Have you only been a left-handed player?

Yeah. Those pictures of me when I was six years or four years old, holding a guitar and it was left-handed. Obviously the guitars around were right-handed, but I picked it up naturally left-handed. I’m sort of ambidextrous because in other areas I’m right-handed.

Do you have a particular favourite guitar?

Yeah. I would say that the ‘64 sunburst Stratocaster that I was playing in tonight’s set.

Reason?

Well, I’ve always loved ‘63 Stratocasters because of the pickups in them. I just really preferred the sound of those. They weren’t too hot; I’ve always avoided hot pick-ups. Later on they started to get hotter and brighter and I always like the warmer tone. The ‘64 is close enough to a ‘63 pickup, but the guitar itself is a pretty amazing piece of wood because it’s different from other guitars I’ve tried. When they cut the wood it’s extremely dry, and so when they painted it, it was really light - and I think there’s something in the dryness of the wood that resonates.

Have you a preference for strings?

I play 11-54. If I play in E flat I’ll use 12 through 58. If I go down further, I’ll use 13 and I’ve used 14 through 62 but usually that’s in C sharp - that’s in Kurt Cobain territory!

So when did the singing and songwriting start?

I was playing in bands just playing guitar, and then around 17 I started writing songs. I think I wrote five or six songs in one year and that was sort of an accomplishment for me for a 17 year old - at least as far as I was concerned. Just about that time I got a call from Jimmie Vaughan asking me to be in The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and so I went out with them for two and a half years, but put off my solo career to learn how to play rhythm.

Then you got involved with Arcangels. Have you got a favourite from that album?

Yes. See What Tomorrow Brings.

Then you kind of went out and did the Roger Waters thing and you did your first solo album which was called JELLYCREAM. That brings us to WELCOME, your latest album. How did you put that together?

It started when I was touring for Jellycream. I was out opening for Kenny Wayne Shepherd. At that time I was in the process of finding a band; and I was going through different players like Wend Woo from Prince’s band and this guy called Charlie Drayton, a bass player who was with Keith Richards’ band, and I just kept going through different people… Then we found JJ Johnson in Texas who I had known, although we never played; and we went to a small jazz gig in Austin, and saw him playing and he just blew my mind. I had just never heard jazz played that way because he almost played it in a way that was rock - in a way that Midge Mitchell [drummer with The Jimi Hendrix Experience] would have - but even more so, because I think JJ is more studied as a jazz musician.