“I wrote it over a year, writing about 90 songs, then I wittled them down and most
that made the album came from a fortnight. I play on guitar and then write as if it
was a letter to someone, trying to find a story, or do a stream of consciousness in
the studio. I have a digital recorder, a Walkman, and I’ve got loads of demos in my
house. I’ve got about five albums’ worth lying around. My dad had an amazing
collection of American rock’n’roll, which is where I started, though I didn’t buy
vinyl myself”.

What was your first CD?
The Kinks. I used to go to Beggars Banquet in Kingston.
Do you have cassettes of yourself playing as a kid?
Yeah, when I was eight, playing Mull Of Kintyre.
Do you go to gigs much?
When I can in LA, like U2. And John Lee Hooker was amazing. Courtney Love at The
Viper Room was frigging amazing. Full-on.
What fact about you would surprise people?
I’m shy, and I follow native Indian ways, buffalo medicine, and I lived in a cave.
What question do you wish people would stop asking?
Why aren’t you married yet? (laughs) My family at Christmas.
Who would you like to record with?
Dylan, Bono, Sheryl Crow.