JI: I don’t think you can say there’s a most important song, because individuals respond so differently. Songs are magical; sometimes a song cuts right through the heart, and involves your existence completely. I’m not even sure you can say a song changes a culture, except in that it can bind us together. To that end, I’d say “We Shall Overcome” was the most important to my generation, because it gave the civil rights movement an audible banner to wave. But most important? Couldn’t begin to decide.
KR: What’s your favorite place to go on tour? Do you enjoy touring, or do you find it exhausting and creatively stifling?
JI: The trick is this – when you’re on tour, you’re on tour. When you’re home writing, you’re home writing. On tour, you go on road time. It’s the only way to survive.
So yes, I enjoy it, but I enjoy all the facets of my career, because I keep them separate. That way, I don’t mourn one while I’m doing the other.
KR: Finally - what’s next? Also, anything else you want to share with my readers?
JI: Lots of touring this year, right through November and maybe December. US, Canada, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, UK, Ireland… maybe Japan… maybe Hong Kong and Singapore again.
Next year, I stay home almost the entire year to write my autobiography. That’ll be pretty different!
