Apparently 'Journalism' includes Merlot and Pancetta.

Finally getting around to a short report on my interview with John Wesley Harding, which will be published in the March issue of Being There. I haven't actually written the article yet and I'm not sure if it will be a simple transcript of our conversation or something else, but I'm sure it will be absolutely brilliant.

Caroline and I took the subway to Brooklyn and got there an hour or two early to get the lay of the land. We stopped into a bagel shop for a bagel and coffee, and as we were leaving noticed a group of people walking down the street. One of the men had a cute baby strapped to his chest. As my gaze went up from the baby's face, I realized that it was JWH who was carrying the baby! I stopped him and explained that I would be meeting him in a couple of hours and after an initial bit of confusion (I honestly think he'd forgotten our appointment), he kindly introduced us to his baby and his mother and step-father. He made sure I knew where the bistro was we would be meeting and continued on. I thought it was funny to run into him out of all the people in Fort Green!

At the restaurant we split a bottle of Merlot and enjoyed some fantastic pancetta and mozarella crepes and talked about the recording of his new album (with the Minus 5 as his backing band), fantastic Seattle folks like Kurt Bloch, and how much the music business has changed. We also discussed his writing (novel #2, By George, to be published in August) and the differences in writing songs and writing novels.

He was a very gracious and open guy, who truly seems to be having the time of his life. Our lunch turned out to be more of a 'chat' than an 'interview' which was great because he made me feel very unselfconscious in my role as 'journalist'. He's a great talker, and even though I'm sure he'd heard some of my questions many times before, gave expansive and detailed answers. He also gifted me with a copy of his new DVD (of a Seattle concert performance) and asked all about New Orleans and my own musical history. A great experience.

If you're interested in his music, I'd recommend Adam's Apple, Here Comes the Groom, or New Deal as great places to start. His highly acclaimed novel Misfortune is just fantastic, and if you're a fan of Dickens or any other 19th century literature I guarantee you'll love it.