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by The Beatles and then I just started playing in bands all through school. When I graduated from
college in 1979, I was able to start touring and was taken on the road by a group called The Alley
Cats. And did that for a few years and then I formed the Heartfixers for Chicago Bob Nelson, and
we did four albums. That led me to the attention of Alligator Records, at which point I started
performing and recording under my own name in 1988.

BiTS: I believe this album, by which I mean the “Naked Truth” is the 21st. Is that right?

TE: Well, I think if you counted the
Heartfixers albums it would be
more than that. Probably, I don't
know, it's according to what you
call an album, because there's some
that are digital only now and then
there's some that never made it to
CD. Then there's some CDs that
never made it to vinyl. So I'd say it's
definitely over 20, maybe as many
as 25 albums.

BiTS: Now you've been going out
on stage for a number of years with

a Strat, but I also gather that you
had an acoustic spot in a lot of
shows. What is it that decided you
to do a whole acoustic album?

TE: The “Naked Truth” is an album
that I've always wanted to make,
and during the pandemic, I did a lot
of songwriting and would sort of
group songs together. If I had to be
honest with you, the last album I
did, “Devil May Care”, that's my pandemic album, but these songs were ones that I made demos
of during the pandemic. Then when I started getting really seriously interested in doing an
all-acoustic album, or at least getting up the courage to approach the subject with Alligator
Records and my booking agency as well, then I went back and realised that I had dozens and
dozens of acoustic songs to choose from. So I'm just glad that all the planets have aligned, and
I've been able to do this and I'm hoping to get overseas with it because I'm doing the entire
country here with it this year.

BiTS: How did you decide which songs were going to be included on the album?

TE: Well, I had the list of songs that I wanted to do and sent those up to Bruce at Alligator, and
he sent back his feedback, and we went back and forth and back and forth and now I see that it's
very much the way I've always done albums with them, where I sort of have a committee of

people, that are weighing in because I'm too close to it myself to decide. I need outside input,
which is not always pleasant to get. I wish I could do it all by myself, but I do need some advisors
in on it.

BiTS: Am I right in saying that you do, or have been doing, an acoustic spot in electric shows?

TE: Yes, I've been doing that for, oh gosh, the whole time I've ever been playing, yes.