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Bourbon Blog: John Weslyan Harding LOVES Bourbon

It all started when I was reading PopMatters.com and John Wesley Harding, one of my favorite artists, described his love for Pogue Bourbon and explained that Booker's and Baker's are "so good, they’re almost undrinkable."  His new album Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead was already in my spin, so I needed no further excuse to do a podcast interview with Wes for BourbonBlog.com.  That's right, his friends call him “Wes” and he is a best selling author under his real name name Wesley Stace.  From England originally, Wes now resides on the East Coast and travels to the UK on a fairly regular basis. 

BourbonBlog.com: I like your new album.  Have you found out who was changed and who was dead? 

That is a very interesting question.  No one has asked me anything quite that blunt. The album title is a name of a book I didn't write, but I knew for ages I wanted to use the cover art by my wife. This skeleton intertwined with the horse. The book was by Barbara Cummings and I thought it was the perfect title for this record.

Talk to me little about your love for bourbon. You spent part of your life in England, and you're quite a bourbon fan? 

I don't know how it started actually. To me bourbon is the king of alcohols. I absolutely love it and drink way too much of it if truth be known. In England, it used to be your choice of bourbon would be Jack or Beam. Which is fine, but not giving a very good perspective.  It is even better now actually.  Now in my local pub, you can get Bulleit, which isn't bad, and Maker's Mark, which I actually think is good. I'm a Maker's Mark fan. I'm a big fan of the Maker's Mark Manhattan. 

            One time I was in Rudyard Kipling in Louisville. The guy that owns it was a very friendly guy,  who reminded me of Rambling Jack Elliot in a very good way, asked me, " Have you ever had Baker's or Booker's?"  And I said, "No."  He said, "Sit down and let’s enjoy some."  That kinda changed my life because I thought that was so delicious. Nowadays I don't even buy them because I find the flavor too big. I would want to water that down. I like Basil Hayden, Woodford and the one I drink now is Pogue. 

How is your Cabinet of Wonders tour with comedian Eugene Mirman and the others going? 

We have more later in the summer and next fall. It is me and my friends. I did it originally in New York. We had all kinds of writers and comedians and we thought we'd take it on the road.  It has been terrific fun.

I noticed this last album was recorded with Minus 5, how was that? 

Very old friends of mine and I wanted to do something proper with them for a some time. I think they have a very very wonderful and unshowy virtuosity. They are not like session yo cats, but they are fantastically well versed in all the styles. There is a versatility to a band like that that suits what I do. 

Am I hearing you play the guitar in the background?
Yes

Are you going to play something for me?
No

If I send you a good bottle of bourbon will you?

Sure, ok.

(I invite you to listen to the podcast on BourbonBlog.com under the title of When Your Favorite Rock Star Loves Bourbon to listen to what Neil Young song John Wesley Harding performed me and to hear what else my promise of bourbon inspired him to play) 

Coincidentally, we are playing "Indiana Wants Me" by R. Dean Taylor on the tour as well.

When I lived in England, people would always mention that song to me when they heard I was from Indiana.

That is funny because it wasn't a hit in England. R. Dean Taylor became very famous in England from the song "Ghost in My House."

Your music has always been music that has told a story. Your music like none other takes me to someplace.  Is that what you aim to do?

I think there is less stories than people imagine. I hope that you do take them somewhere. I hope that is a place where the mind is active rather than passive. I hope that people get involved and care about the characters that I sing about and enjoy the things that words can do. I like for words to do a lot of the work for me. I like using humor as well. I throw all those things into a bag and hope that there is an audience for it. Rock music lyrics have to be awfully good. It is a very small ghetto the one I'm in where you try and  to write well sculpted lyrics. Most people don't bother with that too much nor should they.  Pop is a very temporary thing.

What type of mp3 player do you take with you when you go places?

I have an iPhone. That really works well.

Do you have a favorite app? 

The Complete Words of Shakespeare and also one called Stanza where I can download Keats, Byron and Shelley and other works. It is better that I don't have a game because this is a better way to spend my time.

What do you have in your spin right now? 

Leonard Cohen's Live in London, new Dylan Album, The Dirty Projectors, and Rodriguez.

I have your new album in my iPod, Wes. 

Good. I don't have it mine.