InDigest:What inspires you, other than music?
JoAnna James: Love. Fear. Anger. Joy. Abdominally painful laughter. Well-made films. Listening to people’s stories of triumph and struggle. New scenery. State theaters. Dictionaries. Looking into the eyes of babies. Witnessing anything done with excellence. Old soul singers on YouTube. Births, funerals, and InDigest(ion).
ID: What was the first song that you felt compelled to learn?
JJ: Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan. For a kid first trying to understand what war was, nothing spelled it out more clearly.
ID: What is your strongest and/or favorite song you've composed, and why?
JJ: Probably “Molasses” because it deals with that strange emotional force that tries to drain people of energy, motivation and the general will to live. We’ve all encountered it at one time or another, so in that way it feels more universal than some of my other songs. If someone were to ask what Molasses means, I would tell them it is sort of like The Nothing in the “The Neverending Story.” It’s dark and mysterious and feeds on misery. But every time I sing it, I feel a little less miserable. And I think that’s what makes a good blues song.
ID: Interpret this actual fortune from an actual fortune cookie: “If you want to be like Popeye; your girlfriend to be like Alice?”
JJ:Ah yes, this seems like a classic case of EIE (Etymological Inference Error). Allow me to clarify: the term “girlfriend” is actually derived from the Swahili word chakula, which roughly means “food,” while the phrase “to be like Alice” loosely translates to “should be full of spinach” in some other language.
ID: What, in your future work (shows, recordings, etc.) are you currently excited for?
JJ: Besides being in InDigest?? I’m excited to release this newest batch of songs I recorded with my band in early November. I am also excited for the Turf Club show on December 28, 2007 with Martin Devaney, the Parlour Suite and A Night in the Box.
JoAnna James is a Minneapolis-based musician whose newest album, Back of My Mind, is available through Eclectone Records or at her website, JoannaJames.com. (and is also enjoyed by InDigest editors.)
