Juliana, interviewed by Warren Kurtz for Goldmine about the new album:
I am drawn to the ELO songs that are about alienation and difficulty connecting with other people, like drifting through space.
…There is a lot of room in Jeff Lynne’s songs to be able to add interesting bits and pieces of sounds, not copy what they did but add them in like spices.
From an interview by Warren Kurtz for Goldmine on Juliana’s cover of “Lotta Love”:
JULIANA HATFIELD: When I was a kid, I grew up on the Nicolette Larson version, which is what I heard first. For the longest time I thought it was her song and didn’t discover the Neil Young original until a bit later. I wanted to approach the song differently because it has already been successfully covered.
GM: Your guitar introduction and your solo remind me of The Rolling Stones’ “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” which gives the recording an added dimension.
JH: I wasn’t thinking of that, but that makes sense to me now. I wanted my version of “Lotta Love” to be a little tougher. I was trying to counteract the sentiment of the song which I think is emotionally demanding where one person wants the other to attend to that person’s needs which I interpret as, “It is going to take a lot from you to give me a lotta love.” I was fighting against that with my electric guitar.
An excerpt from Juliana, John, and Freda interviewed by Warren Kurtz for Goldmine Magazine:
GM: That vocal blend is also on “Train” which I really enjoy and reminds me a bit of R.E.M.
JH: They have train songs too, “Driver 8” for example. It is an American tradition.
JS: I think with that song it was a dual lead vocal. I was struggling as a new singer, trying to find my voice. I was learning how to sing in front of a microphone in a studio, which is not the best place to learn. It is the quickest way to improve but most people who sing in a studio have sung in a school choir, at least.
JH: I was also a bit new. I studied piano at Berklee and then started studying voice, so I was also learning techniques on how to strengthen my voice.
JS: Juliana had already sung on two albums before this, so she had great experience, compared to me. “Train” has a pretty demanding vocal with an active melody. Juliana’s guide vocal helped me to nail the pitch. The lyrics were ambiguous, so having the male and female vocal was not a conflict.
JH: While this song doesn’t sound like the band X, John and my voice are so different that it reminds me of John Doe and Exene Cervenka’s voices being different in X. When we sing together it is a cool tension that blends well.
From Warren Kurtz's interview with Juliana for Goldmine:
JH: I drew this female in a bikini with a black pen and Jed Davis colored it, including the blood bubbles coming off the hands in the background. I drew it from a photograph where the woman was actually in the sky with buildings in the background, so I don’t know if it was a circus or what the event was. She looks like a warrior, going through harsh times, but emerging victoriously, flying, and who needed those hands anyway?
GM: It is an interesting contrast, just like your music.
JH: Also, the pose she is in seems really joyful and playful as she soars.
Juliana is interviewed by Warren Kurtz for Goldmine, who are also giving away a couple of copies of Weird if you're happy to enter a draw by subscribing to their mailing list.
The interview covers various aspects of the new album recording and ends with a question about the UK shows in May. Juliana:
It will be with a band. I haven’t been there with a band in a long time. Todd will be playing drums. Dean Fisher will be on bass, who some remember from The Juliana Hatfield Three. In the meantime, I am working on two more videos and a short film, all from the album.
Juliana, interviewed primarily about the Olivia album, by Warren Kurtz for Goldmine:
GM: You also taught me a few songs I didn’t know. Because of you, I finally bought the Xanadu soundtrack so that I could hear the original version of “Suspended in Time.” I also must have missed “Make a Move on Me” in 1982 on the radio, when I was listening to Quarterflash, Joan Jett and The Go-Go’s instead.JH: “Suspended in Time” is most like a song I would have written. I love the chord progression and it felt most natural. “Make a Move on Me” was a big hit from the Physical album. You know, the album cover photo with short hair and a bandana. I changed it up to be a 4/4 rock song.
