WTDP?: Tell us a little bit about your songwriting process. Do you keep a ‘riff diary’ or is it more spontaneous when you sit and write?
JI: I do it any way I can. I do have a collection of chord progressions and lyrics, but sometimes it works best if it comes out fresh, all at once.

WTDP?: Listening to the new CD, I’m struck with how effortlessly is swings from blues balladry to full bore rock. Was that a conscious effort to show some different colors from your palette?
JI: No. I just try to write songs that sound honest, whatever the genre. Then we arrange and record according to that.

WTDP?: Our favorite song on the disc is Sunstroke. What effects – beyond good old-fashioned feedback – do you have going in that toms breakdown during the song’s second half?
JI: We used a prepared piano. Opened it up and laid heavy objects on the strings, muting and scraping. We also had a band member reading through a low-fi mic and a boss echo pedal being manipulated as it was played. Turn those knobs fast and see what comes out.

WTDP?: Give us a run down of your current rig… starting with your current #1 guitar? How about your pedalboard?
JI: I have dozens of guitars, but I endorse Gibson and the dot-neck 335. I run that through a Boss Delay, a Loop Station, and an old Tube Screamer.

WTDP?: How about amps?
JI: My amps are, and will probably always be Sommatones. Jimmy Somma can make an amp that rivals Dumble and he’s not insane and overpriced.

WTDP?: Are there any effects you’re really digging on right now?
JI: I have an Analog Man Sunlion that kicks all kinds of ass, but the diode needs replacing. I’ll have it back in the rig soon. Really rocking fuzz and top-end boost. Marc Ford gave it to me.

>WTDP?: Any shot of returning to the studio in 2010?
JI: Of course. I’ve already played on and produced two records this year. I’m from Muscle Shoals. Going to the studio is like going to the convenience store here. We don’t fuck around.