David Edwards has released an independent Christmas release, called Christmas Carols Old and New. Not to be too gushy, but it's one of the best collections of Holiday Songs I've heard in a long time.

This isn't so much an interview as a bunch of notes we traded back and forth, and later decided to string them together and try and make something coherent out of the whole thing.

It's never too late to support quality indie artists. Visit his site and buy something.

Official Site | banophernalia.com review

This pseudo-interview is from December 2001

David, so you're stepping back into the limelight with a Christmas CD. I guess for the sentimental among us there's no better time, and really no shortage of great tunes to cover. One of my dream CD's would be a collection of Johnny Marks songs. The man was a genius. Truly.

I'm guessing your doing the self release thing. Artistic control and all that. Why not, it's worked for Gerry Rafferty, David Lindley and countless others. Here's hoping you get some good notices.

Yes, I'm putting this one out on my own label, Jondeaux Records.

Any significance to the name Jondeaux? Is it a clever play on John Doe? Or a nod to Larry Norman's Phydeaux? Or is it French for a poor tasting wine?

It's just a play on John Doe. It should be pronounced with a snooty French accent, as if you're on the verge of gagging on the deaux syllable. No nods to Norman on this, but since he's growing more and more anonymous (less and less notorious?), it would be an appropriate nod.

About Norman being anonymous? I'm not sure about that. He keeps dumping sub par CDs on the market (one after another). I gave up trying to keep up years ago (who am I kidding, I've got most of his stuff, and sub par or not I like most of it). Although he has a "new" (read not live) album that's supposed to be pretty good.

I haven't followed Norman in a very long time. I have a reference CD of Randy's "Uncle Stonehill" record, but not the Paradise record, which, in my opinion, is a bona fide Big Deal.

I've not picked up Randy's new one (yet). Like you I'm waiting for the Paradise record. I think a lot of people are waiting in the wings for that one.

Anyway, let's talk about the new record (CD - what's the proper term now?). I received an advance copy, which I wasn't expecting, and I will say caught me very much by surprise. David, very nice, bordering on excellent really.

I'm glad you like the record. Reaching the level of "excellent" is pretty hard to do under these working conditions. So I'll gladly settle for a grade of "very nice."

Take the compliment, I'm usually pretty hard to impress. Did you record this at home, or studio? Tough to tell now with the great advances in hard disc recording. You're in fine voice throughout.

I recorded this one at home. The problem with engineering and producing myself was not the semiprofessional equipment, as you might expect. The problem was that I did almost the entire project with no input from other musicians. Not surprisingly, I made some mistakes. Also, the room in which I recorded vocals is not acoustically treated for recording. That resulted in some less than satisfactory vocal sounds that I wasn't really aware of until after I sent the mixes to a mastering engineer, who had to try to compensate for my mistakes. I hope I never make a record this way again.

Well, it's not as noticeable to me as it is to you. Did you play at all, or get friends to lend their talents for beer and pasta? This was obviously a labour of love. I hope it gets the attention it deserves.

All instruments by me except: Randy Stonehill played guitar on The World Was in His Hands, Oh Holy Night, and The First Nowell. (I did, in fact, pay him with two bottles of beer and some keyboard playing on a project of his.) High girly background vocals by The Sons of the Manly Men's Victory Chorus. (That credit is not included in the liner notes.) I call my version of Silent Night the "Jiminy Cricket" version.

I kind of figured Randy was in there somewhere. His playing is rather distinctive. Now about the Silent Night version, I thought it was pretty good. If I didn't know that Alessandro Moreschi had retired in 1913 I would have sworn you had a castrati doing the high notes. It's a good thing the castrati were banned, or there'd be a lot more of this type of backing vocals if it was still condoned (you could say this problem was nipped in the bud).

This project should have a pretty good shelf life. Christmas albums, good ones have a timeless quality. Heck even the Boney M Christmas album is considered a classic.

I'm always telling people that a great record is made primarily out of great performances of great songs, and not necessarily involving great production or engineering. On the other side of the coin, we see a glut of lousy records that have very high production and engineering values. Why? Mainly because the songs are lousy and disposable. Sometimes because the performances are also weak. On the other hand, bands like U2 and R.E.M. have demonstrated that really great performances of weak song material can result in great records and live shows. (i.e. ask any adult on the street to hum Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Then ask them to hum any U2 or R.E.M. song in its entirety.) Of course, fans of those groups will insist their songs are great. I say, "Show me the longevity. Show me a kid in fifty years singing a U2 song at an elementary school concert. Show me anyone singing practically any song from one of our current "alternative" bands in a bar in ten years. But they'll still be singing Billy Joel songs in that bar in twenty years. And Elton John, the Beatles, etc. Not Curt Kobain.

I know what you mean, but it's a difficult thing to separate the culture and times from the music. So much of what is created is somewhat culturally relevant at the time. This is the same thing artists found in France when so much of the art of the day was controlled by the establishment. The art that broke the mold may not have always been great, but it served a purpose.

I'll agree that I don't see people humming Creed, or Nirvana tunes in 20 years but the mold they helped break will keep them remembered, if not listened to (although it's anyone's guess as to why we can all hum the teeny weeny itsy bitsy bikini song). I think it's the same with books. We've all heard of the classic authors from Swift to Hemmingway - but few have read anything by them other than what they may have been forced to read in school.

I think this is the same problem facing the poorly named Christian music industry. Real honesty and integrity doesn't sell (check out the recent outstanding Daniel Amos double CD for a case in point). What we get are countless "worship" albums (weren't "praise" albums all the rage in the 70's?), and carefully marketed edge that safely appeals to our guilty sense of adventure.

Anyway, this is quickly turning in to a beer conversation, and you're too far away to buy the next round. Thanks for taking the time to chat with me about your latest project. I'd be curious to hear from you later how many people picked up a copy. I'll be in touch.

Jevon the Tall
banopernalia.com
December 2001