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opposite a legend who’s written six guitar books that are on my shelf, was quite, you know, a
pinch yourself moment.

BiTS: Tell me about “Blues, Ballads and Barnstormers”. Did you make it in a studio?

PPW: Yes. We worked in Inspired Music, which is a studio outside of Stone in Staffordshire.
Matt, who owns it, has done most of the stuff I've done since about 2017. He mixed my live album
“Timber Framed”, has produced the “Wildwood Flowers” EP and then this at the studio. Yes, it's
kind of a mix of stuff. That’s why it’s called “Blues, Ballads and Barnstormers”. There's some stuff
with a bit of a singer-songwriter-y feel. A couple of rip it up, tunes and then a few bluesy things,
but yes.

BiTS: Did you go into the studio fully prepared, or do you make up stuff when you are there?
How does it work for you?

PPW: I like to go in having it pretty much written. Obviously stuff might change, but I
tend to have a clear idea in my head. During the songwriting process, I just sort of sing
stuff at my phone. But then before I'll go into a studio, I'll make demos where I will
put on bass and programme drums or whatever that I think the song needs. And then
when we go into the studio, I’ll play my parts, and we'll get people in to do the other
stuff.

BiTS: Do you have a particular guitar that you use, or have you got a number of
them?

PPW: I've got about 12 guitars at the moment. It’s an ever-changing number. My
main guitar for the last 18 months or so has been a Blueridge, which I bought very
cheap on Facebook marketplace just because I wanted a smaller bodied,
like a OO size guitar. But the Blueridges are so easy to play, so it became
my main gigging guitar, and I did most of this new album with it. I've got
a 1940 Gibson which is my pride and joy.

BiTS: [Laughs] I’m not surprised.

PPW: I was gigging that up until just after the pandemic when
someone pointed out that it had doubled in value in the last two
years, and I felt that maybe I shouldn't be leaving it unattended in
my guitar stand in a pub.

BiTS: So tell me something about the tracks on the album. They're
all written by you, obviously?

PPW: Yes, there's two co-writes on there, but I've my songwriting credit
on everything.

BiTS: Do you have a favourite track? One that's turned out better, perhaps than you thought it
was going to?

PPW: I don't know, actually. That’s a tricky question. I mean, I have a couple that I like, but I'm
never sure if other people get them. But in terms of my favourite one, I mean there's a few that
I think have turned out really well. ‘Factory Floor’ we put out as the first single off it. That was a
song about my granddad, so that's quite personal and I quite like that one. ‘Rosalynd’ as well, I
think came out really well. Olly Parry, who plays the fiddle with me live and did it on the album,
I really love what he did with that one.