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MJ: I know it’s really bad. I’m really slow. It’s in the works right now. I’ve already started on
some of the songs. Some of the songs I started recording before I released this one, but as
touring builds up and other things happen, I like to take my time with a project, and I don’t like
to just rush through the songs in a week and let’s record everything and also I do a lot of the
instrumentation. I have to do the writing and the arranging and then make all the decisions,
producer and all that stuff. So I don’t like to burn myself. I like to take my time and let it all
soak in and take a rest from it and come back to it. That kind of thing. But yes [chuckling], to
make a long story short, September next year is the release date. Fingers crossed.

BiTS: I gather that your mother assisted in writing the lyrics of some of the songs.

MJ: She does.

BiTS: Do you change the songs as you’re recording them? Are they adapted as you go along?

MJ: Sometimes, but not usually. Usually, when we write and especially when it’s straight from

writing to the record, not just writing and then playing it live at a show and then we’re living
with it for a couple of years, but I have an idea or something that I want and then I make her
do the bulk of the work because I’m lazy [chuckling]. I send it on to her. I’ll have an idea, or she
might have an idea and then we send it back and forth and then I usually do the tune for it
afterwards if it’s one of her concepts that we’re working on. But I’ll kind of get it started in the
studio like I do a scratch track and listen to it and then I might adjust some words around
before I ever get recording, when I’m getting the arrangement ready for all the scratch tracks
that we’re going to lay everything down to, that’s when I can kind of play around and if it’s a
fresh song like that then I might adjust a few things here and there.

BiTS: I think you’ve seen the review that I did of “Portrait Of A Woman” which also touches
upon “Alone”, very briefly. The “Alone” album I just love. I think it is absolutely sensational,
mostly because of your superb instrumentation skills.

MJ: Thank you.

BiTS: Where did you learn to play the fiddle like that?