By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Friday, July 13, 2018

For fans of: Oasis, Teenage Fanclub, Nick Lowe

Rob Jennings is a solo artist from Bloomfield, New Jersey. His latest release, “Keep Me In Mind," is a nod to 70’s power pop legends Big Star and perfectly encapsulates that sound we all love. When I first heard “Keep Me In Mind,” I immediately loved it. I was so happy to see an artist writing simple, melodic power pop songs. “Keep Me In Mind” is short and sweet and unbelievably catchy. It was a great pleasure to ask Jennings some questions about the song, and I really appreciate him taking the time to do so.

What inspired this track?

Rob Jennings: Sometimes when I have writer's block, I’ll go on YouTube and find some free-to-use isolated drum tracks to strum along to. Most of the time, nothing happens, but I clicked on a certain one and this song came out of me. I was just starting to get really into Big Star at the time, and they have a track on their 3rd album called “Kizza Me” that has a similar intro. It was an unconscious thing though, I wasn’t trying to rip it off.

Who are your influences?

The obvious ones have always been The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson was a huge influence on my album, The World Was On My Side. I just released that last year. I was obsessed with Pet Sounds and Smile for the longest time. I’ve been writing a lot of new songs in the same vein as Keep Me In Mind lately and most of them have been influenced by 90’s bands like Teenage Fanclub and Oasis. I never liked Oasis when I was younger, but I’ve been listening to them a lot lately, and I like their attitude about music... that it should be uplifting, fun and positive. I’ve written my fair share of sad songs, so I’d like to make something you could put on at a party this time around.

Where did you record “Keep Me In Mind”?

I recorded at Portrait Recording Studios in Pompton Plains, NJ. My friend Chris Badami owns it, and he’s a great guy.

Who plays in your band/on the recording?

In addition to being an engineer, Chris is also a great drummer, so he helped me out by playing on the track. I played the guitars and bass.

When can we expect more music?

Hopefully soon. If I ever put out another full album, this song will be on it. I’d like to release one song at a time and then put it all together at the end. This way I won’t have to wait a year and a half for people to hear it. I also release DIY tracks all the time on my Bandcamp. I try to keep putting stuff out as consistently as possible as long as it’s good.

In the meantime, go back and listen to Rob Jennings' discography here and catch him live in a town or city near you!