Almost A Dirty Dozen with JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR – June 2019

According to a recent press release: “British guitar siren and dynamic songwriter Joanne Shaw Taylor has released her new studio album Reckless Heart via Silvertone/Sony.  Both a make-up and a break-up album, which Billboard calls her “most soulful effort to date,” Reckless Heart was written by Joanne during two phases of a relationship: the fall out and getting back together.” We get Joanne to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

There’s nothing really hidden about this record and that’s what I love about it, It’s very live and raw. I think I’ve always had a sort of “what you see is what you get” up front approach to my music. All the lyrical content is about things I’ve gone through/been going through and I really hope that comes across in the songs. The studio we recorded at “Rustbelt” in Royal Oak, MI is right on the train tracks and every hour the train goes by. So, on the acoustic track “Jake’s Boogie” if you listen closely you can hear a train.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

As far back as I can remember I was always playing on my Dad’s acoustic and miming to songs. I think it was always something I naturally gravitated towards. To be honest I can’t remember a time when I didn’t think I wanted to be a musician.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Stevie Ray Vaughan was an early and obviously big influence on me. Other than that, I think the most important influence was my Dad. He took me to a local Blues club called The Robin where I’m from in the Black Country, England and just made sure I was exposed to as much live music as possible.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin, Prince and probably Jonny Lang.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

There’s so many – I’d love to work P!nk, she’s one of my favorite singers. I love the Greta Van Fleet guys, they’re like little brothers to me. My best friend Carmen Vandenburg who plays with Jeff Beck and her own band Bones have always talked about doing a separate project together, hopefully we’ll get some time off at some point to think about that. Also, Dave Stewart, we’ve never recorded together so that would be great.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I like to think of it as an equal mix of blues, rock and soul. It gets a little frustrating to constantly be compared to other female artists that I have nothing in common with musically, it’s just easy to compare us as we’re female. It always seems lazy to me.

7. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

I get the drinks in, I’m an excellent bar tender. Perry, my drummer is a professional chef when he’s not on the road so he’s always the cook. We try and rent as many Air bnb’s on the road as possible, so he can cook for everyone. I think we all like to take turns playing the DJ, but we don’t get too much time outside of soundcheck and showtime to play to be honest.

8. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

I met Dave Grohl in December which was pretty cool. He didn’t disappoint, he’s as friendly and grounded as he seems.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

This is my dream job so it’s hard to imagine doing anything else now. I love the different people I get to meet and the traveling – as tiring as it can be sometimes. I suppose if I was to do something else, I’d have looked at doing something a little more rewarding like helping other people more. Maybe social care or teaching.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I don’t get asked many questions about my life outside my music career which is always odd to me, it’s usually very music related. It’s hard not to get annoyed by the “what’s it like to be a female guitar player?” question. It’s the same as being a male guitar player, my ovaries don’t really affect my guitar tone or playing style.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I can honestly say there’s no musical changes I would make, I’m very proud of all my albums. There’re certainly some choices I made on the business side of things I probably wouldn’t have made knowing what I know now, but with that said they brought me to where I am and I’m in a pretty good place in life and in my career.

JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR LINKS:

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Category: Interviews