2008

“I’ll state my opinion any time I fucking choose.”

Those aren’t the exact lyrics to Light Is Like Water, my favorite Jerry Joseph song, but that’s how I’ll always remember the verse from the last time I heard Joseph do it live (sometime around Stockholm Syndrome’s inaugural tour in 2004).

That line sounds exactly like Joseph, the incisive folk-rocker with the serious songwriting chops and the lived-in voice, best known for Little Women, the Jackmormons and numerous other solo projects, not to mention his longstanding association with Widespread Panic. And the song’s overall attributes might describe Joseph himself, as well as his curious career: longwinded, tender, pointed, hopeful, irascible, cynical, soulful—and singular.

Hidden Track caught up with Joseph at a snowed-in tour stop in Salt Lake City late last week. His 2008 is far from over; having revived the Jackmormons name with a modified lineup, he’ll close out the year in his adopted home of New York City, booked for Dec. 29 and 30 at Crash Mansion and New Year’s Eve at the Delancey Lounge. If you’re in the area and haven’t yet made your plans, well, we’d be remiss if we didn’t recommend it.

Hidden Track: In recent years you’ve been doing New Year’s gigs in Portland and also in Costa Rica and other far-flung locales. Why New York for 2008?

Jerry Joseph: Well, I live there, for one. Originally this year we were supposed to do a bunch of Colorado shows and I think one of them was planned for after Panic, but I just wasn’t into it. So we decided to say fuck it and do this and our New York City friends were all holy shit, holy shit. This has kind of been thrown together more last minute than we usually like, so we’ll see what happens. Lots going on in NYC that week and I’d love to say we have the same fanbase as My Morning Jacket [laughs], but that’s just not true. We’ll see what happens—I know it’s been moving pretty quickly but I know a lot of people are flying in for it too.

READ ON for more of Chad’s interview with Jerry Joseph…