Sorry I’m late – chaos reins – boring stuff you don’t have to know about!
Steve from Tulsa can’t manage NY and feels like he’s missing out on the ‘family gathering’. Regards to Leon!
Dianne Mitchell: I did know – she loved her animals – very sad.
Joe Saul says ‘work with Wilco – they’re big fans.’ He says his son and his buddies have been picking his collection clean since finding out. Well that’s good. ‘Whole new generation of IH/MTH fans on the way.’ Here’s hoping! ‘What musical interests do you and your kids share?’ Dunno – changes all the time – especially with Jess.
Marty Frydlewicz: ‘Come to Detroit.’ I will when it adds up.
Keith Nickless: ‘Did you watch the Olympics?’ I did and I was proud of the British. I know I’m an ex-pat, but I was bloody well proud!
Nathan: ‘Wrote to you and Trudi from Austin – long hello from Al Escovedo -me – Al – Jody Denburg etc. Just a reminder – you have friends here.’ I know it.
Sharon: ‘Play Atlanta – much success on the tour.’ Thank you.
Stephen Seabrook: ‘Do Cardiff – that would be magic.’ Sorry, it didn’t work out this time.
Derek Sargeant is claiming an interesting plot viz – -vee Willard Manus nigh on 40 years ago. I couldn’t possibly comment. Holmfirth here we come!
Mark Williams wants ‘Arms ‘n’ Legs’ and ‘Words’ in Chicago – also ‘President’.
Andrew Field: ‘Listening to WIP – still the same brilliant buzz as the first IH album when I was stuck in some crappy boarding school in 1975. Doing a sponsored walk for Cancer Research this coming Saturday in Manchester (UK) – 26 miles!!’ Good God – a few bob’s on the way.
Doug Moss: ‘Just listened to ‘President’. Un-effin believable. Looking forward to Brighton.’ We are too.
Justin August: 1) Japan is a possibility, but not a certainty as of yet. 2) ‘Saw an article in Mojo about the ‘Secret Sessions’ is it worth tracking down and buying?’ My memory is hazy on this one. Ronson and I were on it. It became a Corky Laing record. Dunno.
Howard: Give him my strength.
Andrew Field: ‘P.S. from yesterday. WIP is excellent – congrats to everybody involved in its creation. Three killer tracks complete the album when others front their albums. Ta Shunka Witco (Crazy Horse) up there with Auden’s Roman Wall Blues (covered by Alex Harvey). Shame America treats the world like it once treated its own indigenous population. Like you, I love the culture. It’s almost 11 years since Oslo. I was slightly gin happy at the end of he concert.’
David: A nice one from Portland; regards to the lad.
Doug Lighthall: ‘New albums from IH; BD and MK all in one week – how do you do it?’ Beats me.
Geoff Olsen: It’s so very hard to explain. Recently I had a guitar in open tuning and I was rehearsing an old song for the tour. My hands just went to the fifth fret and I started playing this chordal riff. I tried to get back to what I was supposed to be doing, but something in the back of my head said to stay where I was and follow this through. And so I did, and ‘Fatally Flawed’ was born. Something just happens – there’s a stillness. I remember Holley playing a groove at a sound check in the UK and instinctively I knew there was a song there – and that became ‘Words’. Songs come in all shapes and sized and I’ve no idea how it works. All I know is I’m supposed to construct the rest of the house on these few germinal bricks that tell me something is afoot. All I can tell you is that there is a stillness – maybe it’s a built in quality control that tells you you’re onto something. No rhyme or reason. If there was – we’d all be doing it. Long answer to a long question!
Mike Costanzo: ‘Any chance of ‘Man of War’ on stage anymore? Not at the moment. ‘When are you coming to Nashville – at least play the Ryman. Everyone else sure the hell is.’ Don’t see much interest from there.
Giglio: Ree: the Popovich project.’ There in spirit.
Dave/Milwaukee: The funny thing about the MTH, Jethro Tull dates in the 70’s was that Tull very rarely fielded a full band. (an would do an endless solo – then the drummer would be out there doing his solo for a while – solos all round. The’d be in the dressing room talking to us most of the time they were on! Clever chap, Ian.; great dancer – intelligent head. Mahovishnu were probably the oddest bill we were on, although Bill Graham once had us between Albert King and Freddy King at he Fillmore West. Not a white guy in the place! And, we got an encore – although I think it was more for trying than anything else!!
Tamara on about the ‘Millennium’ signing in Portland. I thoroughly enjoyed it. What an amazing shop; the real thing in these empty corporate days. Treasure it and support it. A MUST if you are in Portland.
Jeffrey says another tropical storm bearing down. Too busy to have noticed!
Oh, by the way, Tamara says I looked ‘absolutely smashing’ at Hop Farm in my ‘pretty’ clothes. Alright. I wouldn’t go that far, but thanks!! She says, ‘Stick to the spiffy stuff.’
Tom L: ‘Can’t wait to hear the whole CD – and you are finally playing D.C.!!
Oooer Wullie: ‘Enjoying the samples from WIP – looking forward to the release. Billy Sloan (Radio Clyde) said it was the best album he’d heard in years.’ Thanks, Willie.
Eric Mintz: What a lovely email. Alas, no question.
Edward Shirley: ‘Mitch Mitchell wants to know why you didn’t call him on his birthday.’ He doesn’t’ want to know how old he is. Alright – I forgot!!
Denise Johansson: How can I put this, we are a little short staffed!! If I happen to bump into him I’d be more than happy to to shake his hand, but I don’t do ‘meet and greets’ per se. I’m happy for you both that he’s back on top and remind me if I see you.
Thomas asks if I will be signing in Stockholm. Generally not, but you never know. If you catch me, I will be more than happy.
Giglio: ‘New CD brilliant – really brilliant.’ Thank you. See you in Boston.
Mitch Marcus suggested ‘Gun Control’ for the GOP convention. Oddly enough – no response.’ No sense of humour those guys.
Steve Archer is on about ‘I Wish I Was Your Mother’, but the email was cut off.
Edward Shirley: ‘PR on the new album says it’s your 20th – I can only count 13. Have I missed 7 somewhere?’ I’ve no idea. Sounds like a lot to me.
Tom Semioli: ‘I wish to seduce my wife on our anniversary – which IH tune puts her in an amorous mood?’ After my wife stopped laughing, she suggested ‘Knees of My Heart.’ Hey – you never know. You might be better off with ‘New Direction’.
Rolf Brunner: Friends of mine got treated rather roughly on a border crossing recently. Basically it was a shake down. When Switzerland starts playing fair i.e. telling people their latest laws – we’ll think about it. I should mention here that countries and states change laws now and again and you don’t know until you’re in the middle of it and you have not budgeted for it. A heads up would be appreciated. I extend this insult to airlines who charge obsessive amounts of money for musical instruments – often charging one price and then abruptly changing it to another. Some airlines don’t’ even know themselves nd make it up on the spot. Needless to say, first class never seems to get hassled.
Mark F: ‘Dead Man Walkin”
As you will have noticed, the site has been radically altered with the advent of WIP. I think what Justin and Missing Piece have done is brill and admirable, but somehow the H.M. got messed up in the change. In short – we’re not sure if we got all the questions and I’m sorry if we missed you. It’s a bit chaotic as I said at the beginning; hopefully it’ll settle. Bear with us – and hope you like the record!!!
IH
The Horse’s Mouth
If you would like to hear it “straight from the Horse’s Mouth”, you can Ask your question here.