Sophie Ward / Actress, writer

This week's TT Test is taken by the lovely Sophie Ward. In her long career as an actress she has appeared in many films including 'Young Sherlock Holmes' & 'Jane Ayre'. Her most recent role has been as Lady Helen Hoxley in the BBC drama series 'Land Girls'. She was also a top model & has recently completed her first novel. Clearly she is multi-talented & has some fascinating answers ! What is your wake up song at the moment ? If I want to really wake up, probably after midnight, then 'Mr Brightside' by The Killers. The lyrics are pretty dark, but all the best songs are dark. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession ? I didn't go to school much but I did read and I was obsessed with Victorian novels like 'Jane Eyre'. It was all about stories, and I did all I could to be part of the world of my books. I wrote plays and directed them and made everyone act in them. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why ? I would not want to spend much time in the past, especially as a woman. But there are occasions I would like to be part of; lunch at the Algonquin with Dorothy Parker, a summer at Charleston House, a night at the Rue de Fleurus. That is probably cheating but if I have time travel at my fingertips then I would want to be quite specific. Get me into Apollo 11 on July 20th 1969. I love eating out & discovering new restaurants, can you please recommend one to me ? Food and restaurants are only as good as the occasion to me; who you are with, what you are doing. For that reason, I love Roganos [link] in Glasgow. It has the feel of the 1930s and a small menu with a good wine list. But most importantly it is near the theatre in which I was happiest, the Glasgow Citizens, and all my memories are of eating with friends after the show and being miserable or delirious depending on the night but always glad to be there. What is the best advice you have ever been given relating to your professional / creative life ? I went to a kid's drama group in the 1970s run by an extraordinary woman, Anna Scher. We worked in a community hall on an estate off the Essex Road and the classes were big, about 70 of us. It could have been chaos but Anna commanded a great authority. She focused on improvisation which was amazing for me because I was living in my imagination all the time anyway. Her tenets were based on Professionalism and she was right. BONUS QUESTION I understand that you have nearly completed your first novel 'The Schoolhouse' can you tell us a little bit about it ? How does writing fiction compare to acting ? Thanks for asking about my book! It's about an experimental school in the 1970s and what happens when the experiment goes wrong. I'm interested in who we are as children, is that a fixed place or can we change? How you behave in one important moment at ten years old, is that the definition of you? As for acting and writing the best of it is about what you make up, a lot of acting is believing that you are standing in a palace or a cave, not a room in the back of Elstree studios. What would happen when you first go into the cave? What do you feel when you see the monster for the first time? How would you react? Writing is like that only you express it in words not actions. Hopefully, you can make the actions be as eloquent as words and the words be as visceral as actions. 

Andrew Roachford / Singer-Songwriter

This weeks TT Test is taken by the wonderful Andrew Roachford [link]. His band Roachford formed in 1987 was the biggest selling UK act on Columbia records for ten years including the hits 'Cuddly Toy' and 'Family Man', as a writer he has been approached to write for everyone from Michael Jackson to Chaka Khan, and recently he has also co-written and sung lead vocals on the new Mike & the Mechanics album. His new solo album 'Addictive' has just been released & you can catch him live mid-Decmber at the Jazz Cafe in London [link] !! What is your wake up song at the moment ? I really love Adele's song "Rolling in the deep" it's actually quite refreshing to hear something new with some blues influence that still sounds contemporary at the same time. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession ? My family are all quite musical, so I grew up with my uncle and my dad practicing in the living room which was great, but the first time i was old enough to hear my Uncle(Bill Roachford) playing his saxophone at a gig I was completely blown away and I knew from them there was no other profession for me but music. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why ? I think there was something special happening in music in the early seventies and so much of my big influences were at their best (in my opinion) at that time. I would have loved to have seen Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and Sly & the Family Stone live at that time :) I love eating out and discovering new restaurants, can you please recommend one to me ? My mother lives in Barbados and i go there as often as possible, one of the best restaurants there has to be 'The Cliff' [link] It is on the west coast of the island and of course it is situated on a cliff by the sea. It's the second best food on the island after my mums cooking!! What is the best advice you ever been given relating to your professional/creative life ? The best advice i think i have ever been given as far as my professional and creative life would be... "Don't be afraid of making mistakes". Tell me about your new album. Personally, every time I make a new album I have to feel the sound or the songwriting is evolving - even if, unfortunately, it turns out not to be true ! Do you feel that you are still discovering & revealing new sides to yourself on 'Addictive' ? I think a lot of people think that once an artist has done a couple of albums then that's as good as it's ever gonna get. I love all the albums I've done in the past, however I think that making albums are a learning process and as you grow as an adult your music grows with you. When I'm in the studio now I think the main challenge is to not put myself in a limiting musical box, which can easily happen when your first album does really well and people think that it is what defines you as an artist. But now im on tour and I'm playing some songs from my new album, they work well and bring a new energy to the shows.

Dean Chalkley/Photographer

This week’s TT Test is taken by Essex-born photographer Dean Chalkey whose vibrant work ranging from famous musicians to youth subculture will no doubt be familiar to you. Dean’s website is full of great photos & short films from his exciting career so please check it out [link] !! He also finds time to host two great club nights a week .His answers are fascinating & contain some addresses in London that make me feel like I’m in a Julian Maclaren-Ross novel ! What is your wake up song at the moment ? ... the one that springs up like a motivational soundtrack when walking to the tube in the mornings is 'Turning My Heartbeat Up' by The M.V.P.S. It is a record that is just so up lifting… and dynamic... it really is magic! Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession? I went to a lecture by Richard Avedon at the National Theatre in May 1995, it was such an incredible moment. Avedon was energized bouncing around the stage not your usual 72 year old man, his nervous energy charging the room. Here before a packed auditorium this legend of Photography gave a wonderful insight to his work, life and influences… it was the whole collection of these things that made the most impression on me… How he was immersed in it all... It was HIM. I have always loved Avedon's work and still do to this day. He is transcendent with work that crossed the boundaries of social document and fashion. Although at times he chose to flatter often his camera would be incisive and cut straight to the soul of the people he photographed, avoiding the 'mask' or publicly projected facade of his famous subjects. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why? I live very much in the ‘now’, however I think it would have been great to roam the streets of Soho in the late 1950's and early 1960's this was the time when the Modernist or as it was later abbreviated Mod culture was growing up, to go to the Flamingo club's all-nighters or the archetypal Mod hang out the Scene Club would have been great. I think this was a period that was very expansive in all art forms though; it really seems like the moment when the gearshifts of culture went into overdrive... I love eating out and discovering new restaurants, can you please recommend one to me? I like coming across places that offer something interesting even if it is more the atmosphere etc. So my top recommendation to you is this great little place I've found… it ‘s called The Soho Secret Tearoom [link] upstairs above the Coach and Horses pub on the south side of Greek street. The Coach and Horses has a great history... the famous play 'Jeffrey Bernard is feeling unwell' was based around this bar, originally staring Peter O’Toole. (About a month ago I was standing in the bar and Peter O’Toole actually came down the stairs from the Tearoom he had been interviewed there for an editorial. Wow it was as if royalty was in the place...). The now sadly deceased Norman Bilon was one of Soho’s big characters and would often shout at people that stepped out of line in his drinking establishment publican (reputed to be the rudest Landlord in London).. He had a fierce reputation… It’s also where Private Eye magazine have their weekly meeting editorial meeting... Anyway the Tearooms are upstairs .. Call the Pub in advance to reserve a table or ask the barman / lady if its possible to go up and dine. Assuming its ok you are invited through the bar counter and led upstairs the creaky narrow stairs then you enter the Tearooms. Lovely tablecloths and bone china, the record player in the corner has sounds from the 40s or sometimes it is quiet..It feels like a portal to another time and place, far removed from the Pub environment actually. A very particular atmosphere… The floor is wood creaky and slopping but perfect. They have a great selection of teas including my favourite the very pungent 'White Monkey’, from 3pm til 6 pm it is the Tearoom and then it is a Restaurant in the evening... There is no real change to be honest apart from the food on offer, less tea and cakes and heartier but honestly Meal selections. Its a great place and one of the windows looks out towards Ketners big blue neon sign, if its dark outside and you are sitting in the tearoom it is really like being in a film set of say. ‘Absolute Beginners’. What is the best advice you ever been given relating to your professional/ creative life? ... photographer Brian griffin told me to try to do at least one great piece of work every year, of course every thing I do I endeavour to make great, but what he meant was make one body of work stand out as your signature...I think this is a good bit of advice.... I really enjoyed your new short film 'Young Souls [link] the music, dancing & look of the film is wonderful. I know that as young man you identified yourself as a Mod & the aesthetics & music of that culture have shaped you so it's not so surprising that you made this film. So I was really intrigued to see another of your films ' Serge ' which is about a body builder! What inspired that & is there any connection between the two films? I'm glad you liked the film, it spins around the world of Northern Soul a culture of rare soul that has a very danceable beat. The scene has been in the public consciousness for many years and yet remained to a large extent an enigma to most outside of the scene. There is a connection between the two films, quite simply the passion and the dedication that individuals exercise in order to follow their hearts. The 'Serge' film is accompanied by a haunting piece of music, 'odi et amo' by Johann Johannsson, based on an ancient poem by Catullus. The Poem is recited in the piece ..in essence it proclaims... I love I hate why do I do you ask… It’s tearing me apart... I think this says so much about our inner drive passion and need to create in whichever way we chose... whether in the gym sculpting our bodies or on the dance floor. However, we choose in order to follow our passion it takes heart.

Mary Gauthier / Singer-Songwriter

This week's TT Test is taken by the great American singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier [link]. Her songs have been covered by many artists including Tim McGraw & Candi Staton & her albums have all been highly praised culminating in the masterpiece 'The Foundling' which tells her own story of being abandoned as a child,the struggle for her own identity & birth mother & ultimately the triumph of love. What is your wake up song at the moment ? 'Lorraine', by my dear friend Lori McKenna. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession? I got sober from drugs and alcohol in 1999, and songwriting followed. I would never have become a songwriter without recovery from from my addictions. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why ? I'd go back 40-50 years in Nashville, to the time when the songs coming out of this town were great, and I'd hang out with the my songwriting hero's when they were in their prime... Harlan Howard, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Marijohn Wilkin, johnny Cash, Tom T Hall et al. I'd find my way into their scenes, and they'd make me a better writer just from being around them. I love eating out & discovering new restaurants,can you please recommend one to me ? Margot's Cafe [link], in Nashville,TN. My favorite restaurant of all time, The chef is the owner, and she is in the kitchen every night cooking fresh local ingredients with passion and love. No one can cook fish like Margot, and she changes the menu every day to reflect what's fresh in the market. I am a huge fan. What is the best advice you ever been given relating to your professional /creative life ? Unless they are giving you a big check, don't sign anything. BONUS QUESTION: I am intrigued that you also teach songwriting - what sort of guidance are students looking for ? And what is it that you try to bring out of them? I teach songwriters to look for their own voice, and look inside themselves for the truth of what they are trying to say. I can teach the craft (song structure, chord progressions, rhyming patterns) but I can't teach the art, the art being the subjects which the writer is called to write about. I try to teach the students to listen to the voices in their heads and hearts, and reveal what's being said in there. I try to teach them to allow themselves to be vulnerable, and expose their hearts. I try to teach them that songwriting is more about re-writing than anything. and most of all, I try to teach them to connect with themselves and their listeners. I let them know that if they are not connecting, it's not the listeners fault. Basically, I give them a ladder, show them the rungs... and it's up to them to do the climbing.

Sarah Waters / Writer

This week's TT Test is taken by Sarah Waters [link] one of Britain's best loved novelists. Her first novel 'Tipping the Velvet' marked the arrival of a writer who has the rare gift of creating popular & critically acclaimed fiction - much of her work has been adapted for television & film and 'Fingersmith', 'The Night watch' and 'The Little Stranger' have all been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for fiction. With so many accolades her modesty is refreshing. Her answers are great too :) What is your wake up song at the moment ? The last CD I bought was The Resistance, by Muse, and the track I keep playing from it is Uprising.I listen to music mainly when I'm walking through London, and Uprising is a great track to go striding across the city to; it's got revolutionary lyrics, a thumping beat, and makes you feel like Rosa Luxemburg. I do love Muse. Their music is camp and epic at the same time - quite an achievement. I'm longing to go to a Muse concert, but I'm too embarrassed: it would be me and ten thousand teenage boys. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession ? There are a few authors whose work really inspired me to start writing - most notably Angela Carter, Philippa Gregory and Jeannette Winterson. In very different ways their books have taken on history, tradition, the canon; they've teased new stories out of the past, or invented new, fantasy histories if they didn't like the ones already on offer - I suppose that's what I've tried to do, too. But the single biggest influence on me probably came from a novel called Street Lavender, by Chris Hunt. It's the adventures of a rent boy in late Victorian London - a shamelessly rompy, sexy, romantic story, but a really intelligent one, too. It was published by Gay Men's Press in the mid 1990s: I read it and thought, 'Wow! This is brilliant!' Tipping the Velvet was really my attempt to do something similar, for lesbians. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why? I've written so much about the Victorians that I guess I'd have to choose the nineteenth century. I'd love just to be able to eavesdrop on a few ordinary conversations, on the street and in people's homes. As a researcher, ordinary domestic and emotional life is the hardest thing to get hold of, because it tends not to find its way into the history books. But it's what fascinates me most about the past: the mundane details of people's lives; how they thought about their bodies; what they dreamt about; what satisfied and disappointed and frustrated them. I love eating out and discovering new restaurants, can you please recommend one to me ? To be honest, I'm not at a big restaurant goer. I find food and eating and all that a bit tiresome. My ideal restaurant is one that's cheap and quick, but with a bit of personality - somewhere like the India Club [link], on the second floor of the Strand Continental Hotel, London. It's a wonderfully quirky place where the food's all right, service is sometimes huffy, but you can slope off afterwards to a cinema, a theatre or the South Bank. What is the best advice you ever been given relating to your professional/ creative life ? When I was struggling with an early draft of Tipping the Velvet, my friend Sally, to console me, said, 'But Sarah, you were never going to get it right first time. It would be a miracle if you got it right first time!' I've always remembered that - and I think of it, particularly, when my writing feels stuck, or the words on the screen before me look more than usually awful. Yes, it would be a miracle if you sat down at your desk and wrote, straight off, a perfectly finished novel. But by plugging patiently away at it, by being ready to edit and re-draft, you can make it better. BONUS QUESTION : Is there any truth to the rumour that 'Tipping The Velvet' is being adapted into a stage musical? Can you tell us any more details about this ?! There is indeed some truth to it... But I'm afraid I can't say any more right now, because the project is still in its very earliest days. It's a great idea, though, isn't it? Tipping is such a theatrical book. I'd love to see it bounce into life on the stage.

Joanna Briscoe / Writer

This week's TT Test is taken by the writer Joanna Briscoe [link] whose novels have received great critical acclaim for their psychological insight & Joanna's skill in creating suspense. Most important of all they are impossible to put down ! Her first, 'Mothers & Other Lovers' controversially won the Betty Trask award, and a third novel 'Sleep With Me' was adapted for television by Andrew Davies. Her new novel 'You' will be published by Bloomsbury later this year. She is also a regular contributor to 'The Guardian', 'Independent' & 'The Observer'. What is your wake up song at the moment? It's a surprising choice... 'Gush Forth My Tears' a 16th Century song recorded in the early 1990s by a band called Miranda Sex Garden. I only listened to it because the pianist & violinist who also teaches my daughter piano used to sing with them. Though I find the band gimmicky (the teacher isn't!), the song sticks in my mind & I return to it. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession? I have to say 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' by Thomas Hardy. I read it at 16, & not only did it make sense of the wild countryside in which I lived, but it affected me profoundly. I had never loved a novel so much, so passionately. I couldn't put it down & was haunted by it from first reading, & the combination of amazing plot, lyricism,romanticism & tragedy filled me with an admiration that only becomes deeper with time,it left me reeling. From the age of 15, I'd committed to being a writer, and here was a work of art that I could dip into whenever I wanted to. I think it also made me want to write about the countryside in which I lived. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why ? Here's the Tess influence again. It would have to be the Victorian era, as that novel started me widely reading within the period. It's accessible enough for us to understand, or think we understand -just a matter of a century and a half or so- yet intensely different. I've just re-read 'The French Lieutenant's Woman', which so cleverly analyses the differences between the 19th & 20th Centuries. As a teenager, I always fancied being a Victorian milk maid, of course, and putting my Laura Ashley frocks to good use. Now I can see that the reality would be pretty ghastly, but I'd still like to dip into it & take a Tess tour for the day in a suitably lush Dorset valley with some docile cows to help me. I love eating out and discovering new restaurants, can you please recommend one to me? Jin Kichi in Heath Street, Hampstead, an unprepossessing looking place but the food is just amazing. Also, I love the Vietnamese restaurants on Kingsland Road, Hackney especially Viet Hoa [link] & Loong Key Cafe. In Ireland I love the Ballymaloe Restaurant [link] restaurant in County Cork. What is the best advice you ever been given relating to your professional/creative life ? Basically, all the times other writers have agreed that the only way is to get on with it. No faffing around, no waiting for inspiration, no making neurosis for inactivity! It took me a long time to discover this for myself, & most professional writers are in agreement. The inspiration follows... I was told by one editor to put in more plot. This was years ago. She was right. BONUS QUESTION : Last year I read 'Mothers & other Lovers' which I found quite shocking (and a great read) not for the central love story but the toe-curling behaviour of Eleanor's liberal middle class family & their friends. I never told you because I was sort of shy about it but I really did squeal with recognition & embarrassment (this is not a reflection btw of my family they are not really English & it's my conceit that having a foreign background sets me apart from this kind of behaviour!!). Do you have an allergy to bourgeoisie hippies or is the book more compassionate to the idea that as people get older they don't necessarily get wiser & we all just continue to flounder in our insecurities & weaknesses ? Eek! I'm a bit embarrassed that you read this, as it's very much a first novel, but pleased as well. Other people have reacted as you have - I think I have to make myself unembarrassed when writing, to get to some sort of truth. But I sometimes squirm at my own writing later. I did indeed have an allergy to the hippies, and still do, to be honest. I agree that we all continue to flounder to an extent - that's universal - but there's a particular sort of culture and aesthetic that drives me mad, I'm afraid! It's because I grew up with it - I went to school in Totnes, Devon: hippie/New Age epicentre - and we were surrounded by slow-talking beardies reciting mantras, and I became very urban, careerist and impatient in spirit as a teenager, in direct reaction. On the rare occasions I hear a slow Mockney-mixed-with-West-Country accent to this day, I come out in hives. It's just a childish attitude that's based in inevitable rebellion against everything I was surrounded by. Hey, cheers, man. I really really hope you have no issues around that...

Sophie Sarin / Hotel Djenne Djenno

Recently I mentioned a blog that I enjoyed during the holiday season written by a Swedish woman Sophie Sarin [link]. The stories of her running a hotel in the not entirely hospitable historical city of Djenne in Mali (the hotel is made of mud like many of the buildings in Djenne and is quite vulnerable to the extremes of weather) and also adapting to a different culture & way of life make this a really interesting read. I'm very happy that Sophie has found the time to answer this week’s TT Test and I think if you ever find yourself in Djenne Hotel Djenne Djenno is an essential stopover !! Lots of love tt. What is your wake up song at the moment ? The music I listen to is Kar-Kar (Boubakar Traore) Very simple, very moving. The very essence of Mali itself; this dry, vast, gentle land, which I love in spite of it all. A good point of departure is the album ‘Sa Golo’. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession? Perhaps Bach’s Brandenburg concertos, the first piece of classical music I knew and loved. I used to play it with my next door neighbour Britta when we played chess as twelve year olds, a brief moment of seriousness before we discovered boys and rock n’ roll - nothing wrong with that either of course… If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why ? A frivolous part of me would have liked to have lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette before the revolution (and then managed to escape) Such beautiful clothes! And such fun - all those masked balls! Otherwise I am quite happy to be here and now. I love eating out and discovering new restaurants, can you please recommend one to me? My favourite restaurant is ‘Rules’ in London [link]. It claims to be the oldest restaurant in London and is romantic and beautiful with great service and great traditional British food such as grouse etc. that is fabulous if well prepared and enjoyed with a good claret. What is the best advice you ever been given relating to your professional / creative life? Don’t worry what people think of you. BONUS QUESTION: What is the most challenging and most satisfying thing about running the Hotel Djenne Djenno? Most challenging thing here in Djenne: Definitely to be patient and understanding to my staff and the people around me, although I lose my temper most of the time. Most satisfying thing in my life here: the limitless scope of things. Wherever I turn there are new things to discover or to set in motion, whether investigating the Djenne manuscripts or managing to grow dill in the garden and trying out other crops. Life is never ever dull.

Langhorne Slim / Singer-Songwriter

This week's TT Test is taken by American singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim [link] who I enthusiastically blogged about last December [link]. Langhorne's last album 'Be Set Free' remains one of my favourites from recent years, I'm thrilled to hear that he is working on some new songs & also that he has found the time to answer the TT Test ! What is your wake up song at the moment ? I recently got a copy of 'Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall'. Even the way he thanks the audience at the end of a song gives me the chills. The song 'Hope she'll be Happier with him' blows me away. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession ? My mother and Grandparents took my brother and I to see a Broadway play when we were very young. I don't even remember which one but I remember how magical New York felt coming just a couple of hours from our small hometown in Pennsylvania. And I remember sitting in my seat and feeling so moved. I knew then that there was a world beyond what I knew, the world that I didn't relate to and that I was going to be alright. That was a pretty heavy feeling. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why ? 1957-Redhead. I love eating out and discovering new restaurants, can you please recommend one to me ? The Bye and Bye in Portland Oregon. It's down the street from where I live and is awesome! [link] What is the best advice you ever been given relating to your professional / creative life ? Go back to the cabin. BONUS QUESTION 'Langhorne Slim' is a stage name, can you explain a little about how you chose this name & what it refers to ? Langhorne is the name of the town that i'm from. I used it before I had a band and it stuck. I have always been a fan of nick names from my grandfather's stories of when they were young. All of their friends had cool names like Whistle or Lefty. All names are made up so you might as well grab one you like. When people talk about your music they often reference blues & gospel & American roots music in general , I also hear a bit of Cat Stevens from the classic early 70s period , would I be way off in thinking that? Not at all, I love that man. Harold and Maude forever !

Grant Lee Phillips / Singer-Songwriter

This week's TT Test is taken by Grant Lee Phillips whose musicianship as writer,vocalist and multi-instrumentalist is inspiring. He first came to notice with the band 'Grant Lee Buffalo' and has continued to make great music as a solo artist, with highly acclaimed records, writing music for independent movies as well as appearing regularly on the TV show 'Gilmore Girls' as the town troubadour. I'm delighted that he has found time to answer the TT Test! What is your wake up song at the moment ? I’ve been waking up with The Left Banke’s “Walk Away Renee” in my head for the last few weeks. I’ve always loved the song but I have no idea why it’s enjoying a comeback in my mind. It’s so melancholic, perfect for the rainy weather. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession ? It’s hard to place the blame on one culprit but I have to imagine it was the Beatle’s film “Help” and that particular song that lured me in, made me want to be a musician and began my love of heavy overcoats. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why ? I’ve always been drawn to that period between 1860’s - 1890’s. It was the golden age of sideburns, Laudanum and revolution. It was a bit like the sixties, but in sepia. I love eating out and discovering new restaurants, can you please recommend one to me ? Breakfast, right behind dessert, is the most important meal of the day. The Pacific Dining Car [link] in downtown Los Angeles has one of the best. It’s a step back in time, ordering Eggs Hussarde in a 1920s railway car. An endless flow of black coffee makes for one of those easy mornings that last all day. What is the best advice you ever been given relating to your professional/creative life ? Aside from being tipped off about the Eggs Hussard ? I’ve been the beneficiary of great council many times. Among the many artists, writers, musicians and professionals in my life, the words of my wife have meant the most however. She sees far down the road, when I can hardly find the wheel. BONUS QUESTIONS : You have such a unique & wonderful singing style, is there a singer that particularly influenced you as you were discovering your voice ? My grandmother was an incredible singer. She had a voice like Mahalia Jackson. She sang in a little country church but she also loved the blues. I’ve heard she sang in clubs when she was young. She was never really a performer in the time I knew her but she poured herself into her voice. She greatly encouraged me to play the guitar and sing and that made a huge impact on me. I also have a slightly silly question or maybe just an observation, I don't know if you are aware of the Canadian writer & actress Anne Marie MacDonald but you have a very striking resemblance to her ! I just googled Anne Marie MacDonald. I can see the resemblance and I’m flattered. I hope she is.

Photo Kenneth Scott

Jay Bellerose / Drummer

This week's TT Test is taken by the awesome Jay Bellerose, a drummer who you may have heard playing with Alison Kraus & Robert Plant, B.B.King, Beck and Ray LaMontagne amongst others. His sound is very special as he collects & uses vintage drums & percussion whose inconsistency may be off putting to some drummers but for Jay add a certain drama to the sound. Having had the privilege of working with Jay on the new record I was so blown away by how he builds a groove, layers & brings structure to the track... I was sometimes surprised by his choices but ultimately always persuaded by them. The only problem is now that I've played with Jay every time I hear a song I think, 'I wonder how Jay would approach this ?!' What is your wake up song at the moment? My favorite music at the moment is the sound of my dog Buster snoring away. It gives me great comfort right now. My espresso machine starting up is a close second followed by Hank Mobley's soul station record. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession? My most influential moment was when my brother Nelson saw me at age five lose my mind over a set of drums. He put me on the path and has guided me since. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit & why? I would go back to the 20's, 30's & 40's. I'm really in love with the music and over all style from that period. I love eating out & discovering restaurants can you please recommend one to me? Casa mono in NYC is a current favourite of mine [link] What is the best advice you have ever been given relating to your professional/creative life? The best advice for me so far came from T Bone Burnett. "Own it". BONUS QUESTION You are in Ray LaMontagne's band The Pariah Dogs who feature on his new album, how does it feel to be in a band as oppose to a session musician? Being in a band isn't so different other than a bit more acknowledgement.

Mark Creswell / Song-writer, musician

This weeks TT Test is taken by one of my favourite musicians, guitarist Mark Creswell. I first met Mark when I was 18 and was the opening act for the band he was in Brendan Crocker & the Five O'Clock Shadows. I was immediately entranced by his joyous, spirited playing and recently when I began writing a new set songs and was searching for a way to bring more groove & movement into my songs I immediately thought of Mark as a co-writer. You'll have to wait till next year to see how the songs have turned out but I for one am extremely happy with the results !! His answers are very interesting and strangely - if I could travel back in time it would probably also be to 18th Century Germany so I could eavesdrop on Bach improvising, I hope that's a good omen that we are suitable musical partners ! Lots of love tt. What is your wake up song at the moment ? An all time favourite and regular player on my juke box MP3 is the wonderfully eccentric 'Persian Lovers' by Holger Czukaybut [link]. If I need something to really bounce me into the day it would have to be 'Do I Love You ?' by Frank Wilson [link] for it's joy & best bass line to boot. Which work of art or single event has most in your chosen profession ? The invention & development of the electric guitar in the 20th Century. What's not to like ? They sound great, look fantastic... and you can use a wah-wah pedal with them too ! If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit & why ? I would go back to 1720 and be beamed into Bach's life at the time when he was director of music for Prince Leopold in Germany. I would of course speak fluent German and have been inoculated for all possible diseases! I'd take with me a good stereo compact recorder and record him whilst he was improvising & composing the cello suites or violin sonatas & see how he worked & how he played & how he sounded on the instruments of his own time. See just how 'well-tempered' he was :) I'd also take back with me Bach's Complete works in printed manuscript & leave them with him, including the ones that he hadn't thought of yet, just to help him out a bit & make life in those times a little easier... upon my return to the now see what ripple effect & repercussions my little visit had upon the history of music & in particular Rock 'n Roll ! It's a sort of chicken & egg thing like in this favourite 'Bowie's in Space' sketch by Flight of the Conchords [link]. I love eating out & discovering newrestaurants can you please recommend one to me ? I don't get to eat out much except when I'm with you & that's always rather tasty. I prefer simple food so I'd recommend 'Corner Cafe ' in Leeds [link] a small, friendly family run restaurant which just hits the spot. What is the best advice you have ever been given relating to your professional/ creative life ? Seeing as my chosen career is music, the best advice to which I've never heeded is 'Get a Job !' BONUS QUESTION How was the experience of recording the new songs that we have written together & are you happy with the way they have turned out ? Recording these new songs was a really great experience for me, we somehow fell on our feet through a series of odd events & coincidences that landed us both in LA, recording with a set of amazing musicians & brought together by the awesome Paul Bryan's production. Playing with these guys really opened up the songs beyond all my expectations & left me with the resounding affirmation that music is at it's best when it involves the interaction of souls & minds together i.e musicians ! These recordings have so much life & vibrancy that I hear something new on every listening giving them a magical, timeless quality that I love.

Photo (c) Sylvie Bardet