Edinburgh funk band James Brown is Annie ready for funky first festival headline slot at Wildwoodz, near Munlochy, with third outing of Woodzstock
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Woodzstock Festival returns to the Black Isle for its third outing this year with its family-friendly mixture of bands, comedy and food. While we could have spoken to the event's MC – a certain What's On North journalist with ideas above his station – we decided it would be much more informative (and less sycophantic) to speak with the day's headliners, Edinburgh funk titans James Brown is Annie. Guitarist Barry Gordon (originally from Caithness) talks about what they've been up to, how they're looking forward to their first festival headliner, and working with a few Average White Band legends...
Q Hi Barry, thanks for answering these! How are you doing today? How’s your week been?
A Oh, you know, livin' the vida loca, as per usual. Rescuing cats from trees, helping little old ladies across the road, and generally fighting crime on the streets of Edinburgh. That aside, I've been painting the living room, enjoying the Leith Jazz and Blues Fetival, and looking forward to a couple of weeks off work.
Q So you’re up here this weekend headlining Woodzstock! How did this come about? And how are you looking forward to bringing JBIA’s grooves to the Black Isle? As headliners too!
A Apparently, Stevie Wonder wasn't available, so we stepped in to save the day. We've never headlined a festival before, so it's to the organiser's credit they recognise a good party band when they see one. The Black Isle Boogie, anyone?
Q Of course, you’re back up here quite a bit (being a Caithness man yourself) – you were last up in Inverness back in April for a gig at Mad Hatters. How important are these trips back to the Highlands for you?
A We're always treated well in the Highlands, we're always made to feel welcome, and folk who enjoy funk and soul in the Highlands always appreciate us making the journey to come and play for them. We love it. It's important for us we get to as many different parts of Scotland, as well as the Highlands.
Q Since we last spoke to you (apparently back in the thick mists of 2014 – jeezo!) you’ve done so much! Suppose best place to start is what you’ve been up to recently – second album came out last year! How did it come together for JBIA?
A In the past five years, we've achieved a lot. We've been selling out shows in London; receiving Single of the Week awards from BBC Radio Scotland; making music videos with BBC weather presenter Judith Ralston while driving a Corvette Stingwray; playing/ working with the people who inspired us to play music in the first place (Average White Band, The Family Stone, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, etc); appearing on TV a few times. It's been great. We've been fortunate to achieve everything we set out to.
Q After Molly Duncan produced album number one, you had another Average White Band alum produce album two – Hamish Stuart. How was it to work with him on JBIA II? What did he bring to your music? And what were the differences between working with him and working with Molly?
A We'd all grown up listening to Hamish's music, so to be able to spend an entire month in the studio with him... to learn from him (Hamish has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin on a regular basis), then play some gigs with him, was truly special. He made us all better songwriters, treated us as equals (giving us a huge boost of confidence), and made us a more accessible band.
By contrast, Molly helped us in finding the groove within a song (the funk is the space between the notes, folks, in case you're wondering). He helped bond us together as a band, and showed us a thing or ten about arranging a tune, too.
To receive this acknowledgement and respect from our peers has been a dream come true.
Q How is the rest of the year shaping up for James Brown is Annie? What plans are in the pipeline for 2019 and beyond?
A As well as Woodzstock, we're playing a few other festivals this summer: the Fringe By the Sea Festival in North Berwick, the Edinburgh Fringe, and the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival (with The Hamish Stuart Band), to name but a few. We're heading back O'er the Border in September (we play in the North of England a fair bit), and hoping to make another new music video, as well. We'll probably start writing for the third album towards the end of the year - Average White Band's Alan Gorrie might hopefully come onboard to produce it (I lost Nile Rodgers' phone number) – but we're also setting our sights on playing in Europe and North America next year.
James Brown is Annie headline Woodzstock festival at Wildwoodz, near Munlochy on Saturday. For full details/tickets, go to www.woodzstock.co.uk
