1. When did you think about music as a career and what were your first steps into it?
I saw Bob Dylan sing Desolation Row in ’64 at the Hollywood Bowl and I surmised this was the best job in the world. As Dylan has remarked: "One man with a guitar can wipe out a whole army". There are fewer and fewer songwriters today; it's an important task to keep slugging away.
2. Best gig or gigs you've been to?
Bob Dylan at the Hollywood Bowl in 1964; Leonard Cohen in Phoenix circa 2009; and The Rolling Stones in El Paso in 2007.
3. Fantasy wedding/birthday party band of choice?
The Rolling Stones.
4. The record you'd take to a desert island?
Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan.
5. And the book?
Gringos by Charles Portis.
6. Top three films?
Don't Look Back, Blow Up, Unforgiven (1992 Clint Eastwood version).
7. Worst film you've seen?
Les Miserables (2012); a pathetic reading of a great musical.
8. Favourite authors?
Charles Portis, Graham Greene, Joan Didion.
9. Sports you most enjoy and top teams?
Boxing, tennis, baseball. The Brooklyn Dodgers circa 1956.
10. Ideal holiday destination?
The Alps, Switzerland.
11. Pet hate?
Bad songwriting.
12. What's your favourite:
Dinner? Paella.
Dessert? Oatmeal raisin cookie.
Drink? Bourbon on the rocks.
13. Who is your best friend and how do you know each other?
My wife. I'm married to her.
14. Is there a God?
That's for you to figure out. I believe in all the higher powers: The Muse, God, Angels etc. I need all the help I can get.
:: Tom Russell plays The Errigle Inn in Belfast tomorrow, the Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart on Saturday and Whelan’s in Dublin on Sunday. The album The Rose of Roscrae is out now.
