INTERVIEW: Joan Osborne

Before the opening night of her Dylanology Tour at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs, NY, I had a chance to chat with Joan Osborne.

by Ian Losz.

RRX: Prior to this show, I know you already recorded Dylan tracks. Now, a full tour of his songs. Why Dylan?

Joan Osborne: Well, specifically for this tour, it’s because we have a live album coming out April 22nd (Womanly Hips Records) of our Dylanology Show we did back in 2018. This is on the back of my “Songs of Bob Dylan” album of  2017. We did a full band tour with special guests Jackie Green, Amy Helm, and Robert Randolf. We recorded those shows, and one came out particularly great, so we decided to release it. So this reassessment of us doing Bob Dylan is kind of in honor of that.

We had no idea that this movie (“A Complete Unknown”) was coming out. It seemed, I don’t know, our good luck. He’s so much in people’s minds now, so much in the minds of younger generations who maybe were not hip to him before.

And so – why Bob Dylan in general. For me personally, I love being able to sing songs that I write. But also, as a singer, I don’t want to be confined only to the songs I write myself. There are millions of great songs out there. And many of them happened to be written by Bob Dylan.  You know, he has such a long and varied career. It’s kind of like you’re an actor doing Shakespeare. It’s such a foundational thing in American popular music that you feel like you have so much to learn by connecting to that music. It’s always worthwhile to do.

So for me, it was a love of his music and wanting to spend time with it.

RRX: What are some of your musical influences?

JO: I would say, when I first started out, the people were Otis Redding, Etta James, Mavis Staples, Ann Peebles, Al Green, who we’re hearing right now (playing in the background of the green room). Blues people like BB King. You know that record “Live in Cook County  Jail”? I wore that one out. Listened every day for months and months and months when I first got it. I love Van Morrison. I’m a big Rolling Stones fan. I’m a big Rickie Lee Jones fan.

So I guess that place where blues and soul lean into more rock music, singer/songwriter music. Songwriting has always been my place to go. I’ve also dug deeper into, like, where does that music come from? Soul music comes from gospel and gospel groups and listening to Mahalia Jackson. And where does that great songwriting come from? From Hank Willians or people like that. You got people from the country and bluegrass worlds, like Ricky Skaggs. People influenced by him, like Sturgill Simpson. You know, it’s American roots music.

Roots music is such a huge, wonderful playground.

RRX: Well, the Beatles didn’t sound like their influences. They put their own spin on it, obviously.  And you don’t sound like Bob Dylan. Let’s just say that.

JO: (Joan laughs) Well, no one does.

RRX: The point being, you are putting your version on Bob Dylan, just like Guns N’ Roses and other bands did. Again, very refreshing because you’re not trying to do that. It’s you, all your years of experience, into doing that.

The other question I have is, do you have a place you like to visit, create, or write?

JO: Well, I have learned over the years to use the time when I’m traveling. Like if I’m sitting on an airplane, I’m not going to watch the movie, I’ll work on song lyrics. I’ll read something to kind of prime the pump for me to be creative. If I’m in a van or a bus, I’ll do the same thing, listen to music.

I also have a farm house in the Catskills, in Upstate New York. And that’s an incredibly quiet, private, beautiful place where I can go and kind of forget about everything. I’ve done a lot of writing up there.

RRX: What gets you “concert fit”?

JO: Uh … a lot of things.

RRX: Not just physically but vocally, mentally …

JO: Well, vocally, your voice comes out of your body, so you know, your mind and body are interconnected that way. I can do things for my voice and do my vocal exercises, but if I don’t also do something to keep my body fit, then I’m not going to get enough air, and I’m going to get sick on the road or too tired. So you do have to keep your body in shape.

Especially, as I’m 62, to be able to do this at the level or intensity I need to do it, I need to go to the gym all the time. I need to swim, I need to do yoga. I bring my yoga mat with me. And if I can’t find a gym, I’ll do yoga in the hotel room.

I’ve never had any long period of time with a voice teacher. But I have visited with people here and there and learned tricks from people. Vocal routines and vocal warm-ups that I bring on the road. I sing for an hour before I go on stage.

RRX: Yes, I noticed that in your rehearsal.

I know you’re just starting your tour. I think it will go well. But we’re always thinking ahead as artists. So what’s next?

JO: Oh, yeah, yeah. I set up something that is supposed to be happening in May. This is the 30th anniversary of the “Relish” album. My first major label record and what most people know me for. I ran into Christian McBride, jazz bass player and band leader, last summer. He’s also the artistic director for the Newport Jazz Festival. We ran into each other backstage and kind of got on like a house on fire. We said, we need to do something together, to work together.  So I thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to re-record those songs from the Relish album, but do them in a way that they can live in what has become a very interesting and very eclectic space that jazz is in right now?” So that’s going to be my next studio project, with Christian McBride.

I’m also writing, compiling ideas, sort of pulling toward something bluesy right now. I don’t know if that’s how it’ll end up. But I’m feeling that right now. Don’t be surprised if I make a blues record after this.

RRX: I love that you feel like, “I’ve done this,” and now musically, creatively, you have other things you are looking forward to.

I’m sure your fans are, too.

Read a recap of the show here …