THEN: As drummer for Blur, Rowntree was the other half of that killer rhythm section with Alex James.

NOW: When not drumming for the occasional Blur reunion, Rowntree pursues all sorts of disparate interests. His computer animation company Nanomation produced two seasons (or “series” as they call them in the UK) of a cartoon called Empire Square that drew South Park comparisons. He’s written three academic papers on photorealistic rendering. Like James, he hosts a UK radio show (Rowntree’s airs Thursday nights on XFM). He took a job as a solicitor with the East London firm Kingsley Napley in 2006 and twice lost races for political office as a Labour Party candidate.