Page 14 - BiTS_07_JULY_2022

IS: Well, it was about a lot of people that I knew and things I’ve peeked through the keyhole at
in my past, yes. I never write autobiographically but sometimes semi. But it was something I
could empathise with in reflective moments certainly, or about people I’ve known. I’ve never
been the guy in the song, I’m glad to say, but oddly enough, I wrote it several years ago. I wrote
it about ten years ago. It was inspired by something Jimmy Wood, who plays on ‘Working On A
Building’, the guy I was just talking about, Imperial Crowns, Chuck E. Weiss, it was inspired by
something he said to me about 20 years ago [laughs] and he’s playing harmonica on it, so
everything came full circle. But I actually wrote it with Kris Kristofferson in mind, having read
his biography. So there’s all kinds of stuff going on in there. I hoped to get it to Kris one day,
but that never happened. I think he would have liked it,
though.
Shemekia Copeland
BiTS: Tell me how the album was made. Did you actually
go into the studio, or was it done online and that sort of
thing?

IS: Oh, no, no. What happened was Robin Davey of Beaux
Gris Gris, Robin Davey of The Hoax, of course, they were
starting their own studio in their back garden in

California, and it all happened during COVID. Bit of a long
story, but my wife, who’s American, suggested a little trip
over to the West Coast of the US and because she’s
American, she could get me in and then it was around
when I was considering a recording, I remembered
Robin and Greta had a studio, so I contacted them and
they said we’d like you to be the first artist that records
there and I thought the stars are aligning here. The fact
that I could travel to the US during COVID, when most
non-Americans couldn’t, so we went. Combined it as a
holiday and trip and then I started thinking of who’s local
that might come down to the studio.

At this time, I had no idea Shemekia Copeland was local. I thought she was still either in
Chicago or New York and out of the blue her manager contacted me, John, and he wanted
Jimbo Mathus contact because he wanted Jimbo to write a song for Shemekia and I said oh,
blah, blah, blah and he said you should get in touch with Shemekia because she’s in San Diego
now. I had no idea. I emailed her. Said would you come down? She said, yes, I’ll be there. Tell
me which day and it all came together. The only person that wasn’t actually there was Jimbo.
He recorded his stuff in Mississippi and sent it. The rest of us were all in one room. Literally in
one room. No separation. None of that stuff. No vocal booth or anything. It was just all in a

room together. That’s why you get a very live-sounding recording.
BiTS: Yes, it has an aura about it, if that’s the right word. I’m not surprised to hear you say
that it was all in one room because I get the same kind of feeling from the stuff that Doug

MacLeod does in the round.

IS: Yes.

BiTS: Everybody facing each other and playing to one another. It’s a wonderful feeling.

IS: It was exactly like that. I mean ‘Working On A Building’, that’s us jamming the song in the
round.