Inklings. Why a boring private life doesn’t work anymore. Authenticity. The Incontintental Network

Roger CortonWe need to gin up ticket sales. Give me something exciting.

JCHAs you know, that’s getting tougher with each passing day.

RCWhy? We’ve had this discussion many times. Even if you’re not touring, you’re writing, recording. That’s interesting to fans.

JCHLook, the average person in Facebookistan has more people interested in what they had for breakfast than what I’m doing. (sighs) OK, you like Lord Of The Rings and all that fantasy stuff, right?

RCWho doesn’t?

JCHCool. So I just finished reading this book ‘The Inklings’; it’s a group biography of this supposed circle of great literary figures at Oxford. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, etc.

RCThe Inklings. I’ve heard of them. And I would be interested in that…

JCH…BORRRRRRRING! These guys who wrote all this fantastic stuff were some seriously boring guys. So trust me, this is a boring book. I mean, you […]

As we prepare for the summer tour we ponder: whatever happened to space in recorded music? Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Lounge Music. Esquivel.

Roger CortonFirst date is coming up fast. How’s the practice going?

JCHPretty great. Haven’t broken one nail yet.

RCI’ll alert the media. You’re always talking about those little practical details. But is there anything more exciting we can tell fans about the shows?

JCHSorry, but that’s what I focus on. A broken nail isn’t just a comic punch line. It can ruin a show. Out of control nose hair is pretty bad too. But as far as ‘excitement’? Stereo. I’m gonna try to make everything wider than a mile.

RCYou’re covering Breakfast At Tiffany’s?

JCHI wish I was covering Audrey Hepburn right now. And the song is Moon River.

RCIsn’t she dead?

JCHYeah, but even when she was like seventy I woulda given some minor body part (one of the many that […]

We chat about the upcoming summer tour for The Solid State Siren and the all new Beautiful Sounds.

Roger CortonSo I see you have the tour dates posted. Excited?

JCHSure.

RCAnd so far all goes well?

JCHLike a well-oiled machine.

RCYou mean like the broken link to buy tickets?

JCHOh, you noticed that? Details, details. Yeah, that was slightly embarrassing. But it’s fixed. Thank God for fans who put up with this stuff.

RCAmen. And yes, I did notice. That’s part of the job. So, why do you think people put up with that?

JCHWell, we’ve been meaning to do some deep ‘marketing’ rants but the theory in a nutshell is that this is a niche deal and people are a lot more forgiving of niche deals. And that also allows me to get by with some pretty eccentric marketing schemes. A very nice man at a show once tried to compliment me on something called […]