must feel nice to be in a place where you can celebrate past achievements with fans but also forge ahead creatively with Good Cop Bad Cop. I suppose it could go too much one way or the other, so that balance is important to strike?
The Milburn thing is crazy and a real blessing. We, the band, have all got to a place where we take it and enjoy it for what it is. Every few years it’s just nice to go back to the start and play some tunes which mean that much to people. It sets the GCBC stuff up perfectly for me; there’s no pressure to play in front of large crowds or sell records. It scratches a completely different itch.
Speaking of new creative routes, you mentioned at the start of the year that you’d been writing a play/musical. Appreciate it’s still early days, but could we tease a bit more out of you on that?
I’ve been working on something for a couple of years but it’s so difficult to get it off the ground. I’m really proud of it though. It delves into Alzheimer’s and a granddad’s life story told through the living room piano. Whether it ever makes the stage is another matter. But sometimes it’s about the journey, right?
“Every few years it’s just nice to go back to the start and play some tunes which mean that much to people.” © Marc Barker Photography
Indeed. Finally, what would make this Christmas a perfect one for you?
My youngest deciding that she likes her cot better than our bed, Wednesday getting a few points and all my creative endeavours going as well as possible. All that and world peace, of course.
Ticket remain for the first leg of Joe Carnall’s Christmas Show, a special acoustic show featuring Harriet Rose on 22 December at Network Sheffield. Tickets (£13.50) available here.
