https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kIjDC4s9ogJUqb-opolweEU4YMhnWcvB/view

Here is an interview i did for Aldora Britain Records this last week - I kind of spill the beans a bit I think  … 

Easy’s Gettin’ Harder Everyday
Liverpool’s creative and musical spirit fantastically endures in modern times. Independent and underground
singer-songwriters such as the brilliant JOHN JENKINS certainly ensure this. John’s all-original output has a
spellbinding Americana leaning, exquisitely soundtracking his personal reflections and worldly observations.
Earlier this year, this troubadouring artist committed these musings to tape by way of an exceptional collection
called The Reason and Other Songs for 2024. Across these selections, John perfectly snapshots his gift as
both a songwriter and storyteller, with introspective moments and relatable themes throughout. 

As this record now approaches its six-month anniversary, he took some time out to chat with Aldora Britain Records about his life in story and song to date. We discussed a selection of his recorded output so far, popular original compositions from his back-catalogue, his growth and evolution as an artist over time, and much, much more. That exclusive in-depth conversation is published here in full for the very first time. 

Aldora Britain Records: Hello John, how are you? I am excited to be talking with such a fantastic artist from over in Liverpool. It is amazing how music can bring us together. Let’s start off by travelling back in time, and let’s go to the very beginning of your creative journey. What are some of your earliest musical memories and what was it that first pushed you towards pursuing this passion of yours?

John Jenkins: Hi Tom. Very kind of you to say such nice things. Probably my earliest musical memory is when I used to sneak into my grandma’s bed when I was about three or four and she was singing lullabies to me. I included this memory in my song ‘A Child's Sense of Wonder’. My dad had a piano in the parlour and he would play tunes he even made up himself or the Great American Songbook. I guess living with my parents and my grandma and having that musical experience subconsciously drew me in. My dad noticed I would be tinkling around on the piano and he did offer to send me to piano lessons,
but I said I did not wish to go which was something I have regretted ever since.
Once I started listening to music in my early years, I knew I had a connection that brought out great emotions. In
my early teens I would listen to all kinds of music, I think the first few albums I ever bought where The Jackson 5
and a Yes album. Alice Cooper was also one of my first loves in terms of record buying. Once I got into The
Beatles, I realised how lucky I was. In all the places in the world I just happen to have been born in, Liverpool,
where The Beatles came from.
I would try to play along with the songs on the piano and remember teaching myself the chords to ‘Let It Be’, and
once I knew what notes on the piano signified what chords I was then able to play other songs from The Beatles
chord book I had. I also had a guitar or maybe I borrowed my sister’s. When I started work in 1977 one of the first
things I did was to buy myself my own guitar which I still use today. Around that time, I would occasionally go to
a pub in Liverpool that my family, uncles and aunties and cousins, would spend their Friday evenings at, and my
uncles would be playing guitars, and everyone would be singing along. A lot of my favourite songs come from
hearing these songs in this pub rather than from the record.

Once I have learnt basic chords on the piano and guitar I started to write my own original songs. I think the first
few years I saw these songs as like an apprenticeship as they are pretty awful lyrically, just a bit better melodically
but just original enough to make me realise I could write songs.

Aldora Britain Records: And now, let’s take a leap forward to the present day and your brilliant solo output. I am
really drawn in by your impressive songwriting and songcraft. How do you approach this part of your
process? Are you drawn to specific themes or topics? Perhaps coming from a personal, observational, or even
fictional perspective or point of view?

John Jenkins: I have to say my songwriting has changed considerably over the years. In the 80s I had a band
which comprised of two amazing singers and a horn section, so when I wrote the songs for the band, I was never
the singer, I would have one eye on the live performances and another eye on making sure the band had
instrumentation and solos enough to play. I gave music up in 1989 and only got back into it accidentally as a
hobby in the early 2010s. I wrote a song for a songwriting challenge which got me in the final and because the
deadline for writing the song was practically the next day I did not have enough time to get anyone else in to play
the song or sing it. I recorded a version on the piano and sang it, then sent it off and forgot about it. When I got
notified I had got into the final and was told I would have to perform it and sing, I realised it had been twenty-five
years since I had been on a stage, and even then I was never the singer. I was joint winner of the audience prize
which resulted in me getting four hours studio time to record the song. I went in nervously and recorded the song, sang it, and was very surprised that with a little bit of tweaking it didn't sound that bad. I decided to go in again and record another song and again was pleased with what the engineer and producer had done. From there on I started writing more songs and recording these, and at some point from 2015 I found my voice, my style, and as an adult was able to write from experience, something I probably could not have done in the 80s in my twenties. So now, present day, I love writing, the process of having nothing and then having suddenly created a mysterious thing. I still find melodies easy to come up with but the lyrics I spend hours and hours finetuning. I draw a lot of influence from music I listen to, artists I admire such as Bruce Springsteen, Townes Van Zandt, just to name two. I make time to write and now that I have built a back-catalogue which I am proud of, I am more conscious than ever to try and keep to a standard that I do not wish to fall under. I enjoy writing story songs, my
album Tuebrook was pretty personal and a lot of the songs I wrote were from my own life. The story songs I enjoy
but if I had to say which themes I am drawn to it is probably one of being aware that time is finite and a lot of the
characters in the songs tend to look back and try make sense of their lives, just like I do myself.

Aldora Britain Records: Earlier this year, you released an exceptional record called The Reason and Other Songs
for 2024. This was my introduction to your music, so it already holds a special place in my record
collection. What are your memories from writing, recording and releasing it, and how would you say you grew and evolved as an artist through this process?

John Jenkins: That CD was just a promotional vehicle for me as a solo artist, my band, and some songs I had
written for other people to sing. The solo songs were songs I had written and started recording alongside my
Tuebrook album, but because I had limited money and those songs were a little bit fuller in instrumentation and
sound, I realised that to finish those songs off it would take me more money and time which I did not have. The
songs that make up the Tuebrook album were more introspective, quieter, and lyrically linked to my own life in
Tuebrook. It was a happy accident that I was able put up an album like Tuebrook without needing the additional
songs. Once that was out, I knew I had the songs to finish, and they seemed quite diverse. It was fun putting
each of these tracks out on a monthly basis as I wanted to see the reaction on each track being different from my
normal releases of late.
The James Street Band songs are part of the first session of the next John Jenkins and James Street Band album.
Again, it is down to finance or rather lack of finance, as I have lots of songs earmarked for this album waiting to
be recorded and there are a few tracks unfinished in the studio. Lastly, the John Jenkins and That Sure Thing
project again is in limbo due to lack of money. I wanted to release EPs periodically of other people singing my
songs.

It's extremely hard to say how much as an artist I have grown or evolved with just a compilation album. I started my next solo album in the last week and the songs and sound of this album may be a better indication of my growth as an artist. I don't really analyse myself that much. I tend to write songs, enjoy the experience and mystery of the process, and pray that when recorded or played live people will take to them.

Aldora Britain Records: It is a gem of a record from top to bottom, but I would like to pick out two favourites. Let’s focus on ‘Dressing Up the Truth’ and ‘Do You Ever Think About Me’. For each, what is the story behind the song, and can you remember the moment it came to be? Did anything in particular inspire them and what do they mean to you as the writer?
 

John Jenkins: Thank you for such kind words. ‘Dressing Up
the Truth’ could have been on my Tuebrook album as it's a song about me and where I lived and the people I know
or knew. I generally write my songs on the guitar these days and when I pick a guitar up, I will sing anything to
make the melody up, record it on my phone, and then start working on lyrics later. There may be a phrase I have
sang without consciously choosing the words that could be a start point for the song. I generally write these
dummy words down and will sit and play around with words and get something which may trigger an idea of the
story.
In this song I knew I wanted to write from my own life and various lines of truth. No one would know what I am
talking about when I say, ‘Mrs Sweetman grinning,’ but that is something when asked I can tell the full story or
introduce the story when playing it live. Mrs Sweetman was my teacher when I was about seven or eight, and
apparently I used to get up from my chair in the school classroom and start talking to the girls on the other side
of the classroom with the girls sat. It obviously wasn’t something that young kids did and so she tied me to my
chair so I could stay put. I just remember her laughing and her grin. It wasn't malicious by the way.
“I don't really analyse myself that much. I tend to write songs, enjoy the
experience and mystery of the process, and pray that when recorded or

played live people will take to them.”

‘Do You Ever Think About Me?’ Is not really autobiographical. I do think about a lot of people who have been in
my life and wonder where they are and what they are doing. As with all my story songs, I try and put myself in a
scene that's cinematic and try and imagine these people like an actor would do with a script. For me I am
obviously writing the script and also the actor.

Aldora Britain Records: Previously, if we travel back to 2023, you unveiled the critically acclaimed
Tuebrook. This is another superb snapshot of you as an artist and musician. How do you reflect on this set as a
whole now, and is there anything that you would edit or change looking back with the benefit of hindsight?

John Jenkins: I am really proud of this album. My friend Marc Vormawah, who is an amazing songwriter, gave me
some feedback on the album before Tuebrook that he found it uncomfortable listening, because all his
characters were not real and he knew I hadn't been to Baltimore or places I wrote about or knew people that
featured in the songs. This made me decide to write some songs from my own real life experiences and as I was
writing the songs I realised that there was a common denominator in the stories, mainly being where I have lived.
No, I would not change anything. Maybe the song ‘Idaho’. It seems to stick out like a sore thumb as it’s obviously
not even in the same country as Tuebrook, but I do think it fits in with the other songs. I did not wish to write
'Tuebrook: The Musical’.

Aldora Britain Records: As you well know by now, I love the Jenkins sound and your approach to making and creating music. That rootsy, country, folky blend. How would you say this style of yours came about, what goes into it for you, and who are some of your biggest influences and inspirations as
an artist currently?

John Jenkins: The biggest influence without a doubt has to be Jon Lawton who is the studio engineer at Crosstown Studios and my co-producer, although I'd say he's more of a producer than I am. Jon programmes all the drums and plays bass and guitars on most of my songs. The exception obviously is when
I am doing a band album as I have a bass player and drummer
and other musicians to draw from. When I started up again, I just recorded songs with no specific
genre in mind. At some point before I'd recorded my Window Shopping in Nashville album I realised I wanted to do something with a country feel as I was beginning to explore listening to country music. That album was a mixture of old songs and new songs. I had a vision of it being my Springsteen River double album so the odd track could be more diverse. The only problem was I started playing live and soon realised that a lot of the songs really needed to be played with a band or a few musicians. The next album I wrote and recorded I specifically knew I wanted to be able to play live without the songs sounding in need of more musicians. This was probably my first album where no songs from my past had been taken and recorded.
By this time, I knew my limitations in my singing, my strengths, and was able to record an album that felt like my
voice rather than songs I'd written for other people. I do think because of some of the wonderful things that are being said about my work I am very conscious of not undoing what I have worked towards by trying to change things too much. I love the sound we get in the studio and Jon plays a role in which over the years he knows what I am seeking to do, and he can deliver this for me. 
Without sounding pretentious George Martin and The Beatles had a relationship in this way like some and other
artists do. Biggest influences have always been The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen. In recent years I do listen to
a lot of other singer-songwriters like John Prine, Nancy Griffith, Taylor Swift, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Townes Van
Zandt, Guy Clark, Lori McKenna, Iris DeMent, Mary Gauthier, and so on. The word ‘Americana’ is the genre I feel
comfortable saying I am, and this covers all those artists mentioned.

Aldora Britain Records: A broad question to finish. We have been through such a unique time in history over the
last few years. Both politically and within society, and that is before you throw in the pandemic. How have the
last several years impacted on you personally and as an artist? How do you think this time has changed the
music industry, both for the good and the bad? I am curious to hear your insights.

John Jenkins: Good question, as I get older, I am more conscious of the world around me and I am an avid news
listener. My family have always supported Labour and so have I, however, I am more of a fan of Old Labour than
New Labour. I despair at what is going on in the world these days. Popularism and right-wing politics makes me
feel ill and that's being polite. I have written the occasional political song. I wrote a song that was released for
charity called ‘Someday We'll See Better Days’ that was sang by over twenty Merseyside artists. I find it hard to
play live now as each year since I have written that song has been worse than the year before! Haha! I wrote a
song called ‘Just Another Day’ based on the American school massacres happening too frequently.
I suffer with mental health issues, dyslexia, and maybe slightly neurodiverse. As much as I love writing, recording,
and playing live I do find the business side of the music world very stressful and no good for my wellbeing. On a
local level I get frustrated trying to get gigs, getting people to listen to songs or buy my albums. Nationally it is
even more stressful. I have put two tours together myself around the UK but festivals and certain Americana key
venues I would love to play I do not even get replies to my enquiries. When I play with my musical partner Pippa
Murdie at the folk clubs and open stage setting the reaction is always absolutely amazing and I just wish I could
have that chance to show our performance off in some of these places. I try to put this business side out of my
thoughts, but occasionally it does wear me out and makes me feel inadequate.

As a punter, streaming can be a great thing for the casual listener, however, I still buy records and CDs myself. It
is not good to the artists though. As an artist there is no money to be made in original music unless you are at a
higher level than I am. Audiences either wish to pay top dollar for arena gigs or tribute bands and will not in the
main spend a fiver on a show to watch local artists doing original material. Open mics have replaced full
performances, as why spend money on a band or an artist when you can have ten play a couple of songs. The
other thing about open mics is the audience tends to be the other artists waiting to play their songs. I'd say it's
getting worse rather than better in most aspects, however, if you can reach a certain level then you may become
a member of the group of people who seem to be playing every festival or Americana show.

Quickfire Round
AB Records: Favourite artist? John: The Beatles.
AB Records: Favourite album? John: Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run.
AB Records: Last album you listened to from start to finish? John: Bootleg of Pink Floyd live in Brighton, 1972.
AB Records: First gig as an audience member? John: Alice Cooper.
AB Records: Loudest gig as an audience member? John: The Fall at Eric’s, Liverpool.
AB Records: Style icon? John: John Steed. AB Records: Favourite film? John: The Apartment, 1960. AB
Records: Favourite TV show? John: The Avengers, 1960s.
AB Records: Favourite up and coming artist? John: I’ll avoid naming local acts as I know so many and don’t wish
to favour any friends above other friends. The Delines if you are looking at an artist that play at a certain audience
level and aren’t mainstream yet.