GALO: So you could create in private.

JB: Yes, because I’m one of those psycho, terrified, paranoid songwriters. So, unless I’m absolutely sure of it, I keep it to myself.

GALO: The song, “Taste of Danger,” which appears on The Works, was that a completed Woody lyric or did you put it together from several of his ideas?

JB: Actually, that’s the funniest part. That’s a song that I wrote the words [for] myself, but Woody definitely inspired them. It’s a song that came out one day for an impromptu despite the fact that I was working on 10 other Woody lyrics. This song kind of plopped into my lap, in my room, and I wrote it down and thought, ‘Wait a minute; I can’t put this in here. This is one of my songs, but it sounds like Woody wrote it. What will I do?’ So I played it for Nora, and she said, “That’s great. Just throw it in there. He would love it.”

GALO: Yeah, I definitely thought those were his words.

JB: It’s weird. He was definitely an unleashing force. He made me a lot less precious about myself. I felt a lot freer in the songs that I started writing after finishing that project

GALO: I saw that you sang two songs from The Works on Balcony TV (an online TV show) in Hamburg: “Taste of Danger” in the summer and “All You Gotta Do is Touch Me” in the winter. Was that part of your tour in Germany and Europe?

JB: Yes. [Balcony TV] is the funniest little operation. It’s a shoestring; its two people, a camera, and a room. You’re lucky if you get a cup of coffee when you’re there. They just usher you in and they’re [interviewing] three or four people at a time. Then they usher you right back out again and you go on your merry way. It’s just really two people that made up an idea and they’re doing it.

GALO: How long were you in Europe for that tour?

JB: It was probably two or three weeks. I’m rarely gone for too long. Three weeks is probably my limit. As I continue to do this, it’s like, ‘Okay, in three weeks you have to go home, regroup, and do your laundry.’

GALO: Do they love you in Europe?

JB: They do. I have a really nice following, especially in Denmark, strangely enough. I started out doing songwriter workshops there, and then the word spread through the universities and music conservatories, so I have a big fan base of actual musicians. I have a nice touring schedule in Denmark usually, and a little bit in France, Germany and Holland. But I haven’t had a chance to hone in on it some more. I’ve toured quite a bit in the UK in the past few years too. I’ve tried to be everywhere.

GALO: Now that you’re working with your own label, do you have to pay for all the promotion and the like, out of your own pocket?

JB: Every little bit [laughs]. As much as it is gratifying to do it yourself and succeed at it (and we’ve done a good job), it’s hard and it’s expensive. I don’t regret those major label days when I had nice deep pockets behind me, and I had tour support and they were paying the publicists. We’d have nicer hotel rooms when the label was pitching in and we’d do a video once in a while. Those were nice heady days and, in fact, those short stints of support were what allowed me to be successful as an independent. I already had a fan base and a touring base, so I was able to transition gracefully. If I were starting out today, I don’t even know where I would begin.

GALO: It’s difficult. Online they are always talking about the playing field being leveled now, but I don’t know if that’s true.

JB: I think that’s bullshit [laughs]. There is no playing field.

GALO: If you have money that’s one thing.

JB: Money is the playing field.

GALO: It sounds to me that your voice has grown stronger over the years. Say from 10-cent Wings to The Works.

JB: Absolutely. I’m enjoying getting older because of that. I’m finding that I have this lower timber, which I really like and I can get lower notes more fully. But I also have more strength when I’m trying for higher and harder things. I have more confidence. I enjoy re-approaching the songs, especially on stage, because every night is a different experience for each song. They can go somewhere different every time, and I love that sort of chance.

GALO: Do you usually perform solo or with a band?

JB: For the Woody Guthrie record, I was trying to come up with some money for once, so I did mostly solo touring; just my guitars and me. Once in a while, I would do a week with the band when I had some higher profile gigs and maybe a little more money, but I really tried to not blow the bank for once [laughs].

GALO: Did you agree with the critics when you were first hitting the scene that you sounded like Joni Mitchell?

JB: That was flattering. I’ve had any number of influences and she was certainly one of them. I listened to lots of Joni Mitchell in college. I was also influenced by Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, the Mama’s and the Papa’s, and Rickie Lee Jones. But Joni is the poetess of all time, so that was very flattering. And, I think, because I use a lot of open tunings, it was a natural comparison.

GALO: Instead of me asking you about other influences, what if I mention a few artists that I thought I could hear in your voice and you tell me if I’m right or not?

JB: OK.

GALO: Juliana Hatfield?

JB: I don’t know her music well enough to answer that.

GALO: Alanis Morissette?

JB: Probably a little bit, except I came first [laughs]. You might hear me in her voice!

GALO: Tracy Chapman?

JB: She was coming up right around the same time I was. I can’t say she’s an influence, but I love what she does.

GALO: I always remember that first album of hers.

JB: “Fast Car” [a single released off Chapman’s self-titled record] was so brilliant.

(Article continued on next page)