J.P.S Brown Interview 4/18/10 Author of "Jim Kane"

Many of you may not know who J.P.S Brown, or Joe Brown, is at first glance. Joe is an author of numerous novels relating to life in the American Southwest. Joe is a prolific writer and yet that's just the tip of the iceberg in this mans fascinating life. A 5th generation rancher near the Mexican border, a cattleman, an actor, and an honest to God real live American Cowboy. His book "Jim Kane" was turned into a film called "Pocket Change", staring Paul Newman & Lee Marvin. Joe was also in the film "Tom Horn" with Steve McQueen and Slim Pickens. I had always found Joe's life story quite interesting and recently was having a discussion with musician Tom Russell when Joe's name came up. Tom had said "now there would be a interesting interview". A bit of time went by, till one day I decided to look Mr. Brown up. I found he had his own website (www.jps-brown.com) & a biography page at(jpsbrown-horseman.com) & decided to make contact. I was thrilled to find Joe willing to do an interview. It's Tom Russell who I owe this interview to, so we'll kick off the interview with the first two questions from Tom to Joe. It was quite a privlege to do this interview with Joe Brown & I think you're gonna find his story quite exciting and informative. I will be printing this interview over a couple weeks time in 5 parts. I hope you enjoy it !

1) Did you know any of the old bullfighting crowd from L.A or Tucson?

Yes, Chuck Henson and I have been close friends for 33 years. We worked together as Teamster wranglers and drivers on about 30 pictures that were made in and around Tucson, beginning in 1977. I knew Marge, his, mother and his Aunt Alice. As the Greenough sisters they were among the best and most famous lady bronc riders that pioneered American rodeo. I know a lot of Chuck's Greenough cousins, too, and knew Heavy Henson, his father. We haven't seen much of each other since I moved to Patagonia. Recently we've only visited each other when we landed in the hospital. I never tried to rodeo professionally. Did a lot of pumpkin rollers in the summertime when I was growing up, mostly to advertize our horses and get them sold. I had a lot of relatives that pioneered rodeo, among them, my uncle Buckshot Sorrells. We were all cowboys and did not take time off ranch work to rodeo except to advertize our horses in the summertime. I started boxing competitively when I was 12, so when I grew to professional RCA age I was dedicated to becoming a professional champion of the world and had no interest in becoming a pro rodeo cowboy. I never quit being an outside cowboy, though

2) Did you know Casey Tibbs or Slim Pickens

I knew Casey and Slim very well during their final years. Casey and I wrangled The Alamo, the TV version that starred Jim Arness, that our mutual friend Bert Kennedy produced and directed at Brackettsville, Texas. Casey liked my books long before we ever met. I worked with Slim Pickens on the movie Tom Horn with Steve McQueen. I was the priest who spoke with McQueen in the jail and Slim was the jailer. Slim and I had a lot of mutual cowboy friends in the cattle and horse businesses and in the movie business. I liked both of those guys a lot, although I didn't see Slim after Tom Horn. I kept up frequent phone contact with Casey, especially after he came down with cancer. I kept him supplied with Chapparral tea, a cowboy remedy for arthritis and cancer.

3) Are you still writing daily and are their any new books forthcoming?

I sit down with three fingers of bourbon and write two hours or a thousand words every afternoon at 4. Two years ago I completed a novel about a boy who is found in an abandoned wagon by a trail crew driving a herd from New Mexico to California. They keep him and raise him the Cowboy Way.
It's called The Spirit of Dogie Long. My agent in New York recently submitted it to Scribners, Will James' publisher.
For the past year and a half I've been writing the tale of an Arizona ranching family who were singled out as a target to ruin by radical environmentalists. These radicals intimidated the Forest Service into considering denying the ranchers' grazing permit on government land. The family put up sound scientific proof that they were first class stewards of the land and quieted the government. However, the radicals continued to defame them in newspapers and internet. The family took them to court, won a big chunk of money from them and left them for dead.

4) In 2008 Richard Grant wrote a book called "God's Middle Finger", and before he wrote it he consulted with you on the dangers of going into the Sierra Madre's in Mexico. At that time he had never ridden a horse and couldn't speak Spanish. Despite your warnings, and with your help, he did eventually go and write his book. Were you surprised that he wasn't killed and was able to make it out relatively unscathed.

I wanted Richard to stay away from the Sierra. Most of the decent people who ranched there for many generations have been forced to leave. I still have friends who stayed up there. I wanted Richard to stay away from the roads and truck traffic and to get to know the Sierra by using the horseshoe trails. He would have been a target on either avenue, but the roads are the most dangerous. He would have been protected and introduced to the most decent people who are still in the Sierra if he had gone horseback, but he went alone in his car and did exactly the opposite of what I advised.

No, I wasn't surprised that he returned unscathed, but I was disappointed that he only met villains. I wanted him to go into the bosom of the Sierra with my friends and learn something good. He came out disgusted with Mexico. Not everyone in Mexico is a villain. The family values still govern every individual who has not dedicated himself to crime, and even still influences those who have. Most of the people are happy and hospitable and God fearing in Mexico. He chose to look for the mean ones and by God he didn't have any trouble finding them. He went in there and made himself nothing but a great big target. The Mexican word for target is BLANCO, which word also means WHITE. He went in there as a great big six foot four white man. I'm convinced that his innocence and frankness saved him and maybe after the villains got to know him they figured him to be also a little bit daft.

Daniel Woodrell to speak at Augastana College

DO NOT MISS THIS ONE !! Author Daniel Woodrell, will be making a rare public appearance at Augustana College, in Rock Island,Il. on Thursday April 15th at 7 pm. This will be the first appearance for Mr. Woodrell locally in several years. I don't think he's given a reading since the Big Read in Clayton,Mo. about 4 years ago. I do know he had been scheduled to appear in Oxford,Ms. 2 years ago but cancelled, and was originally going to attend the premier of the new directors cut showing of "RIDE WITH THE DEVIL" in St. Louis a couple months ago but cancelled due to health reasons. So, if your anywhere near Rock Island on Thursday, don't miss the chance to hear & meet one of our greatest living authors. Tickets are free to the event.

Michael Lister's "THUNDER BEACH" hits bookstores.

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that author/poet, Michael Lister's new book "THUNDER BEACH" is now available. You can go online and order, or go to Michael's Facebook page for info & a trailer on the book. Michael is the author of S& W's favorite "DOUBLE EXPOSURE". Race out and get it and let me know what you think.

SEAN CHERCOVER Interview 4/7/10

Sean Chercover is the author of two terrific novels, BIG CITY BAD BLOOD his debut, and the followup TRIGGER CITY. Both feature P.I. Ray Dudgeon. Sean has homes in both Toronto and Chicago and is one of the nicest guys is the mystery world. It was a real pleasure to do this interview with one of my favorite authors, I give you Mr. Sean Chercover.

1) Over the years you've worked as a truck driver, waiter, nightclub magician, car-jockey, encyclopedia salesman, bodyguard, private investigator, TV writer & editor, and as a security consultant. That's a pretty varied list of life experiences. How important were those past experiences in becoming the writer you are today?

If I'd had a totally different set of jobs, I'd have become a different person, and a different writer. But I have no way of knowing just how different. But whatever you do, any writer is helped by having a deep well of life experience from which to draw. I always wanted to write, but when I was younger, I had far less to write about.

2) Chicago was just named #10 on the "Most Miserable City" list. What are your feelings when you see something like that?

I think people who sit around making lists that rank cities by their level of "miserableness" have far too much time on their hands. I love Chicago, but your mileage may vary.

3)You spent time as a private investigator in both New Orleans & Chicago. How were they different & which was tougher to work in?

Enormously different - I can't even begin to list the ways, or this would be the longest answer in history. New Orleans was tougher to work in, by far.

4) You attended the "American Security Training Institute". What all do you learn there & what does it qualify you to do?

The school was licensed by the State of Illinois to conduct state-mandated training and testing for employment in the security sector. The first step is the basic security course, which allows you to work as unarmed security. Then the advanced course, which gets you your "blue card", qualifying you to work as a private detective, bodyguard, or security consultant. And there were specific courses in various martial arts techniques, mostly Aikido-based, and some weapons such as the kubotan and the MagLight. And firearms training. Classroom work focused on legal rights and responsibilities, and there was both classroom and practical training in the nuts-and-bolts stuff of being a private detective or a bodyguard - surveillance, skip-tracing, assessing and responding to security threats, and so on and so forth.

5)Both "Big City, Bad Blood" and "Trigger City" were set in Chicago, any chance we might see Ray in Toronto at some point?

Doubt it. Chicago is a major supporting character in the Ray Dudgeon books, and I'll probably keep him there. He could take a case that brings him briefly to Toronto some day, but I have nothing planned.

6)When you were growing up you spent some time in the summers in Georgia. What are some of your memories of those times and your impressions of the South?

My mom is from Atlanta, and I've spent a lot of time in Georgia. Many of my childhood memories of summer are of trips to Georgia. I also briefly lived in South Carolina (one semester at USC - go Gamecocks!) and of course I lived in New Orleans for a while. My feelings about the South are extremely complicated. Mostly love, but I despise racism and religious arrogance and xenophobia and cronyism, and the South is not without those things.

But the thing is, neither is anywhere else. As far as I know, Boston is the most racially segregated city in America, and Chicago has plenty of its own sins in this regard. The South has to haul around its sad history of slavery and Jim Crow, but I think many people from the Northern States are in denial about their own history, and often adopt a morally superior attitude, which is nuts.
Like I said, it's complicated.

7) Do you have an all-time favorite literary P.I.?

I don't tend to rank the things I love, so no, I don't have an all-time favorite. I love Matt Scudder and Philip Marlowe and Jack Taylor and Easy Rawlins and Elvis Cole and Dave Robichaux (I know, he's a cop, but to me he still counts) and Mike Hammer and Alex McKnight and Amos Walker and the Continental Op and ... the list goes on.

8) Did your background in security & investigative work help pave the way for you to become a mystery writer?

Without a doubt. That's the reason I went into the business. Call it research-gone-mad. Didn't teach me how to write, but it provided valuable grist for the mill, as my grandmother used to say.

9) Do you have a Ernie Banks bobble head on your desk?

Yes, I do. Although, his head is gone - just a stretched spring rising from his neck. He stands next to my Incredible Hulk bobble head.

10) How close are we to seeing the next Ray Dudgeon novel coming out and anything else you can tell us about?

The next novel is a stand-alone thriller that I'm very excited about. Don't have a pub date yet. Ray's on vacation.

11) You once wrote & sold a screenplay called "Scared Money" to Gannaway Pictures. Has there been any recent movement on that or is still buried?

That screenplay is deader than dead. The production company went under and I own the property again, but it would take a massive rewrite to bring it up-to-date, since it was based in the world of professional poker, which has changed radically since the late-90's, when I wrote the thing. Maybe I'll dust it off one day, but right now I've got other stories to tell.

12) Have options been picked up on either Big City, Bad Blood or Trigger City? I could see both being made into films, but especially "Trigger City".

Fox TV Entertainment optioned BCBB, but the executive producer took ill and the project stalled, then he passed away, and the option lapsed. But while it was at FOX, an independent producer took an interest in the property, and we just signed a new deal with her, which I'm absolutely thrilled about.

13)When you were in the "Big Easy", what were your favorite hangouts & restaurants to visit?.... Didn't it break your heart to see the damage Katrina did to it?

God, where to begin? If I start on restaurants, we'll be at this all week, so let's just stick with a few bars. Back in the day, you could often find me at The Maple Leaf Bar, Tipitina's, Mid-City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl, The Lion's Den, Jean Lafitte's, Napoleon House, Tujague's, The Old Absinthe House, Le Bon Temps Roule, The Funky Butt, The Sazerac Bar, Igor's, Checkpoint Charlie's, Snug Harbor... I spent a lot of time in bars. I know I'm forgetting some of my hangouts, and I some of those I named are gone.

Yes, it broke my heart to see what Katrina did to New Orleans. Part of my next novel is set there.

14)With 2 books behind you, have you found a comfortable place and a peace as a writer, or do you still have some unfulfilled ambitions?

Comfort? Peace? I know not, these words you use. Actually, that's not totally true. I learned a great deal writing the first two books, and while I wouldn't use the word 'peace', I've certainly become a more confident storyteller. But I definitely have unfulfilled ambitions, and many improvements to work on.

15) When your out on book tours or doing promotional work, what are your favorite cities to visit?

New York, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, Portland, Seattle... I mostly love visiting independent mystery bookstores. That's where you find people who truly love the genre, where you connect with the community. And, while I miss the time away from family, I love driving the highways of America, and seeing places I would otherwise neglect to visit.

16) Chicago provides alot of great opportunities to catch some really great music. Are you a music fan and if so who do you enjoy listening to? Does music have any role in your writing process?

Music is a huge part of my life, and I listen all the time. Everything from The Clash to Duke Ellington, Burning Spear to Lurrie Bell, Black Stalin to the Stones to Beau Jocque to Keith Jarrett. You'll find a lot of music referenced in my first two books, and I often listen while writing. I sometimes create play lists in iTunes that reflect the mood of whatever I'm writing at the time.

17) Are you a prolific reader and who do you enjoy reading?

I'm always reading. I think any writer worth a damn must also be a prolific reader. Sometimes I meet aspiring writers who say they don't actually like reading much. They will never make it.

I'm going to demur on listing names of writers I enjoy reading. I know I'll leave out some of my favorites, and some of my friends, and I'll feel guilty later.

18) What writers have been particularly helpful along the way?

God, the crime fiction community is so incredibly supportive. A few who've given me a hand-up include Ken Bruen, Robert Crais, Sara Paretsky, Lee Child, Andrew Gross, Steve Hamilton, Libby Hellmann...

19) Are you a film fan and have you gotten to attend the "Toronto Film Festival"?

I am, and I have, many times, on and off since I was a teenager. I also covered the festival for a website, for a couple of years during the dot-com boom. It was fun to go with press credentials, hit the parties and so on. It's a terrific festival, and I recommend it.

20) What are some of your all time favorite mystery films?

Off the top of my head: Chinatown. Fargo. Angel Heart. The Maltese Falcon. The Big Sleep. The Conversation. The Usual Suspects. Se7ven. Blue Velvet. The Third Man. Rear Window. Vertigo. North By Northwest. The Thin Man. Laura. Gosford Park. Blade Runner. Twilight. Murder, My Sweet... I could go on for hours.

21) Chicago has several wonderful mystery writers, two who come to mind immediately are Marcus Sakey & Theresa Schwegel. Do you guys get much of a chance to get together over drinks or coffee and discuss things?

Right now I'm in Toronto, but Marcus and I talk on the phone a lot, and hang out all the time when I'm in Chicago. And I've done signings and had drinks with Theresa, who is terrific. One thing I love about the crime fiction community in Chicago is how tight and supportive it is. I really miss all those guys when I'm away.

22)"Trigger City" opens with the lines, Facts are not the truth. Listen carefully this is important. Facts can point to the truth, or can be manipulated away from it. You search for the facts that support the goal of your client..... and then a couple lines later the page closes with,... You uncover facts until your client is satisfied, send a bill, and move on. That's the job. That's your goal. Because if your goal is the truth, you'll go both broke and crazy.And if your clients goal is the truth, run away screaming,fast as you can.

What a powerful opening first page. You're hooked from then on and it's pretty much a summation of the rest of the book . Was that what you personally learned from your experience as a private investigator and did you realize as you wrote that page that you really had the reader hooked from then on?

Answ.) First of all, thank you. People have responded well to it, and I'm really glad you dug it. Yes, the sentiment was something I learned working as a PI, and I wanted to bring that to life on the page. As I wrote the page, I did realize it was a powerful hook, but you can always lose the reader later on, even if your initial hook is strong. So I didn't make any grand assumptions about it.

23) I assume every ones read "Trigger City" by now, so I have to ask you how hard was it to have to kill off Delwood Crawley, (the Truman Capote like) gossip columnist and with a blow torch ?

It was tough to kill Delwood, no doubt. He'd served me well for two books, and some of my early readers were sad to see him go. I was sad to see him go, too. He's an interesting dude, and a guy you love to hate, so it would've been nice to keep him around for future books. But killing him was the right thing to do for the story, so I went ahead and did it. And, hell, if you're gonna kill the guy off, you might as well make it a doozy. Hence, the blow torch.

24)The quote " A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves" by Edward R. Murrow. Has that ever been anymore true than right now, meaning the last 10 years or so?

From a global perspective, it has definitely been more true than now. Germany in the 1930s, to use one example of many. But here in America? I don't know. I'm sad to say, it may be more true now than ever.

25) Your books contain wonderful reoccurring characters such as Ray's love interest Jill Browning, and boyhood friend Gravedigger Peace. Were those two characters a combination of people, or based on individuals from your past, or totally out of your imagination?

Thank you. Jill came out of the ether of my imagination, while Gravedigger is a composite character, based on four friends I've had over the years, all mashed together in my imagination.

26) There's a wonderful line on page 180 in "Trigger City" where Gravedigger Peace tells how he feels about peoples intentions versus what people do. Is that your personal belief as well?

Pretty much, yes. Our actions tell who we really are, and 'good intentions' are too often used to excuse bad behavior. Sometimes genuine good intentions go awry, but intentions often lie, while actions always reveal the truth.

27) Hawk River, Alphabet Soup, govt. cover ups.... we know this a work of fiction, but...how far from the truth are we here?

We're far closer to the truth than I'd like. But yeah, this is a work of fiction, and all similarities are completely coincidental, blah-blah-blah, etc.

28) Craig McDonald just wrote a great piece in Crimespree magazine on authors FBI files being recently released. Authors such as Ernest Hemingway and Rex Stout had files. If you had written "Trigger City" in that same time period, would we be wondering what was in your file?

Craig rocks, as does Crimespree magazine. Anyone who loves crime fiction should subscribe immediately.

As for my FBI file, if I'd written Trigger City back in the day, it might've attracted their attention (in a bad way), but they're a little busy these days with actual bad guys. I'm fortunate to have a couple of FBI agents who help with my research, and I'm gratified by the fact that others in the Bureau have written to tell me how much they enjoyed the book. And my first book, Big City Bad Blood, is actually mentioned on the FBI's website (http://www.fbi.gov/aboutus/faqs/working_with_fbi.htm) so I think I'm safe.


Final Question: When is Ray & Jill's wedding and are we all invited ?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but... Jill turned down his proposal.

He could be your new best friend !!

I'm always looking out for worthy causes & this is one of those. After I did an interview with Tom Schreck, I asked him if he could give me someone who could pass on some info in regards to helping save abused or abandoned animals. Soon afterward, I heard from the wonderful Jen Forbus, who sent me this address www.theanimalrescuesite.com for anyone out there wanting to help save an animal like the one above. Please have a heart, if your in need of a pet, contact this terrific website and find a new best friend.

"Autumn's" DVD Release, TODAY 4/6/10 (David Moody)

David Moody's "Autumn series, (5 books) has become a cult phenomenon. When "Autumn" was completed David had a choice, find a publisher or make it available on-line for free. He chose the later and that led to over half a million downloads. The rest of the series was published by INFECTED BOOKS, which David controlled. Unfortunately that has led to a problem for most U.S. readers. The books are long out of print and can only be found in the secondary market, often for hundreds of dollars each. However, there is good news around the bend. The series will become available in the U.S. beginning in Sept. of 2010 when "Autumn" (the 1st in the series) will again roll off the presses. The (2nd-4th) books in the series, will be released throughout 2011 here in the U.S. Jump on board now, because both of his series, will be the next "HOT" thing, over the next couple years.

The movie based on the novel, by the same name "Autumn" was released today in the U.S. I immediately rented it and just finished viewing it moments ago. I will warn you, it is not your typical zombie movie and you will probably enjoy it, or hate it. The movie sticks closely to David's book, however it was shot on a very small budget and it really need subtitles here in the U.S.
The acting, which includes the recently deceased David Carodine (in a small role ) and Dexter Fletcher ( of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrel's & Layer Cake) is somewhat average and the audio could be better. BUT.. if you love films from the past such as, "The Day of the Triffids", or "Night of the Living Dead" then you'll love it. Keep an open mind, overlook the deficiencies and just relax and enjoy David Moody's post apocalyptic tale of of a viral plague that kills billions, but soon see them come to life and begin to evolve. Not your typical zombie movie. A matter of fact, it is light on the gruesome side until well into the movie and even then it's only briefly. This is a "thinking mans zombie" and a story only David Moody could tell.

David's new series "Hater" will be out in paperback in April & the 2nd in the 3 book series, (Dog Blood) will be out in the U.S. on June 8th. "Hater" was brilliant and was among my "Signs & Wonders" top 10 novels of 2009. "Hater" has already been optioned & is in production and will be directed by Guillermo del Toro, ( of Hellboy 1 &2, Pans Labyrinth, The Hobbit) and will be a don't miss I promise you. This one will get the money thrown at it to do it the justice David's books deserve. You may also catch up on David Moody if he's new to you, at his website http://www.djmoody.co.uk

Please stay posted tuned to "Signs & Wonders", as we will have an interview with Mr. Moody coming in late April or early May. "Jay-sus", that will be worth waiting for.

Interview with Irish Folk Singer, JOHNNY DUHAN 4/3/10

A couple years ago Ken Bruen introduced me to the music of Johnny Duhan. My first taste was his CD "To The Light" and after listening to the 1st track, "Don Quixote" I knew I'd found a new favorite. Shortly after that, Ken gave me Johnny's e-mail address and we've stayed in touch ever since then. Johnny is a warm and caring man with a heart the size of Texas and his music deserves to be heard. It is my pleasure to introduce him to you here at "Signs & Wonders". This is Part 1 of what will be a 2Part interview. You can order his book & CD's at www.johnnyduhan.com . I give you Mr. Johnny Duhan.

1)Your music and songwriting abilities remind me of a U.S. version of Tom Russell, neither of you have ever compromised in regards to your (integrity or independence) just to gain commercial success. Those two things are very important to you are they not?

Honesty, integrity and independence are crucially important to me. Staying true to myself and the culture I stem from - including the influence of my parents - is fundamental. Much more important than commercial success. World success is over rated. I've known lots of people who have achieved huge commercial success, and it destroyed them. Money has never been a motivating force for me. Fame, yes, when I was younger, but heading into my 60s, I'm beginning to outgrow that lust too. But it's still there, the longing for the limelight. At a deeper level, though, the light I long for now is a much purer light. And I believe it's there, hidden in the darkness. And somehow you have to go into the dark to find it.


2) Your songs are so soulful & contain the most intimate moments of your life. Has it been painful or therapeutic to paint the pages with your own blood?


A: Real creativity, I have found, is deeply painful. After years of writing surface formulaic songs - hundreds and hundreds of them - I recall the first real song that came to me. I was in Co Kerry on a camping holiday with my girlfriend - now wife - and we were involved in a road accident with a couple of US tourists who had given us a ride in their car. That evening after we pitched our tent we went to a local bar for a few drinks and immediately I was overwhelmed by a feeling of dread or claustrophobia. So much so that I had to leave the pub on my own (driven out) and go for a walk by the ocean. It was probably delayed reaction to the car crash. But the force I felt that night had something to do with my rising the following morning very early with a bolt of inspiration to write "Everything will be Alright", which eventually featured on my "Just Another Town" album. It was years later before I tapped into the same kind of inspiration to write the rest of the songs for "Just Another Town", and, again, the songs came after a severe bout of depression, though many of the songs are bright and positive. To write real songs you have to confront your demons, in the same way that an alcoholic has to confront his illness before he can enact a cure.


3) If you were able to go back to the beginning of your career, would you pursue a different path or would you do it all the same again?


A: I wrote a song once called Fool's Review for my Don Quixote album (now To The Light) which ran: I sometimes look back at the fool I was when I was young. Laugh when I think of me at seventeen. Blush when I think of all the silly things I've done. But that boy stands proudly in my memory, naming fools of those who were then as I am now."
Having said that with tongue in cheek, I would of course do things differently. It took me years to wise up to the myth of the 60's. Joni Mitchell song "Blue" exploded the idea that Sex, Drugs & rock'n'roll led to Nirvana. I was beginning to come to the same conclusion at that time but I wasn't skilled enough to articulate it in song. In fact, I was a very slow developer. Though I started out in a band in the mid sixties - and wrote most of the band's songs - I wasn't well informed, in the way of being aware of poetry and literature, which I believe is essential
for development in any of the arts.


4) When I was reading about your early days with "Granny's Intentions", their were some similarities to those in the movie "The Commitments". Have you seen the film and what were your thoughts on it when you did? (Ex. the Irish band playing soul & heading to London)

A: Strange you should ask that, as the same question came up in another interview recently. "The Commitments", in my estimation, is pastiche. It was written by a talented school teacher, who may have dreamt of being in a band in the 60s. It has all the surface elements of what it was like being in a copycat soul band. And from a nostalgic point of view it was very very entertaining. But it is not the real thing. Real life is a lot more nuanced and complicated than the bubbly picture we were given in "The Commitments". At it's own level, it is fine. But that level doesn't really interest me. I'm not nostalgic by nature. Roddy Doyle has criticised Joyce's Ulysses for not being better edited. For me this is a silly remark. Ulysses has all the quirkiness of reality. This real substance can not be edited out, just to make a well rounded book. Maybe it could have been better edited, but the real substance has to be their first to make a real work of art. Joyce had that in abundance.


5) Of all your songs that have been remade by the various musicians, do you have a favorite or is that like asking which one of your kids is your favorite?

A: "After the Dream" by Dolores Keane had the potential to be my favourite because Dolores, in my mind, is one of the finest singers Ireland has produced. Like Billy Holiday, she was a natural singer. But I fucked up (pardon the French) in agreeing to add a verse to a song that was already complete, just to suit the film it was featured in. You can't do things like this. There is such a thing as artistic sin, and I committed a cardinal one in messing with "After the Dream".


6) I've read some of the wonderful and touching letters that you've received from peoples lives you've touched around the world. Do those letters make all the struggles through the years worthwhile for you?


Yes, a German got in touch with me some time back and told me that he was amazed that I wasn't recognised in my own country. And it's true. I brought out a book, TO THE LIGHT last year and I couldn't get on any TV or radio shows to promote it, and only one of our newspapers reviewed it. Even though the book - and more so the four epic CD collections that it represents - is probably the most substantial artistic work - in sheer volume of size - that any artist has produced in Ireland in years. The letters I get, from overseas mostly, have kept me going. In the last week alone I've had letters from France and Nova Scotia. Some of the letters I get reduce me to tears. That for me is the real reward for what I do.

7) I gave "Honest Injun" several listens and I know you told me not to expect too much, but to be honest I really liked "Maybe" , "We Both Need To Know", and especially "Heavy Loaded Minds". What really got me was how you guys were all over the place in regards to style. At times it was like listening to a country western tune by the Marshall Tucker Band or the Allman Bros. & then we would switch to a David Bowie "Ziggy Stardust" feeling. Was that intended, to roam around see what caught on?


A: Very perceptive, Rod. We were all over the place. Our keyboard player John Ryan had his pulse on the heart of pop culture and was forever steering us down new roads. I learned quite a lot from the experience but grew dizzy artistically because of all the chopping and changing. Being in a band is like being part of a democracy, and the democracy of Granny's Intentions was full of confusion because each of the members was pulling in different ways. Back then, we were just feeling our way. I was only 17, for God sake.


8) Did you have a feeling even at that time that Gary Moore was going to go on to have the successful career he's had? And.. What are your memories of working together on that album?


A: Gary Moore was never really a fixture in the Granny's. He stepped into the lead guitarist role in the middle of the recordings for Granny''s one and only album. Gary and Phil Lynott moved into my flat in Donnybrook in Dublin when they were homeless and we became good friends. I was probably closer to Gary in temperament, though I had little interest in the heavy rock that both of them were into. Gary was such a whiz on the guitar, it was obvious that he was destined for the limelight.


9) How much money would it take to bring you to the U.S. to tour?


A: Not a lot. It's finding the right venues that would be the problem. Generally I play smallish arts centres, sometimes even without a PA system. I went to New York some years back but the venues were all wrong. The kind of songs I sing demand a lot of concentration and I need complete silence to bring out all the juices of the lyrics. Generally I don't even have other musicians with me because I want the full focus to be kept on the words and vocal performance. I'm a bit of an odd ball, I'm told. I would love to play in the U.S., but without being even popular in my own country, I can't see how that could be achieved. I'm not complaining though, as my lack of popularity has meant that I have been able to give my full undivided attention to my work.


10) Who are some of your favorite poets, songwriters, and musicians out there working today? Or for that matter, for all time?


A: I tend to go to classical composers for melodic nourishment more and more now and old poets for poetic stimulus. I listen to Bach more than any other composer of music, for melody. In fact my daughter is playing a very beautiful piece by Bach on the piano behind me as I write. I love George Herber with a passion, and Wordsworth, Dante, Emily Dickinson, Frost, Akmatova - there are so many greats. As good as I think some of the more modern songwriters are, I haven't heard any to top Joni Mitchell, Tim Hardin, early Dylan and Leonard Cohen, to name a few. My one bit of advice to up and coming writers, is to keep a check on over exposing themselves to one particular influence, if they want to develop their own voice.


11) I understand that you did the soundtrack for the 1987 movie "Reefer and the Model". Please tell us about that experience and is it something you might want to explore again in the future?


A: Joe Comerford's film. Yes. It was a great experience. I mentioned the theme song already, "After the Dream". It gave me the opportunity to work with my favorite Irish singer, Dolores Keane. Writing the score also tested my ability to come up with lots of musical pieces to order, something I'm not usually good at. I'm not a big film buff. I prefer books any day. But it was a great experience. I was advised to pursue more work in films after Reefer won top prize at the Barcelona Film Festival. I was even given a few avenues to follow, but I didn't really do it with any kind of enthusiasm, as I felt it would be a distraction on my work as a songwriter.


12) What was your impression of the movie?

A: I thought Joe caught the feel and substance of the Irish character in the way outsiders aren't able to do, though he fell down on the dialogue. If he had had the chance to develop he might have gone on to create a substantial body of work with a distinctly Irish feel. The problem for Joe and it's a similar problem for most Irish artists, is that everything we do is weighed against what's coming out of America. The reason Van Morrison and even U2 became so successful commercially in the U.S., was that they drew most of their influences from America. They became more American than the Americans themselves. If you listen carefully to the intonation of Van's and Bono's voices, you'll detect more than a hint of an American
twang.


13) Your book "To The Light" is a full scale autobiography that is written entirely in song. Where did you come up with the idea of using that format and were you pleased with the outcome?


A: This is the most important question you've asked me so far. I spent four or five years, on and off, writing part one of an autobiography, "THERE IS A TIME". And, though I was happy enough with the end result, I detected a slightly stilted note in the prose when I reread it. I think what it was was that I was over conscious of the writing process in the writing of the book. Songwriting has always come quite naturally to me. I almost feel that I was destined to write songs. Prose is different. In writing prose I have no melody to guide me, and melody is vitally important to me. I started to write part two of my autobiography some years back, and again I felt a little at sea without melodic structure to act as a compass. Half way through the book it occurred to me that the voice I use on stage to introduce my songs to an audience was a much more confident voice than the voice that guides my written prose. So, I put the autobiography on hold and spent a year writing a 50 page chapter based on a live gig, using the stories I came up with on stage to introduce the lyrics of the songs. It worked. I was so gripped by the experience of writing in this way, I literally couldn't put the pen down. Then an even stranger thing happened. The thought occurred to me that I could condense my life's work as a songwriter into four chapters, and so "TO THE LIGHT" came about. As I was writing this book it began to dawn on me that the most important aspect of the work was the four collections of songs that it represented, (Just Another Town, To The Light, The Voyage, and Flame). The book itself is only a marker for this work of a lifetime. What I've done over a forty year period is write my autobiography in song. No one that I know of has ever done this before, anywhere. And no other Irish man that I know of has spent as long working on a single work of art as I have spent working on this project. This isn't ego speaking, this is just fact. The real test, of course, is does the work have real artistic value. Only time will determine that.


14) The one man shows you perform these days are very intimate and personal in regards to the performance & venues you play in. Are you more comfortable playing your music in a smaller setting or would you at some point want to play in front of 25,000 people?


A: I have no desire to play to a crowd that big, though I don't think it would faze me if I did. But to play that game you need to be famous. For me there is something unreal about such gatherings. Most people probably go for the occasion rather than the songs. The whole popular music industry is manufactured and manipulated by money. Because of the level of manipulation that has gone on for decades, the general publics musical taste has also become affected. Most of the product we're hearing on our radios now has been elevated to that high position by advertising. To fill giant stadiums you have to operate within the cesspool of the modern music industry. I chose a long time ago not to play the game. Consequently I have a "select audience though few", as Wordsworth so eloquently put it.


15) Do you prefer playing live or would you rather be in the studio recording?


A: Above all I love the act of writing a real song. But, real songs are slow in coming, so you need infinite patience. It gets lonely in my song-cell, but I wouldn't have it any other way. To get out and play a series of intimate shows is wonderful too. The act of singing for me is amazing. It's a bit like what I imagine a tightrope walker must feel like, high above a crowd without a safety net. Regarding recording, I'm not as enamored of studios as I used to be, though it still gives me a great thrill to work with other musicians. I've just completed recording a new series of songs featuring a cello. That was a great treat.


16) You stated that one of the reasons for writing the book "To The Light" was to awaken interest in your musical albums. Has that worked out the way you had hoped?


A: Not really. As I stated already, I'm little known in own country, as I rarely get invited onto TV or radio shows. I thought this would change once I published the book and two of the four albums that go with it. But, it just hasn't happened. A journalist from the Irish Times who wanted to do a feature on it, wasn't allowed to by his editor. But, he still managed to sneak in a one liner, "It's hardly likely you'll read a better book this year" and that gave me encouragement and a quotation I could use legitimately.


17) "The Voyage" has turned out to be your most popular song. "It is simplistic- yet a deeply touching ode to the family". While you were writing it, did you have any idea it would strike the chord it did with so many people?


A: I had no idea it would take off the way it did. And from the quantity and quality of the letters I've received regarding the song, I'm convinced that there is a core substance to the song that has real meaning for our lives, especially family life. A well known musician once tried to insult me by suggesting that the words were "pre-teenage stuff", as he put it. I caught him on the hop by telling him that he was bang on, as I had been influenced by Robert Louise Stevenson's "Treasure Island" in the writing of the lyric. Any song or poem that becomes hugely popular will always have a certain amount of detractors. Even Wordsworth's "Daffodils" was derided in his day.


18) While recording "Just Another Town" you left your record company over artistic differences ( the order the songs would appear on the album) and instead invested your own finances to do it your way. I believe you said "compromise in everything except art". Have you ever wavered on that or do you feel as strongly today as you did then?


A: No, I'm as convinced by that today as I was when I first said it. I've never got on with record companies, going back to when I made my first album with Granny's Intentions. I recall the record producer banning me from the control room because our musical ideas clashed. I'm a bit of a maverick in that regard. But then I could never really understand the role of a producer. Can you imagine artists like Van Gogh or Bach having a producer hanging over their shoulder telling them what to do.


19) I got the feeling that you still regret that petty theft at Mrs. R's pub even today. Would that be true?


A: Yes indeed. To this day I pray for the woman every morning. But, it taught me a great lesson. There is such a thing as sin and corruption, and I was on the slippery slope at that time, not because of the petty theft, but because of the abuse of trust of a fine human being.


20) On the day you were sending off the demo's for "Just Another Town", you believed you got a sign when you see a mentally ill man, a drunkard on the steps of a church, and a homeless man with a dog on your way to mail them. Your description reminded me so much of another Galway resident, Ken Bruen's description's in his Jack Taylor novels. You and Ken are friends I know. How did that relationship first develop and what do you think of Ken's writing?


A: A friend told me that Ken liked my songs at a time when I hadn't a clue who Ken Bruen was. When we eventually met for coffee in a Galway cafe, we immediately hit it off. I admitted to Ken straight away that I knew nothing about crime fiction and had even lost interest in reading literary fiction by this stage. This didn't bother Ken. We share a love of poetry and songs and this kept our conversation going. When the Jack Taylor novels first appeared I was completely surprised and chuffed to find that Jack Taylor was a big fan of Johnny Duhan's songs. The first time I found out my name was featured in the books was at Brandon Books 25th anniversary celebrations. Brandon had recently published part 1 of my autobiography, "There is a Time", and I was invited to share the stage with Ken, whose first book on Jack Taylor, "The Guards", had also just been published. As a joke on me, Ken read out a passage in which my name was mentioned. I was flabbergasted but delighted at the same time. Ken has been very supportive of me down the years. And, I greatly appreciate it. He even contacted me recently to apologize for the fact that the film company (who recently turned the Jack Taylor stories into a TV series), didn't use my songs as part of the score. I was disappointed too, but I fully understand how such companies operate. One very positive thing about Ken's books, is that they deal with the here and now of Ireland, today rather than dealing with the past, as most modern Irish fiction tends to do.