JoJo Hermann Discusses Slim Wednesday, Widespread Panic, & More April 11, 2018 16:45
Interview by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen
Photos by Craig Baird: Home Team Photography
The weather may have been less than ideal in Birmingham last Friday, but a little rain wasn't going to spoil the party at Zydeco. JoJo Hermann was in town with Slim Wednesday for the second consecutive year, and the Widespread Panic faithful turned up in masses. This would also be the release date for Slim Wednesday's debut album, The Reptile Show. Just before heading downstairs for a special VIP piano performance and an amazing crawfish boil, I had the chance to sit down with JoJo and discuss a number of topics. See below for our full conversation and make sure to give The Reptile Show a spin as soon as possible.
It's great to see you again JoJo. Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me for a few minutes.
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JoJo: Absolutely...likewise. Thank you.
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So we're here at Zydeco in Birmingham. This is the third show of this run, right?
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JoJo: Thats right. We did Nashville on Wednesday and Oxford, Mississippi last night. It's been a great time.
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I know you have roots in Mississippi. Are you originally from there?
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JoJo: No, not originally. I moved there in 1987. I just went there to visit a friend. Spent a week there, and I never left.
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Very cool. So how have the first two shows gone thus far?
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JoJo: Man, the band is dialed in. Everybody's having fun. We had a crawfish boil last night at Proud Larry's. We're going to have one again here tonight. We're playing a bunch of New Orleans music. You know, everybody shares a common love of New Orleans music, those Meters grooves, and that kind of stuff. We're having a great time.
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I know we talked about Professor Longhair in the past. Did this band originally start as a tribute to his music?
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JoJo: It was basically a Professor Longhair tribute band. We just started playing during Mardi Gras at a place called The Corner Pub in Nashville. The band, and Bill Elder (guitar/vocals), just started cranking out a bunch of songs. Bill started showing them to all of us, and we started working them in. I threw a couple into the pot as well. We eventually had enough to put a record out.
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I wanted to ask you about that. The Reptile Show was officially released today. Has most of this material been in the rotation for a while, or is it all brand new?
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JoJo: It's all come up in the past year. We got off JamCruise last year, and we really didn't have any originals. I swear, like ten gigs later, we had an entire album's worth of material. Something happened...I don't know what.
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I noticed that there is a tune called "Dark Bar" on this album. This is not the same version that you've played with Widespread Panic though, right?
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JoJo: Right. I have about ten songs called "Dark Bar." This is a different one. It started as an April Fool's joke with my publisher...that I would start naming songs with the same title. (laughs).
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Well I love the name of the album (The Reptile Show). I listened to that particular track several times today. What's the story behind the song?
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JoJo: It's just a good ole blues song, really. You know...boy meets girl. Girl ditches boy. Boy is sad. He's pretty much searching for ways to make himself feel better.
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Do you see that as having potential to make it's way into the Panic rotation?
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JoJo: You know...all songs have that potential. Whoever wants to play whatever. I've done other songs that started out with Smiling Assassins and made their way to over. So...you never know, but we don't think about it too much.
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On that note, it's been a little over a year now since you guys have cut back on the Panic touring schedule. That has allowed more time for projects such as Slim Wednesday. How has the new schedule been playing out?
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JoJo: It's just different kind of touring. We're still out there playing, but we have more days off in between gigs. It's so weird right now, just in general. I feel like "your dog in the yard," you know? He doesn't know a week from an hour. He's just out there taking it all in. I'm starting to relate to that (laughs). Time is just flying by right now.
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One thing I've noticed with recent Panic set lists is how you guys have worked in some special themes. There was "Lady's Night" during Halloween, "Gentlemen's Night" over New Year's, and a particularly powerful message sent recently in Birmingham. How has some of that come together?
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JoJo: Just through some formal discussion, really. Songs and various ideas just get thrown out there. Have we done one about animals? I think we have. Someone brings an idea to the table. Whatever pops into someone's head at a particular moment.
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I wanted to ask you about "Sundown Betty." This was a new original that was debuted at Panic en la Playa and recently played again in Washington DC. Who's tune is that?
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JoJo: Oh yeah...great song. JB brought that one in. He played that one for the band, and everyone just loved it. We brought it in down in Mexico, and yeah, we just played it again recently.
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There seems to be a great buzz about that tune. I've heard several people discussing it as one of the favorite new originals in recent years.
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JoJo: That's fantastic. You just made my day. (laughs)
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Is there much of a story behind the song?
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JoJo: Well...JB wrote the lyrics, so it's hard for me to say. I guess I would say that it's open to different interpretations.
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Well, I know this next topic is a tough one, but I feel compelled to ask you about Col. Bruce Hampton. I was fortunate enough to be at the Hampton 70 concert last year. That was quite the overwhelming experience. I was hoping you could share a few memories of your time with Bruce.
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JoJo: I remember specifically the first time that I met him was at The South End in Memphis. He was pulling in with Aquarium Rescue Unit. I think they needed a PA. They called us up down in Oxford, and we were so thrilled. They told us they'd let us in the show if we could bring up our PA. We rushed up there and set up. That was the first time I met Bruce. I'll never forget watching ARU that day. Oteil, Matt Mundy, Jimmy, Sipe...I had never seen anything like that. The music that I saw on that stage was life changing. I'd never seen people do that. My last time with Bruce was on Jam Cruise. We played bingo together.
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Let's talk a little more about recording The Reptile Show. I'm sure this was a little different that some of your other recent studio experiences.
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JoJo: Yeah so we were on tour last year, and the songs just started coming out of Bill, recently. Everybody else was pitching in. We had a day off in Atlanta, and we went over to Diamond Street Studios. There is a guy there named Spencer Garn. He just puts out these great funk records. It's a little studio over in Little Five Points. We went there in our day off, and over the next two days we recorded and tracked everything. Bill and Spencer took it from there, pretty much. They really turned it into a complete record.
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Do you foresee any upcoming studio plans with Panic?
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JoJo: Nothing has been specifically discussed, but I'm sure there is something in the works. John Keene, our producer and great friend, he's got a killer studio out in Athens. It's really beautiful out there. I look forward to going back over there. I don't think a date has been set though.
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Well, before we wrap up, what else do you have coming up on the calendar? I noticed there is a show with The New Orleans Suspects in Denver...
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JoJo: Yeah...a portion of the proceeds from that show are going to the New Orleans Musicians Clinic. I'm also playing in New Orleans with Anders Osborne, Zigaboo, and George Porter Jr as Foundations of Funk at The Howlin' Wolf on April 29th. I just feel so lucky to get invited to do that. I'm really excited about spending time in New Orleans. I'm getting to spend some time in Charleston, too. We're doing two nights at a great new festival called Trondossa, which is happening in May.
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Talk about a killer transition from New Orleans to Charleston. I'd be pretty excited about that as well.
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JoJo: Two really great towns. It's hard to beat that.
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Well, thanks so much once again. It's always a pleasure chatting with you, and we're really looking forward to tonight's show. Let's go eat some crawfish.
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JoJo: Absolutely. Thanks again for your time, Jordan.
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