When William Reid stormed offstage during a Jesus and Mary Chain show in Los Angeles on September 12, few gave the band much of a chance of surviving and completing its first U.S. tour in close to five years.
The band was supposed to be on the road to support its critically-acclaimed new record, "Munki," but the behind-the-scenes pressure of making the album eventually came to a head during the House of Blues concert, which ended with William and Jim verbally slugging it out on-stage.
But after the abbreviated L.A. gig, Jim Reid and longtime bassist/guitarist Ben Lurie quickly decided that what was left of Jesus and Mary Chain would soldier on and fulfill its road commitments -- including a string of tour-ending dates set for Japan.
"I've actually enjoyed myself on this tour," Jim Reid said,
Future plans, including those for the Mary Chain and its offer to cover the Pixies' "Debaser" for an upcoming tribute record, remain in limbo. Both Lurie and Jim Reid indicated their immediate post-JAMC tour plans would focus on a new band with members of the British ambient pop-group, Spiritualized.
"[Ben and I] have been talking about doing a project outside the Mary Chain for a while," Reid explained,
Lurie and Reid will head into the Mary Chain's recording studios, the Drugstore, with Spiritualized drummer Damon Reece and bassist Sean Cook, to start work on demos for the as-yet-unnamed country group early next year.
