Guardian contributor Kate Izquierdo recently spoke to Long Winters’ John Roderick – and found him to be quite the eloquent, provocative wag. Chalk it up to his Welsh heritage? Here’s the rest of her talk with the man.
Bay Guardian: Rolling Stone recently described you as a “folkie.” Does this come as a surprise to you? How would you describe yourself at this point if you had to?
John Roderick: Well, obviously Rolling Stone continues to be the most culturally relevant arbiter and go-to “paper of record” for all things pertaining to American music, but in this particular case they were referring to a live, solo, acoustic performance I did recently in New York, and so I think they can be forgiven for mistaking me as a folk singer. After all, who else would stand alone playing an acoustic guitar? Lesbians and Communists! I’m lucky they didn’t call me a Trotskyite. In truth, as everyone knows, I’m not a folk singer but a wily gypsy/klezmer trickster and balladeer in the great tradition of my people, the Welsh.