Jon Boden will be live at The Stables next Wednesday (Nov 9), the third show in a 14-date trawl of venues to mark the 10th anniversary of his debut solo album, Painted Lady, which has just been re-released with previously unavailable tracks.
‘Filled with metamorphic landscapes of cigarettes and broken hearts, Painted Lady skilfully explores the themes of doomed love, fusing acoustic sensibilities with raw, driving electric guitar and just a touch of the electronic.’
Best-known for his work within the folk genre, Boden’s reach is far wider than that.
He spent a decade working with melodeon player John Spiers in an acclaimed folk music duo, and he is still best known as the frontman with multi-award winning Bellowhead, who achieved massive success, both critically and commercially, but Jon decided to stand down, and Bellowhead bowed out with their last live date on May 1 this year.
Elsewhere there are more than mere rumblings of quality and tenacity - in 2010 he delivered an ambitious project A Folk Song A Day, releasing an online song every day for a full year.
Imagine that.
Boden has also composed for theatre and film - including RSC productions at Stratford, most recently in 2012 for A Winter’s Tale.
His Stables date will fuse solo success with Bellowhead bits and ‘a few oddities.’
Ahead of his Stables show, Jon went On Track with Total MK…
The song that first awakened your musical senses
I think it was Ball And Chain by the Eurythmics, although the earliest song I can remember really loving was Love Me Do by the Beatles
Physical or digital - how do you take your music?
Mostly digital these days - no more space in the house!
The first time you thought 'Music - this is the job for me'
Composing music for a play at university. Loved being part of a team, loved the whole arc of being involved in a 'project'
Your best on stage memory...
So many great memories, particularly with Bellowhead. I think maybe our penultimate gig in Nottingham, which was when it really hit me that it was coming to an end - so I really savoured it!
And the worst gig you've ever done
There was a Scottish gig that was so awful – a long time ago! - I had to leave the stage during an instrumental and down a pint of Stella before the next verse to get through it (I don't normally drink before or during a gig)
What made you take up singing
Learning songs round the campfire with friends
Which one song by another artist do you wish you'd have written
Kentucky Avenue by Tom Waits
And one - by yourself - which holds special significance
Dancing in the Factory - having written it I knew I could make "Songs From the Floodplain" (2nd solo album) a reality
If you could step into the shoes of another musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you do?
I'd quite like to be in Arcade Fire to be honest!
Are there any current musical influences that you might look to
See above...
And any genre of music that you simply can't stand?
Still can't deal with Stock Aitken and Waterman, not even with a kitsch retro filter
Finally, plug your show at The Stables in Milton Keynes - what can we expect?
Just me, a few instruments, lots of my own songs, lots of Bellowhead songs and a few oddities thrown in. I'm also bringing a brilliant sound engineer and lighting engineer so it should look and sound great.
To book tickets to see Jon Boden at The Stables click here
