Category: Interviews

Everybody has tried to take the hillbilly out of the bluegrass. But really bluegrass needs to have a little roughness to it, although it still has to be played with this fantastic precision.

Americana is a “soul stew;” it has elements of several different American roots-based music genres played by actual musicians on actual instruments; it reflects what our nation is, we are a melting pot.”

Sometimes I think the point is missed that guys like Townes Van Zandt were real rebels. Those people had an edge, they were dangerous people…. Are the Drive-By Truckers Americana? That’s just “deep man’s thinkin’ rebel music” to me.

The best kept secret is that I’m actually playful and mischievous – that’s much more in keeping with my persona.

There are so many Memphis sounds. The ones I draw on are primarily from the mid 20th century. The Mirrors album is more influenced by the Sun Records, Johnny Cash acoustic guitar based stuff, and my Heart Shaped Shadow is more influenced by the Stax stuff. I got my toe in the water working with horns, I’ve never done that before.

Once I got them to the way I could sing them, then I really had fun with them, and then the songs felt like they started to belong to me too, just adding attitude to these bitchin’ stories.

If you think about it, creating songs is uniquely human. Humans have a really innate need to be “creating” or “making” at all times.

The entire album is about the creepy, weird old New Orleans, in the days of the early shapings; it’s about the passions, the entertainment, the stories of its past