Page 17 - BiTS_10_OCTOBER_2021

“Joe made it known from the get-go that his main objective for this album was to push me as a singer,”

recalls Joanne. “Obviously, Joe has seen me perform many times over the years and knows my voice
well. I think he felt that he could enhance my vocal performance more, and get more out of it,
especially since I’d had over a year to rest my vocal cords.”

As a musician and a recording and performing artist, Joe Bonamassa has always been a fan of Joanne’s
music. Ultimately, what did Bonamassa set out to achieve by co-producing this magnificent, rich, and
beautifully recorded and performed album for Joanne? Joe explains, “If you focus on what people

might not associate with an artist and work hard on those areas it allows her fans to discover things
and sets her up in a different light. Joanne’s a great singer and always has been. The guitar
unfortunately has over-shadowed it until now. A lot of us in the business have the same problem. "

“On the new album, I mostly played my own guitar, my 1966 Esquire ‘Junior’,” says Joanne. “I tried
to use a few of Joe’s Teles, but they’re set up for much bigger hands than mine. I did use Joe’s vintage
amps - I believe one of his 60’s Vibroverbs mixed with a fumble overdrive for pretty much all of it.

We didn’t use any pedals.”

It goes without saying that the production team of Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith are at the top of
their game. They recently produced new albums for Joanna Connor, Jimmy Hall, and Eric Gales.
Joanna Connor’s album, 4801 South Indiana Avenue, met with great critical acclaim worldwide, was
the second album released on Bonamassa’s independent label KTBA Records and debuted at #1 on
the Billboard Blues Chart.

“Joe and Josh make a fantastic team,” insists Joanne. “Both bring something different to the table
that the other maybe couldn’t. I loved working with them. I was worried about working with Joe for
obvious reasons, (we are very close friends), but you never know how that will translate into a
working relationship. It was cool to work with two guys not much older than me. Most of the
producers I’ve worked with so far haven’t been so close to me in age, plus Joe and Josh have the added
benefit of understanding what it is to tour on the same scene as me and what me touring this album

will look like. All in all, it was a very relaxed fun session and hang.”

Joanne Shaw Taylor - Biography

Joanne Shaw Taylor was discovered by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics at the age of 16 who, having

watched her play, immediately invited her on the road with his supergroup D.U.P. - a career in music
was born and in the proceeding years, her incredible guitar playing saw her build an army of plaudits
including Jimmy Cliff, Joe Bonamassa, Stevie Wonder and Annie Lennox.

Still only in her 30’s, she has become one of the most sought-after guitarists in the world of rock.
She released her first album on Ruf Records entitled “White Sugar” (2009), unleashing her distinct
soulful voice on the world, and demonstrating a song writing prowess way beyond her years - the

world of blues rock had a new star! Over the next few years, she released critically acclaimed albums
including her sophomore album “Diamonds In The Dirt” (2010), “Almost Always Never” (2012) which
featured the UK radio hit “Soul Station”, plus her final album for Ruf Records - the live album “Songs
From The Road” (2013).

In 2014 she released her fourth studio album “The Dirty Truth” on Axehouse Records that featured
the singles “Mud, Honey” and “Wicked Soul”. In 2016, Joanne followed up with the release of her

fifth album “Wild” (Produced by Kevin Shirley) which saw her perform songs “Dyin’ To Know” and
“Summertime” on BBC Two Television’s popular music show “Later With Jools Holland”. Three years