Because I don't play guitar any more, African harmonies and rhythms have been an inspiration to me. I love the raw origin of the sound. It complements my voice and words naturally.
I also plan to release a ballads collection.
I've got a couple of bands that I'm working on. The one I'm really excited about, we're called London The Child. It's folky music and it's really cool.
I got this Christmas gift with the entire Beatles catalog. I had fun trying to duplicate what I was hearing on these records, only using the instruments I had at hand - an acoustic guitar, and that's all. It was endlessly amusing to me to try to imitate John Lennon and Paul McCartney's harmonies using the guitar.
On the records that I grew up with and loved, every song was unique - it's almost as if you had a different journey every time - and the drums were big part of that story.
Every one of the songs was based around picking an acoustic guitar. That was part of the concept from the beginning, that the tempos were going to go from slow to almost mid-tempo.
All my records - 'By the Time I Get to Phoenix,' 'Wichita Lineman,' 'Galveston,' 'Rhinestone Cowboy,' 'Dreams of the Everyday Housewife' - they all had strings on them.
I had a diary full of lyrics and whatnot and a little voice recorder of guitar riffs.
With my trumpet voice, I love gritty, plunger, growly sounds. But vocally, I love Anita O'Day - a raspier but definitely softer sound. Part of the fun has been finding vehicles or writing for both of those sounds.
Gilbert Hotel' is my first all-acoustic record.
I've been devoted to Alison Krauss for many, many years.
A lot of the carols were not as you hear them now.
The soundtrack for 'Mr. Fraud' is classical with a decent level of fusion.
I remember a couple of instrumental albums, just don't ask the names.
Alison Krauss is definitely my favorite singer that's ever lived. I've never heard anyone like her.
I'm moved by a lot of different kinds of music, whether it's pop music or R&B or straight-ahead jazz or free or opera or music from all parts of the world.
