e8: Wallin-Jison

Courtesy of the Artist

With their unique mix of blues and country influences Wallin-Jison are back with new acoustic album "Definitely Blue" a creative seven track outing that is both interesting and engaging. Here, member Christian Wallin talks about the project, songwriting, Pistol Annies, and more.

Is there a story behind your album’s title?
The very last song that was written for this album was a song called "Definitely Blue". It had a somewhat similar vibe as another track, so at the last minute we decided to drop the song, but keep the title. It seemed to fit the mood of the album.

Please share the story behind your album’s artwork.
It's an illustration I did of things that just very loosely relates to the themes of the songs. I didn't want it to be too specific, just something that would spark the imagination.

Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did?
We never put more than seven songs on any of our albums, because when you produce, mix and master your own music like we do, with 10 or 12 songs the mixing process can really start to drag on and it's easy to lose your focus on the overall feel of the album. So we rather make shorter albums and put them out more frequently.  But shorter albums also mean that selecting the songs is harder and there are always a lot of songs that doesn't make the cut. This time we really wanted to showcase the different sides to our music, so there are softer country songs, like "Move Around The Room" which we knew was going to be the first song, and "Sixth Sense" which is the first real slow song we have done in a while. Then there are songs like "You're A Different Person Now" and "My Buddy's Wife (What Kind Of Friend Are You?) which are much more raw and bluesy. "End of The Month" and "You Never Cared" are somewhere in the middle, but have a lot of banjo on them, so that makes for an interesting mix.  

---

​Where do you draw inspiration from when writing?
The major thing about writing songs is to constantly keep yourself open to new ideas. If you do that then the songs will come. You just have to keep "listening" to what's going inside your own head and be ready when something interesting comes along. If it seems like there is nothing going on, then you just dig a little deeper. Or tune out for a while and wait.

When/where do you do your best writing?
It can be anywhere and anytime. It can, and usually will happen when you least expect it and at the most inconvenient times. Sometimes I will sit down with a guitar with the intention to come up with stuff, but most of the time a song title will pop into my head while I'm busy doing something else and then the rest of the song usually follows very quickly. Then you just have to drop whatever else it is you're doing and run for the nearest guitar or sing it into your phone, or whatever, before the moment is lost.

Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
Sometimes it's a combination, it's rarely altogether fictional, but for the most part it's about personal experiences and observations. It's not always a conscious thing though. Sometimes it's only after I've finished the lyrics to a song that I look at the words and realize how they perfectly describe something that I'm going through at the moment. It amazes me every time that happens.

Favorite (or first) concert you have ever attended?
Izzy Stradlin And The Ju Ju Hounds. Seeing them up close in a small venue when I was thirteen had a huge impact on me. I couldn't believe how recklessly he was banging on the guitar. I had only been playing for a few years myself, just starting to learn, and seeing him go at it with such intensity was a real eye-opener.

Is there a recent release you cannot stop listening to?
Pistol Annies latest album "Interstate Gospel". That's the best new album I have heard in a long time.