‘The Sleepy Grooms’ by The Strawberry Jam | Interview

Uncategorized April 14, 2023

‘The Sleepy Grooms’ by The Strawberry Jam | Interview

Exclusive video premiere of ‘Macroach’ by The Strawberry Jam, taken from the upcoming album ‘The Sleepy Grooms’. The band’s upcoming releases ‘The Sleepy Grooms’ and ‘John’s Children’ are out April 30rd, 2023 via Herby Records and Psych9 Records.


The Strawberry Jam are a UK psych-pop quartet that formed in London in 2006. The band is comprised of Wayne Roach (vocals, piano, organ), Nathan Noblett (vocals, guitar, chocolate milk), John Elizabeth (bass, flute, vocals), and Jerry “Yorkshire” Pudding (drums, percussion, vocals). The band’s latest album, ‘The Sleepy Grooms,’ is a kaleidoscopic psychedelic interpretation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Act II, Scene II. The vinyl release coincides with the re-release of the 2018 psychedelic children’s album, ‘John’s Children,’ now available on vinyl for the first time. Both albums are available on black vinyl as well as a limited run of ‘John’s Children’ pressed on tie-dye splatter vinyl. They may be purchased individually or as a pair for a special discounted rate.

US sales at Herby Records [here]
UK/EU/Canadian sales to Psych9 Records [here]

Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us! To start off, tell us a little bit about the new album – ‘The Sleepy Grooms’.

Nathan Noblett: We was in the studio, you know, and it was going horribly ’cause we was working on Wayne’s songs and we was taking a break so Wayne could go and hector the engineer and it was Jerry and John and me in the room and John started to play the bass: doo-ba-doo-ba-doo-ba-dooey-dooey. And it was inspired, you know? Jerry starts in on the drums and I do a little riff on top and it was like magic, you know, a song or whatever you want to call it. Then Wayne hears and he comes in and it was Sleepy Grooms, wasn’t it?

For ‘Dominion’ and ‘Retreat’ it was the same. Letting the music guide you. Sometimes it’s nice to write a song but sometimes it’s nice to let the song write itself. So, that’s what we were doing. Even Wayne was sounding alright.

What inspired you to make an album based on Macbeth?

Nathan Noblett: You know what it was? Wayne had received a copy of the play that morning in the post and it was there and we said, “Shakespeare” — you know what I mean? It’s just this massive thing. And then we said, “Jam” — you know? Massive. And we put the two together and it’s just … very large.

What was the collaborative process like?

Nathan Noblett: Most times there’s very little collaboration when Wayne Roach is involved. But on ‘Sleepy Grooms’ the band was really quite on it, you know? Jerry would play the drums and John would play the bass. I would play guitar and Wayne would play the Roach. And we would just hit “record,” you know? Then we’d find a good bit here and a good bit there and cut out all the rubbish bits until it was Jam. That’s how you make jam, you know, you mash up all the good bits.

And there’s the orchestra on there. And the storm clouds and the knives and the toads. We were collaborating with everything. At times, we were collaborating with cocaine, you know, everything.

You are also releasing ‘John’s Children’ – tell us about that album.

Nathan Noblett: John [Elizabeth: bass player] has many children by many different women and we felt it was only natural to make an album for them, you know? Not just John’s children but children more generally. Or maybe in some ways all children are John’s children, you know what I mean? There’s a fair chance. The album is five years old now and he’s had six more children since then.

But childhood is very psychedelic, you know? It seemed a natural fit for us. Dragons. Unicorns and fanciful things. Those are very Jam. I was a child myself once.

Are there any upcoming projects to share?

Nathan Noblett: You know, it’s not … I don’t know how much there is to share cause it’s … you know, Wayne being Wayne and I being I. But if there’s an upcoming project it’s Cocaine, isn’t it? That’s what we were working on when the incident occurred.

Wayne, do you have anything to add?

Wayne Roach: No. 


The Strawberry Jam Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube
Herby Records Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
Psych9 Records Facebook / Instagram

One Comment
  1. Lauren W says:

    “And the storm clouds and the knives and the roads” sums it pretty well for me. Can’t wait to get my hands on these albums, and try them on, you know.

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