Interview with Mississippi Witch
Mississippi Witch has a gritty and soulful new album entitled “Black Gamble” that will be coming out January 21st 2008. Oli Walker (guitar/vocals) was kind enough to sit down and talk with The Mughead Review about their past, present and obviously bright future.
The Mughead Review: Thanks Oli, we really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. So I heard that you and Dan met in Baton Rouge in a snake church. What the heck is a snake church exactly?
Oli Walker: We met by chance, under very strange circumstances. A snake church is a place where people go to cleanse themselves of their sins, they pick up snakes and if it doesn’t bite you are forgiven, it was very entertaining. Dan said he likes to hit the drums and that was enough.
TMR: Where does the name Mississippi Witch come from?
Oli Walker: It was given to us by a farmer. He shouted to us “your Mississippi Witch”, we’ve never questioned it. We were just walking along and the fella just shouted it at us. We had never even seen him before. Normally the best things in life come out that way, I think he just saw us and that’s what we were to him.
TMR: Shortly after you and Dan met, you moved to London? What brought that about?
Oli Walker: We basically came to record the album.
TMR: When you guys moved to London to record the album, was it because you signed to a label then?
Oli Walker: No that came later, we had a few studios in mind, we picked the studio that looked most like a cave, it’s called Toybox Studio. It’s a great place to record, cave rooms, chimneys for vocals etc.
TMR: So where does the band reside right now, in London?
Oli Walker: We move around a lot, at the moment we’re in a cottage near Wales rehearsing.
TMR: What was it like moving from the US to London? How long have you been out there?
Oli Walker: England as a whole is good, lots of country side and forests; we’ve been here maybe 3 or 4 years.
TMR: When you recorded the EP “Just for Roosevelt” what changed for you guys?
Oli Walker: Everything changed, “Just for Roosevelt” was the first song we ever recorded, it was some what of a war cry for both of us, people seem to love that song and for us it paved the way for the rest of the album.
TMR: I heard about Mississippi Witch from Guy Garvey of Elbow, who called you guys his favorite new band, did you just meet him at a show or how did that come about?
Oli Walker: Guy heard “Just for Roosevelt” and asked us to come and play, he runs a label called Skinny Dog and was interested in our album, very nice fella.
TMR: So how long have you been playing guitar?
Oli Walker: About 10 years, I found a guitar in the attic of a house; it was like finding a long lost limb.
TMR: You mentioned somewhere that you and Dan were Bible belt escapees. What was your upbringing like?
Oli Walker: My father traveled a lot, he was a court judge in Guadalcanal and other south pacific islands, my mother was a sort of a homebody, we moved around a lot. I really had no interest in anything until I found that guitar; I did once have a catapult I was quite fond of. I can’t say for Dan but you have to wonder how a fella can hit drums for as long and hard as that without breaking a sweat, I think he was just put on this earth to play drums.
TMR: Why is Mississippi Witch a duo?
Oli Walker: We didn’t need anyone else, it wasn’t missing anything. With just the two of us we can do what ever we like and not have to worry about it.
TMR: Will Mississippi Witch remain a duo?
Oli Walker: Yes.
TMR: Can you tell me about the title of the new album? Where does it come from? What does it mean?
Oli Walker: It’s not really a tangible thing, I know what it means to me but I could never explain it in words.
TMR: Black Gamble is exactly the type of album that the current music scene needs right now. I’m excited for it to come out. It seems like the release was pushed back a few times though. When does it come out?
Oli Walker: 21st of January. There were a lot of delays, mainly because every time we were set to release it another label would ring up, this happened 5 or 6 times. The problem with labels is they’re very slow and cause the whole process to stop dead.
TMR: When you say labels would ring up, does that mean that multiple labels were trying to sign you guys?
Oli Walker: Yeah, We had a few pop up all at the same time, it’s just the way things work, once one likes you they all fancy a sniff, but they weren’t right for us, I think most of them wouldn’t know the difference between night and day.
TMR: Tell me about the creative process for Mississippi Witch, how do you go about writing songs?
Oli Walker: We write very quickly and never record anything till we’re in the studio, it keeps it fresh, most of the songs on Black Gamble were only written a few days before recording them, the same goes for lyrics. I tend to write them at the same time as recording them, it the only way we know how to work, the less we think about it the better it comes out.
TMR: What music has influenced you and Dan? And what music are you digging right now?
Oli Walker: Let’s just say I like all the music you would think I would, its quicker that way. I lived in a flat in Richmond upon Thames for a while, opposite me was Pete Townsend’s house and 10 doors to my right was Jagger’s house, not a bad spot!
TMR: What are your tour plans? I hear you guys kick some serious ass in concert.
Oli Walker: We are still undecided when and where, America probably.
TMR: I hope we can help spread the word about Mississippi Witch. Your vocals and guitar playing are pretty sick, people need to hear it. What does the future hold for Mississippi Witch?
Oli Walker: We’ll start the next album in March next year, and probably play a lot more shows, I would think we’ll be in California. Who knows, we are enjoying everything, it could all get very hectic but we know what we’re doing and how we’re going to do it.
TMR: Well, we wish you all the best. I think your future is going to be bright. Thanks for answering our many questions. I look forward to seeing you guys play live sometime soon.
Oli Walker: Thanks for the questions, I enjoyed it.
Leave a Reply