In a recent interview with BBC Radio Scotland (watch below), Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody spilled the beans on two upcoming side projects to be recorded this month in the United States. The first will be a “countryish, country-tinged” record loosely inspired by Gram Parsons, which he will begin recording in Portland, OR with Belle and Sebastian drummer Richard Colburn (supergroup alert!), producer du jour Jacknife Lee (U2, Snow Patrol, Weezer, R.E.M.) and two then-secret “very special guests.”
So who are these mysterious co-conspirators? According to Hot Press, Lightbody told Q magazine that R.E.M.’s Peter Buck will collaborate with his new band, called Tired Pony. The other “special guest” is still a mystery.
But that’s not the only side project in the works for the “Chasing Cars” singer:
Lightbody will follow the Tired Pony sessions in Portland with more recording in Los Angeles for “a kind of electro crazy ass record with a band called Listen… Tanks!” (Yes, the ellipsis and exclamation mark is part of the band’s name.) “It’s a lot more kind of LCD Soundsystem,” Lightbody described. “That kind of side of things.”
Both ambitious projects are still very much works in progress at this point, so details are subject to change. I can’t wait to hear what these guys cook up in the studio, but here’s hoping this doesn’t inspire more “supergroup” trend pieces.