You be surprise to learn who Ida Mae is
Interview conducted on May 16, 2019
by Dan Locke
“We wanted to make something simple and honest and raw,” says Chris Turpin, one half of the breakout British duo Ida Mae. “We wanted to make a record our way, with no compromises.”
That brand of fiercely unconditional commitment—to the songs, to the sound, to each other—has defined Ida Mae from the start, and it courses through the veins of the band’s brilliant debut, ‘Chasing Lights.’ Blending elements of vintage Delta blues and gritty rock and roll with boldly modern arrangements and fearless punk swagger, the record captures Ida Mae in its purest form, with Turpin and his longtime musical partner Stephanie Jean performing nearly everything live in the studio under the guidance of legendary producer Ethan Johns (Ray LaMontagne, Laura Marling, Kings of Leon). It’s an electrifying collection, the kind of record that feels both familiar and groundbreaking all at once, fueled by dazzling musicianship, breathtaking harmonies, and the sort of versatile, timeless songwriting that’s earned the band tour dates with everyone from Greta Van Fleet and Blackberry Smoke to Marcus King and The Lone Bellow. One listen to “Chasing Lights” and it all seems meant to be, but the record might never have happened if Turpin and Jean weren’t willing to, quite literally, bet the house on themselve
Dan Locke: You two are married to each other. How do you mix working and living together 24/7?
Ida Mae: We love it! We’ve always been in bands together so working together is very natural to us. And we really like hanging out so…!
What would you call a great meal?
A home cooked Roast Dinner with all our friends.
Since moving to Nashville did you check out the NYE party, they have every December 31?
No! Not yet but we have heard great things.
Chris you have a lot of vintage guitars. Can you tell your fans something about your favorite ones?
Chris Turpin: I have a 1930s national duolian that Is covered in cowboy decal stickers from the 1940s and painted bright red. It’s one of my favorites but I dare not take it out on tour!
I also love my 65’ jazz master. It’s the first real vintage guitar I bought and I got it on our first ever visit to Nashville.
Any option about Chinese replicas? There are some good ones out there and some bad ones.
Chris Turpin: I haven’t played any Chinese replicas.
Chris you have an Instagram profile (Instagram.com/surfburst) which includes Dweezil Zappa as one of your fans. And he asked you to jam at the Royal Festival Hall with him one day during his tour. How was that?
Chris Turpin: It was amazing and pretty surreal! He asked me to come up and play on ‘Cosmic Debris’ and for Steph to do backing vocals! We were pretty nervous but it was an incredible evening and he is such an awesome guy. The level of musicianship at their show was insane.
He also agreed to play on one of our tracks on our debut record. It’s called ‘Boom Boom Boom’ and Dweezil’ s solo is obviously insanely cool!
You are about to start a tour with Greta Van Fleet. How did you find out that you were their opener?
Our agent called whilst we were In Europe to let us know we had the tour and we were so over the moon. It’s an incredible opportunity for us.
You two are a couple in the music business. I am going to name a few other couple in music business. Give a few words about each.
Paul and Linda McCartney – Great music. Great vegetarian sausages.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé – The King and Queen of America.
Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton- sadly no longer together.
Jack White and Meg White – Awesome.
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood- I’m too English to appreciate this.
Carly Simon and James Taylor – Makes me want to move to laurel canyon
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love- Making Dysfunctional sexy.
Joh Lennon and Yoko Ono- A deep connection.
Debbie Harry and Chris Stein- cool motherfuckers
Captain and Tennille – I don’t know what this is.
Sonny and Cher- Cher is a goddess.
Richard and Linda Thompson – Probably make a great roast dinner.
Ike and Tina Turner – Untouchable. Tina Turner is everything
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne – Make Great music and great TV. Win win.
Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon – Cooler than all of us.
You must be logged in to post a comment.