0:01

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode

0:04

of Inside the Studio on iHeart Radio.

0:06

My name is Jordan Runts Hog, but that's enough

0:08

about me. My guest today is a

0:11

man of many talents. He's a gifted

0:13

photographer, filmmaker, and

0:15

author who has raised millions for global

0:17

charitable causes through his White Feather Foundation.

0:20

He's a man on the move, but musical talent,

0:23

you could says in his blood. His

0:25

platinum selling solo debut

0:28

is a lot reached the upper echelons

0:30

of the charts across the globe on the strength

0:32

of melodic maister works like too Late for Goodbyes,

0:35

Say You're Wrong, and of course the title track.

0:38

A string of well loved albums were to follow,

0:40

with Help Yourself being a personal favorite,

0:42

and now he's gearing up to release his first new

0:45

record in more than a decade. The

0:47

album in question is called Jude, named

0:49

for the Beatles classic he inspired as a

0:51

young boy over half a century ago. It

0:54

helps mark a season of reflection for the artist,

0:57

whose relationship with his familiar legacy

0:59

hasn't always been easy. Earlier

1:01

this year, he staged the fundraiser auctioning

1:03

n f T s based on memorabilia from

1:05

his personal collection heirlooms

1:08

to him a musical history for the rest

1:10

of us. Days ago, he stunned

1:12

fans by performing his father's song Imagining

1:14

publicly for the very first time. It

1:17

was part of the Global Citizens Stand Up for

1:19

Ukraine's social media rally campaign,

1:21

which has already raised ten point one

1:23

billion euros for Ukrainian aid. Though

1:26

reluctant to sing the song for years, the

1:29

performance proved to be a Catharsis forum

1:31

and a delight for the rest of us to

1:33

say. He's reconciled with his past as a little

1:36

too simplistic, but the joy and lightness

1:38

of being as a parent on Jude, which is due

1:40

out later this year. He announced

1:42

the album with a stirring double a side single,

1:45

Every Little Moment, backed with Freedom.

1:47

Both are badly needed messages of hope

1:50

and soulace, much in the spirit of Imagine

1:52

fifty years ago. It's my pleasure

1:54

and privilege to welcome Julian Lennon. I

1:57

hope you enjoy our conversation a fraction as

1:59

much as I do. Well.

2:08

It is such such an honor to speak to you.

2:10

I've been a fan of yours for for so many years,

2:13

and you you have new music on the way, Jude,

2:15

which I've been privileged to hear, and it is

2:17

just incredible. Um you had the whole

2:19

album, yes, and it is absolutely

2:21

remarkable. And it sounds like this album

2:24

has its roots back in in some

2:26

tapes that date back to the vlat era. I think,

2:28

how did this hold correct Jude project

2:31

begin for you? The jew journey? You

2:34

know, Listen, I never stopped doing music

2:36

one way or another. I may leave it alone for a

2:38

few months here and there, or even six months,

2:41

you know, or even a year sometimes,

2:43

but it's always there, you know. And

2:47

a couple of years ago, um,

2:50

I was changing business

2:53

management, and I found

2:56

that they had boxes, literally

2:58

boxes in their basement of all

3:00

my earlier stuff, I mean real

3:03

too reels of too Late for Goodbyes, a

3:05

lot, and um

3:08

all the other demos that we put back together

3:10

in those days. I think we were using an

3:12

old Fostex six track or something

3:14

like that four track I don't even know anymore.

3:17

Um. And then I also found a

3:19

bunch of cassettes, you know, I mean, okay,

3:22

let's say not a bunch of hundreds

3:24

of cassettes, and that that

3:26

tapes and the

3:29

elysis twelve track tapes and

3:33

just a whole bunch of stuff, and

3:34

I thought, oh,

3:37

and they were They've been left just in

3:39

an open dust in the basement,

3:41

you know, out of boxes. This

3:45

is why, this is why I'm changing business

3:47

management right bringing there,

3:50

So I m and

3:52

I was praying that they were, that they were

3:54

going to be okay, sent

3:57

them off to you know, I found that what

4:00

whichever the top digital transfer

4:03

company was, they baked the tapes and

4:05

then they transfer all of them, uh

4:08

you know into downloadable or c d s or

4:10

whatever. And fortunately

4:13

all the stuff in there was was

4:16

still listenable and or

4:18

usable as well. So, um,

4:22

you know, I've I've found a lot of stuff

4:24

in there that I'm still catalogic, you

4:27

know, that potential thing, you

4:29

know, good ideas, uh

4:32

co write ideas this that you

4:34

know. But I came across a few

4:36

of from thirty years ago that

4:39

when I used to live here in l A, when

4:42

I used to have a little home studio and my garage

4:45

and and even in my little guest

4:47

bedroom at that time, and uh,

4:50

there were some tracks there that I'd always

4:52

loved, but they never sat right

4:54

with what I was doing at that particular point in

4:57

time. They were kind of I won't say there

4:59

were one off. They were just different grooves

5:01

and different headspace and they

5:03

just didn't sit with anything I was doing over

5:05

the last thirty years. Um.

5:08

And so as it was time to well,

5:10

not time, but I was, I was. I was planning

5:12

on, uh, releasing

5:15

a few things, you know, singles and EPs.

5:18

Maybe that was about it wasn't really

5:20

planning on an album. And

5:22

uh so I with

5:25

my old my old,

5:27

oldest best friend in the world, Justin Clayton,

5:30

who co wrote with me on many of the albums

5:32

and went on world tours with

5:34

me. Um, he'd

5:38

taken an engineering course, so we started

5:40

going through all this stuff and it

5:42

was a lot easier for him to catalog this

5:44

stuff than for me. You know, I'd be there,

5:47

but he'd be doing all the text stuff. And

5:49

we realized that some of those songs, like every

5:51

Little Moment and not one Night in particular,

5:55

were you know and

5:57

love Don't Let Me Down. Uh,

6:01

you know, it was anywhere between thirty I mean

6:03

a mix between thirty

6:05

twenty and ten years of different

6:08

work and in

6:11

the process of let's

6:13

say upgrading it, upgrading,

6:15

the updating the production on the

6:17

tracks, you know, putting new

6:19

drums with great drummers on, you

6:22

know, new

6:24

keyboards here and there predominantly

6:28

the track within great nick Um

6:31

like Every Little moment the verse

6:33

vocals are from

6:36

thirty plus years ago. Uh,

6:38

same with not One Night, and

6:41

except the new vogue, new new vocals

6:43

which were done about five years ago were

6:46

on the choruses of every Little moment Um.

6:49

And so I started doing a you know,

6:51

updating a bunch of old stuff. But

6:53

in the process I started playing around with new

6:55

ideas. And what really

6:58

took a left turn with this why us that

7:01

when COVID hit, Justin

7:03

had to go back to England where he lives.

7:05

And so we were in the middle of doing

7:08

stuff and you know, I think we've finished

7:10

about five tracks, um

7:12

not mixed, but had ruff

7:14

mixes. Justin goes back and now

7:17

I'm confronted with the idea that if

7:20

I want to get anything done, I'm probably going to have

7:22

to engineer it myself and do it myself. Um.

7:25

You know, we do a bit of the zoom

7:29

you know, and the audio movers, which is so

7:31

we can play music in real time and stuff

7:34

and hear each other work. But I

7:37

took on that I started Freedom

7:40

in fact, was the first song that

7:42

I started to engineer and produce myself,

7:44

just on my own in lockdown. They

7:47

wondering if I can even do it? Yeah,

7:52

and Freedom came out and it

7:54

had such well

7:56

I should I say Freedom? I I finished

7:58

Freedom, and I just of

8:00

the vibe that came out of this learning

8:03

process again of trying to create

8:05

music without really knowing

8:07

what I was doing, and just engineering

8:10

my way backwards

8:12

really into figuring what

8:14

to do, and I think

8:17

out of doing all

8:19

of these older songs and new songs

8:21

in roughly the same time period over

8:23

the last three or four years. You know, there

8:26

was some semblance of connection

8:28

there sonically because it's me,

8:32

but it was really Spike uh

8:35

Stent that the mixer that

8:38

you know, once I had the framework of the album

8:40

and the list and the tyle, passing

8:43

it on to him one track at a time

8:45

literally over the course of a year,

8:48

which was to mix it was

8:50

was was you know, an effort

8:52

in a struggle and and and difficult.

8:56

But what I think he brought to the table because

8:59

he has such a specific

9:02

style too, was for me, if

9:04

I thought I got the best out of

9:06

the rough mixes, you know, and

9:08

I thought there were nine

9:10

or ten in

9:13

my my in my humble

9:16

opinion, I think uh,

9:19

Spike took it up to you know, I call

9:21

what he did a Nigel. He turned it up

9:23

to number A Liven literally.

9:29

So so there's there's a there's

9:31

a a soundscape that's

9:33

now built because of the way he's

9:35

taken what we did justin I did in

9:38

the in the in the production, and

9:40

he's just made it. There's not wall of sand,

9:43

but certainly there's a feel

9:45

and a flow sonically throughout

9:47

the whole thing, even though there's

9:50

quite a few different song types really

9:53

you know, I mean there really are.

9:55

It's not like the same theme all the way through,

9:58

but again sonically and because

10:00

it's me doing it, it's a there

10:03

is a connection all the way through. And

10:05

because of the way the order in which

10:07

the songs were placed. Because

10:10

for me, if you're going to do an album album,

10:13

uh you know, the

10:17

idea that we're going to do vinyl on this,

10:20

then that then you have to have, you

10:22

know, because the true listeners will play

10:24

the tracks all the way through the way

10:26

they're meant to be. And I you know, I'd

10:28

like to follow Adele and in what she did

10:31

that. If you're going to listen to this album,

10:33

you're listening to it in this particular order.

10:36

And I think that's correct as an artist,

10:38

you know, to be able to say, please

10:40

listen to it the way it's meant to meant to

10:43

be. You know, it's sequenced

10:45

for a reason. You know, we're not just splashing

10:47

paint at the war here. There's this specifics

10:50

involved here, you know, in in your

10:53

emotional journey that

10:55

you're tasting. I completely agree. I mean,

10:57

songs hit you in a different way depending

10:59

on how you're feeling, and the music

11:01

of the prior track will completely influence that

11:04

on the um on the release for this record,

11:06

you've you've called it a coming

11:08

of age album and hearing you talk about sort of

11:10

the learning of

11:12

of how to to engineer on a song like Freedom

11:15

Again, was that sort of something

11:17

like that that factor into Was that sort of why it feels

11:19

more of a of a coming of age?

11:23

Not really, to be honest with you, it

11:25

was more about, you

11:29

know, the whole lockdown thing was very very heavy.

11:32

You know, I was I was in the

11:34

South Trench in Monica. It

11:38

was you know, you couldn't leave

11:40

the house without written paperwork, saying

11:43

for you know that what

11:46

you're going out for, you were only allowed out for

11:48

one hour, whether that's walking,

11:51

you know, getting some kind of exercise or

11:53

going to the nearest grocery store, and

11:56

uh, you were only allowed out

11:58

within one kilometer. So it

12:01

was it was heavy, you know. The

12:04

first I loved it because no

12:06

cars, no noise, but wind

12:09

in the trees, peace and quiet.

12:11

It was glorious at first. I

12:13

really, you know, everybody was panicking

12:16

a little. I don't know, it's quite nice and

12:20

to be to be honest with you, I hadn't

12:22

stayed home for more than a few months

12:24

at a time anyway, because they're all was working,

12:26

traveling, whether it's phot dog feed documentaries

12:29

or whatever, children's consent. You

12:31

know, the list goes on. But

12:33

this this was very much a moment of reflection.

12:37

You know, a lot of the songs. You

12:40

know, although I'm i'm i'm

12:42

I'm putting it out there as an

12:44

idea to people as listeners,

12:47

but you know, it's looking in the mirror. Really,

12:49

I mean, in all honesty, it's therapy. It's

12:51

looking in the mirror. It's asking me all

12:54

those questions that you're hearing about. I

12:56

mean, that's really what this is about. You

12:58

know. I I always write

13:01

about things that I know or I'm dealing

13:03

that I'm going through. Um,

13:06

you know, and as I've said regarding

13:08

even every little moment, this is about

13:10

the internal struggles of war that we

13:12

have with ourselves more than anything

13:15

else. Yes, it reflects

13:17

upon the world and what we have to deal

13:19

with on the outside, the wars

13:21

that we deal with, But it's mostly about,

13:23

you know, if you can fix this first, you

13:26

know, as they always say, you know, you

13:29

know, if you can fix yourself first, if

13:31

you can love yourself first, then you'll be

13:33

able to love the rest of the world. So that

13:37

is where the basis from all

13:39

this comes from. It's just going through

13:41

that journey on different slightly

13:43

different musical styles. But

13:45

you know, so yeah,

13:48

that's you know, That's what I

13:50

can say really about it in that regard

13:52

that, and also I guess

13:54

the other thing in

13:56

regards to calling it Jude was

14:00

that, yeah, it's coming of age. In regards

14:03

to Dad the Beetle's that song,

14:06

um, you know number one,

14:08

especially with imagine as we

14:11

might talk about. You know, I was

14:13

fearful. I never

14:15

said I would never sing it. I

14:18

just said you know, it'll

14:20

be one day when the time is right and it's appropriate.

14:23

Um. And so you

14:25

know a week ago when I said, yes,

14:28

okay, now is the time, I thought,

14:31

oh, b'ga, how am

14:33

I going to do this? Yeah,

14:35

because I literally for thirty years

14:37

been afraid for this moment, that

14:40

moment to come. Yeah,

14:42

because you know, listen, the media

14:44

has been beating me up for the most part for

14:47

you know, thirty years. Um,

14:49

and I've just been slowly but surely.

14:53

No, I'm not giving up screwed a lot

14:55

of you. I'm doing I'm doing

14:57

it this way. This is why I Also, I delved

15:00

into so many other creative fields

15:03

because also I wanted a platform

15:05

of work that I knew I was capable

15:08

of. And you know, fortunately I've been

15:10

very I've had a very lucky run with

15:13

the children's books New York Times best seller

15:15

Would Kiss the Ground, the documentary

15:17

that was Borderline up for an Oscar.

15:20

But I mean we were close, um,

15:23

um, you know, and just

15:25

the White Feather foundational of the

15:27

work that we do on that front. Um.

15:30

But it was about addressing

15:34

the song you know, hey Jude,

15:36

um and listening

15:39

to the words and sort of coming to terms

15:41

with the words and and finally

15:44

being finding my place, especially

15:47

after doing imagine, at some kind

15:49

of place of peace

15:52

in my life, i e. Not Being

15:54

anxious about being me anymore,

15:56

not being anxious or afraid

16:00

being me anymore, coming to terms with

16:02

being who I am, and being

16:05

who I am on so many levels is June.

16:08

So I figured here and now

16:11

this is it. I'm chucking it all in

16:13

in a good way, not throwing it away, chucking

16:16

it in and you know, keeping my fingers

16:18

across and or I mean, I've

16:21

got to say the last week ten

16:23

days has been mind blowing

16:26

for me because I've never had such positive

16:29

across the board response,

16:32

not only to my dad's so

16:34

I imagine, but but even for the

16:36

two news songs that have just come out,

16:38

and and uh, you

16:41

know, we'll continue to throw things

16:43

out there for for for you

16:45

know, the next few months, and then of

16:48

course kind

16:50

of autumn time ish will

16:52

be you know, getting the album

16:55

out there, especially in final so you

16:58

know, it's all good, you know. I feel

17:01

I feel, probably for the first

17:03

time ever, that I can walk around

17:06

with not being afraid and with my head

17:08

held high, you know, because I've always

17:10

been people have always been

17:13

kind of weird with me in the past, that either staring

17:15

at you across the room or you know, if you go

17:17

into a particular like on the

17:20

road in the older days, we stopped

17:22

at a diner and you

17:24

know, they just put Beatles songs on

17:26

to see if I reacted, to see

17:28

if it was me. That's terrible. Really,

17:32

really, that's what you've got, you know,

17:34

that's all you've got, said, I used

17:36

to I used to have to deal with that crap all

17:39

the frigging time, so it was so

17:41

frustrating. But really, just can't

17:43

you just come up and say, hey, you Julian,

17:46

you know, and it's you know. So anyway,

17:49

I'm over all of that now. I

17:52

think I've laid my foundation

17:54

on many levels of what I do

17:56

and I'm proud to big

18:00

doing everything that I'm doing now. So it's a different

18:03

it's a different world, you know, I'm feeling I'm

18:05

like, maybe just a little bit of

18:07

an adult I

18:10

am. I'm so happy to hear you

18:12

say that, and no, no,

18:18

but just to hear that that that you feel

18:21

that happiness and you know I was

18:23

it. Um. I mean, it's

18:25

interesting for me to hear to hear

18:27

that you say you were nervous to do that song because,

18:30

as as a fan of both yours

18:32

and your father's, I think all that we

18:34

just wanted to to was it cathartic

18:37

for you? I suppose is the question? Massively?

18:40

Massively? I mean, this

18:42

is why I can walk partly half the

18:44

reason why I can walk around with my headheld

18:47

high. Because you know, again,

18:49

when I said yes, I thought,

18:52

how the brig am I going to do

18:54

this? How am I going to do it? Where it

18:56

makes sense to me, where

18:58

it's real to me, it's honest

19:01

and truthful from my perspective.

19:03

Honor him, but do it. I have to find

19:06

my own way. And the first

19:08

thing I thought at the moment I said yes,

19:10

I said, I can't do it on piano. Piano

19:14

gives it a certain style of rhythm. It's,

19:16

you know, a bit of a honky donk plunky donk.

19:18

And I mean, don't get me wrong, it's

19:20

still an incredible, beautiful song in the way

19:22

it was the original, of course, but I

19:24

needed to find a different way. Um

19:27

and I immediately just thought, okay, acoustic

19:29

guitar. Acoustic guitar that changes the

19:31

field could give it not a swing, but

19:33

a little more looser than the

19:35

original. And I thought,

19:38

well, okay, who do I know. That's a great guitarist

19:40

that I can reach out to tomorrow

19:42

for today. Uh and it's

19:45

free on Tuesday, um

19:47

and um and has a studio and

19:50

of course no bet fot Night had done

19:53

Karma Police for another charitable

19:55

thing when we were in lockdown, you know, so

19:57

we did the whole video, uh,

20:00

you know, a continents apart, but

20:03

it worked together, and we worked very well together.

20:05

So I got in touch with him, said no, no,

20:08

imagine Tuesday acoustic

20:10

guitar. So he said, yeah, great.

20:12

He just flown in. He'd been in the

20:14

Azores in Portugal, which

20:17

is where he's from. And

20:20

and so I turned up in his

20:22

house and he hadn't

20:24

even played the song through yet,

20:26

and so I went, you haven't

20:29

haven't rehearsed it? He

20:32

said no, you know, I figured we'd just do

20:34

it, you know, ok, let's

20:36

do it now because I got to figure

20:38

out if it's works or not. And

20:41

anyway, we literally sang it,

20:45

literally sang it

20:48

through maybe twice, just

20:50

sitting on the terrace outside, and went, okay,

20:53

like that field, let's just do it. And

20:56

so we go in this little studio. I mean, it's

20:58

a tiny, little, you know studio,

21:00

and he laid down just

21:03

one rough of the guitar and

21:06

I came in sang it about four times,

21:09

just picked the best nuances and the

21:12

most honest approach um.

21:15

And you know, the idea was to sing it

21:17

as as as

21:20

raw as possible, as as

21:23

true to Dad's version as possible,

21:25

but with my own nuances. My I

21:27

said, I tend to sit back when

21:30

I sing rather than being on the beat, so

21:32

I'm not a little more loose.

21:36

I'm not sure if that's the right word, but and

21:39

so you know, and once we've done

21:42

that, I just went, okay,

21:44

that feels okay, it feels right. There

21:47

are imperfections, without questions, but

21:50

but leieve that because it's

21:52

real, and I don't want that. This

21:54

cannot be a produced thing, you

21:57

know, it just has to be raw me.

22:00

No, no, thank you very much. And

22:02

then I booked a studio the next day for

22:04

the idea of

22:07

a video because we needed

22:09

one. And we

22:11

go to the studio and there's a great d

22:14

op thor who

22:16

knew brought him with this company, Atlantis,

22:20

and I just

22:22

said, I was looking for high

22:24

contrast, you know, different dark light,

22:27

and the manager of the studio said,

22:30

we we we've

22:32

got some candles. He comes

22:35

out with like fifty candles, you

22:37

know, fake. I said, can't we get some real

22:39

ones? So we get the real you know, I said, no,

22:41

you'll burn the place down, okay, and

22:43

understood, I won't burn the place down,

22:45

but I know what you're saying. So

22:48

so I where

22:52

the studio is, Capital Studios. It's Hollywood,

22:54

you know, I said, listen, there's got

22:56

to be some shops around here to have the

22:59

flickering, you know, fake candles

23:01

too. So I sent my poor manager,

23:03

Rebecca out walking the

23:05

streets, not in that manner of course, looking

23:08

for flickering candles,

23:11

and she came back with about another fifty.

23:14

So, uh,

23:16

you know, we just laid them down, turn the lights

23:19

out, and then I thought that we'd

23:21

have something placed around us for a bit more. Luck

23:23

just used the light of the candle. That

23:26

was it the whole thing, um.

23:28

And luckily with the Capital Studios,

23:31

they had about, you know, thirty

23:33

mic stands which we take the

23:36

candles onto around the room.

23:38

But at the end of the day, I mean I think

23:40

we did again two

23:42

or four takes and just cut

23:45

it together and that was it and

23:48

when we all saw it, but you know, the

23:50

finished thing, we just went that you

23:52

couldn't be more honest or all with the

23:54

production than the way we did it. You know.

23:57

Anyway, again, Uh,

24:00

the response has just been uh

24:03

jaw dropping, I mean truly

24:05

jaw dropping, so much so

24:07

that you know, we

24:10

have to release it as a single, you know, I

24:13

mean talk about timing

24:15

here. I'm trying to release the news new music

24:17

and this thing is getting in the way. Only joking,

24:20

but we have to release it

24:22

as a single soon. We're

24:25

just putting all the pieces together

24:27

to make it work because

24:31

you know, I mean with everything going to

24:33

uh stand up for Ukraine

24:36

and other refugees around the world, so

24:38

that that's the idea that we throw it out

24:40

there, all the money goes to that A S

24:43

A p M. Because it

24:45

would be stupid, not too so. Not

24:48

that that's competing with the other work, with

24:50

the other new work. In fact, I think

24:52

they're embracing each other. And

24:55

that's the kind of feeling and response I'm getting,

24:58

uh, you know from the I'm like, I'm

25:00

looking at all social platforms and just

25:03

read through and I'm like, wow,

25:05

Okay, this is great. This

25:07

is great. You know, I don't

25:10

think I've been so widely accepted ever,

25:12

So I'm happy

25:14

with that for a change. And the great thing is,

25:17

you know, if I've gone out, you

25:19

know, out and about, you know, I thought, okay,

25:22

it might be weird and might get botton again.

25:24

I'm going to keep the mask on to

25:27

go shopping in

25:29

some places I do. But

25:32

funnily enough, people,

25:35

anybody that has running to me is just

25:37

said, love the new stuff, love the magic. I'm

25:39

going that's great,

25:43

thank you on

25:45

one's and upwards. That's what I said. So it's

25:47

been you know, it's been magical.

25:50

I've said it's been magical, probably

25:52

for the first time I ever like that,

26:07

so well deserved. It's a it's a beautiful

26:09

thing you're doing, and it's a beautiful version

26:12

of your dad's song and beautiful

26:15

new music. I mean, I just the new

26:17

record is just so astonishing. I

26:19

wanted to ask you mean you mentioned this earlier that you know, you're

26:21

obviously an incredibly accomplished photographer and

26:23

filmmaker, both art forms that

26:26

require a gift for observation. I was

26:28

wondering if the same applied to uh

26:30

to your songwriting. Do you

26:33

get more inspiration from looking outward or

26:35

looking inward, but both

26:38

listen. Predominantly the stuff is

26:40

written about my experiences, what

26:43

I've gone through, what I'm going through. But it's

26:45

of course observation of friends and

26:47

other people that I see what they're

26:50

doing and what they're dealing with and what they're going through.

26:53

Um, you know, so it

26:55

was both ways. I don't overthink

26:57

it, you know, just if something comes

26:59

to mind, I'll just run with it and try

27:03

and make it work as a piece, as

27:05

a poem, as a song, as a you

27:08

know, uh uh

27:12

for me again, for me, it has to mean something.

27:15

It's and also with

27:18

most things I do, you know, I look at it like

27:20

cooking because I'm a closet chere uh

27:23

and ye

27:25

know, it's about adding the right ingredients for

27:27

me, at least for a song. Um

27:31

yeah, whatever

27:33

you're saying lyrically has

27:35

to have to the sound

27:38

and motion of the track has to The

27:40

melody has to send that same message.

27:44

The song has the same the same message.

27:47

The music has to say the same

27:49

message, so that if you played the melody

27:51

or the lyrics or the song independently,

27:54

they would all give you the same feeling. And

27:57

when all those three or

27:59

whatever amount development. When all

28:01

of that comes together, that's

28:03

when I get goose sponsed to go, oh

28:06

yes, that feels okay. If I

28:08

feel that somebody else has got to feel

28:10

that, come on please, So

28:12

that's you know, that's where it's at. That's how I

28:15

how I do think. Is there

28:17

for you? You're gonna hang up on me for asking this question?

28:19

Is there an element of superstition involved for

28:21

you? Is there a time of day that

28:23

you feel is your your your time to write,

28:26

or a special instrument that you feel is I don't

28:28

want to call it a lucky instrument, but is there is there

28:30

some sort of supernatural element to songwriting

28:32

for you? Um?

28:35

With everything I do again,

28:38

has it has? Number

28:40

one? It has to be organic. Can't

28:42

be it pushed issue creatively,

28:46

can't do it, don't want to do it. Didn't that if

28:49

I if I try to do that, it doesn't

28:51

feel real to me. Uh

28:54

so yeah, That's why

28:56

I say that I can go without, you

29:00

know, writing and recording for

29:02

months, you know, just if it doesn't

29:04

if it's not doing something

29:06

for me. And that's why that's why I'm

29:09

happy I've found so many other outlets

29:11

Because if that's not working

29:13

for me. Now I'm going to go and do that. Um,

29:17

I need to find one outlet that

29:19

just says, lie on the beach, say

29:22

for for a month, don't do anything,

29:25

give yourself a bloody rest, will you. That's

29:28

what I need. That outlet like

29:30

on a plane to an island. That's what I

29:32

did with no no stress.

29:35

At some point I'll get there soon. Would

29:38

you actually enjoy that? Or would you get there and think, okay,

29:41

all right, I need to I need to work on a book now, or I need

29:43

to work in a film or something, you

29:45

know. Funnily enough, it's like what

29:47

I what I do love to do is either get

29:49

on a motorbike because I'm a biker, have

29:52

always been since my teens.

29:56

Either that or a convertible weather

29:59

permitting, of course. Uh. And

30:01

I love going for drives, you

30:04

know. Uh. My thing

30:06

wherever I go for

30:08

for the first time, you know, I look

30:10

at him at once and then

30:13

throw it away and then discover

30:16

where I am and I'll just drive.

30:18

I'll take a camera with me. It's like

30:21

a few years ago when I was here and I

30:23

had an afternoon enough and I kept hearing

30:26

about the Sultan Sea. So I just went. I

30:29

just went for the afternoon, drove there,

30:32

fell in love with it, had my camera

30:34

with me. Now I've got a whole collection of Sultan

30:36

Tea images that I absolutely

30:38

adore. Almost run out of petrol in

30:40

the mini in the middle of blackness and

30:43

was worried that I was going to be taken in the back

30:45

somewhere whatever that means.

30:48

But you know, fortunately I found

30:50

a guest station. Or I've been running

30:52

on empty for a long time. So I like risks

30:55

and challenge sometimes,

30:57

you know, I don't.

30:59

I like again, I

31:01

like things happening organically. If

31:03

it's if it's scheduled or it's

31:05

planned, I'm not really interested, you

31:07

know. In fact, I get anxious from

31:10

planned an organized things. Really

31:12

truly, It's like waking up in

31:14

the morning. If I if I

31:17

can't wake up naturally, you're going to

31:19

get me in a funny mood all day, no

31:21

alarms. Oh, I

31:23

agree, if only, if

31:26

only? But yeah,

31:28

you know, that's that's the dream

31:30

when I'm on when I'm on my own working

31:33

schedule, is wake up when you

31:35

wake up naturally, and okay,

31:37

let's go. You know, I

31:41

I'm not sure I might be reading more

31:43

into this than you intended. But I loved

31:45

the opening track save Me, especially

31:48

of Jude, and I thought it was an interesting

31:51

sentiment given your your previous song and

31:53

album Help Yourself. I wasn't sure

31:55

quite how much they were in conversation

31:57

with each other, or if there was any connection. It's

32:00

all in conversation with each other. I believe

32:02

you me Um

32:05

uh yeah, I mean

32:07

again, it's it's all. It's

32:09

all about looking in the mirror and questioning

32:12

yourself and trying to figure out, how

32:15

do you balance this weird life, this

32:17

weird existence, this weird world.

32:20

How do you make it work? Where you're not?

32:22

You don't wake up fearful and full

32:24

of anxiety every morning, which

32:28

is something I've lived with for a long time.

32:32

There was a few years back before COVID

32:34

that I woke up with pure

32:36

just fear in my heart for the day and

32:39

anxiety just you

32:41

know, just what what's going to

32:43

be thrown at me today. Um.

32:47

But all of the questions that I've presented

32:49

to myself, I think I've I've

32:51

found a pathway through that. I

32:54

can't say specifically what those things

32:57

are, but a lot of it comes down to and

32:59

there won't say specific

33:02

meditation. But it's about it's

33:04

about taking a minute out to breathe, you

33:06

know, to really just say, shut

33:09

it all out, somewhere nice

33:11

and quiet and just free

33:15

focus on the moment and that

33:17

it will go and think about the things that are really

33:19

important and that really matter. And

33:22

when you do that, you realize that the

33:24

rest really doesn't matter. I mean,

33:26

it does, but not in the way that it

33:29

should affect you, you know that. Uh.

33:33

I mean, obviously we were aware of the world around

33:35

us and the problems we face, and

33:37

the fact that it seems that for

33:40

thousands of years we haven't learned anything,

33:43

which that which is staggering, especially

33:45

now when we have more available

33:48

means of communication and learning,

33:50

and we're still bloody idiots. You

33:53

know, it's unbelievable. It's

33:55

mind boggling, you know. Uh

33:59

yeah, I'll leave that one

34:01

at that one. How

34:03

do you quiet your mind though, for those times of the day

34:05

when you're when you're taking a moment to breathe, because

34:08

I'm I know I struggle with that, and I'm sure

34:10

so many other people do as well. But the

34:12

moment that they should be taking to

34:14

to take and have a breath, I think, oh well, I

34:16

could take this moment to actually do all the things that are

34:18

stressing me out. And how do you quiet

34:21

those thoughts and actually have that moment be

34:23

something that replenishes you. Sometimes

34:25

it's very difficult, you

34:29

know. I mean one of my results was

34:31

again as I said, getting in the car and

34:33

going for a drive, putting some music

34:36

on, looking at some different scenery. Um,

34:39

that ninety

34:42

of the time works. But there are some times

34:44

that it just that anxiety

34:46

of that fear just doesn't disappear.

34:49

And I think, again,

34:52

as you just mentioned, I think doing

34:54

stuff, getting the list

34:57

out of the way, whatever

34:59

that says, whatever

35:02

it means on a personal or working

35:04

level or business level, or

35:07

again looking in the mirror and just going okay,

35:10

okay, yeah, talking sense

35:12

into yourself sometimes you know. Um,

35:15

but I think, yeah,

35:18

I you know, I think

35:21

it's not This is why I'm

35:23

such a doer, is because because

35:26

if I don't get things done, you

35:29

know they're on the list, then

35:32

it stresses me out. You know, it just

35:34

does. It's an accumulative thing

35:36

that can build to horrific

35:39

levels. But you

35:41

know, this is why I like to call Monday

35:45

second Sunday. I'm

35:49

taking that that's good because

35:53

no question about it. Even if

35:55

I tell everybody to leave me alone,

35:59

somebody will be touched with me about work

36:01

over the weekend. And so funnily

36:03

enough, I try as much as I

36:05

can to block out Monday so

36:08

that it becomes it really becomes you

36:10

know, the world's open and doing stuff, but

36:13

I have time to breathe and do things, and

36:15

then Tuesday come into it full

36:17

time. And you know, isn't there

36:20

this whole new thing. At least the Japanese

36:22

have been doing it for a long time, you know,

36:24

And a lot of companies are considering

36:26

this is making it a three four day work

36:29

week, because not only

36:32

does this allow you a greater

36:34

amount of rest of breathing and time with your

36:36

family, living, et cetera. But

36:40

you know it it distresses

36:43

people because you know, we've a

36:45

weekend is a spec in

36:47

the in the moment of time, and

36:49

all we do is we're working. We're just bloody

36:52

working non stuff. And then you you know, you're

36:54

you're supposed to retire it whatever,

36:57

age sixty six, and

37:00

then you've got, you know, a few years left to enjoy

37:02

what you know, you're

37:05

falling down. You

37:07

you can't see anything or hear anything anymore.

37:10

What's that about? No, So you

37:12

know, and also they've they've proved that work

37:15

efficiency is through the roof when

37:17

people have more time with their friends and family

37:20

and have moments to enjoy life.

37:22

So, you know, people and

37:24

then you're determined that you have this time period,

37:27

which just go for it. And I'm

37:29

kind of borderline that, you know. So, um,

37:33

it works. It's working for me, that's for sure.

37:36

You know. Uh. Obviously

37:38

there are schedules sometimes

37:40

that you can't change, but for the most part, you

37:42

know, I can get my second

37:44

Sunday. I'm going for it. You know, this

37:47

either feels like a very appropriate or very inappropriate

37:50

segue. But but do you have plans

37:52

to do? You have plans to to

37:54

toward you? Um?

37:59

Are you listening? Thought about it for years again,

38:01

um. But the thing was that I again

38:05

I said to myself anywhere I really got

38:07

on the road again. I came

38:09

up with an idea literally about twenty

38:11

years ago. A friend of mine and I, UM,

38:15

I wanted to do things differently,

38:17

and so

38:19

I thought, you know, we're also tied in

38:21

with the White Feather Foundation, So I thought,

38:23

okay, performing arts

38:25

centers different cities around

38:28

the world, I'm not one that likes

38:30

to go out, you know, repeatedly

38:32

and just doing that. I don't. I don't

38:34

have that interest or drive. I'd

38:36

rather be going to Africa

38:38

and taking photographs, you

38:41

know, and seeing new worlds and

38:43

and meeting new cultures.

38:46

So, you know, I think we will get around

38:49

too, probably next year. There's

38:52

a few things coming up this year that are like

38:54

one off with charity with orchestras

38:57

that that we're looking at right

38:59

now. Um

39:01

But I do like the idea of doing something

39:04

in in in UH again

39:07

in performing arts theaters

39:09

with partial or full orchestra, you

39:11

know, tied in with White Feather Foundation,

39:14

UM, tied in the idea

39:17

making that we raise

39:20

the issues, the biggest issues of

39:22

the problems in each of the location we've

39:24

played and we do the

39:27

idea is to involve local TV and

39:29

radio competitions for the best artwork,

39:32

the best photography, that and

39:34

the other, and that the work

39:38

UH that is sent

39:40

in is judged and

39:43

by a panel, and that in

39:46

the foyer of the places and cities

39:48

that we play is the best of the

39:50

best of the local art scene,

39:54

from photography, sculptures to you

39:56

name it. So um

40:00

so making the competition through radio,

40:02

through TV, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera,

40:05

to to involve all of the

40:07

local community and make it you know,

40:09

I think, rather than just

40:12

hello, tor bus rolls in. Yeah. Yeah,

40:15

yeah, so yeah, that's

40:18

that's my idea of doing something

40:20

a bit more special, a

40:22

bit more unique, and a bit more different

40:25

and uh and doing good for the local

40:27

community at the same time. A

40:48

few years back, you had um an

40:50

exhibit of your your i'll

40:52

call umn your family heirlooms in Liverpool

40:55

for the White Feather Foundation. Do you have

40:57

any plans to do that in the States. I know there

40:59

was some complecations there, I think, Well,

41:02

I mean COVID was accomplicated. Well, yeah, that

41:04

is also smaller. I

41:06

you know, I collected a fair

41:08

amount of memorabilious stuff

41:11

over the last thirty years, predominantly

41:15

uh Dad's stuff that was linked

41:17

to me in a very personal way, and

41:19

it was more about collecting. But

41:22

I still plan to have a family one day

41:24

and just haven't found the right loony

41:27

to hang with just yet. Um.

41:29

But she's

41:31

out there somewhere. Um.

41:34

But yeah, no, it was it

41:36

was about you know, heritage and legacy

41:39

and passing that on too. Hopefully my

41:41

kids one day, whenever that happens.

41:44

But I haven't given up hope. But

41:47

anyway, so that was what it was all about. Original

41:49

and then there was a few people's items that one.

41:53

But that's an expensive world now, you

41:55

know. Again, people think that

41:58

I've had a lot of money from the get go,

42:00

but I mean, I you know, when we

42:02

were moms separating, you

42:05

know, we've got a little something. But anyway,

42:08

it doesn't cover the cost of a memorabilia,

42:10

that's for sure. So

42:13

uh yeah, I've got a good

42:15

collection together. And we did tour it a

42:17

little bit, as you said, in Liverpool, which

42:20

was great, probably the

42:22

best spot for it at that time ever

42:25

really, and then a few other countries and

42:27

and I had plans to bring it out here

42:30

from museum, a couple of museums

42:32

we were talking to um

42:36

and then you know, COVID and a few

42:38

other issues came into play as well. And

42:41

I so this is why the whole n f

42:44

T thing came out of it. I said, Okay, what's another

42:46

way of sharing what I have. I

42:48

can't I can't tour this stuff. And I hated being

42:51

locked up in just a vault,

42:53

in a bank vault somewhere, what's

42:55

the point in having it, you know, So okay,

42:58

this is another way, it's another artistic

43:00

platform. You know, we're the proportion

43:03

go to White Feather Foundation to that

43:05

being the main thrust and crups

43:07

behind this because then I can keep

43:09

working on all the u because

43:12

we only go through uh a

43:14

White Feather We just don't. We survived

43:18

through donations from the public,

43:20

so we don't have any major sponsors

43:22

this that ne other. It's the people out

43:24

There's the fans out there that keep us alive

43:27

and doing all the good work that we do. So

43:30

um, yes, so the n f T thing came

43:32

along. I think I'll probably do a couple of more

43:35

tied in with with with some

43:38

of the stuff I'm doing now. Who knows

43:40

what else. You know, we're just

43:42

talking, but you

43:45

know, there are there's some great, great possibilities

43:47

out then. Of course I welcome

43:49

the idea of being able to

43:51

to to tour that show,

43:54

you know, in a couple of cities through the

43:56

US and around the world. So you

43:58

know, it's it's on a list. It's just

44:01

had my hands full. So

44:07

you know, well we'll get to it. We'll

44:09

get to it. Oh, the n f t s

44:11

were so interesting. You you have such an incredible

44:13

collection. I loved that that Les

44:16

Paul with the ruby glued to it

44:18

and the plague. I mean, how cool is that

44:20

that was? I mean I hadn't seen I hadn't

44:22

seen that like twenty years because it was in

44:24

a bloody voult, you know, just

44:26

keeping safe. I didn't want to keep it at home because

44:29

then who knows what can happen then? And

44:32

but yeah, and I like the

44:34

thing with the n F T s. I did want to make it different

44:37

from anybody else. But thought, okay, well

44:39

you can't just have a picture just spinning

44:41

right. What they all was that

44:44

I wouldn't want that. So I thought,

44:47

okay, what would I want? Okay,

44:49

how about it a bit? But the background

44:51

story, right, you know, not

44:54

only you know, just write a piece

44:56

about what it means, where it

44:58

came from, what the think is to

45:01

me, and let me read

45:03

it. And so that's where

45:05

they took on a whole new platform for

45:07

me and a whole new idea. Is

45:09

making it far more interesting

45:13

for me as far as NFPs go. There's

45:15

having that one off vocal experience

45:17

on each of the items. Um.

45:20

But but also

45:22

you know, tying in white feather in such a

45:25

way that that as

45:27

long as that was perpetually, you

45:29

know, making money from sale

45:31

or resale or whatever, white

45:34

feather would survive, you know, which

45:36

is partly what it's all about. This

45:38

is an unfair question. But is there is there

45:40

a favorite of yours in your in your collection

45:43

of is there one piece that that means

45:45

means the most too? Are just is your

45:47

favorite for any other reason? I

45:49

mean I loved all the guitars because I used to play

45:52

them, yeah thirty

45:56

years ago. Um

45:59

uh, But I probably

46:01

the afghan coat because

46:04

it fits me. I

46:07

want a picture of that maybe

46:09

all right, we'll see about that one. I'll

46:12

make a guess, children with

46:16

clothes on underneath. So

46:22

yeah, because there are you know,

46:24

there are pictures of me sitting with

46:26

dad, you know, with the afghan

46:29

coat on the back of the chair, you know, from

46:32

Magical Mystery Tour and you

46:34

know all of that Stuffinitely

46:36

are I think anywhere I'm the Wars.

46:38

I'm not sure I think it did, but anyway, all

46:41

that kind of Yeah, So

46:43

that one's quite special because you see

46:45

him wear it a lot throughout

46:48

certain films and pictures over the

46:50

period that time. Period I

46:54

read. I don't know if this is true that, Um,

46:57

your your picture of Lucy in

46:59

the sky with diamonds is owned by Dave

47:02

Gilmour. Is that is that true? Do you know

47:04

where that's at? I don't know where that's at. Oh yeah,

47:06

I know whether I know

47:08

where that's up. Yeah. I asked him for

47:10

it back, UM,

47:14

to be honest with you. Uh

47:18

yeah, And I've said this to Mom. I said, is

47:21

it and she went, I

47:24

don't think so. All right, okay,

47:27

because I I don't remember specifically

47:30

what that during was. Uh.

47:34

I thought personally, I thought it was a different one

47:36

another one. Um, all

47:39

right, yeah,

47:41

I was held. So I've no idea.

47:44

We'll get a rock and rock and roll Indiana

47:46

Jones going in on this case. Yeah,

47:48

yeah, yeah, good luck. I

47:52

heard that that you seem poised to pursue

47:54

a theater track and you would offer to offer a

47:56

scholarship to uh Shakespeare

47:58

Repertory Theater. When when did music overtake

48:01

the urge to be in theater for you? And

48:04

it was probably in the same h

48:08

literally the same time, friend, because at the

48:11

school that I used to go to in the world,

48:13

which is twenty minutes away from

48:16

Liverpool where I used to live with my mom and

48:18

my grandmother. Um,

48:20

at the end of each year, you

48:23

do a performance. You know, there'd be a performance

48:26

of some sort and one part of it was theater

48:28

or or any artistic creativity

48:31

that you kind of come up with. And

48:34

so I my best friend, Justin Clayton

48:36

again had been taking uh

48:40

guitar lessons from our gym

48:43

teacher who was a rock

48:45

and roller still around Mr wind Uh

48:47

and you had, you know, grease back d

48:50

a head. You know, we're

48:53

walking around school like that, and we're going and

48:55

then on the break school breaks, you

48:57

know, between lessons or if you

49:00

have it, he would teach people, you

49:02

know, rock and roll on on acoustic guitar.

49:05

I mean, I mean, I have

49:08

to admit half the Magic Dragon was

49:10

the first song we learned. But

49:12

but it did move

49:15

quickly into you know, uh,

49:18

actually a lot of Chuck Berry track, roll

49:20

Over Beethove and and uh,

49:24

well but let's go on uh

49:26

and quite a few other rock and rollers.

49:29

And so we got to a point where there

49:31

was a few of us but we said let's and

49:35

I think any I think we were thirteen or

49:38

fourteen. It was the

49:40

same time at the end of the year, I was in a

49:42

place, one of the places, and

49:45

we were also performing at the first time,

49:47

for the first time ever, and

49:52

so you know, I think I

49:54

sang a couple of songs, justin sang a couple

49:56

of songs. Yeah, it was a

49:59

real rough rough Randy's little bands

50:02

year old. But um,

50:05

once you get that, like most

50:07

musicians say that, that feedback,

50:10

instantaneous feedback from

50:13

the audience, you know, cheering and clapping

50:16

and all that. After a three and a half minute

50:18

song, you just go, why

50:20

do anything else? So that

50:25

was it? That was That was literally

50:27

it, Why do anything else? That? This

50:29

is fun? Yeah, that was it.

50:33

I feel like for for anyone who really loves

50:35

music, there's a crucial moment when they

50:38

when they discover songs for themselves. It's

50:40

not something that they heard through their parents or somebody

50:42

else. There's a band that they like that

50:44

that's there's that's you know, really feels

50:46

personal. Who was that for you? I know you've

50:48

talked about Keith Jared and Steely Dan of

50:50

cour were some other people that really like

50:53

made you fall in love with music and something that was really

50:55

belonged to you. Well, I mean,

50:58

I you know, in the earlier teen

51:00

years. I was very much a rocker.

51:03

You know, my my bands

51:05

at that time were were

51:08

I mean, the Beatles were in there somewhere, but predominantly

51:13

I was listening in my youth,

51:16

my early leather jacket

51:18

biking youth were

51:21

you know a C d C. That was the first band

51:23

with Bond Scott. So that's

51:25

the first band I ever went to see. What

51:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah,

51:31

yeah. You could

51:33

smoke in theaters and I was a heavy smoker even

51:36

at sixteen. Uh and uh

51:40

and I'm clean as a whiffle

51:42

now, but yeah,

51:45

bomb brain

51:48

Dead, Okay, Angus

51:50

was sitting on bond scott shoulders. You

51:52

know. Well, Angus is soloing around

51:55

the aisle. I remember running out

51:57

and touching, because that's what you did,

52:00

touched your hero. Uh,

52:02

touching Pont's got an anger with

52:04

my cigarette hand of course, and then

52:07

that being knocked into me and burning me. So

52:09

that was great of a very vivid memory

52:12

of that. Uh. The other band

52:16

that that was an early one for me was

52:18

Rush. I

52:20

loved Rush because of their They're

52:22

insane chord changes and melodies

52:25

and melodies, and I mean

52:27

they're playing alone. I mean Neil Pert

52:29

was just like you know, I

52:32

mean they were, they were all amazing and I

52:34

you know, the very serious h

52:38

exams that you have to do in England were at

52:41

your O levels and then your A levels. On

52:43

the night of my own levels, I was at

52:45

Rush

52:48

and then don't kids don't

52:50

do this home? And then turned up in school

52:52

going what are we doing today?

52:55

Hence why I have so

52:57

many qualifications? What

53:00

Toro was a permanent wave story, you

53:03

know whatever. Whenever I was seventeen. I couldn't

53:05

even tell you at this point, but I was one of the first

53:08

there. I was right the change,

53:11

you know, on the to the left side at

53:13

the front of the stage and uh

53:15

yeah, then climbed back in the window, you

53:18

know, in the middle of the night. Yeah

53:21

for that being caught, I don't even think Mummy

53:23

about that. Some things

53:26

are not meant to be talked about. Uh

53:29

so. Yeah. But aside from

53:31

that, yeah, I mean I really

53:33

did get stuck at well. Led Zepp

53:35

used to be an absolute favorite. Um,

53:38

I mean, Ronnie James, d O Black

53:41

Fabbits, you know, the list goes on. Uh

53:44

and but then you know,

53:46

with the likes of Rush really taking

53:48

me on a slightly different journey than

53:50

hearing stuff like Keith Jarret my

53:53

Clone concert, I just went to really

53:55

do because I started at that

53:57

time. Mom Mom bought me a piano

54:00

for my I think sixteenth birthday, sixteenth

54:02

or seventeen, and I

54:05

used to compose these twenty minute long

54:07

instrumental pieces just by ear.

54:10

And then you know, I heard about Keith

54:12

Jared and I I went, oh, God, there are guys

54:14

that do that. But obviously I thought

54:17

at that time that if I wanted a career,

54:19

and you know, I'm not going to

54:21

be a jazz classical

54:23

player like him and improv player, although

54:25

I could have become that if pushed

54:27

that, but I thought, yeah, you know,

54:30

I wouldn't try writing

54:32

song songs. So it was

54:34

it was because I used to write

54:36

these long pieces. The idea of editing

54:38

that down to three to five minutes it

54:41

was a bit of a nightmare. So it

54:43

was. It was a self taught learning

54:45

process of how to chop those kind

54:47

of chords into songs like

54:50

this. And that's why

54:52

I've always looked for

54:54

the unexpected chord to move to next

54:56

and or melody. I mean, there is some

54:59

sense in of regularity

55:01

and rock and roll that you can only have so many

55:03

chords. But I do try and write,

55:06

try to write interesting passing chords or

55:08

melodies that are not the norm.

55:11

Because the moment I hear something

55:14

in the world i'm writing that sounds anything

55:16

like anybody else's, I've

55:19

got to move away from that immediately.

55:22

Uh yeah, Okay, obviously

55:24

there are sometimes you just can't avoid

55:27

that, but I try my

55:29

best too. But yeah, clone concert,

55:31

Keith Jarrett Steely, Dan again,

55:34

melody melody, melody

55:36

music. Uh,

55:39

just presence they're playing their technique.

55:42

Uh again. Not

55:45

that I've mentioned this too often before, but

55:47

actually, you

55:49

know, people say, yeah, come

55:52

over and jam. No,

55:54

I'm not coming over and jam

55:56

um. I can barely

55:58

remember not my name or the three

56:00

or four chords of stand by Me. Here's

56:03

Here's the reason why is because

56:06

I'm not a practicing musician, you

56:08

know. I my sole purpose in life

56:10

is not to be a musician. There

56:12

are too many other creative outlets that

56:14

I love. So the

56:17

thing is, so I don't sit there playing every day

56:19

at all. I sit there to discover

56:21

and write songs I played by ear

56:24

and I don't know what I'm doing at the time.

56:26

And I had this one occasion where I

56:29

had this complex twenty

56:31

minutes piece and Herbie

56:33

Hancock came to the house and

56:35

I said, will you do pay this piece

56:38

professionally? He said, what

56:41

is that card? I'm going I don't

56:43

know. I don't

56:45

know. How come you don't know what it is? What the

56:47

fucking jazz masters is? My friend?

56:50

You know you're the master on anyway

56:53

major seven flat nine with a thing of the

56:55

base. No, I don't

56:57

know what that is. I don't want to know what

56:59

that is because if I knew, then it wouldn't be a mystery

57:01

to me. And mystery um

57:04

so, so he said, George, you have to learn

57:07

to read and write music so you can translate

57:09

between your musical partners that don't want

57:11

to. I'm not going to do that because then I

57:13

would know what I'm doing, and I don't want to know what

57:15

I'm doing. That's about That's I

57:18

think I've done the same thing with

57:20

every creative outlet that I've gone

57:22

into. Not a brigging clue. That's

57:24

why I have imposter Uh what's

57:27

the impostor syndrome? You but

57:29

why how for all you've accomplished

57:31

and achieved? But yeah,

57:34

this is why I'm you know, it's what do you call

57:36

it an overachieve or not, but

57:38

it's part of that. Yeah, I feel like I don't you

57:41

know, this is why I'm trying to find my

57:43

way and I do all this stuff. It's

57:45

because I don't know who knows.

57:48

Um. So yeah, so

57:50

I I can't just

57:53

be given in the guitar and told

57:55

to play a song. Don't do it.

57:58

It's never appealed to me that to do

58:00

that. I don't know why. I'm a little jealous

58:02

of real players, but I just

58:05

I'm too busy with all the other crap

58:07

that's going on in my head. Um,

58:10

And you know, people think, oh, such

58:12

a diesel. Now. Literally,

58:15

I can't remember my own bloody lyrics

58:17

for christ if

58:21

I'm not and I'm not judging, if I have to

58:23

go and play a show or I

58:25

have to go and rehearse, I don't know what chords

58:27

I'm playing, I don't know what the lyrics

58:29

are. Again, have to rehearse like

58:31

anybody learning the song for the very first

58:33

time. I have to do that.

58:36

So when when when the idea

58:38

of playing live, going on tour is

58:40

an idea that's a very big

58:43

consideration for me. It's because

58:45

it's not just getting up there and doing it. I've

58:48

got to relearn every song I ever

58:50

wrote, and you know,

58:52

in every way. So it's just

58:55

it's it's a big thing for me to do that because

58:58

again I'm one of these people that I do

59:00

something right, record that,

59:02

put it away, put it out next,

59:05

I'm onto the next thing. I don't want

59:07

to be there anymore. I'm over there already,

59:10

you know. So that's that's

59:12

who I am and where my head is at. I

59:15

don't want to stay still for a second. I might miss

59:17

something, you know, owards that's

59:20

that's really me. That's it in a nutshell,

59:23

nutshell well

59:25

that is I think a beautiful note to end

59:28

on. I want to let let you get to your get to

59:30

the next thing that you need to move on to. But just

59:32

thank you so much for your

59:34

time today, and most importantly, thank you for your music.

59:37

I've been a huge fan and it's such

59:39

an art to thank, a real pleasure.

59:41

I hope to see you in person one day.

59:46

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Inside the

59:48

Studio, a production of I Heart Radio. For

59:51

more episodes of Inside the Studio or other

59:53

fantastic shows, check out the I Heart

59:55

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59:57

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