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VT: Yes, we went to Swarthmore College.

BiTS: Yes, and you’re involved in some gospel music there now, I believe. Is that right?

VT: We started when we were in college, we started a gospel choir and we never really stopped singing. We
became the Swarthmore Alumni gospel choir and yes, we’re still singing [laughing].
BiTS: I want to talk to you briefly about your father. How much do you remember of him? Was he very active
whilst you were a young kid?

VT: Oh, of course. When I was very, very little, he would have band rehearsals at the house and I remember
Howard Grimes, may he rest in peace, very well from
those days and so all through my growing up, daddy was
getting more and more famous. He was travelling more
and so yes, I have great memories of him and Carla as
they were beginning Stax records.
BiTS: I’m a huge fan of your dad’s work. I think he was
absolutely wonderful. Sensational artist.

VT: Oh, thank you and I agree he was an amazing guy.

BiTS: Him and James Brown are two of my favourites
[laughing].

VT: Oh, thanks, Ian.

BiTS: It’s been a long time since you had a record out. I
believe the last one was, in fact, a tribute to your father,
that was 2013.

VT: It hasn’t been that long. I’ve had three and this will
make the fourth blues record in a row. My last one was
2019, so it hasn’t been that long.
BiTS: What made you do this one, in the sense that did
you have a lot of songs that were all collected up that
you wanted to get out into the public?

VT: Actually, no. Most of these songs were written
during the pandemic. My husband and I own a recording
studio and it’s here in our house, so when he had to
lockdown from having clients and I couldn’t go out and do any sessions,
writing was a wonderful outlet for me and my friend Al Orlo with whom I
write a lot of songs and I would Zoom back and forth and we wrote a lot of
songs that way and because my husband is also a drummer and bass player,
we were able to do sketches of the songs here and get a head start on what
they would sound like.
BiTS: Did you go into the studio with all the songs charted up and everything and go straight for it, or did you
do stuff in the studio as well?

VT: Like I said, we did demos. We put down what we thought would be the good basis for these songs and
then during the pandemic, we also would send out files to other musicians and they would send back. We kind
of did it virtually in some cases.

BiTS: I think the new album that is “Fight The Good Fight” is absolutely fabulous. I love it. Do you have a
favourite track on it, by any chance?

VT: Oh wow! That’s a hard question because this album is a lot more - I think it’s broader in scope. It’s got sort
of Americana country roots and it’s got blues roots, so I’d say my favourite bluesy one is ‘Bad Man’. And then
for the Americana one, I like the title track, ‘Fight The Good Fight’.

BiTS: Yes, so do I. I think that’s a fabulous song.