Interview: Joss Stone

In the public eye since the age of 13, Joss Stone has consistently made good on her promise as a great vocalist with one soulful album after another. Nearly a quarter century into her career, the British artist continues to innovate and push personal boundaries, resulting in fresh takes on her live show and recordings.

Prior to headlining the Peace Center on Friday, Oct. 10, Stone spoke with Asheville Stages about her stripped down, Less is More Tour, the role her fans play in her creative life, and the freedom in realizing that all artists are “making it up.”

Heather Taylor: Hi Joss, thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. It’s honestly an honor.

Joss Stone: Oh, that's sweet. I love your name. I actually almost called my daughter Heather. That name, it's so beautiful. I have a really good friend named Heather. It's like, good vibes.

HT: Thanks! Yeah, because of my name, I went to Scotland a long time ago and all I wanted to do was jump in fields of heather.

JS: Exactly! Yeah, that makes absolute sense.

HT: I’m really impressed with everything you’re juggling right now — congrats on the tour, and I understand you’re a new mom again?

JS: Yes, I have my little girl with me on the road. She is three and a half months old.

HT: Oh, that’s wonderful. I recently saw Maggie Rose performing with Tedeschi Trucks Band, and she had her one-month-old backstage with her nanny rocking the baby — it reminded me of that.

JS: Yeah, they're great when they're small — they're very portable.

HT: I can imagine the toddler stage is trickier. Do you ever take your older little ones on the road?

JS: No, for that same reason. All of them have come with me because I've been their food — you know, have to feed them. But my son Bear, who will be a year old on the 21st of October, he's the only one that didn't come on the road with me because I wasn't breastfeeding him, because he's adopted. And also I was pregnant with Nalima whilst we adopted Bear. So it all happened all at once.

I had to do some gigs, and I was like, “Oh my God, I'm pregnant.” And my husband was like, “Baby, don't worry, I can feed him with a bottle.” Now he's the only one that hasn't come with me, because usually they're attached to me — they're attached to my boob, basically. What I learned with my first is when they start toddling, it's just game over. They don't need to be on the tour bus when they're toddling.

HT: That’s amazing. With four kids, you could have a Stone Family Band someday.

JS: Yeah, good — as long as it was like a stationary tour that didn't go anywhere. Try and tell a two-year-old to sit down when the bus is moving — no, I don't think so.

HT: I get that! I’m excited you’ll be near Asheville — I live close enough to Greenville to get to the show. Is this your first time playing Greenville, South Carolina?

JS: I don't know. I probably should Google that. I’ve definitely played South Carolina, maybe three times in my life. I don't know what exact area I was in, but I definitely drove through it going from New Jersey to Florida.

HT: I’d love to talk a bit about the past. You totally inspired me when I first heard Mind, Body & Soul — I loved how bluesy your voice was. Things seemed to take off quickly after that album, with your Grammy nomination and the BRIT Awards in 2005. What do you remember most from that time?

JS: Well, what I remember most — I mean, it's a big chunk of life. I think I was very nervous. I've never had another job, so it wasn't like I had anything to compare it to. I was just sort of going through the motions, but I didn't really know whether I was doing it right or wrong — just making it up.

And then I realized, over the years, that everybody's making it up. When you're young, you think you're the only one guessing, but actually you're in great company. Everybody else is guessing, too, especially with music, because there's no right way and no wrong way.

When you're young, you think there is a right way, and you need to figure out what the hell that is. You don't know what it is, so you're trying to figure it out, hoping that there is a way — and there isn't. It's not like that. And when you recognize that, it's very freeing — and that comes later.

HT: That sounds like some really good mental health wisdom.

JS: Yeah, I love it. Like, “Chill out on yourself.” We don't have to hold ourselves to such a high standard, because that standard doesn't actually exist — especially not in art. It's pretend. I do think it helps.

HT: You’ve made so much music since then. As a songwriter and performer, what’s your trick to staying inspired? I saw that co-writing plays a big part in your process.

JS: Yeah. I do a lot of co-writing because I don’t play an instrument. Oftentimes, I’ll write the melody and the lyric, but someone else is making the music behind it. That music is often what inspires the idea. I like to hear what they have. I’m not really very specific about anything I do artistically anymore. I used to be, but that was only because I wanted to have control of it, and I felt like it needed to be something very serious. But when I found out that it wasn’t that deep, it became more fun and more freeing.

The idea of collaboration for me is the most fun I can have. I like to hear what they want to do, whoever it might be, and then roll off of that. A sound that comes from the musician can influence what I’m talking about, because I hear something and it always says something — well, it says something to me.

It sounds weird, but it sounds like a story to me. So I’ll hear that story and try to bring it into a world where other people can hear it. I don’t think I’ve had a time where I’m like, “Oh, I’m not inspired to write anything,” because all it is is talking. I like talking, so I’m always having thoughts. I just think songs are that: they’re just thoughts with melody.

HT: Was it a similar process with Jessie James Decker for “I Never Miss Him Anymore”?

JS: I wish I wrote that! I did not write that. Jessie's friend wrote that, and she sent it to me and said, “I think we should do this as a duet.” It used to be “I never miss you anymore,” but I thought to make it a duet between two women, it needed to be “I'll never miss him anymore.” That was the only thing I did — just a tiny tweak, so I can't name writing on that song. I think sometimes a tiny tweak makes a big difference. One little word change like that can sort of change the concept of the song. But yeah, it was really lovely to sing that song. 

Photo by Tina Turnbow

HT: The 20 Years of Soul: Live in Concert album you released last year, what made you want to do a live record?

JS: I mean, every time we go out live, the opportunity is there to record it. I’ve been there for the last 20 years, but I haven’t taken that opportunity because I sort of felt very, like — not that I’m not good enough, I just have felt very insecure about it. So I felt a little bit like, “I don’t want to do a live album — because what if it’s not right,” you know? I just think it’s something that’s a bit scary.

So, I asked — it was actually the fans that sort of pushed me to do it. I asked what they wanted; I do that often, and they said, overwhelmingly, “Live album, please. Live album, please. Live album, please.” Aw, fuck. OK. And I thought it was a really good idea to do it to celebrate 20 years, so it was really cool. And actually, I’m so, so proud of it. I cannot tell you. When I was listening to the mix, I actually got sort of tearful. “Oh my god, this is really really good!” I felt so proud. And I thought, “Why was I so afraid of that all those years?”

HT: What a moment! 

JS: I’m so glad I did it, you know?

HT: Yeah! Seems like that mindset of, “It’s not that big of a deal,” kind of came back into play with hindsight. I love that.

JS: Yeah! It did! It’s like, “OK, just chill out — it’s only music. Let it be.” You’ve got to be brave to do that, though. It’s easier said than done, but sometimes you have to be brave! And sometimes it’s a beautiful thing and you realize, “Oh! Wow! This is so nice!”

HT: I love that your fans pushed you to do that.

JS: Yeah, they're a really big part of what I create now — even the artwork. The fans made the artwork. The fans have made artwork and music for me. I did a remix album — the fans remixed each song. I love bringing everyone together. 

This is what I love about social media, because before, we didn't have it. “Hang on: We can actually talk directly to the fans? Why not?” First of all, let's ask them what they want rather than just doing it for myself. I'm not making albums so I can go home and listen to it. I'm making albums so they can listen. So why not ask them what they want? So, that's one thing, and then also, I get to include them in it if they want to be part of it. If they're artists themselves, then sick! There’s a lot of joy to be had in that, to get everyone involved. It’s really way more fun.

HT: Is that collaborative spirit what inspired this “Living Room” tour? It’s described as aiming for an intimate, living-room atmosphere.

JS: Partly, the world tour inspired it, because we ended up doing many, many, many of the gigs with just a guitar, so I realized you can still have a great gig with a simple setup, and you can still have an emotional evening and sort of exchange your heart. You don’t need a full band to do that. As much as I love having a full band, it’s kind of nice to hear it in a different setting. 

So, that sort of confirmed to me that it would still be great if there was just the two of us. But the reason why we did it is because I fell pregnant. I've toured a lot pregnant, but I said to my band, “Guys, I cannot do this again.” And then of course I get pregnant! So I thought, “Let me just re-look at the show and see — what can we do?” And then the idea came: why don’t we just have a chat, have a cup of tea, sing some little tunes, sit down on the sofa? I love that you call it the “living room vibe,” because that’s literally what it is. And it’s so nice. I still get to sing my ass off when I need to and when the mood kind of takes me there — that still happens — but it’s not like I’m screaming over a full band. It’s very intimate.

The chat is a little bit longer; I get to share tea with people. You know, it’s like a different experience — much more chill and less “perform-y.” It’s more like, “Hey, come to my house and I’m going to talk to you for a bit.”

HT: That sounds lovely. How did you adapt the arrangements for the smaller setup?

JS: We're actually sticking with pretty much the same arrangements.  It's just a different approach, musically, for the guitar player and the bass player right now. We did have cello, but now we just have guitar and bass, and we have three notes from the girls. So, Louise [LaBelle] is doubling my note, and Artia [Lockett] is above, and Bailey [Hyneman] is below. So that, to me, is the most beautiful thing. 

I really, really, really, just want to have those — I need my backing singers, because that is the joy, and that is the bit that I desperately missed when I was on the world tour.  It was literally just me and the guitar player, and there was no other notation at all. And I did like it, but I really missed those harmonies. So we have that, but it's the same. If we were to sing it with a full band, we'd still do the same structure of the song — you just approach it differently because you're in a different sound. But it's the same structure still —  it's verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, and that's what it still is.

HT: Does having fewer people make things easier, or does it present new challenges?

JS: Since it’s smaller, it means we can all be on one bus, which is cool. We actually just listened through to the show right before we got on the phone with you. Some of the band love listening back, and some of them hate it — it’s quite funny. I like doing it because I can pick out the bits I got wrong and fix them.

Throughout the show, I’m always thinking, "Oh, I need to tell [guitarist] Steve [Down] about this,” or “I need to talk to so-and-so about that,”’ and then I forget while I’m in it. So we listen back and make little adjustments.

Because we have fewer people, I want a bigger sound from the guitar. Since there are fewer of us, it means we need to be more — not less. It’s interesting; it’s about striking that balance, you know?

HT: I’d also love to talk about [The Joss Stone] Foundation. What’s a project or moment that’s really touched you recently?

JS: At the moment, we’re working on a baby cuddling program that’s starting in Curaçao. We’ve created a course that will hopefully help hospitals around the world put this kind of program in place. In the U.S., some well-funded hospitals already have baby cuddling programs in their NICUs — it’s a volunteer system where people come in to hold and comfort babies when their parents can’t be there. Have you had children? 

HT: I haven’t had children, but I’m a massage therapist, so I really understand the power of touch.

JS: Right — you get it. Touch is everything. If babies are held and loved, they thrive. If they’re not, sometimes they don’t. A baby might be in the NICU for months, or a parent might not be able to be there for different reasons — sometimes it’s loss, sometimes addiction, sometimes just needing to work. So these volunteers step in and give them that essential human connection.

Not every hospital has this kind of program, especially internationally, so we’re launching the first one in Curaçao. I already know some folks there through another charity, so it made sense to start with them. We want the course to be easy to follow so it can spread to other hospitals.

Of course, it’s not just a “show up and hold babies” thing — volunteers need to be trained and build trust with the hospital. They have to be reliable.

That’s one project we’re focused on right now. But there are others. There was a little boy named Harry in Peru who didn’t have hearing or sight. We connected the charity caring for him, Sense International, with Hear the World Foundation. That link helped him receive the support he needed to hear for the first time.

Honestly, I don’t do much — I just connect the dots. I know people, and sometimes introducing one group to another can change someone’s entire life. It’s small, but it matters.

HT: Absolutely, that is a really important role to fill — it’s that connector piece. Because then, if you have this bird's-eye view, and you're traveling all over the world, and you're seeing these things, meeting these people, it's a really important step. So, I love that you do that. Thank you for doing that. It's incredible.

JS: That’s so sweet, thank you.

IF YOU GO

Who: Joss Stone
When: Friday, Oct. 10, 8 p.m.
Where: Peace Center, 300 S. Main St., Greenville, SC, peacecenter.org
Tickets: $44-$77

(Photo by Tina Turnbow)