An interview with Eilen Jewell

You’ve got a new cd coming out, how would you describe it in terms of sound and your own satisfaction with it? What can the fans expect?

The new record is definitely a close relative of my 2009 release, Sea of Tears. But to my ears it’s a bit more mature and takes more risks. It’s the first time since my debut record, Boundary County, that I’ve released an album of all original material. So the songs are near and dear to me. It’s also the first time I’ve featured guest vocalists (Big Sandy of Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys and up-and-coming Seattle artist Zoe Muth). I think fans of my previous albums will appreciate this new member of the family.

I am an active layman in the Church of Sweden, so I have to ask you at least one question on faith. You covered Loretta Lynn’s “Who says God is dead?” on “Butcher Holler”, so I suppose there is at least some connection to faith in the band. What has Church meant to you? Did you perhaps start with music in a Church band?

I’m not religious and wasn’t raised under any particular faith, but I have always loved gospel music. My band and I are in a gospel side-project called The Sacred Shakers. There are eight members, and we all come from very different religious (and non-religious) backgrounds. Having sung in that band for several years, “Who Says God Is Dead” was not a stretch for me. I wanted to include it in “Butcher Holler,” my tribute to Loretta Lynn, because I felt it would complete the picture. You just can’t sing an album of all country songs without including at least one gospel favorite. They go hand in hand. And that song in particular is so classic Loretta Lynn. It’s amazing how even her gospel lyrics are full of sass.

Britain’s PM, David Cameron, told interviewers that he keeps you on his iPod and Europe’s leading country music magazine, CMP, had a long interview with you. Does this mean that you have had bigger exposure in Europe lately and what do you think is similar and what is different when you compare American to European audiences?

Europe has been very good to me from the beginning. There are many communities here in the U.S. where we do very well too, but the U.S. is such a huge country, so spread-out, that it’s harder for anything to catch on, unless it’s on the television every night. Things just don’t catch on as easily as they do in Europe. It’s more like a collection of isolated fires. There are many parts of the U.S. where you literally have to drive for hundreds of miles before you can find a town with a theater or a concert hall and a promoter who’s willing to put together a show. In Europe it seems to me that many people are not as attracted to mainstream music, they actively look for an alternative. And the communities in Europe are closer together than they are in most
of the U.S. so touring is easier. It also really helps that most Europeans we meet know more about American music than most Americans do. All of these things put together have made it easy for Europe to be a real stronghold for us.

Which bands and artists have influenced you the most? And, then, are there any artists who you like and respect, although your music sounds nothing like them at all?

Of the contemporary artists out there, I am probably most influenced by Lucinda Williams, Fred Eaglesmith, and Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys. Oh, and of course Bob Dylan and Loretta Lynn. (There are so many!) I have great respect for Chuck Prophet, as a person and as a performer and songwriter, though musically we’re only a little bit similar.

What is most fun, getting a great review or playing a brilliant live concert?

Playing a great live concert is the most fun, and the most fulfilling, thing I can do. I try not to take any review to heart, whether it be favorable or unfavorable. Everyone’s got an opinion, so I try not to get distracted by them.

Are you aware of the existence of Amanda Jensen? She is obviously aware of you, because she sounds very much like you.

I am familiar with her. I don’t know if she’s aware of me or not, but I like what she’s doing. It would be great to do a show together someday.

If your band was not a band, but a sport, which sport would it be? Hard and physical as American football or precise and elegant like golf or maybe something in between?

I think we have some days when we’re more like a rugby team, taking all the hard knocks without any padding. And other days we’re more like pool sharks--calm and calculating and a little conniving. But that’s just how we are as people. Musically, we’re more like cross-country skiers. Our music is fluid, with a lot of space in between the notes, but it has direction and focus too.

Any words to your Swedish fans?

Thanks for being so welcoming to me, and for putting up with my attempts at speaking Swedish. I love Sweden, and I can’t wait to come back! Tack så mycket!