The Wake

While waiting in Dinkytown to interview JoAnna James, a stranger sitting next to me at the café struck up a bored conversation about karaoke saying how great it is that she “can perform live any night of the week at the bars, so long as she’s drunk enough.” It struck me as oddly amusing considering the juxtaposition of musicianship once my interviewee arrived. James is, by all accounts, on fire; she released her first full-length album last year, recently wrapped up her Midwest tour, just recorded a compilation CD and now, backed by a full band, is due in the recording studio for her next album. When she peeks her head around the corner and says, “It’s you?” I start in immediately:

You are definitely a singer/songwriter but who are you without all of that—who are you without the music, beyond the music?

I can’t say, the times when I have had to be somewhere without an instrument in hand, or when I have tried to take a break from it, I find myself looking down at my hands and doing this (she strums and fingers an acoustic air guitar). So, I can’t help it, the only times when I am not physically a part of my music is when I cannot be, physically.

So, what is your music all about then, what is it doing?

There is not a lot of my music, lyrically, that is very obscure. I tend to say things just how they are. I do this so that people can relate to my songs, I create music that people can be comfortable and familiar with. When I am dealing with scales and chord structures and the way the song is set up, I feel like if the music is too out there then people don’t know what to do. I want it to be accessible enough where people can hear the song and then later be able to reflect on it.

So, you used to be solo but now there is a full band behind you. What is that like?
It is like moving into a new neighborhood and just loving your neighbors. They add a texture and confidence to the songs, we work really well together to build a song—it is never too dry or too predictable but still, like I said, it is relatable, people seem to get it.

So what are the instruments then?
Well, me, mostly rhythm guitar, vocals, and harmonica; Zac is on lead guitar; then we’ve got Andy on bass and Jordan on drums. Occasionally an accordion or violin make an appearance.

Is it all new material now, or is it stuff from your album? Because the album is all you, all solo right?

The shows now are mostly new material and the direction we are going in is all new. It’s like the minute someone puts me in a box I start punching through it, so the new stuff is not a repeat of the old stuff. It is a pet peeve of mine to be categorized like that, so it keeps me motivated, you know. The next record is going to have a little bit of everything: indie-pop, a little hip-hop, some simple folk, some jazz elements, also the vocals have evolved too since the first album, more bluesy. At the shows we try to reflect this set up, as a band, to keep things fresh and changed-up, but with smooth transitions.

So, you released your solo album last year, you’ve got a full band backing you up this year, anything else major happening?

I recently did a thing for this Missing Children Minnesota Compilation CD. It’s a benefit CD to help missing children and all of the proceeds go to help families fund searches and to fund education. So many great musicians were there, they’ll be on the album, Romantica, The Honeydogs, Tim Mahoney, Jessy Greene, Coach Said Not To, Epic Hero, Alicia Wiley, Dazy Head Mazy… It was done in two days — one huge recording session. Everyone had an hour to put down two or three songs, we did it all live at Third Ear in Minneapolis. The CD comes out at the end of October.

Okay, now a quick few random questions:

Monet or Manet?
Monet, my heart is with Monet. I mean the poor man has been exploited beyond all belief on coffee cups and posters, but I like him.

Rhyme or Reason?
Rhyme. Because there is a rhythm in everything and for that there has got to be reason within the rhyme, otherwise it wouldn’t be a rhyme.

‘Up all night, sleep all day?’ (Slaughter) or ‘Rock & roll all night, party every day’ (Kiss)?
It has got to be the second one. It’s the only way to do it, even when I go to sleep at 5 a.m., I am still out of bed by eight or nine.