Ask JPW
If you've been following this Substack for any amount of time, no doubt you have noticed that I sometimes lapse and end up going weeks—err, months—without updating. I try not to beat myself up too much about it, because I make stuff with elsewhere and I play music. I sometimes think I’m doing enough as it is—or too much, even.
But I’m really liking Substack as of late and I’ve been interacting with a lot of cool folks, so I wanna keep this up. After last week's essay, I knew I wasn’t going to have much to say today, so I solicited some questions from friends over on my Instagram and here we are, I’m going to answer them. Listen to that recorded version above if you wanna hear my ums and uhs, along with a JPW remix of World Party’s “Always.”
What’s your favorite cryptid?
I've got to go regional with this. And thankfully, Arizona has plenty of cryptozoological creatures to choose. There’s of course the Mogollon Monster, our Bigfoot variation who prowls the pine tree-covered Mogollon Rim. There's also the Thunderbird. There are all sorts of legends about one of those being shot down outside of Tombstone, along with is a fake photo that circulates—pretty often people think it's real. The Thunderbird, of course, is referenced in lots and lots of different native mythologies and all over the world. But I’ve got to go with the chupacabra. Chupacabra is my favorite.
If you could return one aspect of the pre-streaming era to today’s fandom—what/why?
The act of listening to a record a few times, and allowing it to present new things to you with each spin. Back when I was younger and I would buy a CD, it was a big commitment. And of course, sometimes I was taking chances and I didn't know what I was in for. I might listen to something and not dig it. But at the same time, I learned to appreciate certain stuff as time went on. So I would say that: less of a churn and burn mentality is what I would like to return.
Have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight?
Yeah, I suppose.
Top five desert island LPs?
Obviously, a really tough one from
. I don't know if I know how to answer it, but what I will:Neil Young, Tonight’s the Night
Santana, Abraxas
Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon
Nick Drake, Bryter Layter
Judee Sill, Judee Sill
I am immediately dissatisfied with this list. But those are five that I return to over and over again but I don't consider it a definitive answer at all.
How loud did you play your guitar when you first got it? Ever full blast?
Yeah, I remember maxing out my little Crate practice amp with my Epiphone Junior, sort of modeled after a Les Paul special. I remember cranking that thing. And then when I got my Fender Bassman amp when I was 16, I definitely cranked that all the way up a few times. And who knows how bad my hearing is at this point.
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
I wasn't going to answer this question from my friend Jenn because I couldn't think of anything clever to say. And then independently of it, my wife Becky repeated the phrase. So I took it as a synchronicity. I guess my answer is just “the appropriate amount.”
If you are comfortable sharing, are you receiving a clear message from love?
Last question comes from our friend Joshua Hensley. You might know him from The Rutabaga from South Bend, Indiana—who recently recorded some cool vocals for an upcoming JPW project, I can divulge.
And so I reached out to ask for some clarification. I find for me at least, it's exceedingly easy to answer sort of spiritual questions by sort of resorting to pretty nebulous, amorphous language. But I wanted to know kind of specifically what perhaps they were talking about. So I reached out and Joshua clarified a little bit, sort of saying: when you're in moments of meditation or contemplation, are you receiving a clear message from the universe and what is it?
It doesn't often work that way for me. I mostly find that I'm into meditation because I'm just trying to clear up some space to make room for those sorts of messages, which I kind of tend to find a little bit more when I'm out and about in the world, at least as far as I perceive them. But I have been trying to sort of consciously meditate a little bit on this idea of the simple state of okay-ness. That's really sort of what I'm reaching for a lot of, just to understand that I'm enough. There’s a Sinéad O’Connor song title, to cite an artist I know Joshua shares my deep affinity for, that I tacked up in my office where I record music and podcasts: I do not want what I haven't got.
That's really been what I've been after this in recent days or whatever, sort of just searching for a feeling of contentment and understanding that I am enough, that things are enough, this is enough—this incredible life, and this sometimes very difficult life in this really screwed up world, but also a very beautiful world. It's all enough, this is it to focus on. That’s where I'm at with that.
Next week, I think I'm going to share an expanded and reworked a piece that I shared at Aquarium Drunkard a few years ago about the traveling mystic Christian commune The Trees Community. So I hope you'll come back and check that out. Of course, you can find me over at WASTOIDS. You can find me at Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions, this week with Rich Ruth. Great, great conversation. Lots of good stuff in the back catalog as well. Of course. And go check out Fort Lowell's Bandcamp. We haven't said much about it, but there's a little JPW EP coming soon. Very soon. Alright. Be well.