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I’m really hungry right now. And so I’m going to introduce this post with a cooking metaphor. You know when you’re preparing to cook breakfast, you open up the fridge and the cupboards and see what’s in stock. Sometimes you like cereals for breakfast. On cereal you can have milk. Maybe you like yoghurt on cereal. My crazy Italian girlfriend has espresso coffee on her cornflakes. Maybe you just like toast for breakfast. Maybe you like a toasted bacon sandwich.

Sometimes you can borrow elements from other meals. Fry up some onions and tomatoes; pinch of garlic, drop of oil. Reheat that slice of leftover pizza from last night. Oh yes.

When you are blessed with ingredients that you know and like, mixing them up a bit and creating new combinations is one of the most pleasurable discoveries of cooking. It’s no disrespect to the traditional breakfast recipes if you want to try something new, it’s merely a flight of fancy – and just occasionally, it’s where real discoveries of genius are found.

And so the role of music producer is much like that of a breakfast chef. There are ingredients which will always be popular, and combinations that defy the ages – but it’s when you decide to mix it up a bit that it becomes the most interesting…

Inspired by a question on the JamsBio profile questionnaire, I thought I’d ask a few questions of my own…

If you were a music producer / record label executive / magical fixer with great contacts, who would you have in your fantasy band / supergroup? What would their band name be? And what style of music would they play?

For me, I’d love to produce a skiffle band lead by Spanky Wilson (with a washboard) and supported by Peter Buck on guitar, Arthur Barrow on tea-chest bass and Stevie Wonder on a kazoo. They’d exclusively play Lonnie Donegan covers, and I think would be named something like “On The Bedpost Overnight”…

Or “The Dolly Avengers”, a country-folk act with Kerry King picking a banjo, Alison Goldfrapp on accordion and Yo Yo Ma on the hurdy-gurdy.

But “The Soulseekers” would be the band to see. A funk-hip-hop-outfit comprising Flea, Charlie 2na, DJ Pam the Funkstress and legendary jazz drummer Willie Bobo. With Sharon Jones performing backing vocals. And Joshua Redman on sax. Oh yeah. I can see it right now.

I could carry on going all day, but who would you want in your fantasy band?

OK. On that note, I’m off to make some breakfast…

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