the john interview - january 2002

  question: the kids on the street say that in the next hesitations line up you could be playing drums. am i talking to the right kids or are they just playing with me?

  john: it's true, i'll be your mr bang bang; for the right price, of course. hitting skins or twanging strings, it's all the same ticket.

  q: impressive. are there any instruments that you feel unable to finger?

  j: i'll finger anything that's put in front of me. i can't blow for toffee though. i know my limits.

  q: how does it feel when you walk out there on stage with jonny and mambo?

  j: i'd love to tell you. seriously. and if it wasn't for the moonshine i'd probably be able to.

  q: do you feel particularly close as a band? i mean jonny describes some of the members as being like 'cousins' to him. are you similarly minded?

  j: mr fun is certainly the node by which the hesitations are tenously linked, but yes, we are certainly too close to enjoy, say, legal sexual relations, for instance.

  q: can you tell me where you and jonny met?

  j: for legal reasons, i fear i can't be specific. what's that old blues song? the devil's crossroads? eighth avenue and queens, man. ne11. i could tell you a story or two about the last time we met though, b'jesus...

  q: i'm not sure if we need the full story, i don't think the rock'n'roll press could handle it.

  j: what was that you said about fingering?

  q: if you could relive one jonny fun and the hesitations gig again, which would it be?

  j: it would have to be st patricks day, times square, new york, 2000. although i always have rated the corrs, they do look a lot larger in real life.

  q: i know that you all did an accapella version of 'the leaving of liverpool' before you all did daniel o'donnell's 'whatever happened to old fashioned love'. can you give describe what it was like to play with them? did jim have good 'craic'?

  j: as far as i remember, he had tennis elbow.

  q: people say that the appeal of jonnyfun and the hesitations is quite wide. what do you put this down to?

  j: poor schools.

  q: did you know that they have a hesitations fan club in libya? how does that make you feel?

  j: like a pirate in the wind.

  q: thanks for your time, john.

  j: you're welcome; and don't be a stranger, you little cat.