Hi there!
I thought I’d take a minute to share something about where I’m coming from as a songwriter and musician.
First, I should mention that much of what I do is inspired by the 50s and 60s rock ‘n’ roll I heard on AM radio as a kid. Those years of listening gave me a taste for simplicity, and for trying to do the most with the least.
As a songwriter I tend towards poles of darkness, ecstasy and a persistent sense of strangeness. If it sounds over the top, well, it can be. It’s not for everybody! But, considering my youthful immersion in Catholic iconography, followed by years of listening to old blues records, it makes sense that this is where I’d wind up.
Touchstones for my writing include American greats like Jim Thompson and Allen Ginsberg, as well as 19th century English poets like William Blake and John Clare. I never get tired of the AAB verse form used in old blues song - it’s as simple and as powerful as can be.
I love experimenting with vocal phrasing. Inspirations include Billie Holiday, Robert Johnson, Bob Dylan, Spider John Koerner and Tommy Duncan, who sang with Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys.
I like strangeness and intensity of emotion in music. The fatalism and feverish desperation of film noir has been a huge influence on me. Those old movies depict a world that feels inseparable from what I do.
I’m in a quiet but persistent struggle with the roots music realm. It lacks weirdness and extremity! Also: I get sick of sincerity. Don’t you?
As a writer I avoid sharing personal or biographical specifics because I feel it creates sturdier, more meaningful songs.
Records I love include:
1. Ravi Shankar - Sound Of The Sitar
2. Various - American Primitive, Vol 1
3. The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones Now!
4.Billy Holiday - Golden Years Vol 1-3 (Columbia)
5. Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica
6. Bert Jansch - Rosemary Lane
7. Bo Diddley - Chess Recordings
8. Bukka White - Parchman Farm (Columbia)
9. Ornette Coleman - Change Of The Century
10.Lou Reed - Legendary Hearts
11. Public Image Ltd - First Edition
12. Charlie Patton - Complete Recordings
13. Blind Owl Wilson - Mississippi Records Comp
To be continued…
