Page 95 - ION Indie Magazine JulyAugust 2018 Issue

I haven’t run out of ideas for songs yet, and once the idea’s there, it’s usually relatively
easy to write the song. Sometimes I get stuck for verses. I’ll maybe write two great ones
and a chorus, then struggle to come up with anything else. When that happens, I usually
leave the song a while and wait for inspiration to strike, which usually does the trick. At
the moment, I’m working on songs for projects that probably won’t see the light of day
for a couple of years. I’m way ahead of myself. It helps that I decided to work more on
albums with a story or concept rather just individual songs. That gives my imagination a
chance to run rampant, which opens up lots of compositional opportunities.

You took a bit of a risk with the “CrowSoul” album, but now that it's regarded as a
success, do you think others could follow your lead and release albums consisting of a
couple of half-hour songs rather than a collection of three-minute tracks?

Y'know, when I originally decided to write “CrowSoul” as an epic two-song album, I
thought it’d be a really good idea…and as far as the finished product goes, it was. The
writing process was nothing short of intense. It took me three months in total, sometimes
writing for twelve hours a day…and I’m pretty sure I went a bit insane in the process. It
really took over my life! I had it all mapped out in my head…the story, the symbolism and
the atmosphere I wanted to create. But I was constantly aware that a twenty-five-minute
acoustic song had to be very interesting to the listener with minimal repetition, almost
like the way a classical piece of music ebbs and flows; constantly evolving. That was the
hardest part. That’s what sent me a bit loopy -- making it interesting.

I know that some blues aficionados were dubious about whether HALF DEAF CLATCH
such a project could work and gave the impression that they
thought you'd never get it off the ground. The reviewers seemed to

adopt an “approach with caution” attitude -- until they'd actually
given it a listen.

There’s a lot of people who would argue it’s not blues for one reason
or another. I, myself, try not to refer to it as blues. I’m not 100% sure
what it is. The people who were unsure about the idea of an album
consisting of just two songs, both over twenty minutes long,
probably still think it’s a bad idea, but that's their problem…ha, ha! I
think I had a couple of “experts” tell me it was unwise on a
promotional/commercial level, but that was over concerns that no
blues radio shows would play anything from the album. It was the
amazing blues DJs worldwide who proved them wrong by giving
“CrowSoul” airplay regardless of length. Some played the album in
full on their shows. I think that proved that it could work from a
commercial point of view. When it was finally released and was so
well received, I was ridiculously happy that my hard work had paid
off -- and it is one of my most successful albums to date. As for
anyone following in my footsteps, I’m not sure there’s many people
around mad enough to release an album like “CrowSoul,” and if they
did, they’d better be prepared for the hardest songwriting journey
they’ve ever undertaken. I’m glad I did it, but I wouldn’t do it again!