Jamie Wood: It Don't Mean A Thing If It Don't Have That Swing

Getting the Scoop On Holly-Wood Confidential

CHC We have just gotten a pre-release of your third CD entitled "Hollywood Confidential". "Holly-Wood" is obviously a play on your last name, and makes reference to "Tinseltown" that great center of cinematography, Please tell us about this new CD.

Jamie Wood Well, as you know, blues-based swing is our passion. So this time, on Hollywood Confidential, we wanted to keep that swing thing going, but give it a little more punch by adding the horns. I think we achieved our goal. It's really fun and upbeat, which is what we wanted. I also love R&B so I wrote Song for Mr. X. It's a little more of a 50's sound but I think it fits well with the other songs. Also, Nathan James is just a monster talent on Delta and country blues, so of course there will always be one or two of those. I wanted to add Why Don't You Do Right because I have heard so many people cover that song and they always play and sing it so fast!! In my mind I heard it very vampy and pouty - you know, like "Hey now baby, why dontcha just go on and DO RIGHT????

CHC: In listening to this new CD, it and your previous one, Ain't No Doubt About It are a departure from your very first, Flyin' High. This one buildson the success of your last. Why and how did you decide to make this departure from your original sound?

Jamie Wood: I've been doing traditional blues for many years and I still love to hear it and to sing it. But I just always had in the back of my mind a different way of doing it. I listen a lot to Louis Jordan. As far as I'm concerned he was a musical genious. His stuff is always upbeat but I began to notice how much space there is in his music. By that I mean, a lot of bands are trying to achieve a "big, fat, mellow tone" sort of sound. They try to get it by having filling up every space unitl, to my ear, it sounds like a train wreck!!! You can't hear anything distinctly. I had the idea that if we left more breathing space, if everybody played LESS, we'd get that fat sound. And sure enough, ya gotta give the girl her props!!! Just jivin' Daddy-O. It really did work out though, as you can hear. All our fellow musicians keep sayin' "How did you get that sound?" I just say "It ain't no thang, baby!! Just take your foot off the gas!!!" But seriously, you can't be a mediocre musician to play this stuff like this. I think that's why some bands play so loud and fast - to hide the fact that they aren't very good musicians. SO!! Ya gotta give my guys their props too!!! Because they are, each and every one, top drawer musicians. With them behind me, singin is a piece of cake, Jake!!

CHC: How is your new sound being received in California?

Jamie Wood Very well!! It's getting a lot of radio play and it's selling pretty good so that's all I can ask for, right?

CHC: Have the same personnel in the band been with you on all three CDs?

Jamie Wood: Ah, the poysonelle!!! Yip!! Well, mostly yip!! Nathan James, Johnny Rover, Johnny Morgan and Tyler Pedersen were with me on the three you refer to. Flyin High mistakenly lists Buddy Clarke as the bass player and although I used to work with Buddy a lot, it's Tyler on Flyin High. Also, on that recording I had Tommy Mahon on piano and Robby Eason on guitar, along with Nathan. Carl Sonny Leyland joined us on Ain't No Doubt and Hollywood Confidential.

CHC: To give everyone some background on yourself, how long have you been in music?

Jamie Wood: Well, let's see. I can't remember a time when I wasn't singing. I sang gospel in church as a kid. That's almost mandatory when you're from the South. Then when we came to California I was about 14 I guess, and I got involved with a folk trio and toured up and down the West Coast doing festivals and coffee houses - anywhere I could lie about my age and get away with it. But it was in 1988 or 89 that I formed the Roadhouse Rockets.

CHC: This new CD, "Hollywood Confidential" features three originals penned by yourself. The balance of the CD includes several pop standards. How do your chose your material?

JAmie Wood Okay kiddo, first of all I have never done a "pop" cover in my life!! All the covers I do are mostly 30's and 40's songs. I choose a song because it speaks to me in some way. My personal style, and even the way I write is pretty much from a humorous point of view. So if it makes me laugh or I like the story it tells, then I want to do it.

CHC: On the CD you feature a "way gone" horn section. Introduce us to your horn section.

Jamie Wood Well, there's Ron Dziubla on saxophones, who blows everybody out the water as far as I'm concerned. He brought Bill Churchville to play trumpet. Then of course there is Anita Thomas who played exactly the perfect clarinet on Everything Is Movin Too Fast.

CHC: Johnny plays on fewer tracks on this CD than your last, although he has a larger part in the production and the cover design. Is this the direction Johnny is headed?

Jamie Wood: Johnny and I like to take a very active part in the production and design process. We actually have been invoved in every phase of all our recordings, but this time we just decided to finally give ourselves credit. Johnny plays less on this one because some of the songs just didn't ask for harmonica, and he was cool with that because he's a professional musician and cares more about the music than his ego. But if I were you Baby Doll, I'd look for him and his harps to be a lot more present on the next one!!! We're thinkin about takin it right on back to the roots!!

CHC: We understand that you will shortly leave for Brazil to promote the release of this new CD. Is this your first visit to Brazil?

Jamie Wood: Nope. This will be our third tour there. And man, I gotta tell you, the people in Brazil LOVE American blues. The audiences are so responsive. We always have so much fun when we tour there. We'll be there 3 weeks this time so it will be a pretty heavy tour. Usually that's hard work, but not there. I'm really looking forward to it!!!

CHC: How is your music received down there?

Jamie Wood; They love it!!! They make us feel like celebrities when we go down there.

CHC: How would you compare Brazil's music scene with that stateside?

TJamie Wood: hey have a great music scene. There are clubs everywhere to hear and play live music - and lots of festivals!! We find that here in L.A. the scene is dryin up pretty fast. All the clubs are going to kar-e-oke!! It's getting harder to work here. Might have to move to Austin or Chicago or New Orleans!!! Good thing we stay pretty busy touring. When we get back from Brazil, we'll be home a week, then back to Belgium and France.

CHC: Do you have any final words for the swinging cats and crazy kittens in our readership, and your fans?

Jamie Wood: It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing, doo wah, doo wah, doo waaaaaaaah. Stay tuned guys and dolls. It's finger poppin time!!!!

CHC: Swinging!



This article is free for republishing
Source: www.articlealley.com