Jonnie Wallace: For Those About To Talk Too Much

Picture the scene – we’re on a dinner date between the main and dessert course. The food is great. You’re dressed impeccably. It’s been a pretty good day. You’ve been promoted, you’re thinking about the new company car you’re getting and the fact you finally get to move away from that bitch Sharon in the office. Your sister is getting married and your nephew just said his first word. But have you said any of this? No? Why not? Because I Talk Too Much. Luckily for me I’ve heard a song that highlights this issue, a new track from Edinburgh singer/songwriter Jonnie Wallace.

The new A-side/B-side from Jonnie Wallace is the latest in a series of releases from the performer. Earlier this year Wallace released a four-track EP entitled ‘Cupid Stunts’ featuring the tracks ‘Glass Of Wine’ and ‘Aftershave’, while in 2019 he released his EP ‘Acoustic Collection’, along with earlier singles such as ‘Keep Me Warm’, ‘You’, and ‘It Took Some Time’. In addition to playing gigs in Edinburgh, Wallace has also performed in Glasgow and Dundee. While unable to perform live in 2020, Jonnie Wallace has been keeping busy by livestreaming every Saturday night to keep his performance skills up, and his audience happy.

‘I Talk Too Much’ begins with the noise of a crowded room and a bass sound that’s pleasing to the ear. Percussive acoustic elements are added in before Jonnie Wallace adds a vocal - ‘Do I talk too much, when we go out for drinks, and I don’t give you any space to think.’ The rhythmic part on drums is a combination of snare, hi-hat and tapping on the rim - I love it when an artist puts effort in to make a drum part something interesting for the listener to hear. And not only that, but the sound of the drums is recorded well, and totally organic, fitting right in with the sparse acoustic guitar and bass. A great product of the partnership between Jonnie Wallace and producer Cam Hunter, who are both drummers. The main focus though is the subject matter, which is much what I described earlier on, our protagonist talks too much on a date, with this song being a reflection of such a date sometime after the fact.

The B-side is entitled ‘Royalty’, this time going straight in with acoustic guitar. The part is played in such a way that gets the most out of the instrument sonically, sounding full-bodied. I’m immediately transported to a pub watching Jonnie Wallace playing this song, my pint half-empty. It’s easy to focus on Wallace’s vocal in Royalty as this is even more stripped back than the A-side. It doesn’t need anything else though as the lyrics and Jonnie’s voice more than fill the space that a band would crowd. ‘We can’t all have the girl of our dreams, but we can look at her from behind computer screens, and that’s life, and it seems alright to me.’ Delving deeper into the lyrics highlights to me why unadulterated singer/songwriter material is some of the most raw emotion a listener can experience in the world of music. Writing this song by committee would undoubtedly crush the heart out of it so I’m pleased Wallace was able to get his vision across.

Read on further for more information about I Talk Too Much and Royalty, as well as Jonnie’s experience working with Cam Hunter and the livestreaming Wallace has done in 2020.

1. Your new single 'I Talk Too Much' is inspired by a date gone wrong. What was the activity of choice for the date?

It was a classic drinks date at a local bar, standard chat got deep as we bounced from pub to pub and finished with a pie in hand on Leith Walk.

2. 'I Talk Too Much' begins with atmospheric room noise. Where did you capture that sound?

I captured it at The Audio Lounge in Glasgow, where I often record with Cam Hunter, drummer of the band North Atlas. We took some off-cuts from a few takes and layered them over each other to give the illusion of room noise! Since we recorded during Covid there was nowhere busy enough to get an audio clip!

3. With 'Royalty' being the B-side, what inspired that lyric?

Royalty was written a few years ago and I decided to blow the dust off of it for this release as I thought it was fitting. At the time I thought of the subject of the song as Royalty as I had such strong feelings for her at the time.

4. You've been working with Cam Hunter as your producer, what's it like to work with him in the studio?

Cam is great in the studio! He is the nicest guy you will ever meet, and he is amazing at producing the sound that I want and making me feel comfortable in the recording space. We can bounce ideas off of each other, and with both of us being drummers we often have ideas sync up with each other in terms of rhythms. Working with Cam has really been the winning formula for me!

5. When recording your music, you perform each part yourself. What brand of instruments do you use to play your parts on?

I’m not a massive gear guy personally. I always borrow a bass and an electric guitar for recordings as I don’t own ones that are good enough! I use a Fender Acoustic guitar and my trusty PST 5’s as my cymbals of choice! I don’t really bother too much, Cam always manages to make it sound good no matter what I’m playing!

6. Going further back, what were the influences that sparked off the enthusiasm to write your own music? 

I was in a band called Ayakara for 5 years, and at the tail end of the project I started singing more during pub gigs and at home. The first song I ever wrote was “Cherry Baby” and I latched onto that style for a while. When Ayakara eventually ended, I still wanted to be on stage performing, which drove me to write more songs so I could perform.

7. During lockdown, you've been doing a series of livestreams every Saturday - what's been your favourite moment from these?

The livestreams have been great fun! I enjoyed communicating with everyone through the live chat, it was just like playing a gig with all of my pals there! The livestreams ended because I felt I was doing them too often, but there will be another live stream to celebrate the release of the new EP on the 14th November!

8. Have these livestreams sparked off any ideas for future music?

I always brought some new ideas to the livestreams as it was a relaxed platform that I could get feedback from. I wouldn’t say any major ideas were sparked but it was good to get a general consensus of some new tunes I had been writing.

9. In one sentence, what can fans of Jonnie Wallace expect from you next year?

So much content that they will be sick of seeing me!

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Follow Jonnie Wallace on facebook @jonniewallacemusic and instagram @jonnie_wallace_music