I’ve only spent four days in LA, and while I did the tourist thing (an escorted bus tour of California with my mom in 2003), I liked what I saw a lot and felt it was a very friendly city.

This covers collection by Sparkle*Jets U.K., all of LA power pop from the aughts and late 90s, makes me feel like I know the city even more, even though I'm from the East Coast (Philly) looking West. LA has some great music and while most of these bands aren’t as well known as some LA bands are, I like them a lot better than say, the Eagles, if that’s not too much of a cliché.

Lead and backing vocalist Susan West was kind enough too to answer a few questions I had.

Andrea Weiss: How did the project come about?

Susan West: Many, many years ago. When we were the new kids, playing shows with our new friends, who were all very good, by the way, they would ask, “What's next for SJUK?” We only had one album out, and somebody was joking about how many tribute CDs there were and how there might as well be a tribute to SJUK.  We asked “If there were, would you wanna be on it?” And then on the long way home from a gig... because the 405 freeway was closed, we were laughing and talking and said, "well, how about a tribute record to ourselves?” Next day, sparkle*mike (SJUK vocalist/guitarist Michael Simmons) sent out a message and officially asked the ask and everybody (and more) said yes and we made a fun record with the versions of our songs done by our new friends. We even ran out of songs and some folks wrote songs about us like “Sparkle*Jets Surprise” (The Andersons) and “The Orange County Song” (by Nipper & the SeaTurtles). It was great fun and marked a sweet spot in our friendship and music timeline. And we come full circle, recording versions of songs from our friends from that sweet spot in our timeline. It was a joy to make. The hardest part was whittling down the song choices. It is a double record but, we kept saying “but what about that one song we should have done?” You should know that the original tribute CD, sparkle*jets u.k. love you, is part of this release campaign; the vintage CDs from 2000 are bundled with the new album when you order it directly from our label, Big Stir Records, and it'll appear on all the streaming services along with Best Of Friends on the release date!

 

AW: How did the LA scene get together?

 

SW: We were just about the last band to hop onto that train, so we aren’t entirely sure. Probably little festivals turning into bigger festivals. Ten pop loving bands playing 20 minute sets, all sharing a back line, everybody watching everybody play.

AW: What’s the scene like today?

 

SW: I don’t know, but we went to see the Lemon Twigs play at the Troubadour last week and everybody in the scene including a SPARKLE*DRUMMER or two were all upstairs.  We don’t really know what’s happening since COVID, but we can feel something brewing for sure.

AW:What would you say to someone new to the scene, who didn’t really know LA pop beyond a few bands? What band would you point them to?

SW: I’d make them a mix tape/Spotify playlist, though much of their music still isn’t readily available. Anyone we covered on Best Of Friends, and everyone on the tribute record to us, for sure!

AW: If someone was visiting LA and wanted some pop, where would you tell them to go?

SW: Go check Mike’s record room.  He’s got thousands to choose from.  As far as live shows, we shall see.

AW: The sad songs aren’t so sad, which I like, and the happy songs are really happy. Why did LA pop go in that direction?

SW: Because happy is where it’s at!!! At my house growing up, we woke up listening to music every Sunday morning. It was sort of our church. We would always be some Kris Kristofferson, and then my dad would always say  you can’t write a great song unless you’re really sad or hitting bottom, and I remember that every time we write/sing/enjoy a happy ditty. And then I’d say, sorry dad, you might not be 100% right on that one!

AW: “I Want A Pony” is feminist, which is great. Was it fun singing that?

SW: It’s a fun song to sing, for sure! Everybody should have a pony (if they want) and everybody should be a feminist, if you love your mom, your girlfriend or if you ARE A GIRL! It has become a dirty word, and that makes me worried FOR EVERYONE!

AW: What comes next for Sparkle*Jets U.K?

SW: Another magical record, our third of original material, is all done and ready for the world to hear.  But it’ll have to wait until next year!