Simon says “Jump, Little Children.” Or, at least he did for well over a decade.

The so-named grassroots pop sensation from Charleston disbanded in late 2005, but some of its members have stayed plenty busy in the meantime.

Former Jump frontman Jay Clifford returns to Athens tonight with his new solo effort, “Driving Blind.”

“I couldn’t be more pleased,” he said of the album, recorded at Swing House Studios in Los Angeles and released by Hollywood-based label 33 & 1/3 Records.

Working with talented studio musicians, Clifford said he aimed to mimic his songwriting approach from his collaborative band days.

“The main difference is that [with Jump] we usually played most of the material on tour quite a bit before it was actually recorded,” he said. “But it’s really the same process – you write a song, bring it in to the band, and they put their take on it.”

Despite similarities in the approach, there are overt maturities in the content – something Clifford attributed in large part to his experiences as the father of a now two-year-old son.

“It’s been a pretty significant impact on me as a person and a writer,” he said. “There’s a new level of life experience there.”

New experiences are undoubtedly the dominant theme of the current three- week tour, as Clifford hits the road for the first time since Jump’s amicable split and will be without his band and roadmates of 14 years.

“It’s gonna be different, for sure,” he said. “I grew up with those guys.”

The faces on stage with Clifford won’t be altogether unfamiliar to Jump fans of old. Fellow Charleston-based band Slow Runner will open the show before donating members Michael Flynn and Josh Kaler to Clifford’s backing band. Drummer Tommy Haber teams with former Jump bassist Jonathan Gray to round out the rhythm section.

“It’s been a lot of fun to work with a different group of musicians,” Clifford said.

Even without his former bandmates and with a host of new songs in tow, this return is to familiar and welcoming ground.

“I just love Athens as a town – it’s one of the unique Southern artistic culture cities,” Clifford said. “They’re true music crowds.”